The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Chapter 199: Chapter 199: The Thief on the Train

After breakfast at the hospital on the sixteenth, both Grandma Sun and Sun Jiaming urged Gu’er to leave.

Grandma Sun also knew about Gu’er’s trip and was supportive. However, she reminded her several times to be careful. It didn’t matter whether the business succeeded or failed; all that mattered was that she returned safely.

Gu’er reluctantly left the hospital room. She pushed the two hundred yuan that Sun Jiaming had pressed into her hand back to him. Grandma Sun needed money now more than ever, so she couldn’t possibly take his.

"Be safe. I’ll wait for you to come back."

Sun Jiaming’s eyes were slightly red. He was heartbroken to see her go, but he couldn’t ask her to stay.

Gu’er nodded at him and turned to go. Just as Sun Jiaming took a step to walk with her a little more, Gu’er suddenly spun around and hugged him. It was the first time she had ever initiated a hug with him.

After a moment of shock, Sun Jiaming hugged Gu’er tightly.

When the two separated, Gu’er left the hospital.

Back home, Chen Fengjiao watched her with a complicated expression. She knew Gu’er was going to Russia. She was worried, but her husband and Gu’er had already made up their minds, and there was nothing she could do to stop them. Still, she couldn’t help but feel that Gu’er’s heart was too wild, something she found difficult to accept.

By the time Li Zhi arrived, Gu’er had already finished packing.

"Your dad asked me to give you this."

Chen Fengjiao pressed a cloth-wrapped bundle into Gu’er’s hand. Inside was five hundred yuan.

As she watched Gu’er put the money away, Chen Fengjiao’s expression grew more complicated. ’This is almost all the money we have left. Lin Shan already took years of our savings to buy Gu’er a house, and now he wants to give her what’s left as start-up money for her business.’ She and Lin Shan had argued about it several times over the past few nights. ’He’s so biased, giving everything to Gu’er without a single thought for Sui’er and Zheng’er.’

’If Gu’er loses all this money, things will get very tight for the family. I won’t have any money left to buy anything for the other kids.’

’Why can’t Gu’er just behave and settle down?’

Chen Fengjiao just couldn’t understand it.

"Li Zhi, I’ll have to trouble you with my Gu’er. She’s young, so please take good care of her."

But even though she couldn’t understand her daughter’s ambitions, Chen Fengjiao still pleaded with Li Zhi. She didn’t want anything to happen to Gu’er.

"Don’t you worry, Auntie. I’ll be sure to bring Gu’er back safe and sound."

Li Zhi nodded, making his promise.

"I want to go! I want to go too! I want to go to Russia with Brother Li! I can help, I can carry your bags, okay?"

Lin Sui’er’s eyes were filled with envy as she grabbed Li Zhi’s arm, refusing to let him leave. freewēbnoveℓ.com

"Sui’er, be good. You’re not old enough, you can’t go. Wait for Brother Li and your sister to come back, and we’ll bring you a present."

Li Zhi treated Lin Sui’er like a little sister.

"No! I want to go too! I can help. Please take me with you, I’m begging you, Brother Li."

But Lin Sui’er wouldn’t let go, her eyes full of pleading.

"Sui’er, it’s chaotic over there, what would you even do? You stay right here at home. School is starting in a few days. If you dare run off, you’d better watch out for a beating from your father."

Chen Fengjiao’s head throbbed. ’How did life get so messy?’

"Dad’s biased! Why does Lin Gu’er get to do everything while I have to go to school? No! I want to go with them!"

Lin Sui’er shouted.

Chen Fengjiao had to pull her back with all her strength, allowing Li Zhi and Gu’er to escape out the door.

Once on the train, Gu’er couldn’t even manage the sigh of relief she longed to let out. There were simply too many people. The trains back then were terribly old and run-down, nothing like the later ones with air conditioning. Crowds of people were squeezed together, making the air stuffy, hot, and filled with a smell so foul it was hard to breathe.

"Just bear with it. It’ll be better once we get there."

Li Zhi was enduring it as well.

"What about that friend of yours?"

Gu’er asked Li Zhi.

"He’s already in Dalian. He’ll meet us at the station when we arrive."

Li Zhi smiled at Gu’er and explained.

After about two hours, Gu’er was no longer hot. Instead, she started to feel cold. She pulled her padded coat tighter around herself, huddling inside it.

"Cover up with this. We still have another eight or nine hours to go."

Li Zhi took a heavy, padded overcoat from his luggage and draped it over Gu’er.

"You should sleep. I’ll keep watch. I’ll wake you if anything happens."

Li Zhi could see how exhausted Gu’er was; he guessed she hadn’t slept well again.

Gu’er closed her eyes and, leaning against the window, drifted off to sleep.

"My money’s gone! My money is gone! Someone stole my money!"

Gu’er was sound asleep when a sudden shout startled her awake.

She opened her eyes, still disoriented.

"Oh, God! That’s my son’s life-saving money! We sold our pigs and borrowed from everyone we know to scrape that money together! Whoever stole it, I’m begging you, please give it back!"

Gu’er looked and saw an old woman sitting in the aisle of the train car, crying. With her graying hair and tattered padded coat, she was a pitiful sight.

Many people were standing in the aisle and by the seats. Some were whispering, some were asking questions and trying to console her, and others were just moving about.

’Her money was stolen?’

Gu’er’s heart sank. She reached into the inner pocket of her coat. Thankfully, her money was still there. ’But... but that old woman...’

A bitter feeling welled up inside Gu’er. ’Whether it’s the train or the bus, there are always so many thieves. Some people work hard for a whole year, only to have their travel money home stolen. Others have their life-saving money taken. And it’s always the most vulnerable people who get robbed—the elderly, women, young men from the countryside... The more pitiful someone looks, the more likely they are to be a target.’ She felt a pang of sympathy, but she was powerless. It wasn’t like she could stop thieves from being thieves.

"Hold it, friend."

While Gu’er was lost in thought, Li Zhi suddenly grabbed a young man who was trying to pass by him.

The young man was wearing a hat and a scarf, so his face wasn’t clear, but his eyes were visible.

Those eyes held a hint of malice, as well as a flicker of panic.

"Sorry for bumping into you. Excuse me, I need to use the restroom."

The young man said to Li Zhi, acting as if he had no idea why his arm was being held.

Gu’er’s eyes narrowed. At first, she didn’t understand either, but when she saw the man’s eyes, she knew. He was the thief. He was the one who had stolen the old woman’s money.

’How did Li Zhi know? Did he see it happen?’

"Look, friend, that old woman is in a tough spot. You should just give the money back to her."

Li Zhi’s grip on the man’s arm was tight.

"What are you talking about? What does that old woman losing her money have to do with me? I have to go to the bathroom. Let go, I’m about to piss my pants!"

The young man refused to admit it.

Their exchange drew the attention of many of the other passengers.

"Take out the money!"

Li Zhi said, standing up and tightening his grip.

"Don’t you frame me! I didn’t steal any money! I just need to use the restroom, now let go!"

The young man was growing frantic, but he couldn’t break free from Li Zhi’s grasp no matter how he struggled.

"Is that guy a thief?"

"Who knows? Maybe he really does just need to use the bathroom."

"Yeah, you don’t want to make a mistake."

"If he is a thief, beat him to death! Thieves are the worst."

"But what if he’s not? What happens if you’ve wrongly accused him?"

Gu’er heard the crowd of voices murmuring around her.