Hua Qingqing casually glanced at the child in the man's arms.
But she didn't see much.
Hua Qingqing stood up, and immediately, the couple showed signs of nervousness.
"Where are you going?"
Hua Qingqing pretended to look uncomfortable.
"To the restroom."
The woman quickly replied, "Leave your bag here. It'll be a hassle to take it in. We'll watch it for you. When you come back, you can check if anything's missing."
Hua Qingqing thought for a moment and left her bag on the seat.
"Auntie, then I'll trouble you. I'll be back soon."
After a while.
Hua Qingqing returned with a wet face, looking as if she had washed her face under the faucet.
She asked, "Auntie, what time is it now? I just took a nap and I'm a bit dazed."
The woman, wearing a watch, looked down and told her the time.
"The train will arrive at Jiangning Station in about ten minutes. It'll stop there for fifteen minutes. If you want to buy some local specialties, you can get off and buy them."
Hua Qingqing nodded.
Then the couple across from her exchanged knowing smiles.
Hua Qingqing lowered her eyes and thought. She had fallen asleep soon after the train started, and now four hours had passed.
The little baby hadn't moved at all?
The shape of the cloth bundle was the same as when she fell asleep. Didn't the baby get hungry? Didn't the couple feed the baby?
Ten minutes later, the train arrived at Jiangning Station.
Under the woman's urging and persuasion, Hua Qingqing got off the train with them.
"The fried oil cakes at this station are really good. Try one. Don't worry about the money. I'll buy it..."
Before Hua Qingqing could say anything, a fried oil cake was suddenly stuffed into her hand. It was so hot that she dropped it immediately.
Just as she bent down to pick it up, two scolding voices rained down on her.
"I said not to buy it, but you insisted! And then you threw it away! What kind of temper are you throwing? Do you think it's easy for your parents to earn money?"
"Dear daughter, quickly apologize to your father. Let's go home. Stop throwing a tantrum!"
Hua Qingqing was sandwiched between them. Their words left her stunned.
The woman tightly grabbed her arm and tried to drag her towards the exit of the train station.
Hua Qingqing came to her senses and quickly struggled free.
"What are you doing? I don't know you!"
"Help! Let go of me!"
The woman got anxious and slapped at Hua Qingqing. Hua Qingqing dodged quickly, but still got scratched on the face by the woman's nails.
"Can't you be more sensible?! How old are you and still always buying this and that? If you don't get it, you get angry. Do you think your parents' money grows on trees?"
The woman cried and shouted.
People around were attracted.
Some elderly people pointed at Hua Qingqing.
Hua Qingqing covered her face, and tears streamed down her face even faster than the woman's. She struggled free from the woman again and shouted desperately at the crowd.
"I don't know them! Please save me!"
"They're human traffickers!"
Perhaps Hua Qingqing looked so miserable that the situation instantly reversed. Suspicious looks were cast on the traffickers. The two traffickers panicked and pulled even harder on Hua Qingqing.
"What kind of human traffickers? Is that how you talk to your parents?"
"Let's go. If we don't go now, we'll miss the train!"
Just then, a stern shout came from ahead.
"You two, stop!"
Several tall train policemen rushed towards them.
Hua Qingqing felt relieved. They had finally arrived.
Taking advantage of the traffickers' loosened grip, Hua Qingqing quickly broke free.
The traffickers then realized they should run, but it was too late.
There were train policemen in front and a circle of onlookers behind. People were everywhere. Finally, they stood there in panic and waited to be arrested.
The train policeman walked up to Hua Qingqing and saluted.
"Comrade, thank you for the information you provided!"
Hua Qingqing waved her hand.
She had noticed something was wrong during the conversation with the traffickers. She had asked to go to the restroom midway and informed the train policemen of her suspicions. The train policemen had cooperated, but none of them had expected that the traffickers would dare to commit the crime in broad daylight.
Hua Qingqing touched her chin. It stung a bit.
Tsk, she had to learn from this lesson.
Hua Qingqing boarded the train just in time.
She found that a man had somehow appeared next to her seat. The man was wearing a white shirt and black trousers, sitting upright. His arms with rolled - up sleeves were fair but strong.
Hua Qingqing stared at him for a while. The man seemed to sense her gaze and turned his head. What a handsome face, just like a Chinese ink painting.
Being stared at for so long, the man frowned.
"Hello. Do you need something?"
... His voice was nice too.
Hua Qingqing shook her head and sat down next to the man. Meeting the man's surprised look, she calmly nodded.
Since she came to this era, she hadn't seen such a good - looking guy for a long time.
She could tell at a glance that this man was extraordinary.
After the encounter with the human traffickers, Hua Qingqing's sense of vigilance was at an all - time high.
Seeing a flight attendant passing by, she quickly waved and asked if there were any sleeper tickets.
Unfortunately, the last sleeper ticket had been bought by someone in the previous carriage.
Hua Qingqing sighed and took out some food to replenish her energy. Her movements were a bit large, attracting the attention of the man next to her.
Out of consideration for his good looks, Hua Qingqing offered him a chocolate.
Previously, three boxes of chocolates had been sent from Hong Kong. She had mentioned in her letter that the chocolates were delicious, and then she received six boxes two days before the college entrance examination.
She had opened all the boxes and put all the chocolates in her bag to eat on the way.
The man seemed surprised by her familiarity, or maybe something else. Anyway, he refused with a strange look on his face.
"No, thanks."
Hua Qingqing didn't care. If he didn't want it, she'd eat it herself.
A faint smell of alcohol wafted from beside her.
Guan Ciying actually found the stuffy and fishy air inside the train a bit more bearable.
He had returned from the United States and didn't go back to Hong Kong. Instead, he rushed straight to the Chinese mainland with some documents. The person in charge of the connection was detained, so they could only arrange for someone to help him board the train to the capital in a hurry.
Guan Ciying knew that the most important thing for him at this moment was to protect the documents in his hand.
He had to always be on the lookout for anything unusual around him, like this strange girl. At first, he suspected that she was staring at him to confirm his appearance. After all, the reporters in Hong Kong were very gossipy, and his photos had already spread.
It turned out not to be the case. Her seat was next to his, and she was eager to get a sleeper ticket to stay away from him.
Guan Ciying felt a bit annoyed that he had misunderstood an innocent person.
After a while, the girl opened her strangely - shaped backpack and took out some Ferrero chocolates.
His vigilance was raised again!
This expensive candy, and the girl had so many!
It wasn't that he wasn't a gentleman, but this was really suspicious!
Guan Ciying apologized to the girl in his heart and then coldly refused the chocolate. Although he was really hungry now, he couldn't eat it.
Maybe if he ate it, he'd fall into a coma?
Many story novels described it like this.
He couldn't be careless.
However, he was really hungry. In his hurry to escape, except for the watch on his wrist, he didn't have anything valuable to exchange for food.
Hua Qingqing ate the chocolate and then took out several Chinese pastries. These were bought by Yu Linxiu from the supply and marketing cooperative the day before she set off. They were wrapped in oil paper and wouldn't go bad easily.
"Gurgle..."
What sound was that?
Hua Qingqing's gaze fell on the man.