Chapter 6: If You Won’t Give Up Your Seat, Then Squeeze

She glanced at the ticket in her hand and took her designated seat.

She didn’t have much with her—just a thermos, a tea mug, a few lunchboxes, a set of bedding, and some clothes.

Compared to others lugging large bags, her load was light. Still, the ride was going to be a long one.

A middle-aged woman standing next to her said,
“Girl, move in a little so I can sit for a bit. Ay, my back’s killing me from standing.”

Jiang Manman’s seat wasn’t by the window. In the past, if she had a choice, she’d always pick the window, but this time, there were no options. The three-person bench was already packed with four.

Two middle-aged women were seated inside, and a young girl sat beside her.

The four of them were crammed like sardines.

Her seat was basically reduced to half.

The girl next to her, also a young intellectual heading to the countryside, looked at her with a wry smile.

She showed her ticket—it was clearly the middle seat, meaning the two women inside were taking up an extra spot.

Too lazy to start anything, Jiang Manman decided to make do and squeeze in.

Just then, another auntie chimed in.

Glancing at the aisle jam-packed with people, Jiang Manman could only sigh internally.

“Auntie, there’s no space. You’ll have to stand.”

The woman immediately replied,
“Get up and let me help you squeeze in.”

Was she trying to fool a child?

If she got up, how would she sit back down?

“No need.”

“Hey, young lady, I’m just trying to help out. How could you be so ungrateful?

Just get up and let me sit, I’m sure I can help you make room.”

Jiang Manman absolutely hated people who didn’t understand boundaries.

“Auntie, I said I’m fine. I’m managing as it is.”

Who would’ve thought that right after she said that, the woman leaned into her, nearly trying to sit directly on her lap.

Talk about starting the day with bad luck—dealing with a nuisance like this!

“Auntie, you’re sitting on me!”

The woman outright collapsed into her lap.

There were no armrests beside the seats. Even if there had been, she wouldn’t want someone sitting on the armrest next to her, let alone directly on her lap.

She reached into her bag, but actually pulled out from her storage space a half-knitted scarf—originally meant for Xiao Wenxuan. Who knew it would come in handy now?

Using the long metal knitting needle, she jabbed it straight into the woman’s lower back.

“Yowch! Ay, you little brat, how could you stab someone?!”

Jiang Manman didn’t hold back—she drew blood.

“Oh, did I stab you? My bad. I just remembered I had a scarf halfway done. Figured I’d use the time to knit a bit.

Better stay back, Auntie, or if I stab you again, I’m not going to apologize.”

“Ay, it hurts! You stabbed me. You have to compensate me!

I can’t stand anymore. Hurry up and give me your seat!”

Oh, so now she was turning it around?

Trying to lie and act like a victim, huh?

“Help! Someone call the train police! There’s a thief—she stole my money!

Shameless hag, thinking you can bully me just because you’re older? I won’t give you my seat, and you try to sit on me?

And now you’re saying I stole from you?

Whoever marries you must’ve racked up eight lifetimes of bad karma. You’re clearly an unwanted old shrew, spoiled rotten, and now you think you can take it out on me?”

The middle-aged woman didn’t expect this young girl to be so sharp-tongued—and she even called her “unwanted.”

Furious, she raised her hand to slap Jiang Manman.

But Jiang Manman caught her wrist mid-swing and slapped her right back.

“You wanna hit me?!”

The woman was stunned from the slap and cried out.

“Ay, she hit me! She’s bullying me!”

At that moment, the train police arrived. They were used to handling cases like this all day long.

“What’s going on?”

The middle-aged woman got up and pointed at Jiang Manman.

“She hit me and stabbed me too! She doesn’t respect her elders at all—such an ill-bred girl!”

The male officer frowned and looked at Jiang Manman, who was holding her knitting needle.

“Comrade, is what she said true?”

“Yes.”

“You see? She admitted it! Hurry and arrest her. Let her sit in the holding cell and reflect on her behavior!”

Jiang Manman sneered.

“I stabbed her because she didn’t just stand next to me—she literally sat on my lap. Comrade, tell me, should I have stabbed her or not?”

The officer looked at the woman in surprise.

She clutched her waist, groaning in pain.

“Comrade, my back hurts! I was just leaning on her a bit, and she refused to budge. That’s just unreasonable!”

The young girl beside Jiang Manman stood up and said,

“Comrade, I saw her sit right on this comrade’s lap.”

“She’s not even that fat. What’s wrong with sitting for a bit?”

Oh, so now she was the one with logic?

“Fat or not, my leg isn’t your stool. What gives you the right to sit on me?

I refuse to let you sit, and you try to hit me? I was just defending myself.”

Now the officer fully understood and looked at the woman, speechless.

Still, she pointed at Jiang Manman and said,

“Well, I didn’t hit you, but you hit me, so you owe me! Pay up!”

Jiang Manman hadn’t planned to escalate things, but this woman was just too vile and infuriating.

So this was what they meant by “a scholar meeting a soldier”?

“Comrade officer, what do you say?”

The officer frowned tightly and replied,

“You shouldn’t have hit her. How about this—you apologize and give her ten yuan. Let’s call it settled.”

Jiang Manman nodded but pressed further:

“Then shouldn’t she apologize to me first for sitting on my leg?”

The officer seemed unsure and said,

“Well, even if she was wrong, you stabbed her. That caused physical harm, so you’re at fault.

And then you hit her too. That’s a fact.

I’m saying, pay her ten yuan and let’s be done with it.”

Jiang Manman chuckled in disbelief. Her impression of this officer hit rock bottom.

“Comrade officer, may I ask what your relationship is with this auntie?

I want to report you for covering for her.”

The young male officer frowned and said sternly,

“Comrade, you need evidence for such accusations. You’re clearly in the wrong—how could you be so unreasonable?”

Jiang Manman’s temper flared.

“I’m in the wrong? I was wrong for not letting her sit on my lap?”

“You could’ve told her off. But stabbing someone with a needle is crossing the line!”

“If I hadn’t stabbed her, would she have gotten up?!”

Jiang Manman argued back. The woman smugly rolled her eyes.

“If you’d just said something nicely, I would’ve moved! But no, you had to start stabbing. Someone like you deserves a bullet! You should be locked up! So young and already so vicious!”

At that moment, a middle-aged officer walked over, having noticed the prolonged commotion.

“What’s going on here?”

The younger officer explained the situation and pointed at Jiang Manman.

“I think this comrade’s ideological awareness is severely lacking!”