Chapter 61: Coincidental Bus Ride

Yang Ming was the only person who got on the bus at this stop. “Pak” and the bus door closed.

“Don’t put in your coins; exchange it with me!” a man shouted at Yang Ming.

Another person who’s looking for loose change! Yang Ming searched his wallet and realized that it was a bad situation. The last coin he had was given to Chen Mengyan and now all that was left in his pocket were big bills!

Yang Ming took out a ten yuan paper bill and looked at the cashbox. He couldn’t throw it in, yet he couldn’t not pay either! He couldn’t be like the person just now, waiting for change because there were only three more stops to his destination. It would be nearly impossible to get change for ten yuan. Moreover, there was still a person ahead of him waiting for change too!

“Can anyone make some change for a ten yuan paper bill?” Yang Ming shouted. Even after a long while, no one responded. He couldn’t help but shout it again louder.

At this moment, the man from before mumbled, “Even my five yuan paper bill couldn’t get change, let alone your ten yuan paper bill!”

Damn, if this was the case, he might as well have taken a taxi since it wouldn’t even have cost ten yuan. As long as he didn’t get a taxi which was a Jetta, Saibao or Chery model, the cost would only be about eight yuan! [1]

Yang Ming went into despair but just as he went to put the ten yuan paper bill into the cashbox, a clear and sweet voice was heard from a close distance from him. “Yang Ming, wait! Don’t put it in!”

Chen Mengyan! Yang Ming noticed it surprisingly. The voice’s owner was Chen Mengyan!

Since there were a lot of people on the bus, Chen Mengyan spent all her effort to squeeze towards Yang Ming at this time. Chen Mengyan noticed him when he first shouted to ask for change. She shouted back twice but the noise around her was too loud and the distance was too far for Yang Ming to notice her. Chen Mengyan had to push through the crowd to stop Yang Ming when he was just about to put in the paper bill!

“There you go!” Chen Mengyan passed a coin to Yang Ming, and he dropped that into the fare box.

“Ah? You just threw it in like that?” The man who was waiting for change didn’t pay attention for that split second and Yang Ming had already completed his coin throwing action.

“My bad. I forgot about you. Why don’t you go and investigate whether you could dig it back out?” Yang Ming had actually forgotten his presence.

“Damn!” The man mumbled. If I could dig it out, I would have done it! Why would I even need you to tell me to do it?

“Thank you,” Yang Ming said after he put the coin in, and proceeded to push his way through the crowd toward the back door with Chen Mengyan. There was not a lot of space at the front. If they didn’t move to the back they may not be able to get off in time! Even though a public bus without a ticket seller saved a lot of manpower, there were flaws too! For example, you could only enter through the front door and exit through the back door. Regardless of how many people there were, you must follow this rule!

“No need to thank me.” Chen Mengyan wasn’t fond of Yang Ming’s formality.

“Yeah. Who are we to one another? We would be a family in the future! I won’t be as polite anymore in the future!” Yang Ming said without shame.

“Who’s joining your family? I realized you really are insolent, aren’t you?” Chen Mengyan rolled her eyes at Yang Ming.

Yang Ming shielded Chen Mengyan as they squeezed toward the back and infringed on the private space of others. Those who Yang Ming pushed to the side stared at him in annoyance. A rascal-looking young man saw how Yang Ming was flirting with such a pretty girl. He couldn’t help but say unhappily, “F***, why are you squeezing here? Are you rushing to hell?”

Yang Ming was happy to hear that. It had always been him saying these words to others and now there was someone who was saying these words to him! If it had been any other day, Yang Ming would have slapped the person’s mouth but now, Chen Mengyan was beside him. Yang Ming didn’t want to appear barbaric, so he stared at that young man and said, “If you mind us squeezing you, why are you on a public bus? Shut up! You don’t even have much money!”

“You…!” The young man attempted to punch Yang Ming. He never expected that Yang Ming would lock down his arm tightly. The young man realized that he met a bada** when he failed to free himself.

“Humph!” Yang Ming stared at the young man scornfully and let go of his hand. That young man lowered his head and dared not to make a noise – not even the sound of a fart.

With the young man set as a precedent, the people at the front leaned away and let them pass. Nonsense. Yang Ming was 180cm tall and a typical strong-looking figure just like the movie gangster’s fighter. Who dared to fight with him?

Yang Ming looked at the station display; the next stop was Xue Fu Book City. He told Chen Mengyan, “Mengyan, I am getting off at this stop. Where are you stopping?”

“What a coincidence! I am getting off at this stop too!”

“That’s really a coincidence. I never thought I could meet you on the bus!” The coincidence he spoke of was about his encounter with her at the bus instead.

Actually, it really was a coincidence. After Chen Mengyan went home to have her lunch, she decided to go to Xue Fu Book City to grab a few exercise books. While waiting for the bus, the 87 bus arrived first. Since she recalled what Yang Ming told her this afternoon, she didn’t get on that bus. She waited for the next 114 bus instead and got on. It was because of this incidental shift in her thoughts that allowed her to meet Yang Ming.

Song Jiang Xue Fu Book City was established in 1990. It was the largest bookstore in the city. It covered a total of 3,600 square meters and contained an independent courtyard and parking space, as well as space for Qidian novels. Therefore, there was a space set up by Qidian called “< > internet” especially for people to read online novels. Yang Ming remembered how he indulged in a novel called <Rebirth and Beauty> [2] and went there every day persistently to look for the new chapters. He spent all his allowance reading this book.

“Why would a big boy like you be interested in these kinds of strange books?” Chen Mengyan saw how Yang Ming glanced at some “thick” novels at the stall and she asked curiously.

Chapter Notes:

[1] car types: Saibao, Chery

[2] 重生追美記 – Rebirth and Beauty – the prequel