Meng Chuyue pretended to notice Gu Miao’s backpack unintentionally and, with wide eyes, loudly said to Shen Ci, "How come Xiaoqing’s backpack is here? Let’s go check it out."
The human trafficker had drugged Liang Xiaoqing, dressing her as a peasant woman in colorful clothes and a headscarf. Meng Chuyue could only pretend to recognize the backpack but not the person.
The trafficker watching Liang Xiaoqing grew anxious and shouted, "What nonsense are you talking about? That backpack belongs to my wife."
Pointing at a splotch of black paint Erhu had just added to the backpack under her direction, Meng Chuyue retorted, "You’re the one talking nonsense. Backpacks can be identical, but it’s too much of a coincidence for there to be a patch of black paint of the same shape in the same place, right? No way, you must be thieves. I’m calling the police."
"You’re the thief. This is clearly my wife’s."
This trafficker wasn’t good with words, and with Meng Chuyue’s argument making more sense, he found himself at a loss for words.
At that moment, a server arrived with several traffic police officers. She was a loud-voiced middle-aged woman who spoke softly and gently when whispering, but when she raised her voice, it was commanding.
She scolded loudly, "What’s all this noise? Don’t you know to look for a server or the police if there’s a problem? Speak up, what exactly happened?"
Meng Chuyue glared fiercely at the trafficker, "He stole my friend’s backpack. She’s a thief. My friend has been missing for over half an hour; she must have been searching everywhere for this backpack."
The traffickers, "..."
What’s going on? Didn’t Gu Miao say that Liang Xiaoqing was all alone?
How come she now has a friend sitting across from her?
Seeing that things were going south, the leader of the traffickers gave a knowing look to the one watching Liang Xiaoqing, who immediately admitted, "Yes, I’m sorry, I was just tempted by the sight of the backpack unattended, so I took it. Please, just give it back to you, and let me go this once."
Being labeled as a thief and returning the stolen goods would result solely in a few days of detention, whereas being exposed as a human trafficker screamed a death sentence. Anyone with a brain knew which option to choose.
The traffic police captain seemed to accept the trafficker’s excuse, "How we handle this depends on what the owner of the backpack says. For now, come sit in our office. If the owner forgives you, we won’t pursue this further."
With that, he waved his hand, signaling two traffic police to escort the man away.
At this time, whether it was the traffic police captain, Shen Ci and Meng Chuyue, or the other traffic police, they all had their eyes on the other two traffickers.
Aside from the person who had been clamorous and yet remained asleep near these two men, they had just exchanged glances with another trafficker.
Pretending to check the backpack, they targeted their suspects, and in a blitzkrieg move, they subdued the other two traffickers.
While the others were tying up the traffickers, Meng Chuyue and Shen Ci checked the conditions of the three unconscious individuals.
The traffickers had intended to ransom these three people, and the drug used to sedate them wasn’t very harmful. Meng Chuyue gave each one a pill and they soon woke up.
It turned out, only Liang Xiaoqing had been lured on the spot by Gu Miao, while the other two, a woman in her twenties and a six-year-old child, had been brought onto the vehicle.
Liang Xiaoqing was both angry and anxious but above all grateful to Meng Chuyue and Shen Ci.
Knowing that they wouldn’t accept a gratitude fee, she insisted on giving them her identity, phone number, and home address.
She kept asking for Meng Chuyue’s contact information and when worried that she wouldn’t get it, she "threatened" laughing, "If you don’t tell me, I’ll go to the traffic police."
Meng Chuyue had no choice but to give her the contact information for her school.
Even though she mostly lived at the Medicinal Food Hall, sometimes she would stay in a courtyard house, and sometimes she might stay in another house for a short period. Giving only the school’s address and phone number to Liang Xiaoqing was for her own good.