Su Nanyue immediately recognized it – this was the candy Xiao Bao received from the Educated Youth for helping cut grass.
Earlier, Jiang Jingzhou had tried to take it by force, but Xiao Bao hadn’t let go. Now, he was giving it to her so willingly.
Su Nanyue’s eyes suddenly felt sore, as if something was about to spill out.
She blinked hard, took the candy from Xiao Bao’s hand, unwrapped it, and put it in her mouth.
A sweet taste spread through her mouth. She kissed Xiao Bao’s cheek. “So sweet.”
Xiao Bao, suddenly kissed, looked shy but his eyes sparkled brightly.
Su Nanyue looked up at the two-story department store across the street, remembering the coupons she had gotten from Wang Xiu Lan.
She took the two children toward the department store.
She bought half a pound of fruit candies and some pastries for the children to eat on the way.
She originally wanted to buy each of them a set of clothes, but she didn’t have enough cloth coupons.
Even so, the two children were very happy.
After leaving the department store, the three hurried to the train station.
The train station in this era was as crowded as during the Spring Festival travel season in later years.
Looking around, all she could see were heads everywhere.
Su Nanyue had heard from her parents that human traffickers and thieves were rampant in train stations during this time.
She carried her bag in front of her, held both children tightly with both hands, and squeezed through the crowd onto the train.
After much effort, they finally found their seats.
She had the two children sit by the window while she took the outer seat.
As the train started moving and she watched the scenery receding outside the window, the heart she had been clutching since transmigrating finally relaxed.
Across from them sat a family of three.
The couple looked ordinary with dark skin, accompanied by a three or four-year-old boy.
Zhang Zhaodi initiated conversation with Su Nanyue.
“Little sister, are these your children? They’re so good-looking.”
Su Nanyue reached out to rub Da Bao’s head beside her and smiled. “Your child is very cute too.”
She wasn’t just being polite – although Zhang Zhaodi and her husband were ordinary-looking, their child was indeed handsome.
He looked about four or five years old, fair and tender.
Probably because he had just eaten before boarding the train, combined with the train’s rhythmic clattering…
Su Nanyue felt drowsy and really wanted to sleep, but Zhang Zhaodi was naturally sociable and talkative, keeping her engaged in conversation.
Too disturbed to sleep, Su Nanyue could only chat with her intermittently.
As they talked more, her sleepiness gradually faded.
She even started steering the conversation herself, asking clever but casual questions that confirmed her suspicions within just a few sentences.
When the conversation wound down, she took out the pastries she had bought at the department store, giving one each to Da Bao and Xiao Bao, and one to the little boy across from them.
The boy’s eyes lit up at the sight of the pastry, but he didn’t dare reach for it, instead looking cautiously at Zhang Zhaodi.
Zhang Zhaodi didn’t even glance at her child, saying “you shouldn’t have” while quickly reaching out.
After taking the pastry, she completely ignored her child’s longing gaze and stuffed it directly into her own mouth.
Xiao Bao, leaning against the window with his pastry, said unhappily, “Mom gave that to big brother.”
Zhang Zhaodi, with the pastry still in her mouth, casually replied, “He doesn’t like it.”
Su Nanyue’s gaze swept over the little boy beside Zhang Zhaodi – he looked full of longing, even swallowing hard.
Her eyes flickered slightly. She called Da Bao and Xiao Bao to go to the restroom with her.
Zhang Zhaodi, seeing the situation, warmly offered, “You go ahead, sister. I’ll watch the children for you.”
Su Nanyue smiled and ruffled Da Bao and Xiao Bao’s heads. “It’s fine. I’ll take them to the restroom too, then they can nap when we get back.”
Zhang Zhaodi didn’t think much of it.
But the moment Su Nanyue left her seat with the two little ones, her expression turned cold.
Instead of heading to the restroom, she went straight to find the train attendant.
“Hello, I suspect the child with the couple across from me might have been trafficked by them.”
Her suspicion wasn’t unfounded.
She laid out her reasons clearly:
First, the child looked nothing like the couple.
Second, the child was clearly terrified of them.
Third, when she deliberately offered the child snacks earlier, the woman behaved strangely—claiming the child didn’t like them, even though the kid had been eyeing the treats eagerly.
And one final point: she suspected they were targeting her and her two children.
After all, since boarding, the couple had been initiating conversation, asking suspicious questions—whether she was traveling alone with the kids, their names, and their destination.
Su Nanyue’s reasoning was sound, and the train attendant’s expression grew serious.
Just as the attendant was about to speak, a man emerged from the break room.
