When Mo Jingchun was caught off guard, still not fully reacting, Chen Junqiang pulled up Mo Jingchun's scratched hand.
"Take it!"
Seeing what the police officer stuffed into his hand, Mo Jingchun was dazed for a moment, but soon came back to his senses.
Mo Jingchun's face turned bright red, his cheeks burning, and he hurriedly tried to return the red and green bills to the officer.
They were crumpled fifty and hundred-yuan notes, some looked as if they'd been worn down over time.
"Officer, I really don't need it."
"Take it, it's not much, just a small token of my appreciation." As he spoke, Chen Junqiang pushed Mo Jingchun's hand back.
Mo Jingchun, with his slender arms and legs, was no match for the well-exercised Chen Junqiang, and couldn't push him back.
After several failed attempts, Mo Jingchun stood up and bowed to Chen Junqiang.
"Thank you."
Other than saying thank you, Mo Jingchun didn't know how to express his feelings at that moment.
To the police officer, he, Mo Jingchun, was just one of the thousands of strangers passing by daily; the earlier questioning was merely part of the officer's routine duty.
Chen Junqiang didn't refuse Mo Jingchun's gratitude.
"Attention passengers, the G021X train from Shanghai South Station to Jing City Station is about to arrive. Please take your carry-on luggage and proceed to Gate 3 for boarding."
"Attention, passengers, the G021X train from Modu South Station to Jingcheng Station is about to arrive. Please take your carry on luggage and go to gate 3 to check in."
Upon hearing the announcement for his train, Mo Jingchun showed a slight change in expression.
"What's up? Is this your train?"
"Oh! My memory is slipping, I just looked at your Jing University admission letter." Chen Junqiang patted his forehead.
"Come on, I'll take you to the platform. You've got a stroller and a suitcase, you could use a hand."
Mo Jingchun didn't refuse Chen Junqiang's kind offer; with so many belongings and having to look after his sister Candy, taking the escalator would indeed be inconvenient.
"I'll carry the suitcase for you."
In the manual check-in line, it took about three minutes before it was Mo Jingchun's turn.
After escorting Mo Jingchun to Platform 2, Chen Junqiang left without lingering too long, saying that he had to return to duty.
Past ten o'clock, without air conditioning outside, the weather was quite hot, and only the occasional breeze brought Mo Jingchun a bit of relief.
Mo Jingchun happened to look back and locked eyes with someone.
Judging by their expressions, they were fellow passengers.
"If I said it was just a coincidence, would you believe me?" Du Xiaohan said, looking at the youngster whose face suddenly fell.
"I believe you, aunty~" When he called her aunty, Mo Jingchun deliberately elongated the "aunty" part.
As expected, calling someone "aunty" often carried a powerful effect.
Du Xiaohan was silent for a while before speaking, "I'm only 26."
Mo Jingchun: "I'm a 2000s kid."
Du Xiaohan: "I'm 26 at most."
Mo Jingchun: "I'm a 2000s kid."
Du Xiaohan: "My birthday is not until the end of the year."
Mo Jingchun: "I'm a 2000s kid."
Du Xiaohan was somewhat annoyed; she had just graduated—how did she become an aunty?
"Is 'I'm a 2000s kid' the only thing you can say?"
Mo Jingchun looked at his sister in the stroller, silent for a long time.
Just when Du Xiaohan thought she had won, Mo Jingchun's words left her defenseless.
"My sister is a 2010s kid."
Mo Jingchun's surprising words drew admiration from a bald guy nearby, who gave him a thumbs-up.
The bullet train slowly came to a halt, with everyone rushing forward, fearing it wouldn't wait.
Mo Jingchun wasn't in a hurry; he planned to board after everyone else had.
He silently prayed, hoping he wouldn't be unlucky enough to sit next to that woman, though the odds were low.
Probably not that unlucky, Mo Jingchun reassured himself.
Pushing the stroller, Mo Jingchun navigated the narrow corridor, catching a glimpse of that woman in the middle.
Upon seeing her seat, Mo Jingchun finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness, not that unlucky."
Mo Jingchun quickened his pace to the end, to the first row, window seat A.
To his delight, there was plenty of space in the front row to store the suitcase.
B seat was already occupied by a handsome gentleman.
After taking Candy out of the stroller and placing her in the seat, Mo Jingchun folded up the stroller.
"It's alright, put it down."
"Huh? Thank you."
"Thank you."
Mo Jingchun happily leaned the folded stroller against the suitcase.
Once the train started moving, Mo Jingchun held his sister and gazed out at the retreating scenery, while the little one dozed off in his arms after playing around. To be honest, Mo Jingchun envied his sister a bit—innocent and carefree, able to fall asleep anytime.
Being able to sleep without worries is indeed a blissful thing.
After more than half an hour, Mo Jingchun felt a bit drowsy himself. He hadn't slept well last night and got up around four in the morning, getting hardly any rest. Just as he was about to close his eyes for a nap, the handsome guy next to him, wearing glasses, suddenly turned toward him.
"What do you think is more regrettable, getting on the wrong train or missing it?"
The sudden question baffled Mo Jingchun. Such a philosophical question—how would he know the answer?
However, a memory flashed in Mo Jingchun's mind, and after organizing his thoughts, he replied, "My high school Chinese teacher once said in class, 'When you're confused and don't know what to choose, you probably already know the answer in your heart, but you just don't want to accept it.'
"Buddy, I think that getting on the wrong train or missing it isn't regrettable; what's regrettable is not reaching the destination."
"What do you think?"
Xiao Zheming had casually posed the question to ease his own tension and didn't expect Mo Jingchun to give such a profound answer that left him in awe.
"Getting on the wrong train or missing it isn't regrettable; what's regrettable is not reaching the destination." Xiao Zheming repeated the words to himself several times, feeling a sense of enlightenment.
"Thank you. Your answer was excellent."
"Really? Was it?" Mo Jingchun awkwardly smiled, thinking he couldn't say it was just a random thought.
Xiao Zheming smiled back, "It truly was great."
Saying this, Xiao Zheming opened WeChat.
"Honey, I'll be home around four in the afternoon. Let's go to that hot pot place on the old street for dinner, and then catch a movie."
"Sure." The reply was instantaneous.
At that moment, Xiao Zheming suddenly made sense of many things.
PS: Asking for recommendation votes and monthly votes.