A young boy from the 1970s, separated from his family, fled famine and led his younger brother into

Lei Ming's words poured over Zhou Wenqian's heart, which was burning with excitement.

The flush on Zhou Wenqian's face faded instantly. He suddenly came to his senses and realized just how out of line and... out of line his behavior had been.

He, a professor at a military medical university, on a train, interrogated a five-year-old girl he didn't know so deeply about medical knowledge, and even considered taking her on as a student... This is bizarre and illogical from any perspective.

"Captain Lei, you've misunderstood." Zhou Wenqian quickly regained his composure. He stood up, adjusted his glasses, and explained with the rigor of a scholar, "I just saw that this young student was exceptionally talented, and I was momentarily tempted to test her. I had no other intentions."

"Exceptional talent? I think it's more about having someone who taught you well."

His words were ambiguous.

It seems to be referring to Su Nianci's mysterious "mother," and it also seems to be implying that there may be other "teachers" standing behind Su Nianci.

Su Nianci's heart sank suddenly!

This thunder is like a venomous snake; it always manages to strike when you least expect it, delivering a fatal blow!

He had clearly overheard her entire conversation with Zhou Wenqian!

He simply didn't believe his own explanation about "mother"! He remained skeptical!

The atmosphere inside the private room instantly became tense and confrontational.

On one side is the surgical professor, representing knowledge and rationality.

On the other side is the captain of the railway police, representing violence and rules.

Su Nianci was caught between these two powerful auras, the weakest yet most crucial trigger point.

"Captain Lei's imagination is a bit too rich." Zhou Wenqian's face also turned cold.

"Likewise, Professor Zhou's curiosity is equally strong."

The two powerful men's eyes met in mid-air, as if invisible sparks were flashing between them.

Just as the atmosphere froze to freezing point, a timid, childlike voice broke the deadlock.

"Sister...draw..."

Little Stone, who had been held in Su Nianci's arms, woke up at some point. He rubbed his sleepy eyes, pointed at the graffiti on the floor that had been trampled and blurred, and muttered softly.

This voice instantly severed the confrontation between the two men.

Lei Ming and Zhou Wenqian's gazes involuntarily fell on the child who had just woken up and looked bewildered.

Su Nianci's heart leaped into her throat at that moment!

She's scared!

She was afraid that Little Stone might say something he shouldn't at this moment!

"Little Stone, be good, your big sister is here." She immediately squatted down and hugged Little Stone tightly in her arms, using her body to block the view from the two men. While gently patting his back, she quickly whispered in his ear in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"Little Stone, do you remember what your sister taught you? Let's play a game, okay?"

"When your sister says a word, you repeat the word."

"Come on, repeat after me, 'home'..."

She had to immediately divert Little Stone's attention from that dangerous painting!

She was going to put on a show of "sibling affection and enlightenment" in front of these two terrifyingly shrewd men to dilute the tense and eerie atmosphere from before!

The little stone in her arms seemed to sense her sister's tension. Although he didn't understand what was happening, he obediently tilted his little face up and imitated Su Nianci's mouth movements, uttering a mumbled syllable.

"……Home."

"Great job!" Su Nianci immediately praised exaggeratedly. She took a big, bright red apple from her net bag and stuffed it into Xiao Shitou's hand as a reward. "Come on, let's say another one, 'Sister'..."

"……elder sister."

"That's amazing! Little Stone is a genius!"

She was like an ordinary older sister, teaching her younger brother about the world in the most clumsy yet sincere way.

As Zhou Wenqian watched this scene, his gaze softened. The slight displeasure in his heart had long since vanished. What he saw were two orphans who depended on each other for survival, struggling to grasp a sliver of warmth and hope amidst their hardship.

Lei Ming remained leaning against the door, expressionless.

He looked at Su Nianci's profile, which was full of patience and gentleness, and watched as she easily brought a dependent smile to the autistic child's face with just an apple.

His eyes flickered uncertainly; no one knew what he was thinking.

While teaching, Su Nianci secretly observed the two men's reactions out of the corner of her eye.

She knew that this alone was not enough.

