Lu Yunshan—after everything she had experienced in her previous life, Shen Qingqing understood him far too well. She wondered whether, in the future, when Shen Jiaojiao realized that everything was not as beautiful as she had imagined, she would regret everything she had done.
The train started moving again. The soldier kept the tied-up thief with him, intending to hand him over to the police at the next stop.
Shen Jiaojiao covered her injured cheek and cried so hard she could barely catch her breath. She had genuinely been terrified. Although she had initially planned to push Shen Qingqing out as the victim, when the victim ended up being her instead, she had been scared enough for her legs to go weak.
Especially her face. It had bled so much, and the wound burned painfully. There was no mirror around for her to see how bad it was, which made her even more anxious. She didn’t want to be disfigured.
She grabbed a passing train attendant and pleaded, “My face, my face is injured! Please, could you help me find some medicine and bandage it?”
The train attendant had witnessed everything that had just happened, so naturally she had no good feelings toward this vicious younger sister. If she hadn’t been worried that ignoring the wound might cause trouble, she wouldn’t have wanted to bother with her at all.
She snorted and shook off Shen Jiaojiao’s hand. “Come with me. I’ll go ask around.”
With that, she turned and left. Shen Jiaojiao immediately followed, afraid that even a second’s delay would make the wound worse.
The attendant searched along the train until she reached the rest area near the dining car. She went inside and rummaged around. Things weren’t nearly as convenient in this era as they would be in later generations, so the attendant was simply trying her luck, figuring that some of the railway employees might have medicine on hand.
But Shen Jiaojiao didn’t know that. Covering her face, she watched the attendant’s unhurried movements, and irritation suddenly welled up inside her.
“Can you hurry up? Look at how badly my face is hurt!”
The attendant became annoyed. This woman’s attitude was simply outrageous. She actually dared to speak to her like that!
She almost didn’t want to help anymore, but when she saw the blood seeping from between Shen Jiaojiao’s fingers, she suppressed her anger and sped up her movements.
Yet Shen Jiaojiao was still dissatisfied, constantly urging her to move faster.
The attendant’s face flushed with anger, but she continued searching. When Shen Jiaojiao saw that she wasn’t responding, she became even more arrogant.
Shen Jiaojiao glared at her resentfully. “Are you jealous because I’m prettier than you? Are you deliberately delaying so I end up disfigured, you ugly woman?”
“You manly-looking woman, you’re so huge. I wonder who’s ever going to want you. I’m going to be a regimental commander’s wife. Can you afford to delay treatment for my face…?”
The attendant had just found the medicine box when she heard Shen Jiaojiao call her an ugly woman.
How could she possibly tolerate that?
It was true that she wasn’t as pretty as Shen Jiaojiao. And because she had a hearty appetite, she was much taller and sturdier than most girls her age. People had always whispered about her behind her back. But ever since she had become a railway police officer, no one had dared insult her to her face.
No matter how masculine she looked, she was still a young woman at heart. How could she tolerate being insulted like this when she had only been trying to help the spoiled brat treat her wound?
Even a clay figurine had a temper, let alone a living person.
The attendant threw the medicine box heavily at Shen Jiaojiao.
“Shut up! I’m not some servant from the old society. What gives you the right to insult me like this? Put the medicine on yourself. I can’t be bothered with you!”
With that, she turned around and walked away without looking back.
Shen Jiaojiao was stunned. By the time she came to her senses, the woman was already far away.
Furious, she hugged the medicine box and shouted after her, “You ugly woman! Just wait until I get off the train. I’m going to report you!”
The attendant didn’t even turn her head. Hearing this, she could only sneer inwardly.
Who in this era could get a job with the railway without some kind of connections? Shen Jiaojiao might have people backing her, but she clearly didn’t understand that a secure railway job wasn’t something just anyone could get.
Want to report her?
Maybe in her next life!
Shen Jiaojiao stomped her feet furiously. But she couldn’t find a mirror anywhere, and she was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to properly see the wound and apply the medicine correctly.
So she had no choice but to find Shen Qingqing and order her to treat the wound.
Shen Qingqing carried the medicine box over and found some medication to stop the bleeding. Shen Jiaojiao sat on the bunk, bossing Shen Qingqing around as she ordered her to apply the medicine.
Shen Qingqing dipped a cotton ball into the hemostatic medicine and pressed it against the wound on Shen Jiaojiao’s face.
“Ah!”
Shen Jiaojiao screamed in pain and slapped Shen Qingqing’s hand away.
“Are you trying to kill me? Why did you press so hard? Did you do it on purpose?!”
Tears of pain rolled down Shen Jiaojiao’s face. This time, she wasn’t pretending. It really hurt!
Shen Qingqing hurriedly lowered her hand apologetically, looking completely helpless.
“I’m sorry, Jiaojiao. I didn’t mean to. It hurts, doesn’t it? But you have to bear with it. We need to treat the wound quickly. What if it leaves a scar?”
Hearing that, Shen Jiaojiao didn’t dare make a scene anymore. She could only endure the pain and let Shen Qingqing apply the medicine.
The corner of Shen Qingqing’s lips curled up imperceptibly. Then, as though she had done it accidentally, she pressed down on the wound again.
Shen Jiaojiao grimaced in pain, but she didn’t want to be left with a scar, so she could only endure it.
Although she said nothing, that didn’t mean she had truly let it go. Her eyes glared viciously at Shen Qingqing, as though she wanted to gouge a piece of flesh from Shen Qingqing’s face and make her look just like herself!
Shen Qingqing noticed the hatred in her eyes, but she didn’t care. She simply pretended not to notice.
After a while, the medicine had finally been applied.
Shen Jiaojiao immediately slapped Shen Qingqing’s hand away, gathered her things, and the two of them headed back toward their sleeper compartment. After all that running around, both of them were exhausted.
Shen Jiaojiao walked behind Shen Qingqing, staring at her back.
Thinking about everything that had happened since her rebirth, she couldn’t understand it.
Everything had clearly been proceeding according to her plans before. So why had she suddenly become so unlucky ever since boarding the train?
It was as if she had walked straight into a nest of bad luck.
Especially this Shen Qingqing!
Every time she tried to harm her, she was the one who ended up getting hurt.
But why was Shen Qingqing always able to come out of it completely unscathed?
Shen Jiaojiao thought about it unwillingly.
How could she get some of Shen Qingqing’s dowry first to make herself look better?
She didn’t have much money. Although Shen Qingqing’s dowry didn’t look like much on the surface, she still had money in her possession.
If Shen Qingqing could give her half of it, at least her situation wouldn’t look quite so shabby.
Or perhaps…
She could take all of it?