Chapter 94

Chapter 94 – Monday Update

The sightseeing train had already set off, departing from the snow-covered northern frontier and heading south toward warmth.

Qiu Bai sat hugging her knees, motionless, staring at the swirling snow outside the window.

This was her first time on a train.

Back when she used to stay up late studying, she would put on white noise recordings of train fireplaces. The rhythmic clatter of train wheels on tracks was soothing to her.

But now that she was really on a train, she realized that that kind of small romance had already faded.

—That clatter came from jointed tracks. With technological advances, such sounds were becoming rarer.

Qiu Bai pulled out her phone and found a BGM video to play. It felt a bit ridiculous.

Still, that ridiculousness gave her a small sense of individuality. It made her feel a little more at ease.

Even though it was freezing outside, the temperature inside the train was comfortably warm. As long as the windows stayed shut, a single layer of clothing was enough.

Suddenly, Qiu Bai jumped up from her bed, grabbed her down jacket, walked out, and stuffed it forcefully into the corridor’s trash bin.

A middle-aged man passing by looked a bit surprised and asked, “Young lady, what’s wrong? Your jacket got torn? I have some tape—want me to help patch it up?”

Qiu Bai shook her head. “No need. I’m not coming back. Don’t need it. No place to put it.”

Seeing the surprised look on his face, Qiu Bai shrugged, gave a sheepish grin, and turned back toward her room.

This sightseeing train really was luxuriously decorated!

With a nearly billion-yuan investment, every private compartment had its own unique design.

Even the carpet underfoot felt soft.

As Qiu Bai reached out to push open her door, she suddenly heard someone speak behind her—it was that same middle-aged man who’d asked about her jacket.

“Hey… want to grab something to eat?”

Seeing the girl turn around cautiously, clutching her clothes with a defensive stance, the man instinctively took a step back.

“No, no, I’m not asking you out to eat. I just think you should check out the dining car… the food’s really good.”

As a seasoned food blogger who had traveled all over the country, he had met all kinds of people.

And his instincts told him—this girl was not quite alright.

But as a stranger and a man, there wasn’t much he could say. He could only offer a gentle suggestion: “Really, just give it a try. The food’s genuinely great.”

He watched as the girl’s shoulders dropped slightly, as if she’d relaxed a bit.

“Okay. Thank you. I’ll give it a try.”

After thanking him, Qiu Bai saw the man start typing on his phone, and only then did she turn to open her door. But just as she turned around, he added, “If you see lion’s head meatballs on the menu—definitely try them!”

“Okay.”

She turned back and nodded at him before finally entering her room and taking a deep breath.

Getting something to eat was a good idea. After all, at some point on this train ride, she would have to eat in the dining car anyway.She grabbed her noise-canceling headphones, then suddenly tilted her head and tossed them onto the bed.

No headphones—she wanted to hear the sounds of the world.

Time to eat!

As she made her way to the dining car, she was surprised to find that there were far more people than she had expected on this sightseeing train.

It took her a while to find an empty seat. Qiu Bai sat down and picked up the menu to prepare to order.

“Would you like me to introduce today’s specials?”

Qiu Bai instinctively wanted to decline, but suddenly changed her mind.

At a moment like this, she found herself developing a certain fondness for the world—wanting to hear more people speak, and wanting to speak more herself.

“Sure, what specials do you have? Is there lion’s head meatball today?”

The server’s Mandarin was very standard, and the smile on her face was impeccably perfect. She bent slightly at the waist and introduced in a slightly louder voice, “We do have braised lion’s head today—provided by our new chef. But it’s not on the printed menu yet. You’ve come at just the right time. Would you like to try it?”

Qiu Bai hesitated. That middle-aged man had just mentioned it, and now lion’s head meatballs were suddenly on offer—it felt a little strange.

But then again… why think too much right now? If she wanted to eat it, she should just order it!

“Alright, I’ll have the lion’s head, and also a golden egg fried rice.”

“Very well. Please wait a moment.”

Qiu Bai turned her head and glanced around the dining car. Strangely, it wasn’t quite like what she had pictured a train’s dining car to be.

On this kind of sightseeing tour train, wasn’t everyone supposed to be leisurely enjoying the scenery outside, sipping drinks and chatting?

Why was everyone here burying their heads in their food?

With such a snowy wonderland outside the windows, not even one person was taking pictures?

The two diners sitting at the same table as her were so focused on eating that they didn’t even lift their heads. They were chewing on the roast chicken bones like they might crush and eat them whole.

“Is it really that good?”

Qiu Bai couldn’t help but ask. The two diners didn’t even look up as they argued over the last piece of meat, but still managed to reply:

“Some dishes are especially delicious! Some are just okay…”

Her curiosity piqued, Qiu Bai looked expectantly at the server approaching, watching the tray in her hands.

“Your braised lion’s head and egg fried rice. Please enjoy.”

“Thanks.”

The golden egg fried rice lay quietly on the plate, with a few florets of broccoli on the side.

Qiu Bai thought of that man’s earlier suggestion and became curious about this off-menu lion’s head.

She lifted the lid of the bowl.

A rich aroma wafted out.

This braised lion’s head was slightly larger than usual, and the fragrance was also more intense—more dominating—than any she’d tasted before.From the outside, this lion’s head meatball didn’t look particularly smooth—its surface was uneven and slightly grainy. But precisely this appearance made it all the more enticing.

Just looking at it, one could imagine how the chunks of meat would bounce on the tongue!

Qiu Bai picked up her spoon and carefully scooped out a piece.

The texture of the lion’s head was much softer and more tender than she had imagined!

And as she scooped out that piece, the rich aroma of the meat in the air grew even stronger.

