Chapter 3: From Blizzard to Clear Skies (2)
The train hadn’t been moving for long before Meng Xiaotian had already covered his face with his jacket and fallen asleep.
The ticket inspector moved from the next carriage to theirs, checking each passenger’s ticket one by one. Yin Guo took the phone from Meng Xiaotian’s hand, pulled up the e-ticket for inspection, then tucked it back into her cousin’s palm.
She straightened up in her seat.
Lin Yiyang had just replied to her message—
Lin: No need to thank me.
Four words—short and simple. He hadn’t accepted the money transfer either.
Unlike Meng Xiaotian, who was naturally sociable, Yin Guo wasn’t the type to push a conversation. She stared at her phone for a while before setting it aside, resigning herself to the thought that she’d figure it out when they met in person.
Before long, the train stopped at a small station. Outside the window, only a handful of passengers waited on the platform to board. Yin Guo glanced around—the carriage had been sparsely populated to begin with, and after two more people disembarked, fewer than ten remained.
Now was a good time to use the restroom. She nudged her cousin awake. “I’m going to the bathroom.”
Meng Xiaotian mumbled an acknowledgment.
Yin Guo slung her own bag over her shoulder, then pulled down Meng Xiaotian’s backpack and tucked it under his legs.
She had barely left for two minutes when a Chinese man walked through from the next carriage—the bespectacled guy from the other day.
He had just boarded.
With Meng Xiaotian’s face hidden under his jacket, the man didn’t recognize him and passed through the carriage. Following the directions on his phone, he continued forward, crossing two more carriages until he spotted Lin Yiyang’s duffel bag.
Then, glancing toward the window, he saw him.
The Black woman with the baby who had been sitting next to Lin Yiyang had just gotten off at the station, leaving the seat beside him empty.
“Glad I caught you,” Wu Wei said, nudging Lin Yiyang toward the window before taking the outer seat for himself. He unzipped his cold-proof clothing, panting slightly. “I was afraid I wouldn’t make it in time.”
Lin Yiyang knew exactly why he was here, so he didn’t respond.
Wu Wei pressed on. “Everyone’s about to arrive, and you’re running away—what kind of move is that?”
Lin Yiyang tugged the collar of his tracksuit up, covering most of his face, trying to shut out the chatter.
Wu Wei tried to pull it back down.
Lin Yiyang kept his eyes closed, his head resting against the train window. “I spent all my money treating those kids to drinks the other day,” he muttered. “Can’t afford a ticket.”
“I’ll cover it,” Wu Wei said, pulling out his wallet and flipping it open. “Look how much I’ve got left—we’ll split it. Live and die together.”
After Wu Wei shook him a dozen times, Lin Yiyang finally sat up and glanced at the wallet.
Two broke guys—equally penniless.
……
The train arrived in Washington, D.C., before nightfall.
Here, too, the blizzard had shut down work and schools for two days, with normal operations only resuming the day before.
From the moment they stepped off the train, Meng Xiaotian had been searching for the burger chain Lin Yiyang had mentioned. By the time they reached the exit, he finally spotted the bright sign—right next to a Starbucks. Since they’d found it, Yin Guo figured they might as well indulge him. She checked the time—they had enough to spare—and led Meng Xiaotian into the burger joint.
Not long after, Wu Wei tugged Lin Yiyang along by the strap of his duffel bag. “Hurry, we’re taking the bus.”
Lin Yiyang let himself be dragged forward.
Wu Wei didn’t have enough money left for train tickets. After exhausting all options on the train, he’d managed to snag two discounted bus tickets. For the past hour, he’d been yammering in Lin Yiyang’s ear about how he’d spent his last dime on these tickets—if Lin Yiyang didn’t go back to New York with him, he’d be a terrible friend, heartless, ungrateful…Lin Yiyang endured a full hour of four-character idioms.
Having known each other for years, he was well aware that Wu Wei possessed all the tenacity of a stubborn plaster—impossible to shake off, impossible to drive away. If Wu Wei wanted you to do something, he would make sure it happened. There was no escaping it today; he was definitely going back to New York.
Hungry, Lin Yiyang stopped and glanced around, spotting a burger joint.
He debated whether to grab a bite first.
But then again, maybe he’d just wait and see if he could pick up a slice of pizza on the way to the bus. With luck, he might even find one for a dollar.
“Anything edible in your bag?” he asked.
“Yeah, of course.”
Wu Wei rummaged through his backpack and, after some digging, pulled out a third of a chocolate bar, shoving it into Lin Yiyang’s hand.
The chocolate was wrapped in crumpled tin foil, twisted into a messy lump.
He unwrapped it and took a bite. If it weren’t for the fact that Wu Wei had given it to him, he wouldn’t have touched it. Crumpling the foil into a ball, he tossed it into a trash can and followed Wu Wei out of the train station.
Two minutes later.
Outside the burger joint, Meng Xiaotian walked out munching on his burger while Yin Guo looked down at her phone, booking a ride.
“What should we treat him to? Have you had anything good in D.C.?” Meng Xiaotian asked.
“Nothing special,” Yin Guo said. “This isn’t exactly a city known for its food. If you want something good, New York has way more options.”
Meng Xiaotian, unsatisfied with the answer, pulled out his phone and decided to consult Lin Yiyang directly.
Since they were planning to treat him anyway, might as well let him choose.
“Damn.”
“What’s wrong?”
Meng Xiaotian showed Yin Guo the chat log.
Tiantian: My sister and I are in D.C. too. Let’s grab dinner tonight, Lin.
