From the military compound to the train station, Pei Yu’an and his men followed the Ji family like relentless ghosts.
The Ji family’s luggage was searched over and over again.
Every single item was taken out and carefully inspected.
The Ji family silently endured the humiliation and anger.
After what felt like forever, they finally arrived at the train station and boarded the train.
They thought they had finally escaped Pei Yu’an’s harassment.
But even after all the luggage had been stored away, he still insisted on searching everything again.
“Surnamed Ji, if I find even the slightest evidence against you, you’re finished.”
Ji Junxiao glared at him.
“Get lost.”
“Otherwise I’ll cripple you today.”
Pei Yu’an showed no sign of retreating.
Instead, he stepped closer and leaned toward Ji Junxiao’s ear with a sinister smile.
“Once you get to the countryside, I’ll have plenty of ways to get people to wipe out your entire family.”
“You’ll wish you were dead.”
Ji Junxiao felt his blood freeze.
He grabbed Pei Yu’an by the collar, his teeth grinding together.
“You dare?”
“If you so much as touch one hair on my family’s head…”
“I’ll kill you before I let you get away with it!”
Pei Yu’an merely sneered.
He brushed Ji Junxiao’s hands away, straightened his collar, and said,
“We’ll see who has the last laugh.”
With that, he turned and strode out of the carriage.
Before getting off the train, Pei Yu’an went to find Lin Ranran.
The moment he saw her, he said mockingly,
“The Ji family really does cherish you.”
“They all bought standing tickets.”
“Yet they actually bought you a hard sleeper berth.”
Suppressing her disgust, Lin Ranran replied,
“They’re only concerned about the baby in my belly.”
“Unlike you, Cousin.”
“You’re the one who truly cares about me.”
Seeing the lovestruck look on her face, Pei Yu’an impatiently waved his hand.
“Enough.”
“Once you reach the countryside, finish everything quickly and come back.”
“Our wedding is set for the eighteenth of next month.”
“Don’t ruin it.”
Why don’t you die next month instead?
What a wonderful date to choose.
She obediently nodded.
“I understand, Cousin.”
“I knew you were the only person in the world who truly treats me well.”
“Don’t worry.”
“You don’t need to send anyone to watch them anymore.”
“I’ll make life miserable for the Ji family the entire journey.”
“This train ride lasts three days and three nights.”
“They’ll probably collapse before they even arrive.”
“Good.”
“That’ll also give you enough time to recover.”
“When you come back…”
“You’d better serve me well.”
After saying that, he turned to leave.
After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
Turning around, he reached out and gently touched Lin Ranran’s delicate face.
In his eyes…
The only thing worth looking at about Lin Ranran was her beautiful face.
It was just a pity that Ji Junxiao had gotten her pregnant.
Didn’t this love-struck fool say she loved me?
Then why couldn’t she stay pure for me?
For the first time…
A trace of regret surfaced in his heart.
He regretted sending Lin Ranran to Ji Junxiao in the first place.
The thought of her sleeping with Ji Junxiao filled him with murderous rage.
Lin Ranran felt nothing but nausea.
Her stomach churned violently.
She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.
“Ranran.”
“You don’t blame me for sending you to Ji Junxiao, do you?”
Pei Yu’an looked at her with a complicated expression.
“Of course not.”
“Being able to help you makes me happy.”
“Damn it.”
“Every time I think about Ji getting you pregnant…”
“I want to kill him.”
His eyes flashed with murderous intent.
“Cousin, don’t be impulsive.”
“Now isn’t the time.”
“You’re right.”
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
“The train’s about to leave.”
“I’m going.”
“When you come back…”
“I’ll take you to have the baby aborted.”
Abort your mother’s head!
The moment Pei Yu’an left…
Lin Ranran immediately exchanged her original ticket for a soft sleeper berth.
Her new compartment was the last one in the soft sleeper section, right beside the dining car.
The location was surprisingly convenient.
Perhaps because soft sleeper tickets were expensive…
Very few people were willing to buy them.
The entire compartment ended up belonging to her alone.
Even after the train departed…
She remained the only passenger there.
She then purchased three additional tickets.
She planned to bring the Ji family over later.
It would be much livelier if everyone stayed together.
Meanwhile…
The Ji family had standing tickets in Car No. 7.
As more and more passengers crowded inside…
The carriage became unbearably hot.
