Chapter 104: The Bus [2]

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Watching his classmates happily board the bus and leave, Yan Yu felt a surge of frustration. Especially Lin Xuan, who didn’t forget to wave a small red flag at them with a sly, furtive expression that was as repulsive as it was contemptible.

“Fatty, are you done yet?!” Yan Yu urged.

“In a moment, almost done… almost… done! Ah~” Fatty’s voice sounded like he was exerting every bit of strength he had.

Yang Xuefei stood by the flowerbed at the school gate, tall and graceful, radiant with beauty. Yan Yu suddenly realized that ever since Shangguan Xin had signed a contract with her, this girl seemed even more stunning, more like a celebrity.

Although they missed the class bus, having Yang Xuefei accompany them on the way made the trip quite enjoyable for Yan Yu.

“Ouch, finally got my butt cleaned,” Fatty said, leaning against the wall as he came out of the restroom.

Yan Yu sighed. No matter how pleasant the atmosphere, Fatty and Hao Zhuang could always ruin it completely.

Yang Xuefei said, “Since you’re done, we should head to the bus station quickly. We can’t keep everyone waiting.”

The four of them took a taxi from the school gate to the bus station, bought tickets after some fuss, and finally boarded the bus heading to Fengmen Village after more than half an hour.

The bus was eerily empty; Yan Yu and the others were the only passengers.

Hao Zhuang sat next to Fatty, and Yan Yu sat beside Yang Xuefei.

After putting down their luggage, Hao Zhuang muttered, “Strange, why is the bus so empty?”

The driver, who was smoking in the driver’s seat, said, “Some incidents happened recently, and no one dares to take the bus anymore. I’ve run three empty trips today; you’re the first passengers.”

“No way, that’s creepy. What happened?” Fatty asked, clutching his stomach.

“Last week, a bus from our company heading to Fengmen Village had a fight between the passengers and the driver. While crossing the Rongli Bridge, the driver lost control and collided with an oncoming car, then the bus carrying over a dozen passengers plunged into the Jiulong River,” the driver sighed.

Yan Yu had noticed the news. The footage showed a quarrel between a woman in her fifties and the driver, even physical violence. The driver, losing patience, fought back while driving, lost his bearings, and the tragedy unfolded.

Seventeen people including the driver were on the bus. The rescue team spent an entire day pulling the bus out of the water. None of the seventeen survived, and the bodies of five victims, including the driver, were never found.

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“How tragic…” Yang Xuefei said softly.

Yan Yu sighed, “If the passengers had been more rational, the driver more restrained, and the bystanders more involved, maybe the tragedy could have been avoided. But there’s no ‘if’ in this world.”

“You’re right, young man, there’s no ‘if’,” the driver flicked away his cigarette and said, “Fasten your seatbelts; we’re about to depart!”

The bus trembled slightly as it moved out of the station. Before leaving, a safety officer boarded to check if everyone had fastened their seatbelts.

The weather turned sour shortly after they set off; rain began to fall over Rong City, accompanied by distant thunder.

In springtime in the south, these sudden showers were common—one moment the sun blazed, the next, torrential rain.

The road from Rong City to Fengmen Village was an ordinary highway, now covered in puddles. The bus slipped occasionally, and the driver slowed down deliberately for safety.

“Big guy, I got some new material here. Want to see?” Fatty whispered suddenly.

“Whose teacher is it from?” Hao Zhuang smiled lecherously.

“Maria Ozawa, Aoi Yua, Midori Muto…”

Their voices were neither too loud nor too soft, but Yan Yu and Yang Xuefei could hear them clearly. Yang Xuefei’s face flushed deep red. As the leader, Yan Yu had to speak up, “You two should be careful. Watching those two-people-finish-in-a-flash videos at your age weakens your body and makes you susceptible to bad influences.”

Fatty and Hao Zhuang had been eager, but after hearing Yan Yu's words, they suddenly recalled their time in rehab and got scared stiff.

“Not watching anymore! Not watching!” Fatty put away his phone and looked out the window. If they couldn’t watch dirty stuff, they might as well admire nature.

The highway was surrounded by lush green hills and clear waters, a beautiful sight, especially under the nourishing spring rain, evoking a vibrant sense of life flourishing.

Yan Yu tilted his head to look out, and unlike Hao Zhuang, who only had Fatty’s chubby face beside him, Yan Yu could enjoy both the scenery outside and the company of Yang Xuefei.

After half an hour, the bus suddenly pulled over. The driver opened the door and muttered in confusion, “Strange, it’s rare to pick up passengers halfway… Are you tourists? No wonder you didn’t bring umbrellas.”

Curious, Yan Yu and the others looked ahead and saw a dozen or so passengers getting on in the rain. They were soaked, probably put off by the sudden storm, their faces gloomy, and no one answered the driver’s questions. They paid and took their seats silently.

The atmosphere was eerie.

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“One, two, three… twelve people,” Fatty counted boredly.

Suddenly, a middle-aged woman sitting in front of Fatty turned around and glared fiercely at him, startling him.

“What are you counting?” the woman snapped coldly.

“So what if I’m counting? Do you have to be so rude?” Fatty retorted.

The woman snorted and turned away, ignoring him.

“How weird,” Fatty muttered quietly.

Due to the heavy rain, the road ahead was blurry, and the windshield wipers swung back and forth relentlessly. The bus interior was silent.

“Yan Yu…” Yang Xuefei tugged at his sleeve and whispered, “I feel something’s not right.”

Yan Yu was silent, seemingly deep in thought.

Yang Xuefei grew anxious, “Did you see that couple sitting behind us on the right? They look familiar…”

“Where have you seen them?” Yan Yu asked.

“On… on the news a week ago. They showed a notice about the victims of the Jiulong River accident. Among the photos was a couple, exactly like those two on our bus!” Yang Xuefei swallowed hard, her voice trembling with a hint of tears.

At the same time, Fatty and Hao Zhuang whispered to each other, sensing something was wrong too.

Just then, the middle-aged woman in front of Fatty suddenly stood up and shouted, “I want to get off!”

The driver glanced at the rearview mirror and said calmly, “It’s not the stop yet. Ahead is Rongli Bridge. We can’t stop until we cross it.”

But the woman was adamant, “I said I want to get off! I want to get off!”