Lin: Have fun. I’m heading back to New York.
??
Yin Guo and Meng Xiaotian stared at each other for a solid two seconds.
Yin Guo looked back down at her Uber app—the ride was almost here.
She sighed in resignation.
“Where to?” Meng Xiaotian was completely at a loss.
“The hotel,” Yin Guo said, glancing outside. The weather in D.C. was slightly better than New York’s. “We’ve already booked it, might as well make the most of it.”
Frustrated, she couldn’t help but kick Meng Xiaotian lightly. “What a waste.”
Meng Xiaotian, knowing he was at fault, clasped his hands in apology.
The siblings locked eyes, and before long, both burst out laughing. This was truly one bizarre trip to D.C.
“You’ve got five minutes. Hurry up and take your pictures,” Yin Guo said, gesturing around them.
She knew first-time tourists loved snapping photos, so she stepped aside, finishing her burger. By the time she was done and looking for a trash can, her cousin had already circled back. “Let’s go.”
Yin Guo hummed in response, only then noticing the trash can right behind her. She had no idea how she’d missed it earlier. Crumpling the burger wrapper into a ball, she tossed it in and led her cousin out of the station.
Before leaving, Meng Xiaotian made sure to snap a photo of the burger joint. The moment they got in the car, he happily posted it on social media.
Tiantian: Recommended by the most handsome guy I’ve ever seen in my life. [Heart]
Yin Guo, ever the contrarian, couldn’t resist teasing him as usual.
Xiaoguo: [Pout] Not that great. Stop misleading people.
Zheng Yi replied to Xiaoguo: Got any photos? Your brother’s been talking about him nonstop. Dying to see.
Tiantian replied to Zheng Yi: Of course I’m not lying. If I were a girl, I’d be all over him.
Xiaoguo replied to Zheng Yi: Average. Just a normal guy. My brother’s exaggerating.
Tiantian replied to Xiaoguo: Can you at least be honest? Zheng Yi replied to Xiao Guo: Exactly, be objective, no personal feelings allowed.
Xiao Guo replied to Tian Tian: Fine, I admit it, he’s not bad.
Meng Xiaotian, sitting in the front row, saw Yin Guo concede and turned around to wink at her.
Yin Guo stuck out her tongue in response and pointed out the car window, signaling: Hurry up and take pictures.
Outside, museums and municipal buildings began appearing at regular intervals. Their rideshare driver, a middle-aged white woman, noticed Meng Xiaotian raising his phone and deliberately slowed down, enthusiastically naming each building for him. Seeing that neither of them had luggage, she guessed they weren’t tourists and asked if they were here to study.
Before long, he struck up a conversation with the driver, shifting from architecture to universities in Washington. The first one the driver mentioned was Georgetown, openly marveling at how expensive the school was and how all the international students who went there were wealthy.
“Did you hear that? What the driver said?” Meng Xiaotian whispered.
Yin Guo nodded. She remembered Zheng Yi’s first year here—between tuition, living expenses, ski trips, and everything else—it had indeed cost a fortune. But that young lady had always been extravagant, so she wasn’t exactly a standard reference.
While Yin Guo was thinking about Zheng Yi, Meng Xiaotian’s mind went to Lin Yiyang, concluding one thing: Brother Lin was loaded.
Twenty minutes later, the car dropped them off at the hotel.
Yin Guo headed straight to the front desk, eager to confirm their reservation. She handed over their passports and credit card to the staff, discussing the booking details while waiting for them to process the check-in.
Checking her social media again, she saw a new notification—a reply under the burger photo.
She tapped on it.
Lin: There’s a place called Old Ebbitt Grill near the White House. Pretty good, give it a try.
…
Oh no. She’d completely forgotten—he could see Meng Xiaotian’s posts.
Aside from Zheng Yi’s reply, every single comment between her and her cousin was visible to him. Every word. He’d seen it all.
This was beyond awkward.
It was like discussing his looks right in front of him—even more embarrassing than that ID check incident.
She reread her own comments, mortified and unsure what to do.
How could she have forgotten?
Meng Xiaotian, noticing her staring at the burger photo, belatedly spotted Lin Yiyang’s reply and couldn’t help laughing. “At least you told the truth in the end. Could’ve been worse.”
Yin Guo elbowed him in frustration.
The front desk staff finished the check-in process, placing their passports, key cards, and receipt in front of Yin Guo.
She picked up the pen, her mind still stuck on those comments. As she signed her name, she kept replaying them in her head.
Delete them? But he’d already seen everything. Leave them up? They were just sitting there, glaringly obvious.
“How’s this restaurant? Ever been?” her cousin asked.
Yin Guo, lost in thought, didn’t hear him.
Meng Xiaotian turned to the staff member handling their check-in instead, asking how far the restaurant was and whether it was worth visiting.
The brunette at the desk immediately recommended it—a century-old establishment. Because of its proximity to the White House, it was frequented by politicians, drawing many visitors for that reason alone. Best of all, they could walk there from the hotel; it was very close.
Meng Xiaotian was tempted. “Let me check the number, make a reservation?”
“Let’s go tomorrow. Too lazy to move now,” Yin Guo said, still mired in the comment disaster, her enthusiasm nonexistent.
She handed the receipt back to the staff, took her passport and credit card, and glanced down at the room number on the key card.Meng Xiaotian was nearby, seemingly chatting with someone. When they entered the elevator, he suddenly smiled at her and said, "The handsome guy told me he feels really bad for making us come all this way for nothing, so he's treating us to this meal."
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