Back to 1984: Let's Work Hard Together to Raise The Kids!-Chapter 209: Standing Up for Justice on the Train
The old couple felt their hearts sink, and it was too late for regrets.
Of course, all this is in hindsight.
Xu Kang stayed at home for ten days, helping his parents clean, sell clothes, meet childhood friends, and took a turn around Pingxi Town before finally setting off to return to An City.
There was only about a week until school started.
The train journey took two days, and if there were any delays, it might take three or four days, so it was safer to leave early.
By the time he returned to An City,
Chen Wenjun and Lin Qin immediately went to buy tickets.
An City is in the south, the capital in the north—one in the south and one in the north. The three kids who had never been out of the province were filled with curiosity about the world outside, while the two adults, who also hadn’t left the province, were excitedly calculating how to earn more money.
When two adults and three kids got on the train,
Lin Qin and Chen Wenjun began discussing their plans for the capital.
"I think we should first take Ah Kang to his school, and while we’re there, explore the campus. I’ve brought the camera, and we can take some pictures. When we go back, we can show them to my sister and brother-in-law, then we take Yaya, and finally Ping’an. I’ve already taken ten days off from work, so we can enjoy a few days. Before returning, we can visit them again."
The train was noisy and crowded, so Lin Qin didn’t speak very clearly, but Chen Wenjun understood.
The three kids were riding the train for the first time. They were fresh with excitement and didn’t pay much attention to the adults’ plans.
In the evening,
Lin Qin and Chen Wenjun were tired, but the three kids were still full of energy, playing cards.
Xu Kang wanted to go to the bathroom, and Chen Ruiyu happened to feel the urge too, so the two went out together.
However, a long time passed, and they didn’t come back until there was a commotion outside. Chen Xinyue poked her head out, only to see them approaching with an air of indignation.
"What happened?" Chen Xinyue asked, looking puzzled.
Chen Ruiyu shook his head, "Nothing, just caught a pickpocket. It took some time for the attendant to come."
Chen Xinyue immediately checked them over, "You’re not hurt, are you?"
Chen Ruiyu shook his head again.
Xu Kang angrily kicked off his shoes, "That guy even had a knife! Luckily, I’m agile. I kicked the knife away, and that little thief was still defiant under my foot. Hmph!"
Lin Qin and Chen Wenjun woke up during their conversation.
Seeing Xu Kang looking so smug, Lin Qin picked up a shoe and smacked him, "Stop showing off! You don’t even know if the thief had accomplices. What if they were working as a team? You two reckless ones could have gotten into trouble. Hurry and pack up, be careful, and we’ll take turns keeping watch. We don’t reach the capital until tomorrow night, so don’t waste all your energy."
The three kids nodded repeatedly, very cooperative.
The couple talked for a while and soon fell asleep again.
However, the three kids weren’t sleepy. They quietly gathered again to play cards until dawn before they finally couldn’t stay awake and fell asleep.
At that point, Lin Qin and Chen Wenjun were already awake, speechlessly watching the three troublesome kids. They were just about to go out and freshen up when they saw two girls walking in, hand in hand.
"Who are you?" Lin Qin asked, surprised.
The two girls smiled shyly.
The girl in the floral dress on the left spoke softly, "Aunt, we came to thank the two comrades who helped us yesterday."
Seeing Lin Qin didn’t react, the girl in the blue shirt and ponytail continued, "Yesterday we encountered a thief on the train, and all our important belongings were nearly gone. Fortunately, the two comrades discovered and caught the thief in time. We just learned from the attendant that the thief has been taken away by the police at the station, so we came to thank them."
"I see." Lin Qin smiled kindly, pointing at the three soundly sleeping kids, "They stayed up all night, probably will sleep until noon. I’ll pass on your thanks to them."
The two girls nodded quickly, embarrassed, and left.
Once they were far from the sleeper car, Su Wanwan still looked anxious, "Jiahui, that aunt looked so beautiful, like someone with a lot of class, not ordinary at all."
Xu Jiahui agreed, "Probably from some important family. We’ve already thanked them; if we see them again, we can thank them in person. No need to disturb them further."
Having seen Lin Qin’s demeanor, she knew they didn’t make much of it and felt those people preferred to keep to themselves, not wanting to be disturbed.
Su Wanwan bit her lip, lowering her gaze, "Is this really okay?"
Xu Jiahui nodded firmly, "We’re not their kind of people. Let’s just focus on planning our schedule at school."
Seeing Xu Jiahui insist, Su Wanwan could only follow her.
The two were not classmates, nor friends, but both were candidates from An City for this year, admitted to the same university. They met by chance and agreed to go to college together.
Since their relationship wasn’t that deep, they both tried to cooperate as much as possible to avoid conflicts.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly afterward, with no further incidents.
By evening, the train finally arrived at the capital area.
Lin Qin and Chen Wenjun had already packed their luggage, checked everything twice, ensuring nothing was left behind. She finally relaxed, sitting on the bed, eating watermelon brought from home.
When the announcement came over the speaker,
the three men picked up all the luggage voluntarily.
Lin Qin held Chen Xinyue’s hand and squeezed through the crowd off the train with everyone else.
Even at that hour, the train station was bustling with people and very lively.
The group followed the direction signs and finally managed to get out of the station.
Outside, they were immediately surrounded by various drivers looking for passengers.
Since there were five of them, one car wasn’t enough, and splitting up made Chen Wenjun and Lin Qin uneasy.
It was at this moment that Su Wanwan noticed Lin Qin’s group and immediately pulled Xu Jiahui over to greet them, "Hello, we meet again!"
Xu Kang looked surprised, "Aren’t you the ones who almost got robbed on the train?"
Su Wanwan and Xu Jiahui were instantly embarrassed.
Lin Qin glared at Xu Kang, then asked kindly, "Are you also looking for a ride?"
The two nodded quickly, "We’re freshmen at the English College, here for registration."
"What a coincidence?" Lin Qin looked at Chen Xinyue, "My daughter is also at the English College, shall we go together?"
"Is it alright?" Su Wanwan’s eyes lit up.
Lin Qin nodded, thinking five people in two cars would mean splitting up, which wasn’t safe. But with two more, it worked out. Chen Wenjun could take the daughter and these two girls in one car, while she rode with Ping’an and Xu Kang in another.
So, Chen Wenjun called for two cars and gave their destination.
It was only when Su Wanwan got into the car that she realized the ones riding with her weren’t Lin Qin or the two boys who had helped them but the silent Chen Wenjun and Chen Xinyue all along.
Chen Wenjun, with his steady demeanor, didn’t smile easily and seemed hard to get along with. Conversely, Chen Xinyue seemed approachable, but her outstanding aura made her seem like a lady of stature—making Su Wanwan feel somewhat awkward.
