Chapter 10: “Don’t Move — Let Me Feel a Bit!”

Although Lu Yuanbao was young, he was sharp and perceptive.

After spending a full day and night with Chu Yue — being well-fed, clothed, and safe — he completely trusted her.

As long as he followed Chu Yue’s instructions, everything would be fine.

Lu Yuanbao turned to look at the unfamiliar man beside him. Lifting his head from the red scarf wrapped around his face, he obediently called out:

“Daddy.”

Sitting beside him, the man didn’t object. Instead, he reached out and gently patted Lu Yuanbao’s head, murmuring in a deep voice:

“Good boy.”

At that moment, the three of them really did look just like a real father and son duo.

The middle-aged woman’s gaze flicked back and forth between Lu Yuanbao and the man, watching them closely. Eventually, her expression shifted in disbelief — she even rubbed her eyes, thinking she must have seen wrong.

Earlier, when she said that Chu Yue and Lu Yuanbao looked alike, it had just been idle flattery — small talk to get closer.

But now? She realized Lu Yuanbao and the man actually did resemble each other a bit — especially around the eyes and brows. The more she looked, the more alike they seemed.

Good heavens!
Could she have misjudged this completely?

Chu Yue noticed the woman’s changing expression and smirked.

“Auntie, are you awake now?”

She chuckled and added with mock kindness, “Since your eyesight clearly isn’t that great, let me give you one more tip: take a good look. My man’s a soldier — he’s in uniform, you know! He’s the kind of person who’s on trains catching scumbags and criminals who break the law.”

“Things like thieves, robbers… and especially — human traffickers.”

Her last words landed with a heavy emphasis, and she shot the woman a sharp, meaningful glance.

“I’m married, I have a child, and my man is right beside me. Don’t get any ideas about me — and definitely don’t try to target any other young women either. Anyone who dares to traffic people is doomed to a bad end!”

Only then did the middle-aged woman notice the dark green military uniform under the man’s black trench coat.

Her eyelid twitched wildly. After Chu Yue’s sharp warning, her heart started to race in panic.

“Miss, don’t say such things… I wouldn’t dare try anything… There’s nothing going on… really, nothing at all…”

After that, the woman didn’t dare say another word to Chu Yue. She turned away, shrinking into her seat like a guilty shadow, not even daring to steal a glance.

Whenever she tried to sneak a peek, Chu Yue glared at her — and worse, the man in uniform stared at her with icy, bone-chilling eyes, making her back break into a cold sweat.

The young woman across the aisle — the one who had earlier been chatting with the middle-aged woman — remained blissfully unaware of the tense standoff that had just happened. Still full of naïve hope for her promised job, she continued trying to make conversation.

But now, the older woman was so flustered she was afraid the man might suddenly pull out a pair of handcuffs and arrest her on the spot!

Terrified, she quickly stopped talking to the girl and waved her hands wildly, admitting that everything she said earlier had been complete nonsense.

And just like that —

Chu Yue finally got a moment of peace and quiet.

She turned and looked at the man in uniform. He was also glancing at her. The two exchanged a silent look of mutual understanding — and neither said a word.

Then the man closed his eyes again and leaned against the wall of the train car, drifting back to sleep.

Time passed in a flash.

The train continued to rumble and roar, and soon the passengers around them began pulling out their packed lunches.

Some had scallion pancakes, others gnawed on steamed cornbread, and a few just sipped water with some fried rice noodles. Most of the people in this hard-seat carriage clearly came from modest backgrounds and ate very simple food.

Chu Yue opened her backpack and pulled out some of their remaining rations: a half pack of soda crackers, two boiled eggs, three steamed buns, and three cornbread rolls.

Honestly, this was already quite a hearty lunch for these conditions.

Before eating, Chu Yue glanced at her “cheap husband” sitting beside her and the sneaky middle-aged woman across the way.

She sighed softly and patted the shoulder of the man beside her.

The man furrowed his brows and slowly opened his eyes.

His voice was raspy and magnetic as he asked, “What is it?”

His deep, gravelly voice was strangely pleasing to the ear.

Chu Yue cleared her throat. “Here. It’s lunchtime. You should eat something.”

She hadn’t expected herself to be such a sucker for a good voice, but after a pause, she stuffed two cornbread rolls and one steamed bun into his hands.

As for the two boiled eggs, she kept those for herself and Lu Yuanbao — none for the man.

The man looked down at the warm food piled in his hands. He raised his eyebrows, clearly amused — he hadn’t expected to be paid in rations just for playing along with this little act.

And so, this impromptu “family of three” began their lunch.

All around them, people were watching. When they saw Chu Yue and Lu Yuanbao each holding a boiled egg, more than a few swallowed their envy along with their dry bread.

