The little boy who had received the candy from the old woman happily unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth.
An’an watched enviously. Even though she didn’t say anything, children naturally love sweets—it’s in their nature.
Wen Qiqi took out a piece of milk candy from her pocket, broke it in half, and gave one piece to An’an and the other to Ping’an.
It wasn’t that she was stingy—both children were at the age of growing their baby teeth, and too much candy would harm them.
“You both did very well today,” Wen Qiqi said softly. “If you want to eat anything in the future, tell Mom. Don’t ever take food from strangers, okay?”
“Okay!”
“Mhm.”
The two children nodded obediently.
Even though their voices were soft, the old woman and the middle-aged woman still heard them.
“I say, young comrade, I kindly offered your children some candy—how can you talk about me like that?” the old woman said indignantly.
“That’s right,” the middle-aged woman added in a lecturing tone. “It’s good to be cautious, but not everyone is a bad person.”
Wen Qiqi’s expression turned cold. “I’m teaching my children—what does that have to do with you? If you’re bored, drink more water. Stop meddling in other people’s business.”
“You—!” The old woman trembled with anger.
The middle-aged woman also found Wen Qiqi unreasonable. “You really have no manners.”
Some nearby passengers who had been watching the scene shook their heads, criticizing Wen Qiqi for not appreciating kindness. They said things like nowadays there weren’t that many bad people, everyone was a revolutionary comrade, society was safe enough to leave doors unlocked at night and not pick up lost items on the road, and so on.
Wen Qiqi didn’t bother arguing. Holding the two children, she turned her head to look out the window.
The train soon entered a tunnel. She pulled the children closer into her arms.
A moment later, darkness swallowed the carriage.
In the dark, a pair of hands suddenly yanked hard at Ping’an. But Wen Qiqi had been prepared—she lifted her foot and kicked out.
With a loud clang, someone fell to the ground.
“Get lost!” Wen Qiqi snapped.
There were lights every fifty meters inside the tunnel. Because of the train’s speed, the carriage would briefly flash bright and then dark again.
At that exact moment, the carriage lit up suddenly. Wen Qiqi caught sight of a fleeing figure in panic—then darkness fell again.
“Mom…” Ping’an clung tightly to Wen Qiqi and called softly.
“It’s okay, Mom’s here,” Wen Qiqi reassured him in a low voice.
For a three-year-old, Ping’an had already done exceptionally well.
Wen Qiqi silently praised him and gently patted his back.
An’an didn’t understand exactly what had happened, but she sensed the danger. She shrank further into Wen Qiqi’s arms, clutching her clothes tightly.
About ten minutes later, the carriage was fully lit again.
“My child! My child is gone!”
The middle-aged woman sitting diagonally across suddenly stood up, shouting in panic.
“My child is missing too!” another cry came from ahead—a thin woman with short ear-length hair was searching frantically seat by seat.
The middle-aged woman’s face turned pale as she crazily searched under seats and tables.
“Gone… gone!”
Wen Qiqi’s expression darkened. “Quick—inform the conductor. Have an announcement made. There are child traffickers on the train. Everyone should watch each other and close the windows!”
Her words immediately gave the two women something to hold onto.
Helpful passengers rushed off to find the train staff.
“You’re saying that old woman was a trafficker?!” the middle-aged woman rushed up to Wen Qiqi, trembling uncontrollably.
“What else could it be?” Wen Qiqi looked at her as if she were foolish.
“Are you sure she’s a trafficker?!” the thin woman stumbled over, her voice shaking.
“Did both of your children eat the candy?” Wen Qiqi asked calmly.
Both women’s faces instantly turned deathly pale.
“It’s all my fault—I trusted that damned old woman!” the middle-aged woman beat her chest in regret.
She had even mocked Wen Qiqi earlier for being overly suspicious.
Now she realized—she had been the foolish one.
The conductor and railway police quickly arrived, and the two women explained what had happened.
“Please, you must help me find my child! I was taking him to join his father in the army—I never expected something like this to happen on the way…” the middle-aged woman sobbed uncontrollably.
“You’re also going to join the army? I… I am too…” the thin woman said, both anxious and ashamed.
Two military wives losing their children at the same time—what a disgrace if word got out!
Wen Qiqi almost laughed in disbelief at them.
“They’re definitely working as a group,” she said. “There are only a few minutes before the next stop. Split up and search forward and backward through the carriages—you’ll find them!”
“How can you be sure it’s a group operation?” one of the railway police asked.
“The tunnel lights pass every forty seconds,” Wen Qiqi explained. “That means the carriage lights up every forty seconds.”
“But these two women were sitting four seats apart. One person couldn’t possibly carry off both children within forty seconds without attracting attention.”
The railway police nodded, and the others were amazed by her precise reasoning.
“One of your children is a boy—what about the other?” Wen Qiqi asked.
The thin woman covered her mouth, tears streaming down. “Also a boy.”
A flicker passed through Wen Qiqi’s eyes. “Then you need to search in reverse—look for two girls!”
“Search in reverse?” a passenger repeated, stunned—but already convinced by her logic, he immediately passed the message along.
The two mothers seized every second, desperately searching through the train.
Wen Qiqi sighed, looking at the two little ones in her arms, a wave of lingering fear washing over her.
“Mom… if we had eaten that candy, would we have been taken away?” Ping’an asked, his small face pale.
“Yes,” Wen Qiqi said gently. “That’s why you’re the best children—you didn’t fall for the bad person’s trick.”
She couldn’t help but lean down and kiss their soft little heads.
Thankfully, they were both obedient and clever. Otherwise, she might have gone mad like those two mothers.
“Found them!” someone shouted from the front, followed by a sudden commotion.
“Beat these traffickers to death!”
“Going after children—how heartless!”
“Hit them! Beat them to death!”
“Shameless traffickers—beat them to death!”
Sounds of punches and kicks echoed through the carriage. The passengers, filled with righteous anger, all stood up and surged forward.
Wen Qiqi quietly covered the children’s ears.