1

That summer, the weather was hot. I bought a train ticket back to my hometown. Since the journey was long, I booked a soft sleeper to make myself more comfortable on the train.

Carriage 11, Bed 9, a lower berth.

When I walked to Carriage 11, I found two girls already sitting on either side, whispering and laughing. The girls were quite pretty, with long legs. One wore sexy, mysterious black stockings; the other had bare, white skin, clearly visible. Their slender high heels were crossed at the edge of the bed, making for a delightful view.

There was a bag on my lower berth, so I politely asked, "Whose bag is this? Could you please move it? This is my seat."

The girl in black stockings glanced at me and ordered, pointing at the upper berth, "Why don't you go up there? Swap with me. It's inconvenient for a girl to sleep on the upper berth."

Her tone immediately annoyed me. Sitting with legs crossed, showing an air of entitlement, I kept my temper in check and said calmly, "I don't like the upper berth, so you should go there instead."

"Hey, you're a grown man and quite good-looking. Why are you fussing with a girl about this?"

"It's not about gender. I bought the lower berth, so it's the lower berth."

Hearing my assertive response, the girl in black stockings got even more fired up, leaning her chest toward me: "If you dare, go ahead and call someone. I'm not switching, what's wrong with that? I think you must be a psycho! A grown man fighting a woman for a bed! Are you even a man?"

Hearing that, I seriously wondered if the woman in front of me was a bona fide feminist warrior.

Talking about men and women nonstop, it was maddening, and I almost wanted to slap her.

At this point, her friend saw things heating up and gently stepped in to mediate. She came over and took the bag from my bed, saying, "Xue, you sleep here on my lower berth. I'll switch with you and go up."

"Hui, what are you doing? You can't spoil this kind of man! Such a wuss!"

"Shh, stop talking nonsense. That's originally his spot. Come over to mine."

Even though Hui stood up to mediate, Xue still glared at me, muttering something incomprehensible.

I put my suitcase under the bed, taking out a cup and water bottle when I saw Xue on the opposite bed unabashedly filming me, murmuring, "Who'd understand? Pure ridiculousness. Riding a train today, a wuss of a man wouldn't even swap his lower berth with this fairy here. He's the only man in our carriage. Who knows what he might do to us tonight? Sisters, who can save me?"

Wasn't that pure nonsense? I warned her not to film nonsense, pretending to grab her phone.

That girl stuffed the phone into her own chest, shaking side to side, most of the phone already trapped in that abyss, laughingly teasing me, "Come on, if you have the guts to take it yourself."

Her shameless behavior was truly baffling.

Hui gently pulled my arm to stop me, saying softly, "Don't be mad. Xue just likes posting on Douyin, Xiao Hong Shu or something. She'll blur your face."

Hui was not only pretty but also had a pleasant voice, full of charm, calm down my anger once more. I wondered how these two, with opposite personalities, became friends.

Xue gave me a sidelong glance, quietly cursing, "Pervert!"

I pretended not to hear it. Who doesn't like to make friends with pretty, gentle, well-educated girls?

Just then, another girl with pigtails entered, wearing ultra-short shorts and a strap top, cute yet sexy, carrying a cartoon backpack. She waved to us, introducing herself as Zhu Zhu, looking very enthusiastic.

A carriage with four beds and three beauties showed up, though one was a bit annoying.

"Oh dear! Three women and only one man, too dangerous. Why don't they separate men and women? This train design is just too unreasonable."

Seeing the scene before her, Xue started muttering again, fiddling with her phone, probably posting something on Xiao Hong Shu again.

Her comment once again made me the target; three women and one man, I was already a vulnerable group, even more so in the carriage.

I couldn't be bothered to argue with her, thinking it's best to avoid trouble. I took out slippers to change into.

"Wait, don't take them off! Your feet are definitely smelly! I think you should just keep your shoes on, or we can't stay here!"

Xue seemed to fixate on my every move, finding fault with everything about me.

"If you're really worried, switch carriages. Book four beds next time, and that way, no one will fight with you."

Saying that, I already slipped my shoes off and sat on the bed playing with my phone.

"Even if your feet don't smell, no smoking, no drinking, got it?"

"Xue, stop speaking. Mr. Wang is eloquent, clearly hygienic. It's fate to share a carriage, let's be more tolerant."

Hui's words were like a breath of fresh spring, alleviating the awkward tension, seeing her as both pretty and sensible. In contrast, Xue had mere looks.

The carriage bustled with legs moving in and out all the time, a dazzling sight.

Zhu Zhu, the girl, turns out to be a student on a budget trip, about to go home, having traveled to many places, expert at mingling with strangers.

Confident, cheerful Zhu Zhu was also another presence overshadowing Xue. She sat on my bed, leaving me too shy to lie down, so I sat next to her, noticing a faint fragrance rise.

"Can I step on your bed?" Hui wanted to reach my upper berth, with no ladder, only a discreet plate built into the wall.

I nodded, letting her have her way. Hui took off her heels beside me, stepping on my bed. I noticed she wore stockings, those thin, transparent ones clinging tightly to her legs, hardly noticeable without a close look.

I returned after filling a bottle of water, realizing I'd left my phone on my bed.

Picking up the phone, Xue suddenly jumped out, pointing at my phone, "Caught you, peeping tom!"

"What?" I was utterly confused.

"Hehehe, you think I don't know? Excusing yourself to get water, leaving your phone on the bed to secretly film Hui climbing up and down!"

I looked exasperated, "Are you nuts? Do you have paranoia?"

"Still talking back, hand over your phone for me to check! There must be evidence you filmed secretly!"

"You're crazy! Why should I let you check my phone?"

It was sheer nonsense. I thought fairies only existed online, yet here I ran into a real one.

Xue said, "I don't want to make things big, or Hui will be embarrassed. Just give up the phone so we can verify your innocence?"

With indifference, I said, "Fine, the innocent need no validation, but if you check my phone, I'll check yours too. Now, I suspect you secretly filmed me."

Xue ground her teeth in anger, "Why would I secretly film you? What's worth filming?"

"Who knows, what won't a fairy dare to do?"

Matching tit-for-tat, we reached an impasse and finally decided to swap phones to prove our innocence. I knew Xue wouldn't find anything, yet still went over to check her phone.

The album indeed contained a video taken when I first arrived. I deleted it, and by the way, opened her Douyin and Xiao Hong Shu, and deleted all videos about me she recently posted.

Though this little fairy had blurred my face, the blurring was intentional and incomplete. Pausing the video, you could clearly see my entire face.

Checking through a few platforms, I suddenly saw a UC browser. I maliciously smiled, opening it for a look.