At this moment, Mu Chen, who was sitting in the driver's seat of the car in front, was staring blankly at the tall man next to him who was directing everyone to walk back in an orderly manner. His hands, which had been gripping the steering wheel tightly out of fear, unconsciously loosened.
The people who were scrambling to squeeze onto the bus below the car obediently lowered their heads and walked to the back when they saw the man blocking the driver's seat.
After everyone had come up, the tall man turned around to face Mu Chen.
Mu Chen gazed longingly at the man before her, her eyes filled with complex emotions including yearning.
The heartwarming scene ended with a slap from the tall man. Mu Chen clutched his head and yelled, "Brother, why did you hit me?!"
"Everyone's already here, why aren't you driving? Are you just going to sit here and wait to die?" said Mu Yao, the tall man in front of him.
As if remembering his own rules, Mu Chen immediately started the car and drove off.
"Brother, is it really you?" After Mu Chen drove off, he continued to stare intently at Mu Yao, as if he couldn't get enough of looking at him.
He hadn't seen Mu Yao since he died in a heroic act five years ago, not even in his dreams. Now, all of this felt unreal to Mu Chen.
Mu Yao, exasperated, slapped him again. "Do you feel it now? Stop watching where you're going!"
"Ah!... I know, I know..." Mu Chen was about to shout to express his dissatisfaction with being beaten, but after seeing the dangerous smile on Mu Yao's face, he immediately gave in. With the innate suppression from his older brother, he could forget about starting a rebellion.
Mu Chen thought he was doomed at this stop, since buses are crowded with all sorts of people and have all kinds of things on them. His candle had already gone out at the previous stop, but unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better, and the first person to get on the bus at this stop was his brother.
Mu Chen glanced at Mu Yao beside him and his face lit up. His fear had completely vanished. He had always believed that he was safe as long as his older brother was around.
Mu Yao looked at his younger brother, who had grown a lot, with a look of relief on his face. But when he saw the blood-stained and torn clothes on Mu Chen's body, he couldn't help but feel heartache. He wondered how his brother had been doing without him, and whether anyone had bullied him.
"Brother, what are you doing here?" Mu Chen only remembered to ask this question after the car had been driving for quite some time.
"Don't ask, even if you asked me, I wouldn't know." Mu Yao put his hand on Mu Chen's shoulder, but immediately removed it after seeing him shiver from the cold.
"Oh." Mu Chen pursed his lips and didn't ask any further questions, but this sentence opened the floodgates. He kept rambling on about what had happened in the past few years, and Mu Yao, unusually, didn't find him annoying and listened with a smile.
...
Despite Shen Muyu's constant dawdling, the bus eventually pulled into the station before it had even left.
"Could something have happened in that car? Why aren't they leaving after everyone's already inside?" Shen Muyu muttered to herself, holding a lighter in her hand. If something really happened, one candle definitely wouldn't be enough for so many people, so she had to be prepared.
Fortunately, the bus drove away by itself not long after. Shen Muyu breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't handle one or two of them, and if so many came at her at once, she would definitely be in trouble.
Looking at the empty platform in front of her, Shen Muyu nodded in satisfaction. That's it, no more guests are coming, otherwise her car could fill a zoo.
As if her wish had come true, no more people or animals appeared at the station. Shen Muyu even took the opportunity to eat a piece of bread to comfort her empty stomach.
Shen Muyu continued on his way with a slightly relaxed attitude, but he didn't expect that what was coming would come. As he walked, Shen Muyu suddenly noticed that there seemed to be something standing in the middle of the road ahead.
Shen Muyu immediately focused his attention on the unidentified object, and the next second its image magnified and appeared in front of Shen Muyu.
A weasel was standing in the middle of the road. After noticing Shen Muyu's gaze, it actually showed a very human-like smile. Because it was standing upright, its little paws placed in front of its chest waved, as if it was trying to stop a car.
Shen Muyu frowned. Perhaps she was numb from all the people she had been with, because she didn't have much of a reaction. She just felt a little colder all over, but that didn't affect her thinking.
She wasn't sure if she should stop and let the weasel on board. The rules said she couldn't refuse to pick up pets, but this guy had a sinister aura about him, and she wasn't sure if he counted as a pet.
Without much thought, Shen Muyu parked the car on the emergency lane as he approached the sable. Between clear rules and unclear instructions, he naturally chose the more certain one.
Upon seeing this, the weasel lowered its upright upper body and immediately ran over.
Shen Muyu thought it would suddenly appear in the car like the white cat at the beginning, but to her surprise, the next second there was a knocking sound like knocking on the door from the passenger seat.
The little black dog on Shen Muyu's lap seemed disturbed, glancing up at the passenger door, but then immediately burying its head back in.
Shen Muyu looked at the candle that was still more than half burned out in front of him, took a deep breath, and leaned out to open the passenger door a crack. The weasel squeezed in through the crack and then settled down in the passenger seat without moving.
Seeing this, Shen Muyu closed the car door and drove off again, glancing occasionally at the yellow weasel that seemed to be sleeping peacefully beside him.
They passed two more stops without incident, dropped off four animals, and Shen Muyu received three 20-yuan notes and one 30-yuan note.
Shen Muyu put the paper money in her pocket and sniffed. The air was getting cooler and cooler. She had just turned on the heater, but the animals next to her immediately became restless, which scared her so much that she turned it off. It seemed that she had no choice but to tough it out.
When they arrived at the next stop, the weasel beside him suddenly stirred. It stood up straight as before and bowed to Shen Muyu, as if it were paying its respects.
Shen Muyu didn't dare to make a move. He just watched it bow. After bowing, the weasel walked to the car door. This time, it didn't need Shen Muyu's help. It was tall enough to reach the door handle. It reached out and opened the door and got out.
Seeing the figure disappear, Shen Muyu slammed the door shut. This time, instead of paper money, a small green blade of grass appeared in the passenger seat.
Shen Muyu glanced at it and, finding it to be just an ordinary weed, picked it up. It seemed to be the fare for the weasel.
Looking at the green grass, Shen Muyu smiled. She hadn't seen any green plants since she came here, so she decided to keep it as a memento. With that thought, she stuck it on the rearview mirror so she could see it whenever she looked up.