Chapter 25 Contest

Because of Xu Shichang’s on-the-spot accusation, everyone’s attention immediately turned to Song Nanting. She panicked, tears streaming down her face. “I, I hit you? Do you really think I’m capable of hitting you?” Her words were both a question to Xu Shichang and a statement to the train police.

Song Nanting didn’t look good at all. For the sake of safety on the road, she hadn’t even worn the new clothes she bought; they were still packed in her luggage. She was still wearing the thin cotton jacket she had made back when she was at the Pan family. She was already thin, and this made her look even more frail. Due to years of hard labor and malnutrition, not only was she skinny, but her skin was also somewhat yellowish. She might fall over with just a light poke. Could such a girl really have beaten Xu Shichang?

The train police frowned. “You said it was too dark to see clearly last night, so how can you be so sure now? She’s such a frail young woman—how exactly did she hit you?”

“A sack!” Xu Shichang suddenly remembered. “Someone put a sack over my head, then poked me in the waist, and I fainted.”

A sack? Fainted just from a poke? Song Nanting looked innocent. “I don’t have any sack. You can search my things.” Then she wondered aloud, “Also, what kind of thing can make someone faint with just a poke?”

Not only Song Nanting but even some of the train police had no idea.

The conductor said to one of the officers, “I’ll go with you to search the bunks.” Two of them left, and the others exchanged looks.

Xu Shichang glared darkly at Song Nanting. “You can deny it all you want, but it was you.”

Song Nanting refused to admit it. “Everything needs evidence. Without proof, you’re just making baseless accusations. I can say you’re deliberately retaliating, abusing your position as a cadre to bully a weak, unsupported young educated youth sent down to the countryside. You can go to your base after getting off the train to have people deal with me, but I can also seek help from the educated youth office or the Women’s Federation. I don’t believe the Capital’s committee would disregard evidence and bully a little girl like me.”

Both sides stood their ground, neither yielding.

Auntie Song snorted, “We can all testify.”

Comrade Han, a native of the capital, also spoke seriously, “Little Song, don’t worry. The capital doesn’t tolerate people abusing power. We can all vouch for you.”

Xu Shichang scoffed, “You’re all accomplices. Maybe you all beat me up together.”

His words grew more absurd.

“What nonsense are you talking? Believe it or not, I’ll slap you.” Li Guihua had a fiery temper. Despite her age, she didn’t care about anyone. She’d already fought an old man once before and wasn’t afraid of doing it again now, rolling up her sleeves, ready to fight.

Auntie Song was no less bold and charged forward, ready to hit him. “If I really wanted to hit you, it wouldn’t matter what time it was. I could smack you anytime. Your parents didn’t teach you well—let me teach you for the state.”

“Stop it!” The train police were at their wit’s end and quickly stepped in to separate them. Just then, the conductor and another officer returned. They looked at the noisy scene, very displeased.

The conductor’s face was very dark as he looked at Xu Shichang. “Comrade, we sympathize with your situation, but after checking, there’s no sack in the luggage of this young woman or the other three. As for your claim about something that could make someone faint with just a poke—that’s nonsense. You don’t even know what it is yourself, so where are we supposed to find it? None of their luggage contains anything unusual.”

One of the police officers tossed Xu Shichang’s luggage onto the ground.

The conductor said, “What about you? What’s all this in your bag?”

Everyone looked at Xu Shichang’s luggage.

Xu Shichang was stunned, then suddenly furious, “That’s not mine…”

“Enough with the excuses,” the conductor said angrily, “You claim to be a committee member, but I think the first person who should be criticized is you.”

Inside the bag were scattered books—all foreign publications that should never have appeared in this era.

Xu Shichang’s face turned pale.

In peaceful times, these books wouldn’t be a problem. People might even praise you for being well-read and cultured. But in these years, finding such books was extremely dangerous.

Song Nanting was surprised too; these books were definitely not hers. She could only say Xu Shichang was incredibly unlucky and had brought this trouble on himself.

Xu Shichang clearly knew these books were there but froze for a moment and then tried to beg for mercy.

The conductor sneered, “What took you so long to come clean?”

Even though he was beaten and pitiful, was it necessary to falsely accuse others? If you’re going to accuse someone, at least have convincing reasons or evidence. Without any proof, to make a solemn accusation like that—no police station would arrest someone without cause.

“Oh my, isn’t this the classic case of a thief blaming others? You’re not a good person yourself, and now you’re trying to wrongfully accuse others?”

“Exactly, and you’re even reading these books.”

The two old ladies, though illiterate, knew foreign books weren’t allowed. They started gossiping, one after another.

Xu Shichang glanced nervously.

Song Nanting bent down to pick up one of the books. Before she could even open it, Xu Shichang panicked, rushed over to snatch it, then suddenly fell to his knees.

“I was wrong! Please forgive me! I was wrong! Please forgive me!”

Song Nanting felt even stranger about this. She looked at the conductor and asked, “Conductor, have you looked through these books?”

The conductor was stunned. Xu Shichang’s expression was extremely nervous.

“I was wrong! Please spare me!”

The pain all over his body was so overwhelming that fear completely clouded his thoughts; he could only keep kowtowing and begging for mercy. His reaction was so extreme that everyone found it even more suspicious.

The conductor picked up one of the books, flipped through it, and his expression immediately turned angry. “Reading books like this—he must be handed over to the committee.”

Xu Shichang’s face went pale; he even forgot to beg.

The two old ladies grew anxious. “What kind of books are these?”

Song Nanting picked up a book, glanced at it, then said with disgust, “Pornographic books.”

The two old ladies didn’t understand, so Song Nanting explained a bit. Their expressions then changed dramatically, and their eyes scanned Xu Shichang from head to toe with a clicking tongue. “You really can’t judge a book by its cover.”

Xu Shichang shuddered and retorted, “These books aren’t mine, I don’t know anything about them. Someone else deliberately slipped them into my bag. I don’t know.”

As he spoke, he pointed at Song Nanting. “It’s her, it must be her who put them there. Conductor, I’ve never seen these books before—they’re not mine.”

“Caught red-handed. This matter is crystal clear,” the conductor said as he collected all the problematic books and then instructed the train police, “Lock him up and when we arrive at the capital, hand him over to the local committee.”

Song Nanting considered for a moment. “Conductor, this comrade is from the capital committee. If we hand him over there, won’t he be protected?”

“Then send him to a different committee. Not all committee leaders are his superiors.”

Song Nanting frowned but had no rebuttal, because the train was already close to the capital, and the next few stops were all small stations, making it unsuitable to hand Xu Shichang over during the journey.

Still, she was worried—what if Xu Shichang manages to get away once he arrives in the capital?