Chapter 25
At four in the afternoon, Li Qinyue received a phone call.
Zhuo Zhi listened from the side. The gist of it was that someone had invited Li Qinyue to dinner that evening, and she had agreed. Zhuo Zhi breathed a sigh of relief.
She had been on edge in this office, afraid that Li Qinyue would suddenly decide to tease her again. When they went out for lunch earlier, many people had already been staring at them.
Li Qinyue hung up the phone, turned off her computer, and stood up, saying to Zhuo Zhi, “Let’s go.”
Zhuo Zhi practically jumped off the sofa, “So early?”
“Yeah, it’ll take a while to get there.” Li Qinyue grabbed her jacket and walked towards the door, then suddenly stopped.
Zhuo Zhi, who was standing a meter away, also stopped.
Li Qinyue turned to look at her, “Come here.”
“Hmm?” Zhuo Zhi didn’t move.
Li Qinyue offered her arm, “Do you believe that the entire company knows you’re my girlfriend now?”
“Yes,” Zhuo Zhi felt it deeply.
“Then hurry up, let’s play the part,” Li Qinyue nudged her arm.
“Okay,” Zhuo Zhi reluctantly moved closer and placed her hand on Li Qinyue’s arm.
Li Qinyue opened the door with one hand and squeezed Zhuo Zhi’s arm with the other, saying with a smile, “This pose is so old-fashioned.”
Two girls linking arms was a way to show intimacy without being too over the top.
It was much more comfortable than when Li Qinyue had hugged her waist and walked out earlier.
Along the way, few people stared at them directly, but Zhuo Zhi, out of habit, observed her surroundings with her peripheral vision. She could still sense many furtive glances.
They entered the elevator. Fortunately, it wasn’t quitting time yet, and they were the only two people inside.
Zhuo Zhi stared at the buttons and asked, “President Li, basement level one?”
“Why would we go to basement level one? There’s no car waiting for me,” Li Qinyue looked at her with a grin, “Ground floor, we have to catch the bus.”
Zhuo Zhi sighed deeply, wondering when Li Qinyue would get tired of this strange hobby.
They left the office building and headed towards the nearest bus stop, successfully boarding the bus.
Li Qinyue was a little disappointed. Even though this bus route passed through the city center, it wasn’t crowded at this hour. Not only was it not packed, there were even two empty seats at the back.
Zhuo Zhi quickly went to occupy the empty seats and waved at Li Qinyue. Li Qinyue looked around, but there were no elderly, weak, sick, disabled, or pregnant people on board.
She could only sigh and walk towards the back, sitting down in the window seat that Zhuo Zhi had deliberately saved for her, playing with her phone out of boredom.
Zhuo Zhi still belonged to the peculiar new generation of young people who wouldn’t take out their phones unless absolutely necessary.
She sat there quietly, her gaze fixed on something inside the bus, who knows what.
Li Qinyue played two rounds of a puzzle game, then secretly logged into her alternate account and browsed through several company group chats of “Shengle Media”, specifically looking for gossip about herself and Zhuo Zhi, amused.
It was a shame that the person involved was right beside her, but she was too shy and timid to share it.
Li Qinyue felt a little emotional. In all her years of living a carefree life, it was only this little girl, Zhuo Zhi, who made her consider the other person’s feelings when she was having fun.
She couldn’t help but tease her, but she had to do it gradually. She couldn’t help but want to touch her, but she had to find excuses and reasons, controlling the time and degree. Tsk.
Li Qinyue put away her phone and looked at Zhuo Zhi, whose gaze immediately met hers.
“What’s wrong, Sister?” Zhuo Zhi asked.
“What are you looking at?” Li Qinyue glanced around the bus. There were a few more people now than when they first boarded, but nothing noteworthy.
“Looking at people,” Zhuo Zhi said.
“What’s so interesting about people?” Li Qinyue said, her eyes still scanning the bus, “Which person?”
“Everyone,” Zhuo Zhi smiled and lowered her voice, “The grandmother and granddaughter in the double seat at the front, the little girl just started first grade. The woman with the yellow scarf in the middle has a bad right leg, probably arthritis. One of the four ducks in the old man’s bag on the right is dead…”
“Aren’t there three?” Li Qinyue looked up.
“There’s another one at the back, it’s also had its air hole pierced, but it’s blocked from this angle.”
“How do you know?”
“The size, it’s obvious.”
“Tsk,” Li Qinyue gave her a thumbs-up, “Little Detective Zhuo Zhi.”