People were packed shoulder to shoulder.
Even moving a single step became difficult.
The Ji brothers were strong enough to endure the crowd.
But Madam Ji and Ji Junyao suffered terribly.
Pressed tightly among the sea of people…
They felt as though they were about to be crushed flat.
Their position happened to be near the train door.
Every time the train stopped…
Another wave of passengers surged inside.
Several times, they were nearly pushed off the train altogether.
Their feet suffered just as much.
Amid the chaos, both women were stepped on repeatedly.
Their faces twisted in pain, yet there was nothing they could do.
Watching his mother and younger sister suffer like this…
Ji Junxiao’s heart ached.
Unable to bear it any longer, he turned to Father Ji.
“Dad.”
“Mom and Little Sister are being crushed.”
“Should I exchange their tickets for hard seats?”
Father Ji looked around at the packed carriage.
Since the train had already passed several stations…
He figured the Pei family was no longer monitoring them.
He nodded.
“Alright.”
“Get hard seats for your mother and sister.”
“And upgrade Ranran to a soft sleeper too.”
“It’s already been over an hour.”
“I wonder how she’s doing.”
“She shouldn’t have to suffer with us.”
Madam Ji hurriedly interrupted,
“We’re fine.”
“Go check on Ranran first.”
“She has the baby.”
Before she could finish speaking…
The crowd nearly pushed her out of the train again.
Fortunately, Ji Junxiao and his brothers reacted quickly and pulled her back.
Seeing the danger, Father Ji made a firm decision.
“Junxiao.”
“Take your mother and sister to find Ranran immediately.”
“It’s too dangerous here.”
Ji Junxiao tightly held Madam Ji’s hand with one hand and Ji Junyao’s with the other.
Taking a deep breath…
He plunged into the sea of people.
Gritting his teeth…
He forced his way through carriage after carriage.
Every step required tremendous effort.
After what felt like forever…
The three of them finally squeezed through the overcrowded cars.
At last…
They arrived at the hard sleeper carriage.
Following the berth number on the ticket…
They found Lin Ranran’s original bunk.
But the sight before them left all three frozen.
A huge burly man was lying on the bed that should have belonged to Lin Ranran.
Ji Junxiao recovered first.
Walking over politely, he asked,
“Comrade.”
“Did you just buy this ticket?”
The man sat up and scratched his head.
“Yeah.”
“I upgraded just now.”
“I’d been standing the whole time.”
“I was exhausted.”
“Someone refunded this berth, so I grabbed it immediately.”
Refunded?
The three of them were stunned.
Did Lin Ranran run away?
The moment that thought surfaced…
Their faces turned deathly pale.
Madam Ji hurriedly shook her head.
“No…”
“That can’t be.”
“We must have made a mistake.”
“Maybe she changed to another carriage?”
Ji Junyao’s voice trembled.
“That’s right.”
“Brother…”
“Sister-in-law gave me all that money to take Mom to the hospital.”
“She even gave me extra money to buy more medicine.”
“She treated us so well.”
“She wouldn’t abandon us…”
“Would she?”
Ji Junxiao forced himself to stay calm.
“That’s right.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Let’s ask first.”
Although he was comforting them…
His own heart was pounding with uncertainty.
After all…
Father Ji had entrusted the bankbook to Lin Ranran the previous night.
Perhaps…
Now that she possessed all the Ji family’s money…
She no longer had any reason to stay.
Just then…
A conductor happened to walk by checking tickets.
As if grasping the last straw of hope…
Ji Junxiao hurriedly stopped him.
“Excuse me.”
“The passenger from Berth No. 3 in Car No. 9…”
“Did she refund her ticket or exchange it?”
The conductor stopped and checked his ticket list.
After flipping through a few pages, he answered,
“She exchanged it.”
“She moved to Soft Sleeper Car No. 17.”
Hearing that…
The three of them finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At least she hadn’t run away.
The conductor continued,
“Oh, you’re her family, aren’t you?”
“She was looking for you earlier.”
“But there were too many people.”
“She couldn’t squeeze through.”
“She asked us to tell you to come find her in Car No. 17.”
Ji Junxiao quickly bowed his head.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you very much.”
Now that they knew where she was…
The three of them excitedly made their way toward Car No. 17.
When they finally saw Lin Ranran inside…
Madam Ji burst into tears.
“Ranran!”
“Sister-in-law!”
