After restraining his sister, Tian Gang suppressed the anger surging in his chest and turned to Lin Jingwan.
“Comrade, one should show mercy when possible. This is nothing more than a minor verbal dispute. There’s no need to keep dragging it out.”
Lin Jingwan let out a scornful laugh. “Minor dispute? Haven’t you heard an old Chinese saying? The one who starts trouble is the one in the wrong!
“Originally, I couldn’t be bothered to argue with you. But you two kept pushing and pushing.
“Still, I’m a generous person. I’ve said everything I needed to say, so I’ll be the bigger person and let bygones be bygones. I’m not going to stoop to your level. Hmph!”
Now that she had gotten the answer she wanted, there was no reason to keep pestering them.
“Luoluo, Hanhan, let’s go. Big Sister will take you two out to eat.”
With that, she took the children’s hands and walked away.
As soon as they were gone, Tian Jia immediately grabbed Tian Gang’s arm.
“Brother! Why did you stop me?”
“Shut up!” Tian Gang snapped coldly.
Tian Jia sat back down on her berth, feeling utterly aggrieved.
She couldn’t win an argument because she was terrible with words, and now her brother wouldn’t even let her fight. She was practically going to explode with anger!
She angrily opened the lunchbox Tian Gang had brought back, only to immediately deflate.
“Brother, why are there only two dishes?”
Tian Gang shot her a cold look. “Eat it or don’t.”
Tian Jia immediately fell silent, not daring to complain anymore.
Meanwhile, Hanhan tugged on Lin Jingwan’s hand.
“Sis, I couldn’t understand what you were saying just now either.”
“Did that make you angry?” Lin Jingwan asked in return.
“No!”
“Exactly. An ordinary person wouldn’t understand what I was saying, but they would simply be confused or curious. What about those two?”
“They seemed anxious and a little flustered. Oh, right! Sis, when those two moved just now, they seemed like they’d had some training!”
“That’s right!” Lin Jingwan tapped the tip of his nose. “Our Hanhan is so clever!”
“So, Sis, are they human traffickers?” Luoluo asked curiously.
“Shh!” Lin Jingwan put a finger to her lips. “Then do you two want to save that little girl?”
Both children immediately nodded.
“Good. Let’s eat first.”
A short while later, Lin Jingwan returned with the children. She glanced sideways at Li Zhaoye, took his hand, and slipped a small note into his palm.
“The food is getting cold. Go eat in the dining car.”
Li Zhaoye calmly replied, “Okay. I’ll be back soon.”
“Mm!”
After Li Zhaoye left, Lin Jingwan climbed onto her berth and closed her eyes to rest.
Not long afterward, Li Zhaoye returned. She immediately rolled over and moved to the lower berth. Before he could even sit down, she leaned close to him, gently took his hand, and gave it a little shake.
“Husband, why did you take so long?”
Her coquettish voice and warm breath brushed against his ear. Li Zhaoye stiffened at the sudden intimacy.
This act was getting a little too convincing!
“Ahem. I took a little longer eating.”
“Oh, so that’s what happened.”
The moment she finished speaking, she leaned over and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.
“Come back earlier next time.”
Even the usually composed Li Zhaoye couldn’t help turning red after being kissed in front of everyone.
Lin Jingwan secretly felt rather pleased.
Teasing her own man every now and then was actually pretty fun.
But she hadn’t forgotten what she needed to do, so she returned to her own berth.
Across from them, Tian Jia watched their affectionate interaction and curled her lips, muttering sarcastically, “Shameless. Doing that in broad daylight.”
By now, Lin Jingwan couldn’t be bothered arguing with her anymore.
She simply turned away and looked at the note in her hand, understanding everything.
Then she called out loudly, “Hanhan, Luoluo, are you thirsty?”
She picked up the water bottle and climbed to the upper berth.
Sure enough, the little girl beneath the blanket heard the commotion and quietly poked her little head out. Her throat kept bobbing as she stared longingly at the water bottle.
Seeing the girl’s dry, cracked lips, Lin Jingwan felt a surge of anger.
The Tian siblings hadn’t even given the child a single sip of water.
She pretended to remind the children, “Hanhan, drink your water slowly.”
Then she handed the water bottle toward the little girl.
The little girl held the bottle and took tiny sips. While no one was paying attention, she quickly slipped the note back into Lin Jingwan’s palm before retreating beneath the blanket.
Lin Jingwan closed her fingers around the note and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
This had been the task she’d given Luoluo during dinner. The purpose was to pass the note to the little girl and have her write down the key information.
Apparently, the little girl could read and write and was willing to cooperate.
That made everything much easier from here on.
Just then, Tian Gang climbed up using the small step stool.
He reached out and gave the bedding a light pat.
“Tangtang, are you thirsty? Come down and have some water.”
The little girl timidly poked her head out and hurriedly shook it.
