Chapter 16: The Backseat Uprising

The car had barely left Bangkok behind when the first crime occurred.

Nathan hadn't even finished rereading the travel documents in his lap when the sound hit the backseat-

CRUNCH .

Loud. Confident. Illegal.

Nathan's eyes stopped moving mid-sentence.

Knight's head turned slowly, eyes narrowing like a predator sensing blood.

Ping's entire soul froze.

Chen sat on the back seat with a packet of chips already open, chewing like he'd been starving for a century. His legs were crossed. His posture was relaxed. His expression screamed innocent civilian.

Nathan looked at him calmly. "Chen."

Chen kept chewing.

Knight leaned closer, deadly soft. "We said no snacks."

Chen swallowed dramatically. "This isn't a snack."

Ping gasped. "YES IT IS!"

Chen held up the packet like evidence. "It's survival."

Nathan's voice didn't rise. "Put it away."

Chen nodded obediently. "Okay."

Then he immediately shoved a chip into his mouth and crunched louder.

Ping's jaw dropped. "NATE! HE'S DOING IT AGAIN!"

Chen pointed at Ping with the chip. "Snitches don't get fries."

Ping shrieked like he'd been personally attacked. "I DON'T EVEN WANT YOUR FRIES!"

Chen's grin sharpened. "Liar."

Knight reached for the packet.

Chen moved with unbelievable speed- sliding it behind his back like a trained criminal. "Touch it and I scream."

Knight's eyes narrowed. "I will throw you out of the car."

Chen leaned in, whispering dramatically, "I'll sue."

Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose once, like he was praying for patience.

In front, Mrs. Lang's voice snapped back like a whip. "WHAT IS HAPPENING BACK THERE?"

Chen instantly sat straight, angelic. "Nothing, Auntie!"

Ping shouted, "CHEN IS EATING SNACKS!"

Chen hissed, "TRAITOR."

Mrs. Lang turned halfway around, eyes blazing. "CHEN RANG-"

Chen's soul nearly left his body. "IT WAS ONE CHIP!"

Nathan looked at him. "Put it away."

Chen pouted. "You're all against me."

Knight muttered. "Yes."

Chen sniffed tragically... then slowly zipped the packet into his bag like he was making a sacrifice.

Everyone exhaled.

Peace returned.

For exactly three seconds.

Then Chen's bag rustled again.

Ping's head snapped. "DON'T."

Chen ignored him and pulled out another packet- this one bright red and twice as suspicious.

Ping went silent in horror.

Knight leaned over. "How many do you have?"

Chen smiled sweetly. "Enough."

Nathan's gaze turned cold. "Where did you even get those."

Chen shrugged. "Connections."

Ping stared. "YOU'RE A KID NOT A MAFIA!"

Chen nodded. "A kid with resources."

Then- like a true villain- Chen glanced around the backseat and lowered his voice.

"Alright," he whispered, "since you're all being dictators... I'm opening my black market."

Ping blinked. "What."

Chen grinned wider. "Snack trade. Quiet. Efficient. No rules. Anyone who wants in... pays."

Paola's head lifted instantly like a shark smelling blood. "Pays how?"

Chen pulled out a chocolate bar like it was gold bullion. "Service. Loyalty. Or secrets."

Nathan's eyes narrowed. "Chen."

Chen pretended not to hear him, turning to Paola like a businessman. "Paola, you want chocolate?"

Paola nodded violently. "YES."

Chen held it just out of reach. "Then you have to give me something in return."

Paola's eyes sparkled. "Like what?"

Chen leaned closer. "Help me hide snacks from Bro."

Nathan sighed, hopeless.

Paola gasped, delighted. "I WILL DO ANYTHING."

Knight muttered, "Traitor."

Ping exploded. "PAOLA!"

Paola hugged the chocolate like a newborn. "Sorry."

Jenn, sitting quietly by the window, turned her head slightly. "This is corruption."

Chen nodded solemnly. "Correct."

Ping pointed accusingly. "I'M TELLING NATE TO SCOLD YOU!"

Chen threw an arm around Nathan's shoulder like they were best friends. "Bro loves me."

Nathan deadpanned. "I tolerate you."

Chen's mouth fell open. "That's emotional violence."

Then Chen slid a packet of gummies toward Jenn like a diplomat offering peace.

