Chapter 376: You Must Slap the Face When You Hit Someone

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

The proverb says: “If someone doesn’t harm tigers, it means they have ill intentions towards tigers.”

The young woman, seeing Zhou Chao ignoring her, grew even angrier. She smacked the seat and said, “Are you feeling guilty now? You’ve gone silent. Where did the courage you had when you hit my son go to?”

Lin Wu suddenly stood up, frightening the young woman, who took several steps back and bumped into the adjacent seat before stopping. However, she immediately spoke with anger, “What? You hit my son, and now you want to hit me too? Come on, try hitting me!”

Taking a deep breath, Lin Wu struggled to calm his anger and said helplessly, “We didn’t hit your son. It’s your son who mischievously kicked our seats. If you don’t believe it, you can ask him!”

Unexpectedly, the young boy beside them shouted loudly, “No, it was them who hit me, Mom! They’re the ones who hit me!”

He then burst into tears while clinging to his mother.

This only fueled the young woman’s anger. She looked at Zhou Chao and Lin Wu, berating them loudly, “Did you hear that? You two bastards are bullying a child and won’t even admit it. What kind of men are you?”

“We really didn’t hit your son!”

“Don’t waste your breath. My son never lies. If he says you hit him, then you definitely did. Stop trying to defend yourselves!”

The irate woman’s insults escalated as she continued, “You shameless and cowardly people! Despite being a physically imposing man, you’re a disgrace!”

“I…” Even Lin Wu, who had a good temper, was burning with anger because of this abusive woman. If it weren’t for the boss restraining him earlier, he would have given this woman a couple of slaps!

“Lin Wu, calm down and sit down!” Zhou Chao coldly said, his eyes closed.

Hearing this, Lin Wu glanced at the abusive woman and snorted before sitting back down.

Unexpectedly, the woman still wouldn’t give up. “What? Are you feeling guilty now? Can’t speak up anymore? 1 know my son is a good boy who never lies! You’re an adult, yet you bully a child. You’re even worse than animals. Come on, apologize to my son!”

“Mom, I want that watch from him!”

“Alright, Mom will make this motherless dog pay for it!”

*Smack!* A crisp sound of a slap echoed through the entire compartment, silencing everyone who had been watching the commotion.

People stood up and turned their attention to the source of the commotion.

Zhou Chao, with a cold expression, stared at the abusive woman and slowly retracted his raised hand.

“Try saying another word.”

The woman who was splashing insults was left dumbfounded by a resounding slap, and even the initially confident young boy closed his mouth.

“Alih, my face!” A piercing scream echoed as everyone noticed the five distinct finger marks displayed on the woman’s face.

Following this, the woman unleashed a torrent of curses, exclaiming, “You bastard, how dare you hit me? I’ll fight you, damn it!”

She then rolled up her sleeves, preparing to confront Zhou Chao and his friend. “What’s going on here?” A stern voice came from the back of the crowd.

The woman halted in her tracks, and everyone turned their attention to the speaker, who turned out to be the inspector from the high-speed train. “What’s going on? We got reports from the nearby compartments!” The inspector, who looked to be in his thirties but had the experienced demeanor of a seasoned pro, asked.

“Inspector, these two bastards hit my son, and they won’t admit it. I told them off, and they even had the audacity to slap me. Look at my face; it’s still burning!” the woman said, walking up to the inspector.

“What a villain, rushing to file a complaint!” everyone in the crowd thought.

“Both of you, come over and explain the situation,” the inspector said, not relying solely on the woman’s words.

Zhou Chao didn’t show any fear and walked over directly. He cast a cold gaze at the abusive woman and continued, “In the beginning, this child kept kicking our seats. We told him not to, but he only kicked harder. My friend stood up to warn the young boy once again, and that’s when the boy started crying, claiming we had hit him. His mother came out and without investigating the matter properly, she scolded both of us.”

“As for the slap on her face,” Zhou Chao smiled and continued, “She had it coming. If she dares to say anything more, I’ll still slap her!”

“Inspector, he’s talking nonsense. They did hit my son!”

“Heh, if you don’t believe it, you can ask others!”

At this point, the onlookers nearby began chiming in.

“That’s right, Inspector. This handsome guy is telling the truth. That unruly kid kept kicking their seats, and they politely warned him. But instead, he kicked even harder!”

“Yes, it was her son who went to disturb others’ seats, and they just scolded him a bit!”

“Exactly, and this woman used such foul language. Others were ready to let go of the issue, but she wouldn’t stop. 1 say she got what she deserved!”

“All of you are just spouting nonsense. There’s no way my son would lie. You’re all ganging up against us! Ah, I can’t take it anymore!” The abusive woman erupted in a tantrum, sitting down on her seat and causing a scene.

