914 Public Bus
He had been having frequent visits from his superiors at the office recently, so he had prepared a lot of good tea. He had asked his friend to bring these tea leaves from other cities and he did not even bear to drink a few mouthfuls himself. He did not expect this young lady to waste so much.
“How can you touch the things in my office?” the leader said as he instantly rushed to the coffee table and hugged the teapot with heartache.
Given that the tea was already brewed, there was no way to salvage it. Even if he asked this beggar-like woman to compensate him, she probably would not be able to fork out any money.
The leader took the teapot away with heartache and looked at Qiao Yu with hatred. “Who are you?”
Qiao Yu obviously knew that this thing was quite expensive and also knew what it was. Back when Xia He found a job for her, she had seen it in Director Tan’s office. It tasted completely different from water.
If it was something that the factory director used, then it must be something good. This leader had told her to wait in the room, so why was it that she could not have a drink?
“Are you the manager here?” Qiao Yu asked self-righteously.
The leader nodded and said, “Yes I am. Why did you hold on to the security guard and refuse to let go? Are you here to take the train?”
Qiao Yu quickly waved her hands and said, “No! I have become separated from my family and I don’t have any money left. I just need a dollar to take the bus home.”
“I’ll call the police and ask them to come and get you. We’re only responsible for the train station. I can only let the police handle your situation.” After saying that, the leader picked up the phone to call the police.
This scared Qiao Yu out of her wits. If the police came to take her away, there would only be two outcomes. Either they would find out that she was an unregistered person and send her back to Foshan Village, or they would look for the Xia family. Xia Wen would then get her out of the police station and ask Chen Mu to escort her back to Foshan Village.
No matter which outcome it was, it was a deadend for her. She might as well wander off on her own! If she could find a kind-hearted person who would give her a few dollars, she might be able to return to the city!
“No, no! Erm… I just need one dollar to take the bus back to the city…” Qiao Yu said anxiously.
The leader looked at Qiao Yu suspiciously. A normal person would have gone to seek help from the police after getting separated from her family. Why was she so resistant to the idea of getting the police involved? There must be something wrong with this woman.
If he called the police, what happened at the train station today would also reach the ears of his superiors. If the train station was criticized during the year-end evaluation, then he would lose his bonus for the year. He was looking forward to this sum of money!
After thinking about it, he took out a dollar from his bag and handed it to Qiao Yu. It was better to avoid unnecessary trouble and quickly send this woman away so that she could not cause any more trouble. A dollar was nothing compared to his future benefits.
Qiao Yu quickly took the dollar from the leader and said happily, “Thank you! You’re really a good person!”
“Go off quickly. Don’t stay here.” The leader waved his hand irritably and chased Qiao Yu out.
Qiao Yu gripped the dollar in her hand tightly and went to the bus stop outside the train station. Before she left, she even held up the dollar and walked a few rounds in a mocking manner in front of the security guard, as if she was worried that the security guard did not know that she had gotten the money.
She waited for more than an hour in the cold wind while wearing her thin clothes before a bus arrived. Qiao Yu climbed onto the bus shakily and handed the money in her hand to the conductor. As it was a remote area, there were still many seats on the bus and the conductor quickly helped her to one side to sit down.
“Thank you…” Qiao Yu said weakly.
The conductor did not say a word to Qiao Yu. If not for the fact that Qiao Yu was leaning against the door and blocking the way, she would not have cared!
When she got close enough, she could smell the stench on Qiao Yu’s body. After all, Qiao Yu had slept in the toilet for a night and her clothes were definitely tainted by the smell.
As the bus entered the city, there were more and more people who got on the bus. Everyone felt disgusted by the smell and some people even spoke harshly to Qiao Yu.
“Be more self-aware if you’re so smelly! Get off! Not everyone can take the bus,” an older woman standing in the bus looked at Qiao Yu in disdain.
Qiao Yu was feeling so cold that she did not have the strength to refute what this older woman said. She could only lean against the glass silently and curl up into the corner.
