Chapter 133 Returning Home

As the car started moving, the children clung to the windows and waved: "Grandpa, Grandma, Auntie, goodbye."

Huo Zhenping, Zhong Yulan, and Wen Yuexian stood by the roadside, waving until the car drove away and disappeared from sight.

The train rattled along the tracks, and the shadows of the trees outside the window rushed past.

Seeing that Lu Mingyue and the children were thirsty, Huo Zheng picked up a water cup and said, "I'll go to the connecting area between the carriages to get some water. You all wait here and don't wander off."

Lu Mingyue nodded, and was about to give the children some instructions when she turned around and saw Leilei and Yaoyao already clinging to the back of their seats, peering curiously into the aisle.

"Brother, let's go over there and take a look. It looks like some kids are playing with building blocks."

Yao Yao tugged at Lei Lei's clothes and whispered encouragingly.

Lei Lei couldn't sit still either. While Lu Mingyue was tidying up her luggage, he quietly led his younger sister off the seat and walked along the aisle to the other end of the carriage.

The two moved between the seats, looked at the snacks on other people's tables, and stared curiously at the scenery outside the window. Before long, they had reached the middle of the carriage.

After packing her luggage, Lu Mingyue turned around and found the seat empty. Her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately got up and walked towards the aisle.

I had only taken two steps when I heard arguing coming from ahead.

"You child, you're so young and you're already learning bad things, how could you steal?"

A middle-aged woman's voice was filled with anger, followed by Yao Yao's crying: "My brother didn't, let him go."

Lu Mingyue walked over quickly and saw Leilei being pulled by the arm by a woman in a blue top. His face was flushed red, his eyes were filled with tears but he refused to cry, and he was tightly clutching a small tin frog toy in his hand.

"What are you doing? Let go of my son!" Lu Mingyue immediately stepped forward and pulled Leilei behind her to protect him.

When the woman saw Lu Mingyue arrive, she became even more excited: "You're the child's mother? Perfect! Look at your son, he stole the tin frog from my bag. I just took it out and put it on the table, and it disappeared as soon as I turned around. I caught him red-handed. I bought it especially for my son."

Leilei hid behind Lu Mingyue and whispered in protest, "I didn't steal it, it's my toy."

"Who would believe that? How could there be such a coincidence that there's an identical toy?"

The woman put her hands on her hips and said, "I think you just wanted to steal it, and you only said that after I caught you."

The surrounding passengers gathered around, chattering amongst themselves.

Yao Yao grabbed Lu Mingyue's hand and cried even harder, "Mommy, it really is my brother's! He didn't steal anything!"

Lu Mingyue patted Leilei's head to reassure him, then looked at the woman and said, "Sister, please don't be angry. My son may be naughty, but he would never steal anything. Please check again to see if the toy fell on the ground."

"How could it have fallen? I checked it several times before I left the house."

At this moment, an old man next to her spoke up: "I think I just saw a small toy fall out of her bag and roll onto the ground. The child hadn't come over yet."

The woman paused for a moment, looked down at the bottom of her bag, and sure enough, there was a small gap. Upon closer inspection, she saw the tin frog lying under her bedding.

When she was getting her things, her bag wasn't zipped up properly, and the tin frog probably slipped out through the gap.

Her face flushed instantly, and she let go of his hand somewhat embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, child, Auntie misunderstood you. I shouldn't have accused you of stealing without even knowing the facts."

Seeing this, Lu Mingyue breathed a sigh of relief and said to the woman, "It's alright, you were just anxious. Don't wrong people like that next time. Even children have self-esteem."

Lei Lei peeked out from behind Lu Mingyue.

The woman patted Leilei's head and said, "Thank you, little boy. You're such a good kid."

He hadn't even realized his toy was missing yet.

She admitted she had done wrong, and sincerely apologized, giving the children two bright red apples as a token of her remorse.

Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, the surrounding passengers dispersed.

When Huo Zheng returned with water and heard what had happened, he quickly pulled Lei Lei over and rubbed his arm, which had been pulled red: "Does it hurt? Let Daddy see."

Leilei shook his head, his eyes still a little red, but he stubbornly refused to say that he was wronged.

Huo Zheng saw this, turned around and walked towards the connecting area between the carriages. A moment later, he had a comic book in his hand, which he had borrowed from the train attendant.

"Look what Dad lent you!"

Huo Zheng handed the comic book to the children. The cover depicted Sun Wukong, holding his golden cudgel, looking majestic.

Yao Yao stopped sobbing abruptly, her eyes widening: "It's Sun Wukong."

Lei Lei's eyes lit up, as if most of his previous grievances had been blown away by the wind.

The two immediately huddled together, with Huo Zheng sitting beside them, helping them turn the pages and quietly telling them the story of "Havoc in Heaven".

"Look, Sun Wukong stole all of the Jade Emperor's peaches and even dared to wreak havoc in the Heavenly Palace. He's really something."

Leilei listened intently, occasionally asking, "Dad, was Sun Wukong captured later?"

Yao Yao pointed to Nezha in the painting and whispered, "Who is this little brother? Can he fly too?"

Lu Mingyue sat opposite, looking at the three heads huddled together, and couldn't help but smile.

The train continued its clattering journey, the scenery outside the window constantly changing. The arguing in the carriage had long since disappeared, leaving only Huo Zheng's storytelling voice and the children's occasional exclamations of surprise.

The little disturbance just now, like a pebble run over by a train, was quickly covered up by this heartwarming scene.

Not long after, the train conductor's announcement came over the loudspeaker: "Attention passengers, the next station is approaching. Passengers who are getting off, please gather your luggage and prepare to disembark."

Huo Zheng closed the comic book and patted the children's heads: "We should pack our things now. We need to return the comic book to Uncle."

Leilei nodded, carefully smoothed out the comic book, held the book, took Yaoyao's hand, and followed Huo Zheng to the connecting area between the carriages.

The train conductor was standing there tidying up when he saw them coming over and asked with a smile, "Little friends, did you enjoy the story?"

Leilei looked up, handed over the book, and said earnestly, "Thank you, Uncle. The story is very interesting, and Sun Wukong is amazing."

The train conductor took the comic book and patted his head: "I'm glad you like it. You can borrow it again next time you take the train."

Leilei nodded vigorously, and Yaoyao echoed, "Thank you, Uncle."

Huo Zheng smiled and thanked them, then led the children back home.

Lu Mingyue had already packed her luggage. Seeing them return, she smiled and said, "Let's go home and collect seashells at the beach."

The children cheered immediately, having completely forgotten the little incident from before, their minds filled with anticipation of going home.

As soon as they reached the carriage door, they saw Qin Lie peeking inside. Upon seeing Huo Zheng, he immediately smiled and waved.

"We finally found you! We were in the next carriage, it was so crowded, we just moved our luggage over here."

Mingming also popped out from behind Qin Lie, clutching a toy train in his hand, and shouted to Leilei, "Leilei, I'll get off the train with you."

The two families huddled together, chatting as they walked toward the car door.