The crowd jeered. “Look at her pose! We thought she was so tough, turns out she really is just a paper tiger! Go find somewhere else to cool off, stop making a fool of yourself here!”
Su Zhenzhen was fuming. Since she couldn’t use her hands, she used her mouth. “Who says I dare not say who my grandfather is? Say it and don’t you run! My grandfather is…”
“Zhenzhen, don’t say it!” Both followers rushed forward in alarm and covered her mouth.
Zhu Kaimo didn’t really understand why, but he saw Yao Qingsong cover her mouth and the Miss didn’t get angry in fact, she stopped talking.
So he decided to copy the move to win her favor.
“Get your stinking hands off me!”
Su Zhenzhen slapped Yao Qingsong’s hand away, then kicked Zhu Kaimo hard in the stomach. “How dare you take advantage of me!”
“I didn’t!” Zhu Kaimo clutched his stomach in pain.
But his voice was drowned out by her screaming and kicking. “Take that! And that!”
Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow.
What a skilled way to change the subject.
Sure enough, the crowd stopped asking about her grandfather and just watched the show, laughing. “Look! The capitalist lady is beating her servants!”
Jiang Yan had no interest in this farce. She turned and walked back toward her carriage, her eyes searching instinctively.
The man who saved her… the more she thought about it, the more certain she felt it was Huo Ying.
Of course, she couldn’t see him now.
On the other side of the train, Zheng Bin looked miserable. “Captain, you can’t be unreasonable! Ask anyone sitting next to Jiang Yan did I or did I not help her when people targeted her?”
“But she wouldn’t even acknowledge it! When we got off, she told me not to follow her, like I was some kind of pervert! So I had to keep my distance. When someone threw that bottle, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to save her I was just too far away!”
He was genuinely scared and worried, but also trying hard not to laugh.
Usually, when the Captain went undercover, he’d dress as a peddler, worker, or farmer. Anything but a scholar.
But this time? He was wearing huge black-rimmed glasses, a wig with parted hair, and most ridiculous of all he had actually powdered his face to look pale!
God, if only he had a camera to take a picture. Even if he was sad later, looking at this photo would make him laugh until his teeth fell out.
Huo Ying narrowed his eyes. He knew exactly what Zheng Bin was thinking. He snorted through his nose.
“I heard from Director Zhao that a contractor named Huang at Jiangcheng Port reported you. He says you bullied people, disturbed public order, and broke his arm for no reason.”
“Me? Disturb order?” Zheng Bin exploded. “He was cheating me out of my wages! Those containers need two men to lift, right? I carried them alone! But he only paid me half the wage!”
“Of course I argued with him! So he sent all the other workers to beat me up! Said whoever hit me hardest got the most work!”
“Think about it, Captain! There were a dozen of them! Even with your training, you can’t fight a crowd alone! So I used what you taught me catch the leader first! I took down Huang and got my money back!”
“Is that so?” Huo Ying crossed his arms. “But everyone at the dock says you started the fight.”
“They’re all in the same gang! Of course they lie!”
“So let me get this straight,” Huo Ying sneered. “You worked your ass off moving containers for half a year, and not a single colleague is willing to speak up for you?”
“Isn’t that exactly like when you were smuggling cigarettes? Not a single teammate would stand up for you either?”
He waved his hand dismissively and turned to leave. “Go away! Do whatever you want. Nobody needs your gratitude, and you don’t need to trouble yourself being ‘far away water’ for anyone.”
“Captain, no!”
Zheng Bin threw himself forward and hugged Huo Ying’s arm, voice trembling. “I was wrong! Give me another chance! I won’t be far away water anymore! No matter what she says to me, I’ll stick to her like glue! Nobody will ever be able to sneak attack her with a bottle again!”
The only person who ever stood up for him about the cigarette smuggling was his dear Captain.
If even the Captain abandons him, he’s truly alone in this world.
Huo Ying pushed him away. “Then what are you waiting for? Didn’t you hear the train is leaving?”
“Yes sir! Yes sir!”
Watching Zheng Bin scurry away, Huo Ying ground his teeth.
That stubborn girl… she really doesn’t know what’s good for her. Every word out of her mouth is enough to make a person spit blood.
At least Zheng Bin was willing to follow from afar. After getting chewed out, now he was going to stick close. Sooner or later, she’d probably drive him away too.
But there was no choice. Huo Ying had defied his father’s orders. He had to report to the border in Nan Province first, or his father would charge him with insubordination and drag him back. Then there would be nobody left to protect her.
Jiang Yan walked back into the carriage. She didn’t see Zheng Bin, but she did see Shi Hongmei. She was lifting a chubby five-or-six-year-old boy and plopping him into Zheng Bin’s seat.
“Sit here, sweetie. Your brother can sit over there. Now you both have seats!” she cooed.
Seeing Jiang Yan, she gave her a smug look, clearly saying: I can’t beat you, but I know people who can.
Jiang Yan ignored her and turned to her own seat. Another chubby boy obviously the twin of the first one was sitting there.
Standing in the aisle were an old woman and a couple, watching with smiles.
Jiang Yan stepped forward. “Little friend, this is my seat. The train is leaving soon. Please go back to your own seat.”
The boy rolled his eyes. The smiles on the old woman and parents’ faces instantly vanished.
“Where did this girl come from? Don’t you know to respect the elderly and care for the young? Why are you yelling at my grandson? If you scare him sick, we’ll make you pay with your life!” the old woman screeched.
Jiang Yan took out her ticket. “If you respect the elderly and young, then buy tickets for them. Don’t teach children to steal other people’s seats. This is mine. Please ask the child to move.”
The skinny old woman’s eyes widened like a toad. “So what if we can’t afford it? You have money for a seat, so you’re so great? We don’t know how to raise kids, you do? If you’re so good, why don’t you convince my precious grandson to give it up? Then I’ll admit you’re tough!”
The boy’s father clenched his fists. “I’ll beat anyone who dares touch a hair on my son’s head!”
He didn’t take this small woman seriously at all.
“Who are you going to beat?”
Zheng Bin suddenly appeared. His tall frame and imposing aura made the man shrink back. He lowered his fists. “I’ll beat anyone who touches my kid! None of your business!”
“Who says it’s none of my business?” Zheng Bin pulled out his ticket and pointed to the seat across. “This seat is mine. Get your son out of there NOW!”