“Hahaha…” Zhuo Zhi laughed, not refuting her teasing. She paused and said, “I’m more familiar with the people on the bus.”
“Familiar?” Li Qinyue said, “Don’t you only know me?”
“But I can guess their general lives, unlike at your company, I don’t understand them.”
“Really?” Li Qinyue smiled, “I think they’re easy to understand. They want money, power, fame, and fortune.”
“I don’t quite understand,” Zhuo Zhi shook her head, “Your thoughts are always so convoluted. Just when I think I understand one twist, you take another turn, and I don’t know if I should stay on this path or follow the next one…”
“You’re crossing the Yellow River,” Li Qinyue leaned sideways, resting her hand on the back of the seat, “You people, including me?”
“Yes,” Zhuo Zhi lowered her head and fiddled with her fingers.
Li Qinyue looked at her long eyelashes and delicate nose, “What’s the difference? People live in this world, all wanting the same things. Do you think these people on the bus don’t think in a convoluted way at home or at work?”
“No, it’s just that I’m familiar with their way of thinking. I grew up in this environment,” Zhuo Zhi looked up and smiled, “Your world, Sister, I need to learn.”
“Little Miss Goody-Two-Shoes,” Li Qinyue’s hand on the back of the seat ruffled Zhuo Zhi’s hair, “Study hard and see this dirty world…”
“Don’t say that,” Zhuo Zhi said, “The world is still beautiful.”
“Yes,” Li Qinyue flicked her earlobe, “Especially with little cuties like you.”
For the rest of the ride, Li Qinyue abandoned her boring phone and started observing the people on the bus with Zhuo Zhi.
They didn’t talk, each lost in their own thoughts. Li Qinyue’s discovery was that in this day and age, there were still people begging on the bus.
Another thing that surprised her was that Zhuo Zhi, this righteous, kind, and innocent little cutie, didn’t give a single penny to the beggar.
After one stop, the beggar got off the bus, accompanied by melancholic music. Li Qinyue nudged Zhuo Zhi’s arm, “What? No change?”
Zhuo Zhi frowned, “His broken leg is fake.”
“What if it was real? Would you give him money?” Li Qinyue asked.
“No,” Zhuo Zhi answered decisively, “This is organized begging, they just want to get something for nothing. If they earn enough this way, they won’t even send their children to school. They’ll be dragged out to beg at a very young age.”
“You seem to understand these things quite well,” Li Qinyue rubbed her head.
“Sister, we’ve already passed thirteen stops,” Zhuo Zhi reminded her, “How much longer?”
Li Qinyue took out her phone and checked the map, “Twelve more stops.”
Zhuo Zhi’s eyes widened, “So far?!”
“Hmm? Is it far?” Li Qinyue said, “It’s alright, less than two hours.”
“Wouldn’t it be more convenient to drive for such a distance?” Zhuo Zhi asked cautiously.
“We’re not in a hurry, we’re just going for dinner,” Li Qinyue paused and said, “You came down from the mountain, don’t you know the importance of protecting the environment? Taking public transportation, reducing carbon emissions, I’m contributing to the planet, understand?”
“Understood,” Zhuo Zhi nodded.
“Besides, the scenery on this route is nice,” Li Qinyue turned to look out the window, her mood quite pleasant, “There are mountains, water, and few people.”
The scenery on this route was indeed nice, because it was heading out of the city.
Since Li Qinyue was currently living in the villa complex on the mountainside, Zhuo Zhi didn’t find it strange that her friend had invited her to dinner out of the city.
It was probably some kind of back-to-nature farmhouse with wild game and rustic charm. Zhuo Zhi just thought that if there were any endangered species, she would have to educate Li Qinyue about the law.
The bus went through a dizzying roundabout and onto a bridge over the river.
The sky had darkened slightly, and the river was deep and misty.
Li Qinyue stared intently at the river, while Zhuo Zhi looked at the brightly lit bridge, counting the passing cars.
An old woman in a floral padded jacket, sitting in the priority seat, suddenly stood up and hurried to the driver, asking him something.
Her dialect was too strong, and Zhuo Zhi could only understand the gist of it.
She seemed to have missed her stop, the one on the other side of the bridge. To go back, she would have to wait until the bus crossed the bridge and then take another bus in the opposite direction.
The driver, with his loud voice, turned his head and replied in dialect. The old woman was stunned for a moment, and then her voice suddenly became shrill.
