She forced herself to remain calm and tried to negotiate with the thief behind her.
“Big brother, I’ll cooperate with you. I’m just a girl, and I don’t have much strength. Don’t worry. As long as you don’t hurt me, I’ll do whatever you want!”
As she spoke, she secretly observed the thief’s reaction.
The thief couldn’t even be bothered to look at her. He merely replied coldly,
“That’s for the best.”
Although he said that, Shen Jiaojiao could clearly feel that the thief’s nerves were not as tense as before.
She swallowed and looked at Shen Qingqing, who was still completely unharmed. An idea immediately formed in her mind.
“Big brother, why don’t you look at my sister? She’s not in good health and is even weaker than me. If you’re trying to escape, wouldn’t it be much easier to take her with you than me? Why don’t you tie her up instead?”
The moment Shen Jiaojiao finished speaking, the frightened and chaotic crowd around them fell silent for a moment, staring at her blankly.
“Wait, did I hear that right? How could this girl be so vicious? She actually wants her own sister to take her place!”
Many more people looked at Shen Jiaojiao, who was being held hostage by the thief, with suspicion, wariness, and contempt.
At first, some people had felt sorry for this fair and pretty young woman being threatened by a thief. No one expected that beneath her beautiful appearance was such a vicious heart.
Now, no one felt sorry for Shen Jiaojiao anymore. Some nosy older men and women had even started scolding her.
“Who would’ve thought? Such a young girl, yet she’s so vicious.”
“Exactly. Though I could tell this girl wasn’t a good person earlier. You didn’t see it just now. After hearing that her luggage was stolen, she went around the entire train looking for the thief, acting like she was better than everyone else.”
“Truly, you can’t judge a person by their appearance. What a poor sister. I saw her running around trying to find someone to save her sister just now. Who would’ve thought she’s actually an ungrateful wretch?”
“She’s absolutely shameless!”
…
The carriage was packed with people. Everyone chimed in, and the more they talked, the more worked up they became. They practically wanted to go over and slap Shen Jiaojiao themselves.
“Exactly. Whoever marries a girl like this would have to be cursed for eight lifetimes.”
“Who would dare marry someone so malicious? I certainly wouldn’t. Marrying a woman like that would be like bringing a troublemaker into the family. When choosing a wife, you should choose someone virtuous. I’d be afraid she’d ruin the family’s future generations!”
Shen Jiaojiao was somewhat flustered, but what she felt even more strongly was anger.
She was furious that all these people were taking Shen Qingqing’s side and speaking up for that wretched girl.
But it was clearly Shen Qingqing who had plotted against her first!
If that wretched girl hadn’t deliberately provoked the thief, her face wouldn’t have been injured!
Shen Jiaojiao didn’t dare argue with the bystanders. She could only glare viciously at Shen Qingqing.
If looks could kill, Shen Qingqing would probably have been torn apart and butchered a hundred times over by Shen Jiaojiao already.
The people around them continued criticizing Shen Jiaojiao, and many of them even expressed sympathy for Shen Qingqing.
When Shen Qingqing heard this, she first froze.
Then the worry on her face was replaced by disbelief.
She looked at Shen Jiaojiao with deep hurt, as though her sister’s words had completely broken her heart. Her eyes slowly reddened, tears welling up in them.
Yet she still pretended to be strong and nodded.
Then she raised her head and met Shen Jiaojiao’s gaze, looking utterly resolute.
“I… I’m willing to take my sister’s place. As long as… as long as you don’t hurt her.”
“I’ll do anything…”
As she spoke, she smiled through her tears.
“It’s okay, Jiaojiao. Don’t be afraid. Your sister is here…”
Those words moved even the surrounding onlookers beyond words.
Shen Qingqing’s speech was touching, but her feet didn’t move even an inch, as though they had been nailed to the floor.
The onlookers didn’t see it that way, though.
Immediately, a righteous-looking man stepped forward and blocked the space between her and Shen Jiaojiao.
“Little sister, don’t do anything foolish! Your sister is an ungrateful wretch. Don’t be stupid enough to let someone count money in your hand while you’re being sold! Your sister isn’t worth this!”
