Chapter 11 The Child’s Mother Passed Away  

“My savior, you’re going to Xinshi too?! That’s wonderful! I thought I’d never see you again!…”  

Qian Lai recognized the girl before her—she was the very one she had accidentally saved from Old Four’s blade that night.  

The girl was cheerful and outgoing, though a bit talkative. She excitedly pulled Qian Lai aside, chattering nonstop.  

“Move aside, move aside! Can’t you take your conversation somewhere else?!”  

An elderly man, clearly displeased, struggled to heave a large sack onto the luggage rack, grumbling under his breath.  

“Exactly! They just keep talking and taking up our space!” A woman across from them scowled, her face stiff with disdain.  

“Sorry about that! We’ll leave right away!”  

The girl grabbed Qian Lai’s hand. “Savior, let’s talk in my sleeper compartment.”  

Qian Lai instinctively refused. She didn’t want to associate with anyone who knew about that night’s incident.  

The train slowly began to move, but the clamor inside the carriage didn’t ease—instead, it grew even louder.  

“If you have a sleeper, why suffer here with us?” The scowling woman’s voice dripped with envy.  

Seeing Qian Lai hesitate, the girl smiled warmly. “I’m Hua Rui, a reporter for the *Xincheng Daily*. Come on, I’m not a bad person.” Her personality was infectious, making it hard to resist.  

Qian Lai found it difficult to refuse and let herself be led toward the sleeper car.  

“I brought roast chicken, tea eggs, sunflower seeds, crispy peanuts… and a few bottles of orange soda. Let’s devour them all later! Hahaha…”  

Her boisterous enthusiasm was impossible to decline.  

Qian Lai: “Um… about that night, could you just… not bring it up again? I sneaked out without telling my family, and I…”  

She trailed off, but Hua Rui understood immediately.  

With a playful glint in her eyes and an “I got you” expression, she replied cheerfully, “Got it, got it. Don’t worry, I won’t mention it. I’ll just silently worship you in my heart, okay? Hahaha.”  

Qian Lai: Uh!  

Worship?!  

That’s really not necessary!  

……  

Girls who laugh often are the luckiest!  

Hua Rui was fortunate—her compartment had no rowdy kids or uncouth men, just young people: two women and two men, all easy to get along with.  

Except for the woman on the middle bunk opposite her, who slept facing the wall the entire time without saying a word.  

She barely moved, making it easy to forget she was even there.  

The young people gathered together, chatting about everything under the sun, and soon Qian Lai found herself caught up in the excitement.  

In her past life, Qian Lai had lived in wealth, but from childhood, she had almost no genuine friends.  

Those around her were either family-assigned attendants or sycophants pretending to be friendly.  

“Fakeness” had accompanied her growth. Eventually, she simply stopped making friends.  

Not having to cater to others, pretend not to see their ambitions, or play mind games—living authentically was the most comfortable.  

“Qian Lai, what brings you to Xinshi?”  

To break off an engagement?!  

To take care of a paralyzed patient?!  

“I… I’m visiting a distant relative.”  

“Where does your relative live? My family will pick me up when we arrive—I can have them drive you there.”  

Hua Rui was truly kindhearted.  

“No need. I can find my way.”  

Time flew by as they talked.  

Soon, it was lunchtime.

She had often read about dining cars on Green Trains in novels, and Qian Lai was brimming with curiosity.  

She really wanted to know what kind of dishes could be prepared on a train in this day and age.  

She shared her thoughts, never expecting Hua Rui to be immediately on board with the idea.  

Hua Rui held her hand all the way to the dining car.  

The dining car was located in the middle carriage of the entire train. By the time they arrived, only a small table by the entrance remained.  

After the two of them sat down, the attendant promptly handed them the menu.  

A quick glance revealed five dishes: braised chicken with mushrooms, ants climbing trees (spicy glass noodles with minced pork), Kung Pao chicken, sweet and sour eggplant, and tomato egg drop soup.  

Exchanging a knowing look, the two foodies instantly agreed: “We’ll take all the dishes, plus two bowls of rice.”  

Then they burst into laughter.  

After just half a day, Qian Lai had already been completely charmed by Hua Rui’s cheerful nature—she laughed heartily after almost every sentence.  

The dishes arrived quickly, and just as the two picked up their chopsticks, the dining car door opened behind Qian Lai.  

Hua Rui instinctively looked up, her eyes lighting up.  

“Comrade Qiao, is that you? What an incredible coincidence!”  

Qian Lai turned around and immediately spotted Wenquan and Wen Nuan.  

Following the long legs upward, she met the towering figure of Qiao Muting, who was smiling warmly at her.  

“Auntie!” Little Wenquan actually recognized Qian Lai, tilting his head up to grin at her.  

“Sweetheart, are you here to eat? But there aren’t any seats left.”  

Qian Lai scanned the area for them, but unfortunately, there really wasn’t a single spot available.  

“Never mind, we’ll come back when it’s less crowded.”  

Qiao Muting turned to leave with the children, though his gaze lingered on Qian Lai.  

“Hey, why leave? If you come back later, there won’t be any food left. We ordered so much—it’s more than enough for all of us to share.  