The few passengers who had been dozing off on the bus were startled awake and looked over.
The old woman looked agitated, muttering loudly, which soon turned into shouting, repeating her request until everyone on the bus could hear it clearly.
“Stop the bus! Stop the bus!! Let me off!! Let me off! I want to go home! I’ve gone too far, too far!!”
The driver shouted, “I can’t stop here, I’ll stop after we cross the bridge!”
A middle-aged woman echoed, “He can’t stop here, he’ll get fined. He’ll stop after the bridge!”
The word “fine” further agitated the old woman. She stomped her foot, almost hysterical, “You’re harming me! Harming me!”
Li Qinyue frowned. Zhuo Zhi stood up and walked towards the front of the bus.
She wanted to try and reason with the old woman, to explain that the driver wasn’t trying to harm her for money, that he couldn’t stop the bus outside designated stops, that traffic rules were for everyone’s safety.
But as soon as she reached the front of the bus, the old woman suddenly threw herself on the floor and started crying loudly, flailing her arms and legs.
The driver looked down and shouted, “Get up!”
The old woman kicked at the driver’s seat.
The bus became restless. Zhuo Zhi rushed over, grabbed the old woman’s arm, and pulled her back.
“Grandma, Grandma, don’t distract the driver, it’s dangerous!” Zhuo Zhi said repeatedly, “Don’t worry, we’ll be crossing the bridge soon, he’ll stop after the bridge, and you can take one stop in the opposite direction to go home…”
The driver was angry and shouted again, “Get up! What the hell are you doing?!”
The old woman’s legs were like electric motors, constantly kicking. Her body seemed glued to the floor, and Zhuo Zhi couldn’t pull her up.
Old people’s bones were fragile, she didn’t dare to use force, so she could only keep persuading her, and said to the driver, “Sir, please focus on driving and be careful.”
This sentence made the old woman lump Zhuo Zhi with the driver. She swung her hand at Zhuo Zhi, “Don’t touch me! My legs hurt! My arms hurt! You damn people! Harming me! Harming me!!”
Zhuo Zhi dodged the first two swings. Unable to use force and unable to leave, she couldn’t dodge the third one.
“Slap!” The old woman’s hand hit Zhuo Zhi’s neck, hard and loud.
Zhuo Zhi had expected this outcome. She wasn’t surprised and endured it, not daring to let go of the old woman for fear of her distracting the driver again.
But Li Qinyue exploded. A loud “Fuck!” echoed through the bus, attracting everyone’s attention.
This beautiful and stylish girl, who seemed out of place on this bus, strode to the front of the bus, took out a delicate wallet from her bag, and slammed it on the floor.
The wallet opened beside the old woman, revealing a stack of bank cards and cash.
Everyone was stunned for a moment. The driver looked over, and Li Qinyue shouted at him, “Focus on driving!”
The driver quickly turned back, not daring to look again.
Li Qinyue shouted at Zhuo Zhi, “What the hell! Didn’t I feed you enough at lunch?! Can’t you even pull up or throw out this old hag?! How much effort does it take to throw her from the front to the back of the bus?! Use your strength, damn it, use it!!!”
Zhuo Zhi said helplessly, “Sister, she’s old, I don’t dare to use force.”
“Use it!!!” Li Qinyue shouted louder than anyone else, “Use all your strength!!!”
The old woman finally recovered from her daze and kicked again, repeating mechanically, “You’re harming me!”
Before she could say it again, Li Qinyue cut her off, “I’m fucking harming you! Is your home made of gold or silver?! Or am I going to sell you and inherit your throne?!”
Someone on the bus burst out laughing.
The old woman glared, not listening to anything, good or bad. Her only weapon was to continue throwing a tantrum, this was her most familiar tactic.
She kicked at Li Qinyue’s legs. Li Qinyue took a step back and kicked back.
Their legs collided, and the old woman wailed, “My leg is broken!”
“Then go to the hospital immediately!” Li Qinyue pointed at the wallet on the floor, “Any top-tier hospital in Nanhai City, you choose! If they can’t cure you in this province, I’ll take you to the capital! If they can’t cure you in China, I’ll fly you to America! If you don’t get a comminuted fracture, cerebral infarction, or paralysis today, I won’t be able to use the lifetime ICU service I’ve prepared for you!!”
The old woman froze. Li Qinyue glared at her, “Do you understand? Should I repeat it in dialect for you?!”
***
ICU:Intensive Care Unit
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