Linda was a diligent and responsible train attendant who always remained polite no matter what kind of passengers she encountered. Even the most ill-tempered travelers couldn’t ruffle her composure. So when the young lady of the Xia family was injured and needed assistance, the task naturally fell to her.
Lately, however, Linda seemed distracted.
Xia Miao picked up her spoon and took a bite of the dinner Linda had brought her. Glancing up, she noticed Linda tidying the room absentmindedly. Unable to hold back, Xia Miao asked, "Linda, has something bad happened recently?"
Linda snapped out of her thoughts. "Huh?"
"You seem preoccupied," Xia Miao pressed. "Are you in some kind of trouble?"
Linda bit her lip, hesitating for a moment before speaking. "I have a colleague named Mary. We used to be in charge of the same carriage, but I haven’t seen her for days now."
"Is she on leave?"
Linda shook her head. "I checked the schedule—her next break isn’t for another month. And her phone’s unreachable. I can’t contact her at all. I’m worried something might have happened to her."
Xia Miao frowned. "That does sound concerning. Linda, can’t you ask the armed patrol for help?"
Linda flinched, flustered. "I’m just a train attendant. The armed patrol handles serious matters. I don’t have the authority to involve them."
"What do you mean, no authority?" Xia Miao scowled. "If someone’s gone missing on board, shouldn’t passengers be worried about their safety? The alien invasion incident wasn’t long ago, and they still haven’t released the investigation results. What if something like that happens again?"
She made up her mind. "This is a huge deal. Stay here—I’ll go talk to the armed patrol myself and have them look into your friend’s disappearance."
Linda stood frozen as Xia Miao wolfed down the rest of her dinner and stormed toward the door. Hurriedly, Linda handed her the remaining glass of red liquid on the table.
"Miss Xia, your nutrient drink!"
Though the train had ample food supplies, the lack of sunlight made it impossible to provide fresh fruits and vegetables daily. To prevent health issues, scientists had developed nutrient drinks to sustain the body’s physiological functions.
Every passenger and crew member was required to drink one daily.
Xia Miao downed the red nutrient drink in one gulp—pomegranate-flavored, not terrible—and handed the empty glass back to Linda. "I’m going to find someone right now."
As she watched Xia Miao stride off with determined energy, Linda suddenly realized that the so-called "high-maintenance young lady of the Xia family" wasn’t as bad as the rumors made her out to be.
---
"So, you came to me because you need my help?"
The young man sat in the workshop. Since it wasn’t his shift, he wasn’t wearing his usual tightly wrapped black uniform. Instead, he’d shed the outer layer, revealing a white tank top underneath.
He’d been busy when Xia Miao arrived, but he set down his tools the moment she entered. Leaning against the workbench with one hand propping his chin, his bright-colored hair cast faint shadows over his eyes. His blue irises curved like crescents as he smiled at her—warm and seemingly harmless.
Yet the defined muscles along his arms, the long legs accentuated by black tactical pants, and the way his black boots tapped idly against the floor all hinted at something far more dangerous—a feral, predatory edge.
Xia Miao stood before him with her arms crossed, lifting her chin imperiously. Her striking, sharp-featured beauty radiated an air of haughty superiority.
"This isn’t about asking for help," she corrected. "It’s a reminder that you should be paying attention to safety on board. If someone really has gone missing, doesn’t that mean I’m in danger too?" She couldn’t help stealing another glance at his arm.
Despite the severe injury he’d sustained before, only a few scars remained. Meanwhile, her three fingers still hadn’t regained mobility.
"You won’t be in danger," No. 13 said with a chuckle.
Outside the door, a small crowd had gathered, whispering among themselves.
"Isn’t that the daughter of the nation’s wealthiest man?"
"Yeah, that’s the young lady."
"Strange, why is she looking for No. 13?"
"Maybe she’s here to settle the score? He did talk trash about her before."
"Something feels off about this."
"What’s off? You think they’re dating or something?"
The murmurs grew louder until No. 13 glanced their way.
The group of young men stiffened, quickly shut the door, and scattered.
Xia Miao narrowed her eyes. "Can you investigate or not?"
"I can," he admitted, picking up his tools again and resuming his work. "But you should brace yourself, Miss Xia. The Galactic Express operates on an extremely long route. Once it leaves a station, there’s no turning back until it reaches its destination. Many crew members board thinking they can endure the isolation, but after experiencing it, plenty develop psychological issues."
He worked leisurely on repairing a shoe as he continued, "No one can guarantee they won’t be the next fool who decides to end this endless journey."
In other words, the missing Mary might have chosen to "end things" herself. After all, mid-journey "disappearances" weren’t uncommon on the train.
Xia Miao hadn’t considered that possibility. Noticing he was fixing one of her shoes, her expression softened slightly.
She stepped closer, watching as his long, deft fingers worked the material. When he applied pressure, the veins on his hands and forearms surfaced—a complex, striking network of lines.
Xia Miao suddenly felt a pang of hunger.
She stared a beat too long before realizing her mistake. As her gaze drifted upward, she met his—already fixed on her, waiting.
Flustered, she quickly schooled her expression into cool indifference. Straightening her posture, she lifted her chin and sniffed. "Hmph. I didn’t expect you to be decent at fixing shoes. If you do a good job, I might—"
"Want a kiss?"
Xia Miao blinked, momentarily stunned.
The bright-haired young man curved his blue eyes into crescents, repeating in an inviting tone, "Want a kiss?"
"Who’d want to kiss you?!" she snapped reflexively.
"Eh, really?" He dragged out the syllable, feigning disappointment. "But I kinda want to kiss you."
Her face burned. "Y-You—you haven’t even confessed to me yet! How can you skip straight to that?!"
He tilted his head, puzzled. "Where I’m from, this is how relationships usually start."
Right. Different customs.
Xia Miao was at a loss for words.
He held up the repaired shoe—a pristine white shoe that looked like a delicate, adorable doll accessory in the grasp of his large hands.
The young man grinned at her, his eyes sparkling. "Now that I’ve fixed the princess’s crystal shoe, can I get a kiss as a reward?"
Ever since Xia Miao had said those words to him that day, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it.
Like a young man in the throes of his first heat, his mind was full of nothing but indecent thoughts.
He seemed keenly aware of what made Xia Miao weak—fluttering his clear, bright eyes, his sun-kissed hair catching the light as if sprinkled with gold. He was the darling of the sun, exuding a cheerful, youthful energy that belied his adulthood.
"Miss, no kiss for me?"
Xia Miao sucked in a sharp breath.
No. 13 tilted his head slightly, puzzled. He’d thought this trick would work, but Xia Miao remained frozen. Just as he began to suspect his charms had failed, she suddenly cupped his face, pressed several quick, loud kisses to his lips, then spun around and bolted.
No. 13 stared at the swinging door, then down at the shoe she’d forgotten in his hand. Slowly, his lips curled into a smile.
Against the wall, a shadowy silhouette suddenly sprouted an excitedly wagging tail.
