The bus bound for Shanghe Village pulled into the station. Xia Lan looked at it and saw that it was bus number 715, not Xu Xiaoyu's bus.
Qin Yu helped Xia Lan onto the bus. There were only the two of them on the bus, but they saw the familiar ticket seller.
Xu Xiaoyu saw Xia Lan and called out in surprise.
"Xia Lan!"
"Xiaoyu?"
Upon seeing Xu Xiaoyu, Xia Lan was first pleasantly surprised, then puzzled.
Weren't you on 518?
When the bus arrived, Xia Lan took a special look and realized it wasn't Xu Xiaoyu's 518, but 715. She was quite disappointed.
When they got on the bus, Xu Xiaoyu was already there.
"Stop talking, I'm having a really bad day!" Xu Xiaoyu couldn't help but complain.
Qin Yu took out two yuan and handed it to Xu Xiaoyu. Xu Xiaoyu skillfully gave Qin Yu change and the ticket, then sat down on the other side of Xia Lan and complained to her.
"There's a female colleague in my workplace who makes me so angry just thinking about her."
"What's wrong?" Xia Lan asked curiously.
Seeing Xu Xiaoyu's state, it was clear that she had suffered a lot of anger at the hands of this 'female comrade'.
"Let me tell you, I've never met such an infuriating woman. She takes advantage of her connections, not only does nothing but also likes to talk badly about people behind their backs. She makes up baseless stories sound like the truth."
Xu Xiaoyu said in a frenzy.
“If it’s baseless, how could it be true?” Xia Lan asked.
"But that's how it is! A couple of days ago, my mom forced me to go on a date with a guy, and then she saw it. She actually said that the guy I was dating was her boyfriend, and then she went around telling everyone at work that I stole her boyfriend..." Xu Xiaoyu was furious.
"What angers me the most is that the person I was dating actually had childhood sweethearts with her, and he didn't even try to explain for me. Now people at work are looking at me differently."
Xu Xiaoyu leaned on Xia Lan's shoulder, feeling wronged.
"And most importantly, she suddenly fell down in front of me and screamed. When people at work were attracted by her voice, she actually said that I pushed her..."
"Tell me, am I wronged or not...?"
"I'm innocent." Xia Lan nodded emphatically. "Since you didn't do it, what are you afraid of?"
"Next time she says you hit her, then slap her and make it a fact! That way you won't have to suffer," Xia Lan suggested.
“Good idea, but I’ll also be punished for hitting someone…” Xu Xiaoyu sighed.
"I was publicly criticized this time, and they even changed my registration from 518 to 715..."
Xia Lan looked at the bus and realized it was worlds apart from the 518 bus that Xu Xiaoyu had previously owned. The 518 was clearly a new bus that had only been on the road for a short time, and all the facilities on board were brand new.
If Xu Xiaoyu hadn't told Xia Lan, she wouldn't have known that this 715 car could be so dilapidated.
The car windows couldn't be closed, the curtains were covered in black grime, and the parking space was rusty; it was clearly a car that was nearing the end of its life.
"So, have you taken a liking to that gay man?" Xia Lan asked curiously.
"Of course not, who would want a man who's so arrogant! Not only does his whole family live in a cramped apartment building, but if he marries into the family, he'll have to take care of the whole family. His father is paralyzed in bed. If it were a love match between us, and I liked him, maybe I could tolerate it. But I only dated him; I don't like him at all. Only she would treasure a man like that."
Xu Xiaoyu shook her head frantically, afraid that she would get involved with that man.
“That matchmaker even told my mom that he was a handsome man, but I think he’s nothing but a pretty face.” Xu Xiaoyu was remarkably clear-headed and saw through the man’s true nature.
"It's good that you're so clear-headed!" Xia Lan patted Xu Xiaoyu and smiled.
“Marrying a man like that would mean being a maid, doing all the hard work for no reward, and he’d even complain that you can eat,” Xia Lan said seriously. “With your qualifications, you could marry someone a thousand times better off than him.”
"Do you really think so?" Xu Xiaoyu asked Xia Lan, moved.
“Of course, you’re not bad either,” Xia Lan said to Xu Xiaoyu, pointing at her face very seriously.
"You look chubby because you have round cheeks and you tie all your hair up."
"What can I do? My mother gave me this face..." Xu Xiaoyu said dejectedly.
This is a natural occurrence; she couldn't cut off her own knife!
"A different hairstyle will do the trick," Xia Lan said with a smile. She then took Xu Xiaoyu's braids off, leaving two thin strands by her cheeks, and braided the rest of her hair into a fishtail braid.
With just a simple change of hairstyle, Xu Xiaoyu looked like a completely different person.
The driver, who was focused on driving, couldn't help but turn around and glance at Xia Lan and Xu Xiaoyu's conversation.
With a sudden stop, Xia Lan was startled, her body involuntarily leaning forward, and she was about to fall out.
Qin Yu's eyes narrowed, and he quickly reached out and grabbed Xia Lan's arm, pulling her back and protecting her in his arms.
"Liu Tianming! What are you doing! You almost threw my friend out of the car!" Xu Xiaoyu glared angrily at the new driver.
"Lanlan, are you alright? He's a new driver and doesn't know this road well yet. I apologize to you on his behalf." Xu Xiaoyu apologized to Xia Lan and Qin Yu on behalf of Liu Tianming.
"I'm sorry." Liu Tianming coughed, scratched his hair, and apologized to Xia Lan.
Liu Tianming glanced at Xu Xiaoyu furtively and then patted his cheek.
"I'm fine." Xia Lan's eyes sparkled as she looked at Qin Yu.
Qin Yu put his arm around Xia Lan's head and took her hand in his.
Seeing the interaction between the two, Xu Xiaoyu blinked enviously.
The bus continued its journey, and Xia Lan listened to Xu Xiaoyu's complaints, occasionally offering her advice and teaching her how to deal with scheming women.
Qin Yu glanced at Liu Tianming, who was sitting at the driver's angle. It wasn't hard to see that Liu Tianming would occasionally peek at Xu Xiaoyu through the rearview mirror.
To others, he appeared to be looking at the road, but only Qin Yu knew that his gaze was fixed on Xu Xiaoyu the entire time.
However, he wasn't interested in other people's affairs and didn't tell Xu Xiaoyu.
Back at the station in Shanghe Village, Xia Lan was about to get off the train, and Xu Xiaoyu looked at her with reluctance.
"Don't forget what I taught you. You can't be soft-hearted when dealing with those scheming women. If she can hurt you once, she can hurt you a second time," Xia Lan instructed Xu Xiaoyu.
Xu Xiaoyu nodded emphatically. "I understand, I'll listen to you."
"Goodbye." Xia Lan and Qin Yu got out of the car, and Xu Xiaoyu leaned out to say goodbye.
Qin Yu led Xia Lan along the road back to the village. Xia Lan frowned and said to Qin Yu, "Brother Yu, why are there so many 'tea-art girls' everywhere? I wonder if Xiao Yu can salvage her reputation..."
"What is a 'tea ceremony girl'?" Qin Yu asked Xia Lan.
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