Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 282 - Three: So Many Acquaintances_1

Chapter 282: Chapter Three: So Many Acquaintances_1

The ticket collector, or rather, the personnel collecting the fare, is laboriously making his way towards the back, checking on those passengers who haven’t bought their tickets yet.

Every now and then, arguments would break out because the fare was a few bucks more than usual. But the person collecting the money had a valid reason, just now, many people couldn’t even get on!

Occasionally, disputes arose when passengers claimed to have paid, but the collector forgets. On these long-distance bus rides, it was often the case that passengers paid and sat without a formal ticket.

For those who needed a ticket, it was a simple procedure of ripping off a long, crudely printed strip of paper with various prices, some even had hand-drawn symbols indicating the amount paid, while some had no marking at all.

When the collector came over, Yan Fei saw that Xu Xiaoyan’s older sister was taking out her money, so he quickly gave him a hundred Yuan note, pointing out who his group of four was.

The collector looked a bit puzzled, rummaging through his money bag with both hands and shooting Yan Fei a few glances. Impatient, Yan Fei snapped, "Hurry up and give me my change! What are you looking at!"

By coincidence, this was the same bus and the same man whom Yan Fei had dealt with on his first ride. But after so many days and with Yan Fei now dressed like an old man, the ticket collector failed to recognize him. He probably thought Yan Fei looked familiar, hence the repeated glancing.

Upon hearing Yan Fei’s impatient tone, the collector probably remembered—Yan Fei had used exactly this tone to make them slap themselves in front of all the passengers before. Not recognizing him would indeed feel strange!

There was a fleeting look of panic in the man’s eyes before he hastily started rummaging in his money bag again. By the time he looked up, his impatience from running around collecting fares and frequent disagreements with passengers had vanished. He courteously handed over forty Yuan, "Here’s your change."

Yan Fei glanced at it but didn’t say anything, and just stuffed it into his pocket.

The man seemed to heave a sigh of relief only after he turned to shout at other passengers for their fares, but it wasn’t clear whether he was cursing his luck or celebrating.

Xu Xiaoyan’s older sister gave him a puzzled look, "Did he give you too much change just now?"

Yan Fei pushed up his glasses, looking perfectly calm, "He knows me, he must have recognized me just now."

The long-distance bus, shaking from being packed with passengers, barely stopped for the first half of the journey.

Despite this, many students, having left their hometowns for the first time and experiencing such a long bus ride, gradually lost their excitement. Instead, they began contemplating their approaching, unknown university lives—they were hopeful, excited, and a little bit nervous.

It was only when they stopped midway for a meal and everyone got off that everyone felt a sense of relief as they stood on the coal ash-paved ground of the restaurant, almost as if they had seen daylight after a long period of darkness.

As the bus had been modified, the seats were just spacious enough for one person to sit. If you happened to be a bit fatter, taller, or had longer legs, you would have to endure the extra discomfort. What’s more, there were many people standing on this trip, so hardly anyone’s back and waist weren’t aching by now.

Everyone gathered together for the meal. Ji Yunyun had stopped laughing at Yan Fei’s attire by now; presumably, she had grown used to it after this journey.

The restaurant was the same, but the dilapidated areas had been repaired, it was cleaner, and the service was warmer. Compared to before, it was indeed a significant improvement.

Yan Fei, carrying a tray with Xu Xiaoyan and her two sisters trailing behind him, asked what everyone wanted to eat while putting their chosen items on the tray.

Anyone could settle the bill here, and Yan Fei was preparing to do so when Xu Xiaoyan said, "Hey, they sell tea eggs here! The ones you brought me last time were delicious. Let’s try these ones."

There were several new servers at the restaurant, but the old ones were still there. Coincidentally, the man selling the tea eggs was one of the old ones.

Initially, no one paid attention to Yan Fei as he kept his head down, busy choosing food. But when Xu Xiaoyan called out, the old man selling tea eggs felt Yan Fei looked familiar as he reluctantly squeezed over.

The old man selling the eggs was no match for the bus fare collector. His old, dim eyes studied Yan Fei once, then again, but in the end, he failed to recognize him. Eventually, he said, "You...you take the bus a lot, don’t you..."

Yan Fei nodded, "Yep, just grab a few tea eggs and then reckon up how much all of this is."

The old man grabbed a few tea eggs from the pot and put them in Yan Fei’s tray. He was about to get more when Xu Xiaoyan called out, "That’s enough! We just want to taste. Everything here is too expensive! We will buy less to taste."

The old man paused his action, smiling sheepishly, "Not expensive, not expensive. For regular customers like you, I’d give a discount..."

Seeing that everything was ready, Yan Fei didn’t want to bother talking. He dropped a fifty Yuan note next to the man’s pot, "Hurry up and give me the change!"

After the old man gave him the change, he placed another egg in Yan Fei’s tray, still smiling, "This one’s for free. Don’t worry about paying!"

The others found it odd, as they had never known Yan Fei to ever leave his home, let alone take long journeys like this. How come people recognized him? Probably Xu Xiaoyan figured something out, because she stopped talking and just hurried her sisters to follow Yan Fei into the restaurant.

While eating, Xu Xiaoyan’s oldest sister said to Yan Fei with a playful grin, "Another one of your acquaintances?"

With his usual calm demeanor, Yan Fei replied, "Yes, indeed."

Xu Xiaoyan giggled with her mouth covered. Halfway through the meal, she shot Yan Fei an inquiring look. Yan Fei responded with a slight nod, which promptly triggered another round of suppressed laughter from her. She even sneakily gave him a thumbs-up, but no one knew whether it was in accolade of his previous brawl or today’s old scholar’s outfit!

When it was time to get back on the bus after the meal, those who didn’t have a seat previously waited for others to board first before reluctantly dragging themselves back on, preparing for the rest of their long and painful journey—a kind of agony that future car owners or people frequently traveling by high-speed trains or planes would find hard to imagine.

This time, Xu Xiaoyan and her older sister swapped seats, leaving her to sit next to Yan Fei.

The rest of the journey after the meal was much shorter. Everyone on the bus started to relax and began sharing interesting anecdotes and news. The famous ’Straw Hat Hero’ frequently popped up in conversations.

Xu Xiaoyan just listened to the conversations cheerfully all along, scratching Yan Fei’s palm whenever someone mentioned the ’Straw Hat Hero’, and then looking at him with a silly grin.

As they neared the Provincial City, the traffic on the road increased significantly. A lot of people got off at several cities they passed by, leaving the bus less crowded. Many upperclassmen naturally took on the role of a tour guide, pointing out various buildings on both sides of the road and explaining what was where to the freshmen.

There were a lot of universities in the Provincial City, so there weren’t many students from the same college on this bus. However, everyone was from the same place, and as they got farther from home, especially when they arrived in this unfamiliar city, they naturally felt more connected to their fellow townsfolk.

Slowly, the bus became more lively. Xu Xiaoyan and Yan Fei didn’t have to talk, just by listening they understood what was happening along the way.

When they reached the bus station, many students who had previously been strangers started exchanging school addresses and dorm numbers.

At last, Xu Xiaoyan and Yan Fei set foot on the soil of the Provincial City for the first time.