For a moment, the crowd was riled up, drawing curious onlookers from nearby carriages and even catching the attention of the conductor who was about to close the doors.
Zhang Jingshan reached out and pulled down Chang Rufan’s hand, which she’d raised to join the shouting, giving her a disapproving look.
Chang Rufan pouted and grumbled in dissatisfaction,
“Jingshan, why are you defending her so much? Is it because she’s pretty?”
Zhang Jingshan’s face flushed bright red in an instant, and he hissed in a low voice,
“What nonsense are you talking about? We haven’t even figured out what’s going on yet—don’t stir up trouble!”
Chang Rufan let out a light snort and shot Miao Qing a venomous sideways glance.
“Look at her—sitting there like a dummy, not moving a muscle, not saying a word. She clearly doesn’t understand a thing. If she’s not a fool, what is she?”
Zhang Jingshan glared at her, half-annoyed, half-helpless, then turned to look at Miao Qing, who was still staring down in silence. Sympathy filled his eyes.
If she really did have intellectual disabilities, had been abandoned by her family, and then got kicked off the train—what would become of her?
Miao Qing had no idea why Wang Haiyan was targeting her, nor did she care to figure it out. But one thing was certain—she absolutely could not be thrown off the train as a fool.
In the month since she’d transmigrated, she’d already seen the true colors of the original owner’s family.
The only one who felt any guilt was the mother—who’d gone into early labor because she’d accidentally fallen, and had been trying her best to treat the original owner ever since.
Everyone else in the family viewed the original owner as a burden, especially her older brother and sister, who wished she’d never existed.
When the street office went door to door to register the list of educated youth for the countryside, Miao Hong didn’t want to go and asked Miao Jiang to come up with a plan.
The two siblings put their heads together and decided: why not send Miao Qing instead? Two birds with one stone.
They chattered away right in front of Miao Qing, never bothering to hide it, figuring she was too simple-minded to understand anyway.
Miao Qing played along, pretending to be oblivious while secretly stashing both of their hidden savings and the valuables her hypocritical father had tucked away into her spatial dimension.
After all, that sanctimonious father of hers had clearly caught wind of his children’s scheme but pretended not to know—wanting to have his cake and eat it too. Disgusting.
If she got sent back, and they found their money and treasures gone, they’d skin her alive!
Compared to continuing to live with that family, she’d rather start over in the countryside where no one knew her.
But moving took too much effort, and talking took even more. Being a disabled person in this life was just way too hard.
With the mob mentality growing and her one pair of hands no match for so many, she could only wait—wait for the perfect moment to strike.
Wang Haiyan, confident of victory and eager to earn credit, reached out to grab Miao Qing.
Miao Qing still didn’t react, but Zhang Jingshan moved.
He blocked Wang Haiyan and spoke in a serious tone to remind the crowd,
“This is a serious matter. I think we should call a crew member over to clarify things first.”
“She’s a fool—everyone on our street knows it! If we don’t throw her off now, the train’s about to leave!”
Seeing some people hesitating, Wang Haiyan quickly turned and called for backup,
“Liu Gang! Li Qiang! Come help me out! She’s Miao Hong’s idiot sister—you’ve all seen her before! If word gets out that a fool got mixed in with our steel mill educated youth, we’ll all be in trouble!”
Liu Gang and Li Qiang hesitated, unsure whether to step forward. They did know Miao Hong had a fool of a sister, but the girl before them didn’t quite match the vacant, drooling idiot they remembered.
But Wang Haiyan sounded so certain, and their own futures were at stake. So after a moment’s struggle, they gritted their teeth and charged forward.
Seeing Wang Haiyan and her two companions charge at Miao Qing like starving tigers pouncing on their prey, Zhang Jingshan broke out in a cold sweat of anxiety. He could hold off Wang Haiyan, but there was no way he could stop that many people!
Miao Qing was panicking inside too—Why isn’t anyone coming yet?
If they didn’t show up soon, she’d have no choice but to take a risky gamble and blow her cover!
“What are all of you crowding around here for? Get back to your seats!”
A thunderous shout rang out. Wang Haiyan’s bony, claw-like fingers stopped less than ten centimeters from Miao Qing’s arm.
But Miao Qing suddenly grabbed her wrist. Wang Haiyan instinctively yanked back, and Miao Qing used the momentum to lurch to her feet.
Just as everyone turned to look at the conductor and the railway police officer walking over, Miao Qing pointed at Wang Haiyan and spat out a perfectly clear sentence:
“I—report—her—sick—contagious!”
Wang Haiyan froze. The conductor and police officer froze too. Liu Gang and Li Qiang, who had been right behind Wang Haiyan, exchanged bewildered looks.
Chang Rufan, who had been clinging tightly to Zhang Jingshan’s arm to stop him from rushing over to help Miao Qing, was so startled that she yanked him back and scrambled away.
A fool might not necessarily hit people, but a contagious disease definitely spreads!
Wang Haiyan panicked, forgetting everything else as she grabbed Miao Qing by the collar and dragged her close, eyes bulging and face twisted with fury.
“You idiot, what nonsense are you talking?! I don’t have any contagious disease—”
Miao Qing waited until Wang Haiyan was close enough—almost nose to nose—then, pretending to fend her off, she drew oleander sap from her spatial dimension and flicked it onto Wang Haiyan’s neck.
The reason Miao Qing dared to play along and head to the countryside alone wasn’t just that she didn’t want to keep up the charade with her original family—it was because she had a real advantage.
After transmigrating, she’d not only gained a spatial dimension but also awakened wood-type superpowers.
The space was tiny—only one cubic meter—and could store items exactly as they were, in and out. No living things could enter.
Her abilities were probably connected to that cultivation method she’d practiced. When she first arrived, she’d been burning with fever, unable to speak or move—basically a living corpse.
She’d figured she had nothing to lose and kept practicing the technique, thinking, Worst case, I die again. And if I somehow get sent back, that’d be a win.
Of course, she didn’t go back. But she did manage to condense that “energy core” the charlatan had talked about.
After that, she learned to control the energy, using it to clear blocked meridians. Eventually, she gained control over this body.
Still, her powers were very weak—she could only draw out a thin strand of energy. Aside from repairing her body and lightly stimulating or extracting from plants, she couldn’t do much else.
The oleander sap she’d extracted from oleander stems using her ability, condensed into tiny, bead-sized energy spheres stored in her space.
She’d prepared it for self-defense. After all, her body was frail, but she was pretty—and on top of that, she had the label of “fool.” Basically a magnet for scumbags.
She hadn’t expected to use it so soon.
Oleander sap is toxic. If it touches the skin, it can cause allergies, pain, and rashes. If ingested, it can lead to nausea, diarrhea, muscle weakness—or in severe cases, be life-threatening.
Wang Haiyan, in her mind, figured the fool was just a fool. That comment earlier must have been taught by that rotten-hearted Miao Hong. Once she got angry, the fool would be scared.
She’d grabbed Miao Qing and yanked her over, and now the poor thing was so frightened she couldn’t even speak—just pursing her lips and crying, tears dripping right onto Wang Haiyan’s neck, making her shiver from the cold.
Zhang Jingshan saw Miao Qing being treated like a helpless chick, tears streaming down her face, and couldn’t hold back—he wanted to rush over and play the hero.
“We haven’t even cleared things up yet—how can you use force?! Let Miao Qing go! You’re scaring her!”
Chang Rufan clung to him desperately.
“Jingshan, one of them’s a fool and the other might have a contagious disease—they’re both dangerous! Don’t go over there!”