Chapter 78: Deadly Travel Group (3)
At first, only one or two people got off the bus. As the breakdown and repair dragged on longer and longer, more started leaving their seats. There were NPCs, and there were real players.
Those needing to relieve themselves deliberately sought out the most secluded spots after getting off, disappearing into the thick fog until they were almost entirely out of sight.
"An isolated wilderness like this, with no village around—how could there be a little shop?" Ji Ning peered out the bus window. Seeing that some people had already come back with eight-treasure congee and biscuits, she murmured to herself in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Sheng Churan leaned closer and asked softly.
Ji Ning had been talking to herself under her breath, barely a whisper; she hadn't expected Sheng Churan to overhear her.
Thinking that in life, he'd been a top-of-the-pyramid elite born into privilege, probably never having visited a remote countryside, she leaned close to Sheng Churan's ear and quietly explained, "By the side of a highway, aside from rest stops, you'll usually only find little shops run by villagers who live right along the road, and they almost always have public toilets attached. That shop we passed just now was sitting there all alone, very strange."
Sheng Churan nodded with sudden understanding. He genuinely hadn't known this.
Thank goodness he had a partner like Ji Ning, who could fill in these information gaps for him.
After explaining things to the Big Star, Ji Ning finally realized that no matter how formidable Sheng Churan was in the game, at his core, he was still a man who'd never had to lift a finger for himself.
So she took the initiative to show concern for him. "Are you hungry? Thirsty? We've got water and bread with us." It was on the must-pack travel list she'd seen in her phone's notepad.
Sheng Churan was about to reflexively refuse, but changed his mind and said, "Let's have some water."
Ji Ning nodded, bent down to pull a bottle of mineral water from the bag at her feet, and handed it to Sheng Churan.
Unexpectedly, after taking it, Sheng Churan twisted the cap open and handed it right back to her. "Drink some too."
"Tha..." Her mouth had barely started forming the word when Ji Ning realized her mistake—a couple couldn't be so polite with each other. She immediately shut her mouth, took the water, and gulped down a few mouthfuls.
When she finished, she casually handed it back to Sheng Churan and, while bending down to get another bottle for him, caught sight out of the corner of her eye—he'd already raised the bottle to his lips to drink, his mouth pressing right over where hers had been.
No wonder the Top Streamer's ranked so high, Ji Ning thought to herself. He pays no mind to such trivialities and is willing to endure any indignity for the sake of the plot.
After drinking, Sheng Churan screwed the cap back on and placed the bottle into the backpack he'd taken down from the overhead luggage compartment. He also took the chance to check through everything he'd brought.
Clothes, trousers, underwear, socks, charger, power bank, wallet… three boxes of condoms…
Just what kind of setup had this instance given him? A two-day short trip, and he needed to bring three boxes of condoms?
Though, using thirty condoms in two days—he wouldn't actually have a problem with that. Still, something about it felt off.
Sheng Churan's gaze shifted to Ji Ning. Right now, she was focused on the window again, and he could only see her fine, fair profile. His eyes traveled downward: a firm bust, a slender waist. By the look and size, just a perfect handful.
Exactly his type.
No one knew how much time had passed when the driver finally returned. After successfully starting up the bus, he urged the tour guide to hurry everyone back on, take a headcount, and get moving.
Ji Ning checked the time on her phone. All told, the bus had been stopped for a full forty-odd minutes.
Once the tour guide had everything settled, the bus started up again, heading toward Mourning Mountain, hidden deep within the thick fog.
Clutching the seat back, Ji Ning silently counted again and again. After sitting back down, her brows were tightly knit, her breathing shallow and rapid as she looked at Sheng Churan.
She took out her phone, typed something, and showed it to him. "The number's wrong! It seems like there are more…"
Terrified and panicked, Ji Ning silently cursed herself for not counting the exact number of people on the bus earlier. Now she had no way of knowing if this was just her imagination, or if it was real.
Sheng Churan silently praised Ji Ning's alertness—to think she'd had the presence of mind to check the bus's headcount right away. Then he straightened up, raised his head a little, and helped her count the people on the bus.
After finishing two counts, Sheng Churan's expression grew heavy too.
He took Ji Ning's phone and typed in beneath her words. "Including the driver and tour guide, there were twenty-eight people before. Now there are thirty people sitting on this bus. Two more…"
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