Chapter 124: A Farce
Father Sheng calmly laid out his itinerary to the conductor, step by step. Since he hadn’t stolen or hidden a thing, he had absolutely nothing to hide.
“I spent the day in the next compartment,” he explained. “We’re a family of five traveling together—my parents, my wife, and my daughter are all in the adjacent cabin. Since we were one bunk short for a full soft-sleeper room, I was allocated this single berth over here.”
The conductor nodded in understanding and immediately sent a colleague to the next compartment to verify the story.
Back in the adjacent cabin, the moment Mother Sheng caught wind that her husband was caught up in a mess, she strictly instructed Wanyan to watch over the two elders to prevent any further trouble. Then, she practically charged into the next compartment. The second she laid eyes on the old lady shrieking accusations at her husband, her temper flared. She marched right over, raised her hand, and gave the old lady a sound slap.
“How dare you slander my man!” Mother Sheng barked, thoroughly enraged. “Who on earth do you think would covet your measly little belongings, ugh! You really don’t know how to appreciate a good person. It’s exactly like the dog biting Lu Dongbin—turning on the very soul who tried to help you!”
Mother Sheng kept swinging, her palms connecting cleanly with the woman’s face. The old lady was significantly shorter than Mother Sheng and lacked the leverage to mount any real resistance.
The conductor rushed forward once more, desperately trying to pull them apart. Why on earth does this woman love to fight so much? he thought frantically.
“Stop this at once!”
Father Sheng quickly stepped in, catching his fiery wife by the waist and pulling her back, while the conductor managed to hoist the wailing old lady off the floor.
The moment the old lady found her footing, she launched into a barrage of curses aimed at Mother Sheng. But Mother Sheng wasn’t about to tolerate a single word and hurled the insults right back.
“Thief!” the old lady shrieked. “Give me back my money!”
“Bah!” Mother Sheng spat right in her face. “Our family of five could easily afford an entire soft-sleeper package. Why would we ever need to steal your paltry hundred bucks?” She glared daggers at her, furious that this woman had tried to frame her husband without even bothering to see if she would allow it!
“Ma’am, please calm down,” the conductor interjected strictly. “My colleague has just verified their registry. They are indeed a family of five traveling together, and because of the seating layout, this comrade was assigned to your compartment alone. Your money was absolutely not stolen by him. Please cease these baseless accusations immediately.”
The old lady blinked back her tears, still defiant. “If he didn’t steal it, then where on earth did my money go?”
“We have already logged the incident with the train director, and the railway police will assume control of the investigation at the terminal,” the conductor stated flatly. “If you genuinely wish to recover your funds, you need to cooperate with our protocol.”
Realizing she had run out of targets, the old lady collapsed back onto the floor, sobbing hysterically. The remaining passengers in the cabin completely ignored her, turning their backs to sit on their respective bunks with thoroughly dark expressions. Mother Sheng shot her one final, warning glare, helped Father Sheng smooth out his blankets, and marched her husband back to their own compartment.
The moment the couple stepped through the door, the entire family crowded around, anxiously pressing for details. Mother Sheng delivered a highly animated, exaggerated retelling of the entire showdown. Grandma Sheng’s blood boiled to the point where she actually rose to march next door and join the fray, but Grandpa Sheng firmly caught her arm.
“Don’t go looking for trouble,” the patriarch advised. “It is best to leave this matter strictly to the police.”
“She openly framed my son!” Grandma Sheng countered, her eyes flashing as she glared at her husband. “Am I just supposed to sit here and swallow that injustice?”
Grandpa Sheng felt his scalp prickle under her fierce gaze. In their household, Father Sheng was usually the one who had to step in to rescue his father from Grandma’s wrath; if he didn’t smooth things over now, Grandpa Sheng knew he might never be allowed to touch a drop of liquor again.
“Mom, we pull into the terminal tomorrow morning anyway,” Father Sheng reasoned gently. “There’s no sense in creating unnecessary friction for ourselves at the last leg of the trip. Besides, we have to consider Wanze’s position.”
Hearing her grandson’s name, Grandma Sheng finally relented and sat back down. As an elder, she was always willing to swallow her pride if it meant protecting the peace and reputation of her children.
What the Sheng family didn’t realize, however, was that the band of thieves on the train had actually targeted their compartment first. But because the Shengs kept their cabin door securely latched at all hours and never traveled down the corridors alone, the criminals could never find an opening. After lurking in the shadows for days without a single opportunity to strike, they had ultimately been forced to pivot, choosing the careless old lady next door as their mark.
Thanks to the family’s relentless vigilance, the remaining hours of the journey passed without incident. Aside from that minor corridor farce, they crossed the provinces safely and officially arrived in the Capital.