“Exactly! Girl, don’t do anything foolish!”
“That’s right! You two have the same father, so how come the older sister is so sensible while the younger one has such a rotten heart?”
The people around them continued chiming in, all trying to persuade Shen Qingqing. They were afraid that if they looked away for even a moment, she might do something foolish.
Shen Jiaojiao was practically exploding with rage.
Her chest heaved up and down, and large tears of grievance poured from her eyes. The wound on her face made her expression look even more horrifying.
But at this moment, no one felt sorry for her.
Everyone thought she had brought this upon herself.
The crowd continued arguing noisily around them.
The thief had to keep an eye on the police officers while also being distracted by the disorderly crowd in front of him, making it difficult for him to concentrate.
At that moment, the young soldier had somehow quietly circled around to the thief’s blind spot.
In the blink of an eye, the soldier suddenly charged forward.
He grabbed the thief’s wrist and twisted it.
The dagger instantly fell to the ground with a crisp clang.
Then the soldier drove a powerful elbow strike into him before following up with a shoulder throw, slamming the thief onto the floor.
Everything happened in an instant.
The thief didn’t even have time to react.
The moment the thief’s grip loosened, Shen Jiaojiao immediately dashed out of the danger zone at lightning speed.
The police officers nearby rushed over as well, surrounding the thief and pinning him firmly to the ground.
The danger was over.
Yet no one cared about Shen Jiaojiao.
Instead, everyone cheered for the soldier.
The soldier climbed to his feet and shot a disdainful glance at the sobbing Shen Jiaojiao nearby.
This girl…
She was pretty enough, yet her heart was so vicious that she could even bring herself to sacrifice her own biological sister!
Protecting the people was a soldier’s duty, but this woman was truly rotten to the core!
At the same time, the others didn’t remain idle. They found some rope and tied the thief up securely, afraid he might somehow break free.
The situation had been too chaotic earlier, so Shen Qingqing hadn’t gotten a good look at the young soldier.
Now that the thief had been captured through everyone’s combined efforts, Shen Qingqing thought that since this man had risked his own safety to save someone, she should thank him regardless of the circumstances.
She walked over to him and looked up.
His face came into full view.
Shen Qingqing froze slightly.
It was him?
“What is it, Comrade? Do you need any help?”
The soldier noticed that Shen Qingqing had been staring at him for quite a while without saying anything, so he took the initiative to ask.
After all, he had a rather good impression of this comrade who had been willing to step forward and take her sister’s place. Naturally, he paid a little more attention to her.
Realizing that she had been staring, Shen Qingqing awkwardly rubbed her nose.
She suppressed the shock in her heart and pretended as though nothing had happened.
“You were the one who saved my sister just now. I wanted to thank you on her behalf!”
As she spoke, Shen Qingqing bowed.
The soldier hurriedly supported her.
“Please don’t do that. Protecting the people is our duty as soldiers. You’re too polite, Comrade.”
Although Shen Qingqing had encountered that scumbag Lu Yunshan and been deceived into a sham marriage in her previous life, she still had a very good impression of other soldiers.
People in this era respected and admired soldiers, and she was no exception.
Even though she had merely been putting on an act for Shen Jiaojiao earlier, she was still genuinely moved by the soldier’s willingness to sacrifice himself for others.
So her gratitude this time came straight from the heart.
As for why she had been so startled just now…
It was because she had discovered that this soldier was actually one of Lu Yunshan’s subordinates!
Now this was going to be interesting.
In her previous life, he had been one of Lu Yunshan’s most trusted subordinates, so Shen Qingqing was quite familiar with him.
Shen Jiaojiao, however, was different.
She had practically no dealings with the people around Lu Yunshan, so there was no way she could know this man.
And this man had witnessed everything Shen Jiaojiao had said just now from beginning to end.
Shen Qingqing couldn’t help wondering what would happen when the two of them met after they arrived at their destination.
If Lu Yunshan found out that his wife was such a selfish person—someone who could even suggest that her own biological sister take her place as a hostage—what would he think?