Chapter 17: On the Bus

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After a short midday rest, Fu Yuan left the hotel. Before stepping out, she deliberately stood in front of the mirror to wash her face, glancing at her reflection a few times. Luckily, no eerie mismatch between her actions and the mirror image occurred.

Still, she found the person staring back at her strangely unfamiliar.

She couldn’t quite put the feeling into words; if she had to describe it, it was as if the figure in the mirror belonged to another realm—a dream-self’s body.

Patting her cheeks, she found amusement in her own thoughts.

Perhaps, the mentally ill patients in Wuyou Psychiatric Hospital had all started feeling estranged from their mirror selves just like this?

She glanced around the room and lifted the quilt to check—nothing was left behind. Then she left.

Before leaving, she cast a glance at the room number: 8618.

Businesspeople here were superstitious, fond of starting numbers with “8” since it sounds like “prosperity,” symbolizing thriving business and abundant wealth.

At the front desk, the young man working the counter opened the official WeChat QR code, smiling as he said, “Miss, add me on WeChat! Come back often!”

Fu Yuan frowned, feeling it troublesome and reluctant to add him.

He seemed to miss her hesitation, taking her phone and adding her himself. Smiling, he explained, “If you add WeChat, you get a 200-yuan coupon sent every month. You can use it at the hotel’s restaurants and facilities.”

Fu Yuan glanced at the front desk. Two attendants were there—a man and a woman—both fairly attractive.

The woman was busy playing on her phone.

“All done!” the young man said, handing the phone back and pulling out a square gift box from beneath the counter. “This is a parting gift for you. Hope you like it. Please come again.”

Fu Yuan accepted the gift box, feeling, to her own shame, not at all annoyed that the young man had taken her phone without permission to add her.

The box looked quite nice—blue wrapping with illustrations of seafood, tied with a silky ribbon fashioned into a bow with gold trim. Whatever was inside, it was enough to win a girl’s heart.

Softly, Fu Yuan said, “Thank you.” A faint warmth blossomed in her heart.

Her phone vibrated as the official customer service sent the coupon. She opened it: a 200-yuan discount voucher.

But it wasn’t an unconditional coupon—it required a minimum spend of 1,000 yuan to get 200 off.

Fu Yuan thought: impossible to come back. A steak dinner alone cost over 600 yuan; she wasn’t a fool to overspend!

Whenever she left a place, she habitually looked back once more. Like tourists who loved to take photos as souvenirs, she took one last look as if printing a picture in her mind.

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She saw the male attendant just sitting down when a man with stubble came down from upstairs. He wore a wool sweater and an autumn jacket, his gaze fierce.

The female attendant, who had been on her phone, immediately put it down and approached.

She bent slightly, her low-cut top appearing a little loose, voice soft: “Hello, sir, is something wrong?”

Watching this scene, Fu Yuan sighed inwardly and withdrew her gaze.

“What’s going on? Why is there no hot water?!”

Her attempts to appease didn’t soften the man’s anger. From his tone, Fu Yuan feared he might suddenly lash out.

He seemed to have caught a chill and sneezed loudly twice.

The woman quickly handed over two tissues. “May I have your room number? I’ll arrange a new room for you.”

The hotel’s tissue paper carried a faint floral fragrance, which lifted Fu Yuan’s spirits slightly. Yet stepping outside, the salty sea air returned.

Having witnessed the morning’s calamity, none of her colleagues were interested in sightseeing. Their supervisor contacted the driver early, and the group returned to the Wuyou Hotel.

Fu Yuan felt uneasy, suspecting they were under real-time surveillance. After leaving the hotel, she paid special attention to the street cameras.

In fact, there weren’t many. Outdoor cameras were mainly placed at entrances and exits of service establishments. Public facilities like beach chairs had no surveillance.

It was still early when they arrived.

Having slept well, Fu Yuan didn’t return to her room to nap. Instead, she searched for a toy store on her navigation app, intending to buy some small souvenirs.

The company’s bus only dropped them at the hotel entrance. She checked the distance: 1.7 kilometers. Walking was too far, and the taxi’s starting fare was high—too costly.

She waited at a bus stop and boarded the bus.

Perhaps because it was a tourist city’s commercial district, the streets were crowded even on a Thursday. The bus had few seats available. Fu Yuan held onto a rail, standing.

At the next stop,

some passengers disembarked from the rear door, others boarded through the front. The bus grew even more crowded in its already confined space.

Fu Yuan squeezed inside and caught sight of a familiar back of a head out of the corner of her eye.

Somehow recognizable.

She tiptoed, shifting her gaze downward, but didn’t see the three- or four-year-old girl who had been with the person before.

She wanted to strike up a conversation, but the bus was too packed. She planned to get off after a few stops. Initially, she had tried to move toward the rear of the bus when boarding. Now, pushing forward, she was stuck.

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Unable to move forward, she stayed near the rear door.

That woman would get off eventually.

As she drew closer, Fu Yuan detected the woman’s strong perfume—a scent reminiscent of Louis Vuitton’s Afternoon Swim, something she had once smelled on her roommate.

Her roommate had said it smelled unpleasant, not matching the mature style she aimed for, and had given it to Fu Yuan, who had yet to use it.

Looking at the woman’s clothes, they didn’t appear to be cheap street stall goods. The handbag bore a Hermes label—authentic or not, Fu Yuan couldn’t tell.

Though she lacked expertise in luxury brands, her roommate wore them daily, so over time Fu Yuan had learned to recognize a few things. This woman was likely well-off.

Fu Yuan wondered: had wealthy people started taking crowded buses now?

The woman hadn’t gotten off yet, her head bowed, seemingly focused on her phone.

Midway, Fu Yuan saw a man edging toward the woman, his gaze blatantly lecherous yet nervous. The woman faced away and couldn’t see him; Fu Yuan watched clearly.

The man was shifty-looking and not tall. His attention fixated on the woman’s bag.

The bag was slightly open. Fu Yuan caught a glimpse of jewelry, lipstick, and tissues inside.

The man, heart pounding, was inching his guilty hand toward the bag’s edge.

“Cough, cough, cough,” Fu Yuan suddenly coughed.

He froze, pretending to look around innocently.

Not spotting who coughed, he steadied himself, telling himself it was a coincidence and prepared to try stealing again.

After years of taking the bus, having encountered mostly students or elderly ladies using discount cards, chances for such a fat target were rare.

“Cough, cough, cough,” Fu Yuan coughed again.

The man immediately turned, looking toward the sound’s source. Seeing Fu Yuan staring straight at him, he realized he had been caught. His face flushed with embarrassment as he glared fiercely.

Just then, the bus reached its stop. Without caring which one, he pushed through the crowd to get off.