Wanyan later overheard that the old lady’s stolen cash and coupons were never recovered. With hundreds of passengers shuffling through the carriages and the complete absence of modern surveillance technology, pinpointing the culprit was a logistical impossibility.
Left with no other options, the old lady had thrown a magnificent tantrum at the station. Taking pity on her desperate state—since she had disembarked entirely penniless and lacked the funds to even place a long-distance call to her relatives—several train attendants pooled their loose change and handed her exactly three yuan. Ultimately, if a passenger refused to guard their own luggage, the state couldn’t be held responsible for the deficit. The old lady could only clutch the three yuan and vanish into the crowds; no one ever found out what became of her.
Sheng Wanyan and her family navigated the train steps, laden with bags of every shape and size. The moment they cleared the platform doors, their eyes began scanning the sea of faces for Gu Tingxiao.
Before the arrival, Wanyan had ducked into the restroom to freshen up, braiding her hair into an elegant, modern fishtail. Back in Chengdu, she had strictly favored a high ponytail or two thick, traditional braids, but now that she was entering the capital, she wanted her look to reflect a touch of modern fashion.
Her presentation was pristine, and she smelled entirely fresh. Every single day of the journey, she had utilized her scheduled trips to the train lavatory to slip into her spatial warehouse, indulge in a hot shower, and change into clean undergarments. Her outer coat was the only item she hadn’t cycled through. Just before disembarking, she had executed a full wardrobe change.
Her relatives, however, had spent a grueling week trapped in that cramped compartment during the peak of the summer heat, and everyone smelled faintly of sweat. But in the chaos of arrival, no one cared about such superficial details; their singular desire was to escape the suffocating station crowd and secure some proper rest.
“Can you spot him?” Father Sheng asked, craning his neck above the sea of heads outside the terminal exit. The sheer density of the crowd was overwhelming.
Almost immediately, Father Sheng’s eyes locked onto a crisp green uniform; the vibrant military shade was impossible to miss. It was Gu Tingxiao.
Gu Tingxiao caught sight of Wanyan the exact same second. He had arrived at the terminal an hour early, terrified that a scheduling shift might cause him to miss their arrival. Standing right beside him was another man in an identical green uniform—none other than Sheng Wanze, who hadn’t been home in over six months.
Wanze and Pan Yue had actually arrived in the Capital the previous afternoon, spending the night at the private, four-room courtyard estate the Gu family had prepared for the in-laws. Pan Yue knew the rest of the clan was due today, so she had hit the local markets at dawn to source fresh groceries and was currently back at the house preparing a massive welcome feast.
Gu Tingxiao strode through the crowd, effortlessly relieving Wanyan of the heavy bags clutched in her hands.
It had been more than four months since they last stood face-to-face, and the two shared a long, quiet look. Wanyan could see that his dark eyes were entirely consumed by her image. Realizing her family was watching them, she blushed slightly. Why on earth is he staring so intensely in front of everyone? she thought frantically.
Hoping to break the tension, Wanyan quickly turned around and gestured to the remaining luggage. “Tingxiao, please help Grandma, Uncle, and Auntie with theirs as well.”
“Of course,” Gu Tingxiao replied smoothly, gathering the bulk of the heavy suitcases for himself. He looked every bit the devoted, tireless fiancé, eager to shoulder the labor without a single whisper of complaint.
Grandpa and Grandma Sheng beamed at the display of chivalry. Then, their eyes drifted to their grandson standing just behind him, and the lingering exhaustion of the week-long train ride instantly evaporated.
“Wanze!”
“Grandma! Dad, Mom, Wanyan!” Wanze greeted them warmly.
“You little rascal!” Mother Sheng chided, though her eyes were bright as she stepped forward. “You haven’t set foot in our house for half a year. Do you still hold this family in your heart?”
Wanze merely laughed, entirely unbothered by the scolding as he reached out to take the bags from her hands. “Mom, how could I ever forget you? The moment I heard our entire family was reuniting in the Capital, didn’t I immediately submit my leave paperwork and book the very next transport north?”
Seeing his playful, unrepentant expression, Mother Sheng fondly swatted his back twice. The boy still carried that breezy, unpolished military charm; he didn’t look like a settled husband at all, still entirely impulsive.
“You always have a quick answer for everything,” she smiled. “Hurry up and load the things. Xiaoyue is waiting for us at the house.”
Gu Tingxiao and Sheng Wanze took the lead, charting a path through the crowded terminal while hauling the heavy gear. They had coordinated two separate military vehicles for the pickup, anticipating that the Sheng family’s regional provisions would require an immense amount of cargo space.