Jenn stared at it.

Chen whispered, "Free sample."

Jenn's eyes narrowed. "What do you want."

Chen grinned. "Nothing. I just respect you."

Jenn stared for a long second... then took one gummy.

And somehow, that one movement felt like the fall of an empire.

Knight leaned toward Ping. "She's been bought."

Ping whispered back, horrified, "WE'RE LOSING THE WAR."

Chen turned to Ping with a smug smile. "Want in?"

Ping crossed his arms. "No."

Chen nodded sadly. "Okay."

Then he opened the red packet and started chewing loudly again.

Ping's eye twitched. "STOP EATING!"

Chen chewed harder. "Can't."

Ping tried to snatch the bag.

Chen dodged and tossed the packet behind him- right into Paola's hands.

Paola shrieked with victory. "HAHAHA!"

Ping lunged for Paola. "GIVE IT BACK!"

Paola kicked him gently. "NO!"

Ping kicked back. "YES!"

Snowball got squeezed between them like a hostage.

Knight tried to separate them. "Both of you-"

A gummy packet smacked Knight in the face.

He froze.

Slowly, he turned his eyes toward Chen.

Chen pointed at the air innocently. "Wind."

Knight's voice dropped. "You're dead."

Chen squealed and tried to crawl across the seats like a gremlin escaping justice. "NATHAN! BRO! SAVE ME!"

Nathan didn't move. "You started it."

Chen gasped. "I STARTED HAPPINESS!"

Mr. Lang sighed from the driver's seat without even looking back. "If anyone throws food again, I'm stopping the car."

Chen and Ping instantly sat straight.

Paola instantly hid snacks under her shirt.

Knight buckled his belt like a prisoner.

The car returned to uneasy silence.

Then Chen leaned forward, whispering like a criminal mastermind, "Next stop... I'm expanding my market."

Ping hissed, "I hate you."

Chen smiled, glowing. "You love me."

Nathan stared out the window, exhausted beyond his years.

Knight muttered, "This is why villains exist."

And somewhere in the backseat, Jenn quietly ate another gummy... pretending she hadn't joined the black market at all.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The silence that followed lasted exactly one minute.

Then Chen inhaled like he was about to deliver a national anthem.

He began singing.

Loudly. Terribly. With full confidence.

"♪ WE ARE GOING TO CHIANG MAAAAI- ♪"

Ping's head snapped toward him like a gunshot. "STOP."

Chen didn't. He sang louder, adding dramatic hand gestures like he was on stage.

Mrs. Lang groaned from the front. "Why is he screaming?"

Knight's jaw tightened. "Because he breathes chaos."

Ping tried again, voice trembling with anger. "CHEN. STOP SINGING!"

Chen pointed at him mid-song. "♪ YOU CAN'T SILENCE ART- ♪"

Paola joined instantly, clapping on the wrong beat. "SING AGAIN!"

Ping looked betrayed. "PAOLA?!"

Jenn, by the window, murmured quietly, "This is how people lose sanity."

Knight leaned forward, voice sharp. "If you sing one more note, I'll throw you out."

Chen gasped dramatically and immediately switched to whisper-singing- somehow louder. "♪ I'm not singing, I'm whispering- ♪"

Knight reached for him.

Chen dodged like a slippery demon and grabbed the radio button. "Fine! If I can't sing... I'll provide MUSIC."

The speakers exploded with chaotic upbeat noise.

Ping shrieked. "NO!"

He slapped the button back- suddenly soft, romantic music filled the car.

Chen screamed in horror. "WHAT IS THIS? FUNERAL SONGS?!"

Ping yelled, "It's beautiful!"

Chen yelled louder, "It's TRAUMA!"

They fought over the radio like it was the crown jewel.

Nathan finally said, calm and deadly, "Enough."

They froze instantly.

Then Chen leaned close to Ping and whispered, "Round two at the next song."

Ping whispered back, furious, "You're going DOWN."

And Nathan stared out the window, already regretting ever leaving Bangkok.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Chen was still whisper-humming like a cursed radio station.

Not loud enough for adults to scold.

Just loud enough to stab Ping's patience every few seconds.

"Mm-mm-mm... ♪" Chen went, eyes sparkling with evil.