He was tall—nearly 190 cm—dressed simply in a white shirt and black trousers.
His posture was upright, his features strikingly handsome: sharp brows, bright eyes, and deep-set facial contours—the kind of looks that could make young girls swoon.
Su Nanyue had always been a sucker for good looks.
And this man checked every box on her aesthetic checklist.
She couldn’t help stealing a few extra glances.
“Comrade, I overheard your concerns. Your observations are sharp—they are indeed traffickers, and the targets of our current operation.”
“The suspects are on this train to meet their contacts. There are accomplices aboard, and we’re in the process of identifying them.”
Jiang Yan looked at Su Nanyue. “Comrade, if possible, I’d like to request your assistance.”
They originally had a female officer on the team, but she’d encountered an emergency at the last station and had to disembark.
Su Nanyue’s admiration for his looks vanished instantly. She was about to refuse without a second thought.
She wasn’t particularly timid—if she were alone, she might have agreed.
But she had two children with her.
Just as she was about to voice her refusal, the man added, “After the mission is completed, I’ll apply for a monetary reward on your behalf.”
Su Nanyue: “…”
She swallowed her refusal.
Putting on a solemn expression, she declared, “Fighting crime is everyone’s responsibility.”
Then, curving her lips into an obedient smile, she asked, “Commander, what would you need me to do?”
Her no-good husband hadn’t returned home in four years—who knew if he had someone else out there?
It was entirely possible they’d divorce as soon as she reached the military base. Before that, she needed to secure as much money as possible.
Jiang Yan raised a brow, slightly surprised. He’d expected more persuasion would be needed, but she’d agreed so readily.
Still, it worked in their favor—time was tight. He stated directly, “You just need to act as you did earlier, as if you’ve noticed nothing, and let them successfully kidnap you.”
Su Nanyue was speechless. She really wanted to ask: Was he even hearing himself?
Asking her to cooperate with human traffickers in her own abduction…
Noticing her speechless expression, Jiang Yan added, “My men are nearby. If any danger arises, they’ll ensure your safety.”
Su Nanyue pursed her lips and asked softly with some embarrassment, “Um, may I ask how much the reward is?”
The flight attendant beside them couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter.
After receiving Jiang Yan’s warning glance, she quickly suppressed it, her face turning red from the effort.
Su Nanyue blinked her captivating peach-blossom eyes, looking at Jiang Yan with anticipation.
“Two hundred yuan,” Jiang Yan stated.
In this era, when the average worker’s salary was around thirty yuan, two hundred was quite substantial.
Instead of being overjoyed, Su Nanyue looked at him skeptically. “If that’s the case, why not just hire anyone?”
Being paid two hundred yuan to cooperate in getting kidnapped by human traffickers sounded suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
She pulled the two children closer and stepped back, her eyes turning wary as she prepared to flee at any moment.
Observing her subtle movements, Jiang Yan became even more convinced he hadn’t misjudged her.
He tilted his head and glanced at Wang Kaiping.
The next moment, Wang Kaiping took out his work ID and handed it to Su Nanyue.
Seeing this, Su Nanyue felt slightly relieved.
She hesitated while looking at him. “Are you sure you can guarantee the safety of me and the children?”
Jiang Yan nodded. “I’m certain.”
Su Nanyue pressed her lips together, weighing the decision carefully before finally agreeing. “Alright, I’ll help.”
She agreed to help partly for the money.
But more importantly, she truly despised human traffickers. When she was young, a very close friend of hers was kidnapped by traffickers. Her family searched for years but never found her.
Her friend’s family had been a happy trio, but eventually her mother died in a traffic accident while chasing after someone who resembled her daughter. After handling her wife’s funeral, her father took sleeping pills and passed away at home.
Since then, Su Nanyue had developed a deep hatred for human traffickers – these people destroyed countless families for their own selfish gains.
Now that there was a chance to wipe out these traffickers, she wanted to contribute however she could, even if just a little.
After watching Su Nanyue leave with the two children, Wang Kaiping nudged Jiang Yan’s arm with his elbow. “Deputy Regimental Commander, are you really going to let her help?”
This wasn’t some ordinary group of traffickers, but a bunch of ruthless criminals involved in smuggling, human trafficking, black market dealings – any illegal activity you could name.
That young woman looked delicate, with a scar on her forehead, and she was caring for two children. What if she got caught by those people and exposed?
Jiang Yan glanced at him coolly. “Do you have a better option?”
Wang Kaiping still seemed worried. “But we can’t just pick any young girl! How old does she even look? I’m really concerned she won’t be able to maintain the act.”