They waited for half an hour, but the woman didn't appear.

Just then, Bai Jiaojiao stopped the flight attendant who was changing shifts: "Hello, the passenger across from us said he was going to get water half an hour ago, and he hasn't come back yet."

"Does she have all her luggage?"

"They're all here."

Bai Jiaojiao pointed to the space under the lower bunk.

The flight attendant glanced down and asked, "She said she was going to get water, right? Which direction is she going?"

Bai Jiaojiao pointed in the direction the older woman had left.

"Okay, we'll keep that in mind."

After the flight attendant left, there was no news for a long time.

The train had already stopped at one station when the woman was brought back by two railway police officers; she looked visibly shaken.

But she kept talking: "How heartless! Making a child do this kind of thing, they'll get their comeuppance sooner or later!"

After she sat down, she patted her chest to calm herself down: "Thank you both, comrades. I've arrived. You can go about your business now. I'm fine!"

The two train police officers exchanged a glance and then left.

Before Bai Jiaojiao could ask, the woman put on an angry expression and recounted what had just happened.

"I went to get water just now, and I saw a child standing alone at the front of the carriage, about to fall over, so I quickly went to help him!" The woman's water cup was still empty, and she casually tossed it onto the table. "Right away, a man came along, furtively moving the child behind him. I thought he was trying to sneak in without a ticket! Turns out he really was!"

"What's wrong?" Bai Jiaojiao asked at the right moment.

“I felt sorry for the child; he was dirty and thin. I don’t know what would happen to him if he were kicked off the train halfway through the journey. So I asked them where they were going and offered them standing tickets. You know what I meant by that!”

"They didn't appreciate your kindness?"

"They dawdled for ages, initially apologizing, and I had to plead with them for ages, and they thanked me profusely. It took a long time before I finally led them to the front carriage to buy their tickets, and then they put on an act for me! They said I was that kid's mother, that I ran off with the whole family's money, and that they wanted to take me off the train! Can you believe how wronged I was!"

Bai Jiaojiao said, "So they were stalling for time at the beginning, hoping to cause a scene when the train was about to arrive at the station, and then drag you off the train when it arrived?"

"You're absolutely right!"

The woman clapped her hands, as if she had found a kindred spirit: "I was so angry with Erhu at the time, I couldn't say a word. Everyone in the whole carriage was watching me and believed him, and they didn't care about me at all!"