She had to give them, especially Lei Ming, a more reasonable reason for her "deliberate" actions!

A reason that could temporarily put aside his doubts!

So, while guiding Little Stone, she unintentionally steered the conversation toward the most sensitive and persuasive direction.

She picked up the fountain pen Zhou Wenqian had given her and wrote a large, neat character on the paper.

--"land".

"Little Stone, look at this character." Her voice was gentle yet firm. "This character is pronounced 'Lu.' The 'Lu' in 'land.' This is... this is the 'Lu' in 'Uncle Lu,' the one we're looking for."

"Uncle Lu is your father's best friend. He is a... great hero, just like your father."

"My sister doesn't know the way, and she doesn't know many people. But as long as we can find Uncle Lu, we'll be safe, we'll... have a home."

"So, Little Stone, you need to learn to speak quickly and learn to read quickly. That way, if... if your sister gets lost, you can take this piece of paper and tell the People's Liberation Army soldiers on the road that you're looking for someone named 'Lu Zhenhua.' They will then lead you to him, understand?"

She attributes all her actions to a most primal and relatable motive—

For his brother, for survival, for finding that one and only, last hope!

A five-year-old sister, with her tender shoulders, carried the future of two people. She schemed and plotted, taking every step with care, all for the sake of giving her even weaker brother a better chance of survival!

Zhou Wenqian's eyes were completely red.

He couldn't bear it any longer and turned away, unable to look any further. He was afraid that he, a grown man, would lose his composure on the spot.

Lei Ming also trembled almost imperceptibly. A complex and unfathomable emotion flickered in his eyes.

There was emotion, pity, and even a trace of... guilt that he himself was unaware of.

Is he... overthinking it?

Perhaps, there really are such extraordinary children in this world.

Perhaps, everything she did was simply to protect her younger brother.

Perhaps, she wasn't a pawn at all; she was just... a pitiful person forced into a corner by fate and forced to grow up prematurely.

Su Nianci keenly caught the fleeting hint of relaxation in his eyes!

So, holding the little stone, he slowly stood up and walked to Lei Ming.

She didn't look at Lei Ming, but instead cast her gaze toward the long, unknown corridor behind him.

"Uncle Lei, I know you've always doubted me. You think I'm not like a five-year-old child."

"But when you watch with your own eyes as human traffickers sell your three-year-old brother to a remote mountain village like a piglet..."

"When you've been starving for three days and three nights, and all you can do is scavenge leftover bread from garbage dumps..."

"When you, like a clown, stand at the train station, telling a story at the top of your lungs to hundreds of people for a five-yuan train ticket..."

"You'll find that growing up sometimes really happens in the blink of an eye."

She raised her head, her clear eyes, still streaked with tears, staring straight into the depths of Lei Ming's eyes.

"Everything I did was to keep him alive."

"I'll trade my knowledge for his future."

"If this is also a sin, then I plead guilty."

After saying that, she hugged the little stone and sat back down in their little corner.

The entire private room was completely silent.

All that remained was the ceaseless rumble of the train.

After an unknown amount of time, thunder rumbled.

He didn't say anything more, but just looked deeply at Su Nianci's back, then silently closed the door of the private room and turned to leave.

This time, his footsteps seemed to lack the oppressive feeling they had before.

The crisis seems to have... ended.

Holding the warm little stone in her arms, Su Nianci's tense body finally relaxed a little.

With a near-perfect and emotionally charged performance, she temporarily dispelled Lei Ming and Zhou Wenqian's doubts, firmly establishing herself as the "tragic heroine sister."

However, before she could catch her breath, Zhou Wenqian suddenly spoke up.

"Nianci...you just said the person you're looking for is named...Lu Zhenhua?"

Su Nianci's heart skipped a beat!

She looked up and saw an extremely strange expression on Zhou Wenqian's face—an expression she had never seen before, a mixture of shock, confusion, and a certain fanaticism.

"Uncle Zhou...you..."

"Do you know," Zhou Wenqian interrupted her, his voice trembling slightly with excitement, "that the honorary president of our First Military Medical University in Harbin is also named... Lu Zhenhua!"