The Red Bag at Platform Three · chapter 3 of 3
The Last Train Home
回家的末班车
Lin Yue's bag holds something no shop could replace. Fang Lei's own train won't wait — and at home, someone is trying hard to stay awake.
Read what you hear
- Fang Lei 车门还开着。林月从车上跑了下来。
Chēmén hái kāizhe. Lín Yuè cóng chē shang pǎo le xiàlái.
The doors are still open. Lin Yue hurries off the train.
- Station Worker 你叫什么名字？坐哪一班车？
Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? Zuò nǎ yì bān chē?
What's your name? Which train are you on?
- Lin Yue 林月，二零八次！这是我的车票！
Lín Yuè, èr líng bā cì! Zhè shì wǒ de chēpiào!
Lin Yue, train 208! Here's my ticket!
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Red Bag at Platform Three is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- Station Worker 名字对，车次也对。给你！
Míngzi duì, chēcì yě duì. Gěi nǐ!
The name matches, and so does the train. Here you go!
- Fang Lei 林月抱住那个红色的包，眼睛一下子红了。
Lín Yuè bào zhù nàge hóngsè de bāo, yǎnjing yíxiàzi hóng le.
Lin Yue hugs the red bag, and her eyes fill with tears.
- Station Worker 快上车！还有三十秒！
Kuài shàng chē! Hái yǒu sānshí miǎo!
Get back on! Thirty seconds!
- Fang Lei 她跑回车上，在车门口回过头。
Tā pǎo huí chē shang, zài chē ménkǒu huí guò tóu.
She runs back aboard and turns in the doorway.
- Lin Yue 明天是我的婚礼！包里是我妈妈给我做的衣服！
Míngtiān shì wǒ de hūnlǐ! Bāo lǐ shì wǒ māma gěi wǒ zuò de yīfu!
My wedding is tomorrow! The dress in there — my mom made it for me!
- Lin Yue 谢谢你们！真的谢谢！
Xièxie nǐmen! Zhēn de xièxie!
Thank you both! Thank you so much!
- Fang Lei 车门关上了。二零八次开走了。
Chēmén guānshàng le. Èr líng bā cì kāi zǒu le.
The doors close. Train 208 pulls away.
- Fang Lei 我笑了。然后，我想起了自己的车。
Wǒ xiào le. Ránhòu, wǒ xiǎng qǐ le zìjǐ de chē.
I smile. Then I remember my own train.
- Fang Lei 我跑回三号站台。可是站台上，一个人也没有了。
Wǒ pǎo huí sān hào zhàntái. Kěshì zhàntái shang, yí gè rén yě méiyǒu le.
I run back to platform three. But the platform is empty.
- Fang Lei 回家的末班车，已经开走了。
Huí jiā de mòbānchē, yǐjīng kāi zǒu le.
The last train home has already gone.
- Station Worker 对不起，是我让你跟我来的。
Duìbuqǐ, shì wǒ ràng nǐ gēn wǒ lái de.
I'm sorry. I'm the one who asked you to come with me.
- Fang Lei 没关系。我们都做得对。
Méi guānxi. Wǒmen dōu zuò de duì.
It's all right. We both did the right thing.
- Station Worker 车站外面还有夜班公交车。我带你去。
Chēzhàn wàimiàn hái yǒu yèbān gōngjiāochē. Wǒ dài nǐ qù.
There's still a night bus outside the station. I'll take you there.
- Fang Lei 在公交车上，我给家里打了电话。
Zài gōngjiāochē shang, wǒ gěi jiā lǐ dǎ le diànhuà.
On the bus, I call home.
- Fang Lei 我告诉女儿，爸爸帮一个姐姐找到了结婚穿的衣服。
Wǒ gàosu nǚ'ér, bàba bāng yí gè jiějie zhǎodào le jiéhūn chuān de yīfu.
I tell my daughter that Daddy helped a young woman find her wedding dress.
- Fang Lei 她说：“那爸爸是英雄。我等你回来。”
Tā shuō: “Nà bàba shì yīngxióng. Wǒ děng nǐ huílái.”
She says, “Then Daddy's a hero. I'll wait up for you.”
- Fang Lei 我到家的时候，已经十一点五十了。
Wǒ dào jiā de shíhou, yǐjīng shíyī diǎn wǔshí le.
By the time I get home, it's 11:50.
- Fang Lei 女儿在沙发上睡着了。桌上有一块蛋糕，是她给我留的。
Nǚ'ér zài shāfā shang shuìzháo le. Zhuō shang yǒu yí kuài dàngāo, shì tā gěi wǒ liú de.
My daughter has fallen asleep on the sofa. On the table is a slice of cake she saved for me.
- Fang Lei 我把小熊猫放在她旁边，小声说：“生日快乐。”
Wǒ bǎ xiǎo xióngmāo fàng zài tā pángbiān, xiǎoshēng shuō: “Shēngrì kuàilè.”
I set the little panda beside her and whisper, “Happy birthday.”
- Fang Lei 我没赶上末班车，可是赶上了她的生日。
Wǒ méi gǎnshàng mòbānchē, kěshì gǎnshàng le tā de shēngrì.
I missed the last train. But I made it for her birthday.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- How does the station worker make sure the bag is Lin Yue's?
The worker asks for her name and train, checks her ticket, and says, “名字对，车次也对.”
- What is inside Lin Yue's bag?
She calls out, “明天是我的婚礼！包里是我妈妈给我做的衣服！”
- Why does Fang Lei miss his last train?
By the time he runs back to platform three, “回家的末班车，已经开走了.”
- How does Fang Lei get home?
The worker says, “车站外面还有夜班公交车,” and walks him there.
- What does Fang Lei mean by “赶上了她的生日”?
He gets home at 11:50, so he still makes it home on his daughter's birthday.