Across from them, an older uncle gave the man in uniform a thumbs-up.

“Brother, giving the eggs to your wife and kid — you’re a good man!”

Chu Yue rolled her eyes so hard she nearly sprained something.

What the hell? That food came from her backpack, okay?
Why does it look like it all belonged to the man now?

The little boy in Chu Yue’s arms, Lu Yuanbao, seemed to sense her emotions and looked up at her.

Those dark, bright eyes now held less of the hostility they had the night before, and instead contained a trace of indescribable concern.

In his hand was a peeled boiled egg, smooth and tender, still untouched.

Lu Yuanbao swallowed and held the egg out to Chu Yue.
“You eat it.”

Eggs were a good thing—eating them made people happy.

“You eat it.” Chu Yue replied.
“You’re just a kid—why are you worrying about things? Children should act like children.”

She grabbed Lu Yuanbao’s hand and shoved the egg into his mouth, then gently lifted his chin with her hand, closing his mouth.

By the time Lu Yuanbao realized what was happening, the egg was already in his mouth, and he instinctively took a bite.

The egg white was tender and springy, and the yolk was soft and creamy.

So fragrant.

He had only eaten an egg once before in his life, and that was one another village kid dropped and didn’t want, which he had picked up off the ground and stuffed into his mouth.

He had been so hungry at the time, he couldn’t even remember what it tasted like.

But today—it was so fragrant, so delicious.

Chu Yue saw that he was quietly eating the egg without speaking anymore. She gently patted his head and said firmly:

“Lu Yuanbao, don’t worry. From now on, I’ll make sure we live a good life. We’ll have eggs to eat every day.”

With her dimensional space and billions in stored supplies, raising a child like Lu Yuanbao—or even thousands more like him—wouldn’t be a problem.

Chu Yue’s slender, gentle eyes shone with quiet confidence.

This entire scene was witnessed by the man in military uniform sitting beside her.

As he listened to Chu Yue’s words, he took a big bite of the mantou (steamed bun) she had stuffed into his hands earlier.

The train continued to rumble southward. The scenery outside the window alternated between bleak and patches of green.

Inside the carriage, things were still noisy, with voices and accents from all over the country.

However, around Chu Yue, because of the earlier incident and the presence of the cold, stern man in uniform, the nearby passengers didn’t dare speak. They just sat silently, eyes wide and lost in thought.

After filling her stomach, Chu Yue hugged Lu Yuanbao and leaned her head against the seat, closing her eyes to sleep.

She had been busy the entire night before—it was time to catch up on rest.

After a while, Chu Yue fell into a light sleep, drowsy and relaxed.

She didn’t know how long she slept, only that she occasionally hugged the child in her arms tighter and continued resting peacefully.

Until, in a haze, she sensed a dark figure pass in front of her.

Chu Yue blinked, cracked her eyes open slightly, and saw a military uniform chest.

The man in uniform was carefully walking past her. The aisle between the seats was narrow, and he didn’t want to wake her, so he moved with great caution.

Seeing that Chu Yue had opened her eyes, he spoke softly:

“Go back to sleep. I’ll be right back.”

This guy was pretty good at acting—his tone was gentle, and he sounded like they really were a married couple.

Chu Yue watched the man head toward the carriage connection area. Her gaze fell on his shoulder, and she frowned slightly.

Not long after—

Chu Yue also stood up. She placed Lu Yuanbao on the seat and instructed him:

“Sit here. Remember—don’t talk to strangers, and don’t eat anything they give you.”

Then she turned to an older uncle nearby and asked politely:
“Uncle, could you please help watch my son for a moment?”

The middle-aged woman across from them, clearly feeling targeted, scoffed and rolled her eyes, muttering angrily:

“So what if you have a son? Acting like someone’s going to snatch him. What, you think you gave birth to a golden nugget or something? Tch—who’d even want him?”

Chu Yue couldn’t be bothered to argue with that kind of person. She shot her a cold glare and walked in the direction the man in uniform had gone.

On old green trains, some carriage connections have doors between compartments.

The man had briefly gone into the next carriage and then returned.

Just as he opened the door, he saw Chu Yue waiting right at the doorway.

Before he could say anything, she had already stepped forward and closed the distance between them.

Chu Yue raised her hand and slipped it inside the man’s black trench coat, her soft hand pressing against the dark green military uniform underneath.

The man was so startled he slammed back against the door with a thud.

His dark eyes trembled—barely noticeably.

Chu Yue didn’t seem to think there was anything strange about her actions. She raised her eyes and looked at him with calm indifference, then issued a warning:

“Don’t move. I’m just going to feel around a bit.”