7
Inexplicably Involved
Jiang Zhizhi was certain the original owner didn’t know this woman either. Moreover, modern education emphasized avoiding conversations with strangers and refusing their food or drinks.
Therefore, she remained wary of the old woman’s enthusiastic approach: “You don’t look familiar to me. You might have mistaken me for someone else.”
The old woman slapped her thigh dramatically: “I’m definitely not mistaken! How could I misrecognize such a pretty girl? You were still young back then. Do you remember the tailor shop near your childhood home?”
“I used to make clothes for everyone in your compound. I still remember you with two little braids and those big, beautiful eyes. I told your mother back then that this child would grow up to be a real beauty.”
“I knew you looked familiar! You haven’t changed much since childhood – still just as lovely.”
She then turned to the other passengers: “When I worked at that tailor shop, all the residents in her compound were important people. While other children wore coarse linen, many kids from their compound wore polyester blends, and some even wore silk.”
Hearing her speak with such conviction, Jiang Zhizhi began to doubt herself. Could this woman have actually known the original owner during childhood?
The old woman cheerfully chatted with the others, taking out Chinese crabapples from her bag to share: “These are from my home tree, quite sweet actually.”
She offered some to Jiang Zhizhi, who declined with a smile: “No thank you, I’m not hungry right now.”
Undeterred, the old woman began praising the child sitting opposite: “Your son is so handsome too, and he looks clever. How old is he?”
Finding the chatter overwhelming, Jiang Zhizhi simply leaned back, touching her injured wrist, and closed her eyes to rest. Having stayed awake all night at the train station, she surprisingly managed to fall asleep despite the noise, lulled by the train’s rhythmic motion.
She slept deeply, unaware of how much time had passed until sharp cries pierced her sleep: “Stop the train! Stop! My son hasn’t gotten back on!”
Jiang Zhizhi woke up groggily, rubbing her eyes as she looked at the weeping woman across from her.
The two old women who had been sitting nearby were gone.
Seeing Jiang Zhizhi awake, the woman clutched at her like a lifeline: “You know that woman from earlier, don’t you? Where is she from? Where does she live? She took my son off the train and didn’t bring him back!”
Meanwhile, the woman’s husband had rushed off to find the train police.
Jiang Zhizhi frowned: “Your son is missing?”
The woman sobbed: “When the train stopped at the station, that woman said she’d take my son for a walk. I just exchanged a few words with my husband, then went down to look for them but couldn’t find them. I thought they’d already boarded, but they’re not on the train either. Now the train has left without them…”
Growing increasingly frantic, she began jumping in place: “If I lose my son, how can I go on living…”
Jiang Zhizhi was stunned. How could these parents be so careless as to let a stranger take their child? The boy looked only five or six years old – how could they have been so trusting?
Other passengers tried to comfort her: “Don’t panic yet. Maybe they went to the bathroom? Or got on the wrong carriage? Let’s call the train attendant to help search.”
“Right, the child definitely won’t be lost. Nowadays no family lacks children, and everyone struggles to put food on the table. Taking a child home would mean another mouth to feed.”
Everyone chimed in with advice, but instead of reassuring the woman, it only made her cry louder.
Her husband soon returned with a train police officer, anxiously recounting what had happened—largely consistent with what the woman had said: “The elderly woman seemed sincere. She got off the train first with our son, so I gave my wife some money to see if there was any food on the platform. In that brief moment, by the time we disembarked, they had vanished.”
“Comrade, you must help us find our child! How can we go on living otherwise?”
The train police officer listened with a furrowed brow. The woman then exclaimed that Jiang Zhizhi knew the two elderly women, so all three were taken to the dining car for questioning.
Jiang Zhizhi felt utterly wronged. She had simply woken up from a nap and now found herself implicated as a suspect’s accomplice.
Nevertheless, she cooperated, carrying her handbag as she followed the officer to the dining car.
Zhou Xiye, Zhang Zhao, and Wang Changkun were also in the dining car, holding a hushed meeting with serious expressions. The train conductor had just received a call from the station: two violent criminals had escaped onto this train. They were responsible for multiple homicides, were extremely dangerous, and had to be apprehended without alerting the passengers.
Knowing the limited police presence on board, the conductor feared the consequences if the criminals were provoked.
Spotting Zhou Xiye and the other two in military uniforms, he sought their assistance.
When the train police officer entered with the couple and Jiang Zhizhi, Zhou Xiye and his companions paused their discussion and glanced over.
The woman continued sobbing after entering: “If my son is gone, I won’t go on living either.”
The train police officer frowned. “Calm down first. Why did you wait until after the train departed to report your missing child?”
The man, his eyes red-rimmed, replied, “We thought we could search the train and hoped he might return once it started moving. Who would have thought she’d abduct him? The two elderly women seemed frail and were so friendly—how could this happen?”
The officer then turned to Jiang Zhizhi. “Do you know the elderly woman sitting next to you?”
Jiang Zhizhi shook her head honestly. “No, she claimed to have known me as a child, but I have no memory of her. Besides, I fell asleep while they were chatting and have no idea what they discussed.”
After much back-and-forth yielded no results, the officer instructed the couple to return to their seats while he contacted the previous station for updates.
Zhou Xiye had been quietly observing the group, his gaze eventually settling on the man’s shoes—black cloth shoes with white soles, the edges stained a dull red, and light gray trousers speckled with similar dark red spots.
He exchanged a subtle glance with Zhang Zhao and Wang Changkun before calmly looking away.
The three understood each other without words, waiting for the right moment.
Just then, the train police officer also noticed something amiss and called out to the man nearing the dining car exit: “Wait—what’s on your trousers? Why is there blood on your soles?”
A venomous glint flashed in the man’s eyes. He swiftly turned, grabbed Jiang Zhizhi by the hair, and dragged her into the nearby restroom, slamming the door shut.
His female companion, however, was a step too slow. Before she could flee, Zhang Zhao leaped past the officer and pinned her to the ground.
Wang Changkun stared at the restroom door, his expression worried as he looked at Zhou Xiye. “Boss, what do we do? That girl’s in grave danger now that she’s been pulled in there.”
Zhou Xiye was also worried. Although that girl was quite skilled, the restroom was cramped, she had an injured arm, and being pulled in so suddenly would make it difficult for her to fight back, putting her in great danger.
He scanned the surroundings and said, “You and Zhang Zhao kick the door open. I’ll climb onto the roof and enter through the window from the outside…”