“Ma’am, I prefer the lower bunk. I don’t like climbing bunks, so I’m not switching with you.”
The old woman’s face instantly darkened, and she started cursing nonstop.
Su Wan snorted, while the woman across from her also looked displeased and pretended to sleep on her bed.
The conductor hadn’t expected so much trouble over a single seat and had completely lost patience.
“Ma’am, everyone’s willing to switch with you for convenience. You need to go back to your own seat. If you keep causing a fuss, I’ll have to have you carried up there.”
Seeing the conductor’s serious expression, the old woman dared not make any more trouble. She scowled, began gathering her things, and kept muttering complaints at her grandson as she did.
The conductor, seeing that she finally quieted down, turned and left.
Su Wan went over to her bunk and saw that the child’s shoe prints were all over the blanket—filthy.
“Give me your upper bunk sheets. How can anyone sleep with the blanket trampled like this?” Su Wan was annoyed; she hadn’t expected to run into this. There was no way she could sleep on that bed.
“Ah, why are you so fussy? It’s just a few steps on the blanket. Why make such a big deal out of it?!”
The old woman, having been rejected repeatedly and failing to get her way, was already furious. Now Su Wan’s fussiness made her even angrier.
Su Wan was shocked by the woman’s shameless attitude. People like this really existed in the world?
“I’ll tell you one last time. Will you switch or not? If not, I’ll call the conductor to see. The train’s property is public. Aren’t you afraid of being held responsible for damaging it?”
At the mention of compensation, the old woman got scared. She quickly grabbed the upper bunk’s blanket and sheets.
“Fine, fine! It’s just a little dirt on the blanket, why make such a fuss!”
While tidying her things, she tried to pull the young man into her scheme.
But the young man didn’t indulge her. “She bought her ticket herself. If you truly wanted to switch, you should have negotiated politely. You can’t just occupy someone else’s seat.”
The old woman hadn’t expected him to side with Su Wan and immediately went pale.
She wanted to curse but dared not. The young man looked strong and unapproachable.
Su Wan nodded at him, and the young man’s face flushed red.
The old woman seemed to realize something and cursed silently in her heart: “Shameless! First time meeting and she’s already roped in a young man. No wonder she has someone defending her!”
Su Wan finally lay down on the clean bed, relieved.
The old woman, however, kept muttering, and her grandson was noisy as well.
Another conductor repeatedly reminded the old woman to watch her child and not disturb others.
She verbally agreed but, once the conductor left, ignored the advice.
Su Wan hadn’t slept at first, instead sitting in the aisle reading.
When she returned to sleep, the grandmother and grandson upstairs were still noisy.
The little boy kept bouncing and shouting.
Su Wan glanced at her watch. It was already 10 p.m., and the two people across were also unable to sleep.
Finally, the woman in the lower bunk spoke up. “Ma’am, could you control your grandson? At this rate, no one will sleep tonight.”
The old woman, nearly asleep, woke instantly at that remark.
Her tone was sharp: “Children aren’t like adults. If they obeyed, they wouldn’t be children!”
The other woman, fed up, sat up and argued, “How come you can’t manage him? You haven’t even tried! They’ve been noisy since we got on. If you can’t control him, take your grandson outside!”
The old woman’s anger erupted. “Why should we go out? I bought a ticket; this is my seat. Why should we leave?”
The other woman wasn’t one to back down. She rolled her eyes. “We bought tickets too. It’s 10 p.m. now. If you don’t sleep, others need to. Don’t you have any sense of public decency?”
The old woman sat up, slapping her thigh and yelling, “You’re all bullying an old lady! Isn’t it normal for children to be noisy? You’re heartless! If you have the guts, don’t have children in the future!”
Su Wan sat up too. It was too noisy to sleep.
The old woman’s pointed remarks were clearly aimed at her. The other woman obviously couldn’t have children, so she was taking advantage of the previous seat dispute to pick a fight.
The woman was infuriated. “Old hag, shameless!”
The old woman, enraged, jumped up and pointed at her, cursing, “You’re the shameless one! You stinking %…&￥”
The things she cursed couldn’t even be published in the future. Su Wan listened in awe, realizing she had underestimated this woman in the morning. Her combativeness was formidable.
The shrill voices quickly drew complaints from the next compartment.
“Hey, hey, hey, what’s all this noise? Can anyone sleep?”
“Unbelievable. Can’t that kid be managed? Every now and then, he screams and it’s terrifying.”
Many people were already annoyed by the child. Now that a quarrel had erupted, others joined in.
“Call the conductor! This child is really noisy, screaming constantly. No one can sleep!”
“Yes, yes! And the old woman doesn’t manage him and even argues with others!”
The conductor looked at the old woman. The woman resorted to her usual trick:
“Oh, leader! These people are bullying an old lady and a child! Whose child isn’t noisy? They’re being too strict. You have to support us!”
She wiped her tears while sneakily glancing at the conductor, hoping to manipulate her. This conductor looked more familiar and easier to deceive.
But the conductor had clearly been warned about the woman and her expression hardened.
“Not all children are noisy. The child next door is even younger, yet doesn’t scream. Manage your own child and stop the noise!”
The old woman hadn’t expected this tactic to fail. She could adapt, so she reluctantly nodded.
“Yes, yes, leader, you’re right. I’ll make sure he behaves and stops being noisy!”
After scolding the child a few more times, he finally quieted down.
The night passed quietly until morning, when Su Wan woke up hungry.
After washing up, she opened her suitcase and took out several aluminum lunch boxes.
She hadn’t eaten much the night before, and now in the morning she felt hungry. She bought a bowl of porridge and started eating some of the braised dishes she had packed.
As she opened the lunch box with the braised dishes, everyone immediately looked over.