Come on, squeeze in a little. The little ones can sit on our laps. There’s definitely enough space.”  

Qiao Muting silently thanked Comrade Hua Rui for her divine intervention!  

The two children simultaneously looked up at Qiao Muting, waiting for his decision.  

Seeing him glance at Qian Lai, as if waiting for her to speak, the children then turned their eyes to Qian Lai in unison.  

“I’ll hold the little one,” Qian Lai said, scooping up Wenquan and settling him on her lap.  

“Then… I’ll pay for this meal.”  

Qiao Muting placed Wen Nuan beside Hua Rui and promptly took the seat next to Qian Lai.  

Qian Lai quickly scooted inward.  

But the space was limited, and with his long limbs, their arms occasionally brushed against each other.  

To avoid awkwardness, Qian Lai focused entirely on the little one in her arms.  

“Sweetheart, what’s your name?”  

“Wenquan,” he pointed at himself, then at his sister across the table, “Wen Nuan.” The little boy spoke clearly.  

Qiao Wenquan!  

Qiao Wen Nuan!  

“Your names are so lovely!” Qian Lai said.  

“Daddy gave them to us,” Wen Nuan replied. A flicker of sadness passed through her eyes, but she quickly looked at Qiao Muting.  

How could she forget? Now, Uncle Qiao was their “daddy”!  

If she kept mentioning their birth parents in front of him, would he be upset?  

To Qian Lai, however, it seemed the child meant that Qiao Muting had chosen their names.  

“After you told me to call the police that day, this Comrade Qiao arrived the fastest. He asked about you.  

But unfortunately, I didn’t know when you left.  

Who would’ve thought the three of us would end up on the same train? Hahaha!  

What an amazing coincidence!”  

Hua Rui’s laughter broke the tension among the table of strangers.

Qian Lai: I said it before, I wish everyone would just forget everything, but why are the involved parties coming one after another like this!  

“You two knew each other before, right?” Hua Rui asked.  

“We did.”  

“We didn’t.”  

The two spoke in unison.  

Qiao Muting: How can you say we didn’t know each other!?  

Qian Lai: We just exchanged a couple more words than strangers would—how does that count as knowing each other!?  

Hua Rui: There’s something really weird between these two…  

Qiao Muting stole an uneasy glance at Qian Lai.  

She was feeding Wenquan bite by bite, the sunlight from the window slanting gently over her and the child, casting an inexplicable halo of maternal warmth around them.  

Her voice was soft and tender, patient and meticulous, occasionally chatting with Wenquan between bites.  

The child nestled in her arms, docile as a kitten.  

The scene was so heartwarming!  

He found himself entranced, suddenly overcome by the illusion of sharing a meal with his own wife and child.  

At the same time, the overwhelming sense of joy—both physical and emotional—that came with being near this woman plunged him once more into that fatal attraction.  

Especially in that fleeting moment when their arms brushed against each other. Only he knew just how intensely his body and mind reacted.  

“Comrade Qiao, don’t just watch the child—eat something too.”  

Was he watching the child!?  

He was clearly watching the person holding the child!  

“Comrade Qiao, why are you wearing gloves in such hot weather?”  

Hua Rui was truly a straightforward girl, voicing whatever came to mind.  

“I…”  

For a moment, Qiao Muting didn’t know how to respond.  

He couldn’t very well say, *I have a condition where touching women could kill me!*  

Anyone hearing that would just assume he was mentally ill!  

“It’s because…”  

“You have mysophobia, right?” Qian Lai turned her gaze to Qiao Muting, saving him from the awkwardness.  

“Yes. I’m a doctor, and I have severe mysophobia.”  

His surname was Qiao. He was a doctor.  

Qian Lai racked her brain, trying to recall this character’s role in the original novel. After some thought, she realized—wasn’t he the poor soul who ended up committing suicide due to depression?  

A pity the book hadn’t elaborated much on him.  

Hua Rui looked between Qian Lai and Qiao Muting.  

“So you’re Doctor Qiao.” She pressed on, “You’re traveling alone with two such young children—why isn’t their mother with you?”  

The moment the words left her mouth, the expressions of the older and younger child at the table dimmed instantly, and the atmosphere turned icy.  

“She passed away.” A shadow flickered across Qiao Muting’s face.  

Hua Rui gasped. Qian Lai’s chopsticks, halfway to Wenquan’s mouth, froze midair.  

A thousand waves of sympathy crashed through both women’s hearts!  

“I’m sorry, I…” Hua Rui regretted her thoughtless words.  

“It’s fine. It’s all in the past. They still have me.”  

Qiao Muting’s expression softened as he picked up a piece of meat and placed it in Wen Nuan’s bowl.  

The two women exchanged glances, silently lamenting.  

Such a handsome man—married and a father so young, and now a widower at this age.  

Raising two children alone—it was truly heartbreaking.  

After that, Hua Rui fell quiet. The five at the table ate in silence, except for Wenquan, who grinned at Qian Lai with every bite.  

Until the carriage door behind them swung open again, and a shrill female voice suddenly pierced the air!