Although in this era, those who could afford a train sleeper berth were no ordinary people, Wang An believed that truly powerful people would never do something as low-class as occupying someone else's berth and playing dead to avoid giving up the space.
Setting others aside, even legitimate "second-generation" heirs like Wu Dong and Wang Shuai wouldn't do something so devoid of manners and ethics.
The key was that Wang An had already tried to wake him up, yet he stayed there playing dead and ignoring him. With Wang An's short fuse, how could he possibly tolerate that?
After a moment, a middle-aged male passenger lying on the opposite lower berth suddenly sat up and said to Wang An with a face full of displeasure
"I say, young man, what do you think you're doing? Can't you just talk things through? Do you have to resort to violence?"
One could tell this middle-aged man was likely half-Northeastern, as his speech leaned toward a Northeastern accent, though he wasn't a full-fledged Northeasterner.
Wang An gave the man a sidelong glance and ignored him, turning instead to Wang Li and Mu Xueli.
"Quick, quick, quick, get out the beer and red sausages I just bought. Let's dig in. This train departed at noon, and we didn't even get to eat lunch."
Seeing that Wang An was ignoring him, the middle-aged man grew somewhat angry. Just as Wang An finished speaking, the man glared with wide eyes and spoke again
"I say, young man, I'm talking to you, do you hear me? Where are you from and which unit do you work for? I'll have your Lingdao criticize you, or even have you stripped of your position."
Unfortunately, this time, Wang An didn't even look at him. He took the red sausage handed over by Wang Li and took a huge, aggressive bite.
While chewing, he said to Wang Li and Mu Xueli
"It's the authentic stuff, this is the taste. I'm telling you two, with Harbin red sausages, every brand has a different flavor. If you buy the wrong one, you'll regret it to death."
It had to be said that the reason Harbin red sausages remained timeless was because of their very unique flavor.
Wang Li and Mu Xueli had naturally never eaten red sausages before. Following Wang An's example, they each took a big bite and immediately gave thumbs-up. Wang Li said indistinctly with his mouth full
"Delicious, this stuff is really delicious. It's even better than the blood sausages we stuff at home."
Mu Xueli also said while chewing
"Mm-hmm, this stuff is so fragrant. Oil seeps out with every bite."
After another bite of the sausage, Wang An said
"Where's the beer? Hurry up and open the beer. I'm telling you, red sausages paired with beer is the perfect match. Absolutely refreshing."
Seeing that Wang An continued to ignore him and was chatting away with Mu Xueli and Wang Li as if no one else were there, the middle-aged man suddenly became infuriated. He disregarded everything, climbed down from his berth, stood up, and yelled at Wang An
"Tell me, which unit are you from? So young and yet so impolite. I'll make sure your Lingdao fires you!"
To be honest, it was only because he hadn't actually laid a hand on him; otherwise, Wang An would have definitely let him know "why the flowers are so red."
Wang An took a sip of beer, glanced at the man, and sneered with narrowed eyes
"Ya-ha, so you know that's impolite, huh? He occupied my berth, and I called out to him several times. He was clearly fucking awake but ignored me and didn't hurry up and get out of my way. Were you blind and didn't see it? Or is your fucking ear stuffed with donkey hair so you didn't hear it?"
After Wang An finished, Wang Li, still chewing sausage, rolled his eyes and said
"Exactly. What the fuck were you doing earlier? Just shut the fuck up and stay curled up. Where the fuck does that make you a hero?"
Mu Xueli also mocked the man
"People like you are truly fucking nothing. When you were supposed to stand up, you played dead. Now that the kid is fucking dead, you've suddenly come to life. Are you mentally ill or something?"
The rotating mockery from the three of them immediately made the middle-aged man lose face.
The main point was that although the words from Wang An and the others were very unpleasant—essentially insults—every sentence was grounded in logic.
Once the three finished, the middle-aged man's large face turned beet red, and his lips trembled with rage. He pointed at the three of them but couldn't find the words to speak.
After stifling for a long time, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence, though his momentum had plummeted
"But you still can't just start hitting people! Look at what you did to him. Was it really necessary?"
Wang An didn't take the bait. He rolled his eyes at the man and said
"Alright, just stay quiet for a while. We're busy eating; we don't have time to deal with you."
Mu Xueli, however, replied
"Then tell us, how should we handle it? What? We paid for the berth, and if he doesn't move, we just have to take it? When I say you're sick, you're really sick. You're nearly forty years old and don't understand the basic ways of the world. I think those forty years of your life were lived by a dog."
Feeling like a person of importance, the man had stood up to spout nonsense, only to find that Wang An and the others wouldn't indulge him at all. Instead, they hit him with a barrage of verbal violence, leaving the middle-aged man utterly humiliated.
If one were to describe this man with a very vulgar phrase, it would be the classic "tried to act big but got fucked instead."
This scene made the young man on the top berth opposite Wang An burst with laughter. However, he didn't want his laughter to spread, so the three of them could only hear "kh-kh" sounds, as if he had buried his head in his quilt.
Finally, the kid Wang An had thrown into the corridor recovered. Rubbing the back of his head with one hand, he walked back into the compartment aggressively.
As soon as he entered, rubbing his head with his left hand and pointing at the three of them with his right, he cursed
"Fuck your mothers! Which one of you three dragged me out just now? Fuck your mothers!"
Hearing this, the three of them were stunned. After all that commotion, the kid didn't even know who had thrown him out.
Before the three could speak, the middle-aged man pointed at Wang An and told the kid
"He's the one who threw you. The three of them are together. I tried to tell him, and they all cursed at me."
Wang An ignored the middle-aged man and looked at the kid with slanted eyes
"What's the deal? You occupied my spot and wouldn't leave, so is there something wrong with me throwing you out?"
After a pause, Wang An added in a sarcastic tone
"Oh right, looking at you, it seems you've still got some attitude. What's up? You want to go a round with me?"
Given Wang An's past behavior as a street thug, if he had encountered this situation before, he would have already started swinging.
Of course, if Wang An weren't currently eating, his big foot would have already flown over.
For this kind of person, Wang An didn't feel the need to be polite; just beat them and be done with it.
Perhaps because of the presence of the three of them, the kid's previous arrogance vanished instantly. With a face full of forced smiles, he said to Wang An
"Misunderstanding, this is all a misunderstanding."
(End of Chapter)