Chapter 26 An Ordinary Bus

Perhaps it was the long journey, but all the passengers on the bus seemed listless, their bodies swaying with the movement of the vehicle. Heads drooped low as everyone awaited the bus’s final destination—Honghai Community.

“Now navigating for you. There is a traffic light at the intersection 100 meters ahead; please slow down! In 300 meters, please turn right…”

The navigation voice echoed inside the bus as the driver followed its instructions toward Honghai Community. He pushed his bloodshot, almost dislodged eyeball back into its socket with a sigh, thinking it was about time to get himself a new set of eyes.

Chuning yawned out of boredom and turned to the fellow beside him, whose face was hidden behind a newspaper. “Excuse me, how much longer until we reach Honghai Community? This journey seems endless!”

They had already spent two hours on the bus, during which no one had gotten off or boarded. The automated announcements had sounded twice, after which the driver switched them off, citing the need to save electricity.

The person behind the newspaper leaned to one side, a drafty voice emerging from behind the pages. “Almost there, very soon!”

“Thanks. By the way, could I take a look at your newspaper? It’s awfully dull just sitting here.”

Rather than object to Chuning’s request, the man behind the newspaper trembled as he handed over his hard-earned stack of papers.

“Here you go, it’s yesterday’s paper. I hope you don’t mind.”

He coughed, pressing a hand to his throat, “Sorry, it’s an old problem! My voice always comes out a bit airy—never could figure out why.”

As he mumbled complaints about his frail body, Tanya tugged at Chuning’s sleeve while the other passengers paid no attention, trying to stop him from chatting further.

“Why are you pulling me?” Chuning looked at her in confusion, hoping for an explanation. Ever since Tanya had boarded, she’d pretended to nap, ignoring him entirely, making him wonder if he had somehow offended her.

No sooner had he spoken than every passenger in the bus turned their heads in eerie unison, their eyes fixed intently on Tanya. A little boy sitting on his mother’s lap even stuck out his tongue at her playfully and blinked.

Plop!

Half a tongue dropped to the floor, the sound echoing clearly through the silent bus. The boy, panicked, wriggled free from his mother’s grasp, scrambled onto the floor, picked up his tongue, and stuffed it back into his mouth, glaring resentfully at Tanya for causing his blunder.

The blaring of a car horn came at just the right moment, masking the boy’s careless mistake. His mother glanced apologetically at the driver, then shot Tanya a venomous look as she awkwardly hoisted her son with her twisted arm.

“Turn around and take a look!” Tanya whispered in terror, pointing at the people behind them. On previous rides, the passengers had been “enthusiastic” to a degree, but never had their malice been so palpable.

Chuning glanced curiously over his shoulder—everything appeared perfectly normal! The passengers slumped in their seats, dazed and weary. The little boy nestled in his mother's arms snuck a shy glance at Chuning, then bashfully covered his face with his chubby hands when he realized he’d been noticed.

What an adorable child! Indeed, human youngsters who haven’t yet become little terrors are always so endearing.

“Nothing strange at all,” he replied.

Tanya smacked her lips, the bizarre scene before her reverting to normal. She reached out, wanting to explain further, but the words stuck in her throat, refusing to come out.

Chuning placed his hands gently on her shoulders, looking into her eyes with earnest seriousness. “Relax. Don’t let your imagination run wild. There are no such things as ghosts—you’re just scaring yourself. What you see isn’t always real.”

A chorus of chattering voices echoed in agreement, the passengers enthusiastically joining in to persuade Tanya.

“Young lady, only those with a clear conscience need not fear ghosts or spirits!”

“In this day and age, who still believes in the supernatural? I really don’t understand what modern youngsters are thinking!”

“Big sister, shame on you!”

A jumble of voices rang in her ears. Tanya squeezed her eyes shut in pain, hugging her head helplessly.

“It’s all just your imagination,” Chuning comforted her with the voice of experience. “Don’t dwell on it. I see strange things myself sometimes—like another me always pestering me!”

“Can I borrow your phone for a moment?” Tanya’s voice was weak; she wanted to prove what she’d seen was real, not some hallucination.

She distinctly remembered that Bus 24 never took this route, and it was a short-distance line, not a long-haul service.

The route should be marked on the map. If she could find it, everything would make sense and she could prove she wasn’t lying.

Chuning didn’t know what Tanya was planning, but he handed over his phone without hesitation.

“Here you go.”

Taking the phone from Chuning, Tanya eagerly opened the map app, only to be met with a network connection failure. She checked the data, the SIM card, but in the end, dispirited, she handed the phone back.

No signal. The phone’s connection was gone.

“There’s no signal here. I tried already—otherwise, why would I bother with an old newspaper for entertainment?” Chuning complained as he waved the borrowed papers.

Up front, the driver wiped away red-and-white fluid trickling from his brow, then calmly continued driving. His sweat had soaked his shirt, yet he seemed unbothered, only stealing a cautious glance at Chuning through the rearview mirror.

Seeing that Chuning didn’t press the matter of the signal, the driver finally relaxed. After the phone screen locked, Chuning never noticed that the signal quietly returned, and the network came back online.

The map app launched itself, remembering Tanya’s recent search. The system automatically searched for information on Bus 24 and pinpointed their current location.

Bus 24 was veering off its designated route, heading straight for Honghai Community.

Unconsciously, Tanya pressed closer to Chuning. She felt the temperature inside the bus plunging, and all eyes were covertly fixed on her. If anything went amiss, she would be the first to fall victim.

“Driver, could you turn up the air conditioning a bit? It feels a bit chilly in here,” Chuning called out.

“Sorry, my apologies! I’ll turn up the temperature right away—just a moment.”

“Thank you!”

Tanya immediately felt the chill recede and the oppressive gazes lessen.