Chapter 3: Lao Tang

Old Tang saw me standing there in a daze, gently patted me and said, "Bro? What's wrong with you? You've got beads of sweat on your forehead."

I took a long time to recover, and then told Lao Tang about the old man I met when I sent the bus today, and the old lady who came back to pick up the vegetable basket in the end.

Hearing this, Lao Tang sat on the bed and pondered for a long time without speaking. After a while, he beckoned me to come and sit down, and slowly said,

"Bro, if what you said is true, then it's quite troublesome. Either the old lady or the old man must be a dirty thing."

I sighed, picked up the Baijiu on the table and took a big gulp, wiped my mouth with my sleeve. The more I thought about it, the more angry I became, and scolded,

"Lao Wu is so unethical. What kind of odd job did he give me? If I really lose my life because of this, I will take him away too."

Hearing this, Lao Tang curled his lips and said, "Bah," then took the bottle from my hand and took a big gulp too.

"To be honest, when I was younger, I ran long distances and I haven't seen anything. I've seen ghost hitting the wall and the burial ground. I've seen a lot of them."

When it came to this, Lao Tang seemed to remember something, and then continued,

"Oh, by the way, I really know a master who knows something. Well, I'll give you the address. You can go and ask the old gentleman when you have time."

I remembered what Lao Tang had said to me on the phone before, feeling depressed. I asked in a low voice, "Bro, is there really this master this time? Don't play tricks on me."

Lao Tang sighed, took a glass, filled it with wine and handed it to me, saying, "Bro, don't worry. This old gentleman has some real skills and will definitely be able to eliminate your disasters."

I nodded. I am a bit withdrawn in character. Although I can also talk to colleagues at work, most of the time, I still like to be alone.

I feel that these colleagues are only superficial, except for Lao Tang, who is my best friend. Maybe it's also because his personality is somewhat similar to mine and he has always been alone.

After that, the two of us chatted more and more happily with the wine and food, and didn't fall asleep until five o'clock in the morning.

At ten o'clock in the morning, my most dazzling ethnic style ringtone began to surround in my dream world again. I croaked and answered the phone. It was my third aunt who called.

"Aunty San, do you have anything to do today?"

Aunt San is a typical warm-hearted person, the kind who can spend 80 cents of her one dollar on others.

Whenever there is something in the village, she is sure to be the first to rush to the front to help. Since I went home for the New Year and found out that I was still single, she seemed to have discovered a new object to help and laughed happily.

In just a few months, she introduced me to seven or eight girls. However, she always didn't explain things clearly to others in advance, only telling them that I worked in a formal unit in the city. In the end, when they met and knew that I was a bus driver, they all blew it.

At this time, I was exhausted and didn't have the heart to think about these things, so I impatiently replied, "What's the matter, Aunt San? I'm sleeping. I'll hang up if there's nothing else."

"You kid, don't hang up. I'll tell you, Aunt San has found a good girl for you this time. You'll definitely like her when you see her."

I turned over, said listlessly, "Aunt San, I don't want to see it. I'm fine alone."

Aunt San was anxious and raised her voice,

"What's wrong with you, kid? You're the only one in our village who's not married in his early thirties. "Don't be ashamed, I'm still ashamed. This girl is so great. Don't worry, I told the girl about your job this time, and the girl also likes it very much.

I hadn't woken up yet, just about to say no and continue sleeping, but Aunt San hung up the phone one step ahead of me. After a while, a message came.

'I made an appointment with the girl. See you at 6 p.m. tonight, at Time Story.

I saw "Time Story" and was half awake immediately.

This is a very high-end Western restaurant in the city. It will cost at least a thousand or eight hundred yuan for two people to have a meal.

Although Aunt San is in the rural hometown, she always comes to the city to visit. She must have remembered this restaurant when she passed by and saw the good signboard, and this time she just used it on me.

I put down my phone with a smile, but I couldn't sleep anymore. After getting up and washing, it was already twelve o'clock. After having a simple lunch, I couldn't wait to rush to Old Wu's office.

I didn't want to drive the 13th bus at the end of the night anymore. I took two unknown things as passengers the first night. If I continue to drive, I'm really afraid that my virgin body will still be there, but my life will be gone.

Unfortunately, Old Wu went to the city for a meeting and probably won't be back for a while.

Thinking of the appointment at six o'clock, although I don't have much hope for this blind date, since it's going to a high-end place like Time Story, I can't go there too poor and lose face.

So I went to the barbershop to have my hair trimmed, and then went back to the dormitory to polish my leather shoes. After all this tossing around, it was almost time, so I went to the restaurant.

This Time Story is really worthy of being the best Western restaurant in the city. There are two doormen standing at the door to open the door. After entering the restaurant, a pretty woman in a playful small suit greeted me. I said I had an appointment with someone, and she seemed to know that I was on a blind date. She smiled and nodded and left.

I looked around the high-end decoration and kept thinking about whether the 1,500 yuan in my pocket would be enough for this meal.

Inadvertently, I saw the back of a long-haired girl by the window. There was only one empty seat opposite in this restaurant, which was mostly for two people to dine. Only this girl's opposite seat was empty.

I took a deep breath, straightened my sleeves, and walked over slowly.

The back view can't tell much, but when I look at the front, I'm scared. This girl is born with delicate features, a graceful figure, and big eyes that are even more lively. It's a standard beauty!

I really didn't expect Aunt San to have such a connection. I don't know where she got it. When I saw that the girl was so beautiful, I was stunned.

The girl was also stunned, and whispered, "Are you Li Yao?"