Ping sat stiffly beside Nathan, arms crossed, Snowball trapped under one elbow like a prisoner. He stared out the window with the dramatic intensity of someone imagining murder.

Nathan didn't tell Chen to stop.

He simply let Ping boil.

For a while, Ping endured it- chin lifted, face stubborn, trying to prove he could survive a roadtrip without exploding.

But then... something shifted.

Ping went quiet.

Not normal quiet- Ping was never quiet.

Nathan noticed first.

Snowball's plush body started getting squeezed tighter and tighter, Ping's small fingers clutching it like it was the only solid thing in the moving world. His posture stayed proud, but the color began slipping from his cheeks.

A faint damp sheen touched his forehead.

Nathan's gaze flicked down. "Little one."

Ping didn't look at him. "I'm fine."

His voice came too fast. Too flat.

Chen leaned over from the other seat, grin wicked. "Little bro turning into a ghost?"

Ping normally would've screamed.

Instead, he only glared- slow, tired, heavy.

That was the red flag.

A moment later, Ping swallowed hard. His breathing changed- small, tight, uneven.

Then it hit.

Ping's hand flew to his mouth, a tiny distressed sound escaping him as his eyes widened in panic.

Nathan shifted instantly, arm coming around him. "Ping?"

Ping shook his head quickly, mortified, whispering without looking up, "Nate... stop looking..."

Knight reacted like a switch flipped.

"Dad," he called forward, voice sharp. "Stop the car."

Mrs. Lang spun around so fast her earrings nearly flew off. "PING?!"

Mr. Lang didn't panic. He simply signaled, slowed smoothly, and pulled over at the safest roadside spot.

The moment the car stopped, the door opened- air rushed in.

Ping bolted.

Nathan was faster.

He half-carried, half-guided Ping out, one steady hand on his back as Ping stumbled forward and got sick by the roadside, small body shaking with humiliation more than anything.

Mrs. Lang gasped dramatically behind them. "MY BABY-!"

Paola started crying instantly, loud enough to summon wildlife. "PING IS DYINGGGG!"

"He's not dying," Knight snapped, but he was already moving- opening bags, digging like a soldier for supplies.

Chen jumped out too, worried as if the sickness hit him by sympathy.

"SOMEONE SAVE HIM!" Chen screamed. "WE'RE LOSING OUR SUNSHINE!"

Ping, still bent forward, weakly raised one finger in Chen's direction.

A threat. A promise.

Nathan crouched beside Ping, pulling tissues, wiping his mouth gently without making a fuss. His voice dropped into quiet softness- low enough to calm storms.

"Breathe," Nathan murmured. "Slowly. Look at me."

Ping tried not to, but he did anyway- eyes watery, cheeks red with shame. He clung to Nathan's shirt like it was the only thing keeping him upright.

"I didn't want to ruin it," Ping whispered brokenly.

Nathan brushed his hair back. "You didn't."

Knight appeared beside them, offering water, a wet towel, and something that looked like medicine with terrifying efficiency. "Next time tell us earlier."

Ping pouted even while suffering. "I was fine..."

Knight's voice softened, just a little. "Yeah, we can see the results."

Chen shoved his face into the scene with a candy packet like a peace offering. "Here. Sugar cures everything."

Ping stared at him.

Chen smiled. "Tiny fragile prince."

Ping- without even thinking- threw a tissue at Chen's face.

It bounced off Chen's forehead.

Chen froze... then raised both arms to the sky like he'd witnessed a miracle.

"HE'S ALIVE!"

Mrs. Lang sobbed. "Thank you, heavens!"

Paola sobbed louder. "HE SURVIVED!"

Mr. Lang stood by the car watching like the universe couldn't touch him.

After a few minutes, Ping's breathing steadied. Nathan helped him back into the car, adjusting his seat, positioning Snowball back in his arms, keeping him close like instinct.

Ping leaned into him immediately, sleepy and sulking even through exhaustion.

Chen whispered from across the seat, "If you are dying again, give us warning."

Ping mumbled into Nathan's shirt, voice muffled but full of rage. "Shut up..."

Chen beamed. "Yep. He's back."

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Next in A Trip Called Family

The backseat war had ended.

But the moment the car doors opened-

They wouldn't just lose control.

They would lose... someone.

Next Stop: Food, Puppies and Ribbons

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───