Su Yueheng drifted off into a hazy sleep. Half-asleep, she felt someone cover her with a blanket.
There was no one else in the sleeper berth, and she slept soundly.
When she woke again, it was already night.
The train had stopped at a station. On the platform, some people were seeing others off, some were getting off—crowds surged everywhere.
Su Yueheng draped the blanket over herself and leaned by the window, watching outside for a while before realizing there was an extra blanket on her.
So that feeling hadn’t been wrong.
But who had been so kind?
As she thought about it, she frowned, feeling that she had been too careless…
Shen Mianmian walked in, looking at Su Yueheng with obvious malice and rolling her eyes rudely.
Su Yueheng found it baffling and muttered, “Crazy woman.”
She decided to get off the train to stretch her legs and see if she could buy something to eat.
She didn’t notice that a tall man had been following behind her, exchanging glances with an accomplice who had entered the sleeper carriage.
The train would stop here for about an hour. People could go to the station canteen to buy food with grain coupons or pick up local pastries and specialties from the small shop.
As soon as Su Yueheng stepped off the carriage, she smelled a strange fragrance. Then she saw Shen Mianmian being half-supported by someone as she walked down.
Suddenly, her shoulder was lightly patted.
Having drunk spiritual spring water, Su Yueheng’s constitution was stronger than that of ordinary people. Even after being targeted by a trafficker, she only felt a brief dizziness.
She quickly shook her head and turned—meeting a pair of lecherous, startled eyes.
Without thinking, she clenched her fist and punched straight into his eye. Instantly, the man had two black eyes.
Not giving him any chance to fight back, she lifted her leg and kicked hard at his groin. “Pervert!”
She shouted loudly, then pointed at the man carrying Shen Mianmian and yelled, “Help! That man is a trafficker! The woman he’s carrying is from my carriage!”
In those days, people had zero tolerance for perverts and traffickers.
If caught, they could be executed on the spot without trial.
The moment she shouted, the man who had abducted Shen Mianmian was surrounded by bystanders.
After shouting, Su Yueheng pulled out the silver hairpin holding up her hair and stabbed it viciously into the lecher’s ankle. Hearing his agonized screams, she didn’t even flinch.
She turned and ran with all her strength toward the man who had taken Shen Mianmian.
Lu Xingzhou and the others rushed out as well. The first thing he saw was Su Yueheng pulling out her hairpin—her long hair falling in the wind. Her usually expressionless face now looked like a blooming rose. After striking swiftly and ruthlessly, she moved on as if nothing had happened.
Lu Xingzhou’s gaze deepened. The last time he saw Su Yueheng years ago, she had been a spoiled young lady indulged by her grandfather.
How had she become like this?
He heard a comrade beside him mutter, “Wow, such a fairy-like woman, yet so fierce. Wonder who’ll marry her in the future.”
“Isn’t she just like a tigress from our village? I like that.”
As soon as those words fell, Lu Xingzhou shot them an icy glare, his deep eyes cold. “Cut the nonsense. Go check on Shen Mianmian.”
They had been ordered to let Shen Mianmian accompany him, posing as a married couple for cover. Who would’ve thought she’d almost get herself kidnapped?
As a soldier, she didn’t even have basic vigilance—she wasn’t even as alert as his fiancée.
Su Yueheng squeezed into the crowd. Seeing the trafficker holding Shen Mianmian hostage, she frowned, thinking of a plan. Suddenly, the man cried out in pain and loosened his grip. A shadow flashed before her eyes.
Shen Mianmian collapsed softly onto the ground.
The trafficker was subdued by two men from either side, their movements clean and efficient.
Su Yueheng let out a sigh of relief. As she turned, she saw Shen Mianmian’s “husband” arriving unhurriedly with a police officer.
The officer was also holding the lecher whose tendon she had severed.
Su Yueheng raised her brows, curiously glancing at Lu Xingzhou. His expression remained indifferent, showing no concern for the woman’s condition.
It was as if they weren’t close at all.
The thought passed quickly.
She didn’t dwell on it and turned to the shop to buy some pastries and local specialties from the station.
Ten minutes before departure, Su Yueheng returned to the carriage and found that the belongings on the opposite bunk were gone.
Just then, a train attendant walked in.
The attendant first handed her a warm boxed meal and said gratefully, “Hello, comrade. I’m a member of the train crew. Since you protected other passengers, I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
Su Yueheng nodded politely. “Of course. I’ll answer everything I know.”
The attendant asked, “How did you notice something was wrong…?”
Su Yueheng answered softly, her hands unconsciously clasped together as she carefully responded to every question.
The attendant said gratefully, “Thank you for your cooperation. Could you tell us your home address? The railway bureau will send a letter of appreciation—it may help with your future work.”
Seeing Su Yueheng’s refined manner and appearance, the attendant had a good impression of her and wanted to help further.
With a commendation letter from the railway bureau, whether she had a job or not, it would benefit her future.
Su Yueheng hadn’t expected such a bonus. Her eyes lit up slightly. “Comrade, I’m going to Jiangcheng to get married. My fiancé is Lu Xingzhou, a regiment commander in the Jiang Island fleet. As for the address… I actually don’t know.”
The attendant paused for a moment, impressed. “I didn’t expect you to be a military wife. Don’t worry—we at the railway bureau will handle it.”
Su Yueheng nodded and asked casually, “Comrade, the woman from the bunk next to mine—the victim—her belongings…”
“Oh, her husband took them.”
With that, the attendant turned and left.
In the following days, nothing unexpected happened.
…
When Su Yueheng arrived at Jiang Island by ferry with the crowd, she looked at the gray, dust-covered mountains surrounding the area. Her already pale face grew even more uncomfortable.
Still, it was much better than in her previous life.
Squatting by an open space like a little hamster, she counted the days on her fingers. “By now… that group of scumbags, Su Chengguang and the others, should have reached their destination, right?”
What a pity—it was too far from Caoping Village. She wouldn’t get to witness the chaos they’d inevitably fall into.