I came to my senses, quickly nodded vigorously. I sat down in a hurry, maybe I sat too urgently, or maybe the chair in this Western restaurant was too slippery. With a "snap", everyone in the restaurant looked back. My face felt so hot that I could fry an egg.

The girl laughed so hard that she couldn't straighten up, and pulled me up. I sat down again, feeling uncomfortable all over. I made a fool of myself at the first impression. I guess I have no chance."

But I have to say that this girl is not only good-looking, but also has an excellent character. She still talks and laughs as if she didn't care about the embarrassing thing just now.

After a brief introduction, I learned that the girl's name is Bai Fan and she works as an HR in a private enterprise in the city. What surprised me even more was that the girl actually lived in Tangwazi Village, where I had just been to last night!

We talked quite投机ly. After dinner, the girl looked at the time and said to me, "Brother Li, I heard from Aunt San that you are driving the last bus of Route 13 now. It's just Friday tonight, and I also want to go home and take a look. I'll just take your bus back home. What time do you depart?"

I was at a loss for words when I heard Bai Fan's words. I originally planned that I wouldn't drive this Route 13 even if a knife was placed on my neck. But then I thought, the girl suddenly asked to take my bus home. Could it be that she wanted to spend more time with me? Maybe this was giving me a chance!

I hesitated for a moment, gritted my teeth, and thought, "It's either a blessing or a curse. There are not many opportunities for such a good girl. I'll run one more trip tonight."

So I nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes, I happen to be driving the last bus back to your village. I'll depart at 11 o'clock. I'll take you back."

Bai Fan was very happy when she heard this, gave me a smile with dimples, and I felt my bones were numb. Even if the trip was very dangerous, it was worth it!

It was already dark when I left the restaurant. Bai Fan and I walked around and took a taxi back to the company. I changed into my work clothes in the dormitory.

At exactly 11 o'clock, I drove the Route 13 out from the starting station again. Of course, Bai Fan was my first passenger tonight.

She sat in the second seat opposite the driver's seat, chatting and laughing with me all the way. I almost forgot what happened last night.

Several batches of villagers who sold vegetables got on the bus along the way. What made my back feel cold was that the old man who wrapped a white towel on his head and chatted with me last night came to take the bus again today!

This scene instantly brought me back to reality from my dream. It is said that there is a knife on the head of the word "seduction". I was only trying to please the girl. What should I do when I go back from the paper mill at 12 o'clock?

The old man got on the bus and nodded to me. Thinking of what the old lady said to me last night, I deliberately ignored him this time.

But to my surprise, Bai Fan sitting in the back seat actually greeted him enthusiastically.

"Uncle Liu, you also went to the city to sell vegetables."

"Oh, it's Bai Fan. There are too many vegetables in the field. I came to make some money." The old man smiled and seemed in a good mood. He turned to look at me and asked, "Young man, would you like to light a cigarette?"

I finally breathed a sigh of relief. I remember that the old lady said that no one was sitting in this seat last night, and I was scared to death, thinking that I had encountered a ghost.

Today, Bai Fan saw him too, which shows that this old man is not a ghost at all. Instead, it might be the old lady who was talking nonsense. Thinking of Lao Tang's words, perhaps, she is not a human?

The whole journey went smoothly. I arrived at the paper mill terminal on time at 12 o'clock in the middle of the night.

When Bai Fan got off the bus, she gave me her phone number and told me to contact her if I had nothing to do. This made me very happy. I thought although this trip was very dangerous, it was really worth it for my happiness.

On the return trip, I was always on tenterhooks, afraid to meet the old lady from last night again. Thank God, the whole journey back was also smooth, and there were no unusual situations.

At 1:00 in the middle of the night, I finally returned to the company, parked the car, and let out a long sigh.

Although the journey was smooth, I was also highly tense all the way, and unconsciously, the back of my clothes was already soaked with sweat.

After getting out of the car, as I passed by the company gatekeeper, I unexpectedly found Lao Wu staggering back. My anger flared up. He wasn't there during the day, and now I just happened to find him to settle the score.

I quickened my pace and caught up. A strong smell of alcohol hit me. I didn't care about that and grabbed his clothes tightly, asking angrily, "Lao Wu, what kind of grudge do I have against you? Why did you do this to me?"

Lao Wu was startled by my sudden grab, turned around and saw it was me, and patted his heart, "Xiao Li, you scared me to death. What's wrong with you? How did I harm you?"

"When the 13th bus's last shift passed the line ten years ago, three drivers in three buses all had accidents. You know this. Why did you let me do this evil shift?"

After hearing me finish speaking, Lao Wu was obviously surprised and whispered, "Bro, this thing happened ten years ago. Except for me, no one in our company knows about it. Who told you this?"

I saw that Lao Wu didn't seem to admit his mistake at all, so I grabbed his collar and pulled it forward.

"I tell you, there is no wall that doesn't let in the wind. I heard it from Lao Tang. Do you still want to play me like a fool? Surprised? Unexpected?"

Lao Wu looked confused and said, "Lao Tang? Which Lao Tang? There is no one surnamed Tang in our team."

I was even more angry. I knew that Lao Tang was low-key and liked to be alone, but Lao Wu, the team leader, wouldn't not know him. I remembered asking Lao Tang about his name and shouted at Lao Wu,

"Lao Tang, you don't know? Tang Xiansheng! What are you pretending for?"

As soon as I finished speaking, "pa" sounded, and Lao Wu slapped me hard. This one was not light, and it made me dizzy.

I scolded, "Lao Wu, how dare you hit me?"

Lao Wu looked even angrier, stared at me with wide eyes, pointed at me and shouted,

"Get out of here, Tang Xiansheng. What nonsense are you talking about? He was the first driver of the 13th bus ten years ago and died a long time ago!".