“Mom!”
“Little Sister!”
“Honey!”
“You finally made it!”
Lin Ranran hurried over and carefully helped Madam Ji sit down on one of the berths.
Ji Junyao followed behind.
Her legs felt as though they were about to break.
Unable to hold on any longer…
She collapsed onto the bunk beside her.
Ji Junxiao remained standing nearby.
“Ranran.”
“You weren’t mistreated, were you?”
Madam Ji held Lin Ranran’s hand and carefully examined her from head to toe.
Lin Ranran smiled awkwardly.
“I’m fine, Mom.”
“The hard sleeper wasn’t very comfortable.”
“So I upgraded to the soft sleeper.”
Madam Ji sighed.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“You even had to arrange the transfer yourself.”
“I wasn’t the one who suffered.”
“You all did.”
“I wanted to come find you as soon as I changed compartments.”
“But there were too many people.”
“No matter how hard I tried…”
“I couldn’t get through.”
Ji Junxiao spoke from the side.
“You’re pregnant.”
“You shouldn’t run around.”
“Cars One through Seven are packed.”
“At every station we nearly got pushed off.”
“It was extremely dangerous.”
Ji Junyao nodded repeatedly.
“That’s right, Sister-in-law.”
“You have the baby to think about.”
“You mustn’t risk yourself because of us.”
Lin Ranran nodded.
“You’ve all worked so hard.”
“You must have suffered a lot.”
“We’re alright.”
“As long as you’re safe.”
Ji Junxiao turned to his mother and sister.
“Stay here with Ranran for now.”
“I’ll go exchange your tickets for hard sleeper berths.”
“That way you’ll be more comfortable.”
Lin Ranran quickly stopped him.
“Honey.”
“There’s no need.”
Madam Ji and Ji Junyao’s expressions stiffened.
A trace of disappointment appeared in their eyes.
Madam Ji quickly forced a smile.
“As long as Ranran is safe, I’m relieved.”
“Yaoyao and I are fine.”
“We’ll go back to our original carriage.”
“We’ll just come check on Ranran from time to time.”
Seeing that they had misunderstood her…
Lin Ranran hurriedly explained,
“I already bought the tickets for Cars Sixteen and Seventeen.”
“Honey.”
“Go bring Dad and the others over.”
“They can refund the difference on their standing tickets.”
“This journey lasts three days and three nights.”
“It’ll be much easier if the whole family stays together.”
The three of them were stunned.
They had never imagined Lin Ranran would think of everything so carefully.
Madam Ji and Ji Junyao immediately felt ashamed for misunderstanding her.
Ji Junxiao looked at her gratefully.
“Ranran.”
“You really thought of everything.”
“Thank you.”
She smiled.
“Hurry and bring Dad over.”
He nodded and quickly left the compartment.
“Mom.”
“Little Sister.”
“Were you hurt?”
“Take off your shoes.”
“Let me check.”
Madam Ji waved her hand.
“I’m fine.”
“No need.”
Ji Junyao sighed.
“Mom’s feet were probably stepped on until they bled.”
After Lin Ranran insisted…
Madam Ji finally removed her shoes.
Her feet were swollen, red, and covered with bruises.
Several places had been stepped on so badly that they were bleeding.
The sight made Lin Ranran’s heart ache.
She immediately asked Ji Junyao to fetch hot water from the next carriage.
She intended to clean the wounds.
Madam Ji felt embarrassed.
“Ranran.”
“I can do it myself.”
“How could I let you take care of me?”
Lin Ranran smiled gently.
“Mom.”
“I learned first aid before.”
“My hands are gentle.”
“It won’t hurt.”
“Just trust me.”
Soon…
Ji Junyao returned with the hot water.
Lin Ranran carefully cleaned every wound.
She then took out disinfectant, ointment, and bandages.
Skillfully, she disinfected, applied medicine, and wrapped each injury.
Fortunately…
She had prepared plenty of common medicines beforehand and stored them inside her space.
Now they finally proved useful.
Watching Lin Ranran’s practiced movements…
Ji Junyao couldn’t help looking at her with newfound admiration.
She had always believed Lin Ranran was nothing more than a lazy woman who loved comfort.
Even though she had some education…
She had only worked as an office clerk.
After getting married, she quit her job entirely and refused to do anything.
In Ji Junyao’s eyes…
She had been laziness personified.