CHAPTER 41: CHAPTER 41 SUDDEN ACCIDENT

The argument escalated quickly. Yunyi craned her neck to watch the situation develop. What would happen next? she wondered.

The mother and daughter from their compartment also got down from their bunks. The woman said, "Didn’t I tell you? What good ever comes from sleeping on the lower bunk? Look at this! If you had been on the lower bunk and this happened, wouldn’t you be utterly disgusted?"

The girl rolled her eyes at her. "If you don’t want me to go back and tattle, then cut out your scheming and don’t think everyone else is a fool."

Just then, as the argument in the next compartment grew heated, a conflict erupted. The onlookers quickly retreated. The girl, who had her head turned while talking, didn’t see it coming. She lost her footing and nearly fell.

By the time she frantically grabbed the nearby handrail to steady herself, she realized it was Yunyi who had reached out to help her. Without that steadying hand, she probably would have been pushed over by the crowd before she could grab the handrail.

She smiled gratefully at Yunyi. "Thank you."

Yunyi simply nodded at her. "It was nothing."

Before long, the mother and son were taken away by the train police for a lesson. The carriage filled with voices condemning them.

Later, a train attendant came to clean up. They replaced the bed linens and quilts for the affected bunks, and peace was restored to the compartment.

However, the peace didn’t last long; the mother and son who had been taken for their lesson returned.

In front of the train police, the boy hadn’t dared to act out. But as soon as he was back in the carriage, he revealed his true colors.

It wasn’t clear whether the lesson had been too harsh or if he had actually felt some shame, but he started making a fuss, refusing to go to his own bunk and demanding to sleep in a lower one.

But after the previous commotion, he had already offended the passengers in both lower bunks. The woman, unable to control her son, had no choice but to try and swap bunks with other passengers.

However, the people in the berths on the other side of their compartment flatly refused her. Seeing her son still kicking up a fuss, she had to shamelessly approach Yunyi’s group.

Hearing the commotion, Yunyi climbed into her bunk and closed her eyes to rest. She had absolutely no goodwill towards this mother and son.

The woman came over and immediately looked at the woman in the lower bunk opposite Yunyi. "Comrade, um... do you think we could swap bunks?"

Before the woman could answer, the man who had just returned with hot water spoke first. "No. My wife isn’t well; it’s not convenient for her to climb up and down."

The words were barely out of his mouth when the little boy who had followed his mother, as if suddenly going mad, yelled, "I want *this* bunk!"

Saying this, he rushed forward and shoved the woman, who had just sat up, intending to explain.

Pushed with such force, her body slammed against the compartment partition. The boy, using too much strength, also lunged onto her. Immediately, there was a loud BANG.

Even Yunyi, who was feigning sleep, felt a pang of anxiety for the woman; after all, she was genuinely ill.

The man cried out urgently, "Juanzi!"

The enamel mug in his hand dropped to the floor, and the freshly fetched hot water splashed onto the mother and son’s calves and feet.

Both screamed simultaneously, "AAH! It’s scalding me!"

At the same time, the man rushed over in panic, roughly flinging the boy backward. "Juanzi! What’s wrong? Don’t scare me! Where are you hurt?"

Someone in the crowd exclaimed, "Blood! There’s blood on her pants!"

The man’s eyes were bloodshot with panic. He turned to the surrounding crowd and yelled, "Help me call an attendant! Ask if there’s a doctor on the train!"

Instantly, the surrounding onlookers erupted in a chorus of condemnation against the mother and son.

The mother and son, who had been wailing moments before, were frightened by this sudden escalation. For a moment, they even forgot their pain and fell silent.