Tian Gang turned around and looked at Lin Jingwan with displeasure.
“Comrade Lin, there’s no need to keep climbing onto the upper berth. These bunks can only bear so much weight. Don’t keep messing around up there.”
Lin Jingwan couldn’t be bothered with him anymore. She simply rolled her eyes and climbed back down.
When she returned to her berth and looked at the note in her hand, she realized that the Tian siblings really were scum.
It read:
Jin Haitang, six years old. Father: Jin Xiangdong. Home address: Chang’an Street, Beijing.
Lin Jingwan studied the address repeatedly.
Chang’an Street…
Most of the people living there were certainly not ordinary citizens.
Besides, Li Zhaoye had already contacted the train police. They should be arriving soon.
Sure enough, not long afterward, two uniformed train police officers arrived. Claiming that there had been a theft on the train, they began checking tickets and identification documents berth by berth.
Li Zhaoye was the first to take out his identification and cooperate with the inspection.
Lin Jingwan tugged on his hand and slipped the note to him. Then she casually said, “Hanhan, Luoluo, do you two need to use the restroom?”
The children were quick to understand. They immediately responded.
“Sis, I’m going!”
“Oh, my little Tang needs to go too!” Seeing this, Tian Gang hurriedly told Tian Jia to take the girl to the restroom.
But the train police officer raised a hand and stopped him.
“Comrade, you can’t leave yet. The inspection and registration aren’t finished.”
“Then why can they leave?” Tian Jia complained unhappily.
“They’ve already been checked. You need to wait another five minutes.”
“Exactly! We’ve already been checked.” Lin Jingwan added sarcastically, “What, are you in such a hurry that even going to the bathroom is contagious?”
With that, she took the children and left.
Tian Jia glared furiously at their departing figures.
Lin Jingwan led the siblings into the restroom and repeatedly reminded them, “Lock the door from the inside.
“Don’t open it for anyone, no matter what they say, unless it’s me or your brother-in-law knocking.”
She was worried that the arrest might turn violent and that Luoluo and Hanhan could accidentally get hurt.
“Got it, Sister!” Hanhan nodded solemnly.
“Sister!” Little Luoluo tugged at her sleeve. “That little girl seems like she can’t talk yet.”
No wonder the child had never made a sound.
Lin Jingwan gently rubbed Luoluo’s head. “Okay, I know. You two stay here and don’t worry.”
After settling the children, she returned to the carriage and watched the commotion from a short distance away.
Tian Gang had already taken out the entire set of documents: a letter of introduction, travel permits, and everything else was in order.
“Comrades, we’ve been sitting at our berths ever since we boarded the train. Aside from going to buy food, neither of us has left. The theft on this train truly has nothing to do with us.”
The train police carefully checked all the documents. Everything was in order, and there appeared to be no obvious problems. They frowned.
“There are no irregularities with your documents. However, the stolen items are important classified materials. According to regulations, we have to search all the luggage and berths. Please cooperate.”
With that, one of the officers stepped onto the ladder and prepared to search the upper berth.
Tian Gang’s expression immediately changed.
“Officer, there’s really no need!
“There’s only my little niece sleeping on the upper berth. There are no valuables or anything else there. There’s no need to waste everyone’s time.”
“This is a routine inspection. Please cooperate.”
Tian Gang’s expression hardened.
“You’re insisting on rummaging through everything? Isn’t that making a mountain out of a molehill?
“This kind of enforcement is going to delay all the passengers on the train. More importantly, you’re showing a complete lack of trust in ordinary citizens!”
The more he tried to stop them, the more suspicious he became.
Just as Lin Jingwan was pondering the situation, the sound of a violent struggle suddenly came from inside.
Bang! Clatter! Crash!
Clearly, the Tian siblings had panicked and resorted to violence.
But no matter how skilled they were, they couldn’t possibly overpower two train police officers and Li Zhaoye.
In the middle of the chaotic fight, a sudden BANG! exploded through the carriage.
Holy shit!
That was a gunshot!
The Tian siblings really weren’t ordinary human traffickers!
The moment the gunshot rang out, the entire train erupted into chaos. Screams, frantic footsteps, and shoving broke out everywhere as the situation spiraled completely out of control.
Amid the confusion, Lin Jingwan suddenly caught sight of a dark figure darting out of the corner of her eye.
There was actually an accomplice hiding in the neighboring carriage!
He was a tall, thin man.
His expression was vicious, and he clutched a dagger tightly in his hand. Taking advantage of the chaos, he charged straight toward a train police officer’s back and thrust the blade at him!
The officer reacted extremely quickly, twisting sideways and narrowly avoiding the vital spot. But the man’s wrist immediately turned, and a second strike followed.
Just as the officer dodged again, the blade was about to strike the middle-aged woman who had been watching the commotion.
At the critical moment, the man beside her kicked the knife away.