This richly braised lion’s head, soaked in thick soy-based sauce, somehow retained all its meaty juiciness—its pork fragrance even outshone the flavor of the sauce.

With a bit of anticipation, she placed a spoonful in her mouth and took a big bite.

There really were rich, springy chunks of meat!

Usually, a dish like braised lion’s head was all about the seasoning. But this one offered the pure, full-bodied taste of pork itself!

Qiu Bai was a little stunned…

The deep, robust meat aroma stirred something faint in her memory—something so hazy it was almost intangible.

Yes—hazy.

She must’ve eaten this taste before, when she was very young. But whenever she tried to search her memories deliberately, she never found it.

“Your mom, she was really good at cooking. When you were little, you especially loved her lean pork soup…”

“With just one egg and a few slices of meat, she could make a broth that was incredibly fresh, with a strong meaty flavor.”

She had remembered those words for a long time. Because she had no direct memories of her mother, every trace came from fragments like these, pieced together bit by bit.

When Qiu Bai was very young, her mother had passed away.

In all the years after, she grew up alone, studied alone, worked alone—got sick alone, decided on her own to go south, and finally stayed there alone.

If she were to die in spring, would she no longer feel cold? Would she no longer feel that bone-deep chill in the middle of the night?

She didn’t cry, but teardrops the size of beans fell silently from the corners of her eyes.

Qiu Bai scooped another spoonful of the lion’s head, this time with some braising sauce, and ate it.

She felt a trace of happiness.

A happiness she hadn’t felt in a very, very long time.

This taste clearly had nothing to do with lean pork soup, but as the pork burst in her mouth in a full bite, that light, floating happiness matched those broken fragments of memory.

“Your mom loved you so much—she held you in her arms every day…”

“You were just a tiny thing, staring at her cooking without blinking.”

During this time of illness, she’d taken many medications. Those pills made her increasingly sleepy, her thoughts more sluggish and dull.

They even made her feel like she couldn’t see herself anymore.

The memories she had painstakingly pieced together about her mother were also slowly fading.

She even started to doubt what others had told her—to doubt whether she had ever truly been loved with a whole heart.Someone suddenly tapped Qiu Bai. She looked up in a daze—it was the two diners who had just been fighting over the chicken.

The girl, with a round face, handed her a packet of tissues. Although her face clearly showed a curious concern, her words were tactfully considerate, as if trying not to embarrass her.

“I almost cried eating the roast chicken just now too—it was so good! How can roast chicken be that delicious!”

Qiu Bai took the large packet of tissues and replied with something rather out of the blue.

“I remembered it—the lean pork soup starts with frying two slices of pork until fragrant, then cracking an egg into it to fry up a soup.”

She didn’t know why, but that scene suddenly replayed vividly in her mind.

Two pale slices of pork sizzling in the bottom of the pan until the fat rendered out, then using that thin layer of lard to fry up a single egg until it smelled amazing.

Then—whoosh—a ladle of water splashed in, bringing up a milky white broth.

The girl looked slightly puzzled, but still nodded. “That sounds like it must smell amazing! I’ll try making it sometime when I get the chance!”

Qiu Bai nodded firmly, then lowered her head and continued eating the lion’s head meatball. She watched as a large tear dropped right into the lidded bowl.

Then more tears followed.

She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she last cried.

The girl beside her, still watching with worry, saw Qiu Bai shed a few sobs—then suddenly begin devouring her food again in large bites.

“Slow down…”

Qiu Bai looked up and gave her a smile, swallowed the last bite of egg fried rice with effort, then grabbed her phone and quickly walked away.

She had to go retrieve her down jacket from the trash can!

The train continued moving through the heavy snow and soon came to a stop at a station.

With cheerful music playing, the train’s announcement came over the speakers in a soft yet clear voice: “This station’s stop time is six hours. Please enjoy your time and make sure not to miss the departure.”

Qiu Bai, clutching her down jacket and pulling her suitcase, swiftly disembarked.

The station was packed with people. Many were shouting at the top of their lungs: “Buying K223 tickets at high price!”

“Anyone selling a ticket? Anyone not continuing the journey?”

Qiu Bai was pleasantly surprised.

She hadn’t expected that just when she’d decided to cut this journey short, even her ticket could still be sold!

She had only just taken out the ticket and waved it when two or three people rushed over. Qiu Bai chose to sell it to the first one who came up, hearing the remaining two arguing in frustration.

“Why is no one selling tickets!”

“I’m not here for the food—I have to wait until Chen Ran gets off at the final stop!”

Leaving the argument behind her, Qiu Bai dashed toward the station exit.

She had just booked a guesthouse with a kitchen, planning to recreate that lean pork soup from her memory—then head home.

As Qiu Bai’s figure ran out of the station, the Cook Guy finally pulled his head back in from the train window, feeling relieved, and sent a WeChat message to Chen Ran:

“Thanks, Chef Chen.”“No worries, have fun.”

The Cook Guy chuckled slyly.

How could he possibly get off and go sightseeing? The next few hours were obviously going to be spent in the dining car stuffing himself until he exploded!

But there was one problem—which of those dishes were actually made by Chen Ran? He’d eaten like a blind draw from a mystery box and now his stomach was bursting.

Unwilling to give up, he sent Chen Ran several more messages in a row: “Can’t you really give me a hint about which dish you made?”

“Why do all the other recipes look so unfamiliar? Are you sure the lion’s head can’t be added to the menu?”

Chen Ran looked at the stream of messages, stuffed her phone back into her pocket, and opened the menu again to reread the flavor special of the lion’s head.

【Flavor Effect: For adults, eating this lion’s head brings back the purest childhood joy】

【Effect Limit: Childhood may be beautiful, but one must grow up in the end】

Time to go cook!