“This woman is completely unreasonable. I’ve never seen anyone behave like this!”

“That’s right, it was her son misbehaving, and we all witnessed it!”

“Alright, everyone, calm down. As for the facts of the matter, we’ll know once I retrieve the surveillance footage from the high-speed train!” The inspector promptly contacted the control room and provided the compartment seat numbers, summarizing the situation.

In less than a minute, the inspector’s radio crackled with a response, and the entire compartment could hear it clearly. “Control room reporting: The two men did not hit the child. Instead, the child had been repeatedly kicking the seats in front. The two men merely scolded the child verbally and had no physical contact. Report complete, over!”

The radio’s volume was loud, and everyone in the compartment heard the report clearly.

The inspector turned to the young woman and said, “The situation is clear now. They did not hit your son. It was you who created a disturbance without proper investigation.”

The young woman’s face turned even more unpleasant as she looked at her son. She was about to say something when she felt a burning sensation on her face.

“Inspector, what about him hitting me?” the abusive woman pointed to her own face.

“This woman has no shame. She was using such foul language earlier. If it were me, I’d have slapped her at least once!”

“That’s right, she’s shameless. If anyone were to marry such a woman, they’d be cursed for generations!”

“If I were in her shoes, I’d feel too embarrassed to remain in this carriage!” The remarks from the fellow passengers worsened the woman’s already sour expression, and she understood that there was nothing to gain by staying.

Immediately, the young woman brought her son closer and slapped him a few times, scolding, “You lied! You tried to deceive me!”

The young woman seemed to vent all her accumulated frustration on the child, and the boy’s crying filled the entire train compartment.

Even passengers from adjacent compartments leaned their heads in to see what was happening.

“Stop! If you keep hitting the child, I’ll arrest you this instant!” The young woman stopped instantly, her face turning pale.

At that moment, the high-speed train’s announcement system chimed in, “We have arrived at Danyang station. Passengers, please gather your belongings and prepare to disembark.”

The young woman quickly picked up her still-crying child and grabbed her bag before leaving the train.

“Alright, now that the situation is settled, please return to your seats,” the inspector said as the woman and child exited the train compartment.

“Boss, why did you stop me earlier? She was using such harsh language. I wanted to give her a slap!” Lin Wu whispered as he sat back down.

“When you’re outside, especially dealing with children, women, and the elderly, you might encounter such situations. People naturally empathize with those groups. If you had struck her right away, and someone who didn’t understand the situation saw it, they might accuse you of attacking her. By letting her vent her anger verbally, she came off as the annoying one, and people around were likely to find her unlikeable. If you had to intervene physically afterward, nobody would have anything to say, even if you were dealing with a woman.”

Zhou Chao paused for a moment and glanced around before continuing, “Furthermore, did you notice that nobody spoke up in the beginning? It was only when the inspector arrived that people started standing up for us. People tend to go along with the prevailing sentiment, and that’s human nature!”

After this conversation, Zhou Chao casually played with his phone, while Lin Wu sank into deep thought, trying to digest what Zhou Chao had just told him. During the train journey, the two of them had some boxed meals, filling their stomachs simply.

By the time they arrived in Jinling, it was already past 1 o’clock in the afternoon.

“Boss, why did we come to Jinling, and where are we going now?” Lin Wu asked curiously as they left the high-speed train station.

“We came to Jinling for a reason. I wouldn’t have traveled so far otherwise. First, let’s find a place to stay. There should be a Hilton hotel around here. Let’s get settled in first, and then we can figure out our next steps!”

“Alright.” The two of them hailed a taxi on the roadside.

“Where to?”

“Huaibin Road, Hilton Hotel!”

“Got it!”

“I noticed that you two don’t look like locals. Are you here for tourism?” The taxi driver took the initiative to strike up a conversation.

“Well, you could say that. We came here for some business.”

“After finishing your business, you can explore the local culture in Jinling and try some of the delicious local cuisine!”

When Zhou Chao heard about food, his interest was piqued.

“Driver, are there any must-visit places for good food in Jinling that you could recommend?”

“You’ve asked the right person! You can visit Shiziqiao, Xinchengkou, and Wufu Street, especially Xinchengkou, where you’ll find the famous Qinhuai Eight Delicacies. If you come to Jinling and don’t try them, you can’t really say you’ve experienced the city. When you leave, make sure to take two servings of salted duck, then you can truly say you’ve had a worthwhile trip!”

“I’ll follow your guidance and explore those places!”

“Don’t worry, you won’t regret it!” The cheerful demeanor of the taxi driver made Zhou Chao feel quite pleased.

They soon arrived at the Hilton Hotel, following the usual routine.. Lin Wu used his exclusive card to book two rooms, with Zhou Chao staying in the most luxurious presidential suite, as always!