Chapter 110: Or Do You Think Your Life Is Worth Less Than Thirty Thousand?

"Miss, watch out..."

The man swept his gaze around the station hall, and his eyes landed precisely on Lin Jingyue. He started to warn her, but the words died in his throat.

Because...

Thud!

With a swift over-the-shoulder throw, Lin Jingyue smashed the man who had reached into her pocket onto the floor.

"Trying to pick your granny's pocket? You've got some nerve," she said with a cold smile, eyes narrowed as she pinned him down.

The sudden turn of events startled everyone nearby.

"Why are you hitting me? Is there no law in broad daylight? Somebody help! Someone's bullying an honest man..."

Slap!

Lin Jingyue struck him without the slightest restraint. Blood even seeped from the corner of the thief's mouth.

"Shut your mouth," Lin Jingyue snapped irritably, furrowing her brow. "This man is a thief. Could someone go report him to the police?"

The man on the other side, who was pinning down another thief, had already been surprised; hearing Lin Jingyue speak only made him more astonished.

The crowd fell silent. No one moved.

Everyone preferred to stay out of it. Most importantly, they had not actually seen what had happened, so whether this man was really a thief was still uncertain.

Lin Jingyue rolled her eyes. "Fine. If no one is going, I'll let him go. Anyway, they definitely have accomplices. If your money gets stolen..."

"I'll go!" A young man raised his hand. "I'll go report it to the police."

The police station was actually close by, and they would be there in a few minutes.

Lin Jingyue gave a short laugh and looked down at the thief. "Of all the people you had to mess with, you chose me. Tch. Serves you right."

The thief: "..."

Utterly speechless.

He tried to struggle, but it was useless. All he could do was look across the open space at his accomplice.

The police arrived very quickly, restrained the two men, and praised Lin Jingyue and the other man effusively.

Lin Jingyue casually recited a string of famous quotations, dazzling them until they were practically stunned.

Then she waved a hand and hurried off to catch her train.

She barely made it, boarding with only ten minutes to spare. The ticket Jiang Xun had bought for her was for a sleeper berth, and in those days even money could not guarantee one of those.

After finding her compartment, she saw that two people were already inside. She nodded in greeting, put her belongings away, and then took out a piece of cloth to spread over the bunk.

Well. It was just her being particular.

The two people opposite her looked like a mother and daughter. When they saw what she was doing, their eyes widened.

The girl, who looked to be around eighteen or nineteen, muttered, "Bourgeois habits."

She thought she had spoken softly, but Lin Jingyue still heard her.

"And you're full of feudal habits," Lin Jingyue shot back.

"What did you say?" The girl's expression changed.

"I said what I said. It's none of your business," Lin Jingyue replied lazily, taking off her scarf and glancing at Cui Yueyao.

"You... vulgar!" Cui Yueyao flushed red and looked at Lin Jingyue with open disdain.

Lin Jingyue rolled her eyes and said nothing.

Cui Yueyao glared at her angrily, then looked to her mother. Her mother, however, only gave Lin Jingyue a long, deep look and still said nothing.

Just as the atmosphere grew stiff, someone suddenly stepped into the compartment.

A man.

Lin Jingyue lifted her brows. Wasn't this the one who had caught the thief outside?

He was around six foot one, with a sharp crew cut, a clean, crisp appearance, and cool, chiseled features. He was the very picture of a handsome man.

But Lin Jingyue only glanced at him once. She still preferred men like her Jiang Xun.

"What a coincidence, meeting you here again. May I ask how I should address you, comrade?" The man raised his brows slightly. He did not look at the other two people; his eyes were fixed on Lin Jingyue.

"Not a coincidence. We just happened to cross paths. There's no need to know each other's names," Lin Jingyue said lightly after a glance.

She had the strange feeling that this man looked somewhat familiar.

Not in appearance, but in build and in the way he carried himself.

"Cough, cough."

Apparently unprepared for such a direct answer, the man coughed softly. Seeing there were two other people in the compartment, he said no more.

Cui Yueyao looked at Lin Jingyue, then at the man, snorted coldly, and climbed up to her bunk.

Soon, the train started up with a rattle and sway, carrying them toward An City.

Lin Jingyue also leaned back on her bunk and drifted into a dazed sleep. She had gotten up too early that day.

She woke because she was hungry, blinking in some confusion.

But the next moment, she was fully awake. She rubbed her stomach and checked the time. It was almost one in the afternoon.

The train had been on the road for five or six hours already.

"Cough, cough..."

When Lin Jingyue climbed down, the man coughed again.

She looked at him oddly. "If you're sick, go to a hospital. If you didn't bring medicine, ask the attendant. Don't infect me."

"..."

The two women from earlier were not in the compartment; they must have gone out to eat lunch. Lin Jingyue was also planning to go buy something to eat.

If she took out the steaming hot meal she had prepared, it would raise suspicion.

"May I ask, comrade, are you from Bai County?" the man asked.

"What business is that of yours?" Lin Jingyue instantly became wary.

"Then it seems I was right. Comrade, do you remember saving someone in Bai County around July or August..."

"It's you!" Before he could finish, Lin Jingyue suddenly turned to look at him. "I was wondering why you looked familiar. So you're that ungrateful bastard!"

Her eyes were practically spitting fire.

At the thought of that huge sack full of bricks, Lin Jingyue felt like coughing up blood.

Seeing the hostility in her eyes, Li Chengxi was a little awkward. "Uh, don't mind that. The real thing was switched out by our people..."

"I don't care. I saved you, so that thing was mine. That was the reward we agreed on, and in the end it turned into bricks. You are responsible for that."

The person responsible had delivered himself right to her door. How could Lin Jingyue let him go?

"Hurry up and pay me in cash. I've been wanting to get this off my chest for a long time."

Li Chengxi twitched at the corners of his mouth. "Can't you think of it as a righteous deed, helping someone in need..."

"Right now, all I see is a broad, level road. Where's the injustice?" Lin Jingyue glanced at him.

"Fine. Then what do you want? How about I promise you three conditions?" Li Chengxi realized that Lin Jingyue was a little money-obsessed, yet for some reason, he did not find it irritating.

"Are your conditions worth money?" Lin Jingyue looked at him lazily, as though warning him not to fool her.

"Uh... they should be worth something, I suppose."

"Suppose?" Lin Jingyue clicked her tongue. "Fine. First condition: give me ten thousand yuan. Second condition: another ten thousand yuan. Third condition: another ten thousand yuan."

Li Chengxi: "..."

Li Chengxi: "........!"

"Don't tell me you don't have it. The shoes on your feet are custom-made Italian leather shoes; ordinary people couldn't afford them. The watch on your wrist is a famous Swiss timepiece worth at least a thousand. Your coat is a hot item from Hong Kong..."

Lin Jingyue rattled off her assessment, seeing straight through him from head to toe.

The smile on Li Chengxi's face grew brighter and brighter, but the darkness in his eyes deepened.

Yet Lin Jingyue was not afraid. She met his gaze directly.

"Or do you think your life isn't worth thirty thousand yuan?"