As the train began to pull out of the station, a woman clutching a child scanned the carriage, her eyes landing on Zhou Mingzhu before she made her way over.
Zhou Mingzhu immediately slumped over the small table in front of her seat, feigning sleep.
"Comrade? Comrade?" The woman stopped by Zhou Mingzhu, not giving up, and gave her a gentle nudge.
Zhou Mingzhu wasn't actually asleep, but she had no desire to deal with this. She couldn't understand why, with so many grown men sitting in the carriage, this woman had to pinpoint her, a woman traveling with children.
Seeing that Zhou Mingzhu wouldn't respond, the woman pushed harder.
Lujun frowned and looked up at her. "Ma'am, my mother got up very early this morning to travel from the countryside with me and my sister. She’s exhausted from the train ride. Please stop pushing my mother!"
The woman gave a sheepish laugh and muttered, "Your mother is certainly laid back! Bringing two children and still able to sleep like that!"
With that, she wandered off to find someone who looked easier to manipulate and eventually convinced a passenger to give up their seat.
Zhou Mingzhu stayed hunched over for a while longer before sitting up and looking at Qitong. "Tongtong, you’re a girl, and some people specialize in bullying women. If you can ignore them, don’t waste your breath, but when you truly have to face them, never lower yourself or compromise your dignity."
"As long as you aren’t breaking the law or social norms, in this world, your own feelings come first."
Qitong looked at Zhou Mingzhu with her large eyes and gave a serious nod.
A few stops later, the seat opposite them was taken by a man in a thick black coat. His brows were knit together tightly, and a scar ran through the eyebrow on his brow bone.
Once he sat down, the surrounding chatter quieted significantly.
Zhou Mingzhu felt a secret jolt of fear. Why did he look exactly like the bandits in the resistance dramas she used to watch? *He’s not a bad guy, is he?*
She swallowed hard, not daring to speak. She only stole a glance, and she had to admit that he was actually quite handsome; even with the scar on his brow, his features were strikingly sharp. Still, his presence was like that of a ruthless, hardened outlaw.
Not wanting to draw attention, Zhou Mingzhu simply leaned in and asked Lujun and Qitong in a low voice if they were thirsty or hungry.
Just as Zhou Mingzhu finished giving Qitong some water, the train pulled into a station, and the inertia caused the enamel mug the man opposite was using to tip over.
The man in the black coat reached out and caught the mug with precise reflexes, letting only a little water spill.
Zhou Mingzhu widened her eyes. It was only then that she noticed the sleeve of his coat had pulled back slightly, revealing a strip of military green underneath.
*He’s a soldier?* she thought with silent surprise.
She pursed her lips. Shouldn't a soldier have a square jaw, sharp brows, and an air of righteous integrity? *What is this... looking like a fierce, handsome bandit?*
*Could he be that handsome? Is he the male lead, Gu Yan?*
*That can’t be right! The novel stated clearly that Gu Yan was severely wounded, with penetrating injuries to his collarbone, abdomen, and thighs, plus he’d inhaled toxic gas. Gu Yan should be lying in a hospital bed at the military district right now. This man couldn’t be Gu Yan!*
*Besides, even if it were him, if Qitong didn't remember, Lujun certainly would recognize him, right?*
As Zhou Mingzhu pondered, a new wave of passengers flooded in, some carrying live chickens and ducks. Hearing the "cluck-cluck" and "quack-quack" of the birds, she felt the air grow even more stifling.
A stout middle-aged woman squeezed forward, shouting, "Come on, come on, move in a bit! Scoot in! Keep moving forward!"
Zhou Mingzhu had no intention of dealing with this new wave of people who might rely on their age to demand a seat, so she leaned over and pretended to sleep again.
The man opposite finally glanced at Zhou Mingzhu and the two children. He took only one look before leaning back against the seat and closing his eyes to doze.
Lujun and Qitong were very well-behaved children; they never demanded things, and aside from using the restroom, they no longer needed Zhou Mingzhu to worry about them eating or drinking.
Lujun was over eight years old and knew his background very well. Even though he had to call Uncle Gu Yan "Dad," he knew he was an orphan. His late father’s pension had barely covered the debts his mother incurred while seeking treatment, leaving almost nothing behind.
Though Qitong was young, she had also learned of her origins while playing with other children in the village. Gradually, she stopped playing with them, began to understand the hardships her great-grandmother faced, and started helping Lujun with whatever she could. The two children were so well-behaved it was heartbreaking.
By the time the commotion of passengers fighting for seats died down into idle gossip, Zhou Mingzhu finally sat up, gently hugging a sleepy Qitong.
Just then, a few people walked over from the previous carriage. They looked like strangers who didn't know one another.
A middle-aged man in a tattered, patched, navy-blue cotton coat walked in front. Behind him was a man in his twenties or thirties, wearing a navy-blue woolen Mao suit, his hair combed meticulously, with glasses on his face. Following him was a woman in her twenties wearing a wool skirt, a short wool jacket, and a beret. Bringing up the rear was an old man carrying a bundle and leaning on a cane, though his fingers didn't look as aged as his hunched back suggested.
Zhou Mingzhu frowned slightly. Something felt wrong.
She looked up and saw that her own luggage on the rack was nearly being pushed off, and the securely tied opening of her bag looked as if it had been tampered with.
Zhou Mingzhu stood up to shove the bag further in. As she sat back down, she glanced at the carriage behind her and happened to spot the stout woman who had been shouting at people to move forward earlier.
Then, she witnessed a scene that left her stunned.
The woman looked ahead, tapped the tip of her nose with one finger, and then reached over to tug on her right earlobe.
For some reason, a movie Zhou Mingzhu had once watched about organized train pickpockets flashed into her mind.
Seeing the woman glance in her direction, Zhou Mingzhu hurried to turn back and sit down, acting as if nothing had happened.
Suddenly, the middle-aged man in the tattered navy-blue coat stumbled and fell a few rows ahead of her. If Zhou Mingzhu hadn't just seen him lock eyes with the woman before he tripped, she would have assumed it was a coincidence.
Zhou Mingzhu was terrified, remembering the note at the end of the movie she had watched: "Based on true events."
Those pickpockets on the trains possessed real skill; they held thin, half-blades from razors, stealing things without the victims ever noticing. The most important thing was that if anyone got in their way, they would stalk that person and corner them to kill them!
Zhou Mingzhu watched as the man in the patched coat stood up, his sleeve bulging—he had clearly succeeded!
Just as she tried to make herself small and invisible, the man looked over and met her eyes.