Chapter 134 — Bus Wall-Slam

"Laughing, what the hell are you laughing at? Looking for death, are you?" The young man, embarrassed by the laughter, turned and glared at the crowd on the platform, then slunk away.

On the bus, Tang Zhi ignored Wei Zhao, keeping her head down and saying nothing, and no one could tell what she was thinking. Wei Zhao stood to one side, breathing in the fresh girlish scent of her, his thoughts drifting somewhere less than proper.

He had to admit it: Tang Zhi truly stood out. Nearly one meter seventy, a bit taller than both Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu, her figure all the more slender and well-proportioned, a match for Wang Xinyan whom he had met on the train. Yet her air was utterly different from Wang Xinyan's quiet gentleness. Tang Zhi carried in her a proud, unyielding spirit; but then, for a girl from a poor family, the prettier and the better her grades, the fiercer her self-respect.

From where Wei Zhao stood, following the smooth black cascade of her hair, he could just make out the pale white of her neck and, below it, a hint of more, and though he could not see the details, it was all the more tempting for it.

Tang Zhi kept her head down and said nothing, and Wei Zhao was quite content to enjoy the twofold satisfaction of sight and scent in peace.

Another stop came, and more people crowded on. The morning bus was frighteningly packed, and most passengers would only get off in the last few stops, so until then the crowd only grew.

A surge of the crowd pushed Tang Zhi and Wei Zhao closer, and all at once they were pressed together. Tang Zhi gave a little "ah," and the softness of her chest pressed directly against Wei Zhao's body.

Ambushed by this sudden assault of feminine curves, Wei Zhao felt a secret thrill, and at the same time rather despicable. It was others who had pushed Tang Zhi into him, true, but he had no intention of taking advantage of her in such circumstances; that would make him no different from the young thug from before.

Tang Zhi, unwilling to accept it, tried to shift her body away, but there were too many people on the bus; where would she find the strength to push back? And the struggle only made it worse, so that she seemed to be rubbing her chest against Wei Zhao of her own accord. The strange sensation set her face burning red in an instant.

She thought what a rotten day this was. To shake off the young man pestering her, she had circled around with him through the shantytown and ended up running late. Otherwise she always left home early, and though the bus had no seats, it was never this crowded. Today she had nearly been late for school, and on top of that had run into Wei Zhao, that great villain, of all people.

"Don't move around; I'll open up some space for you," Wei Zhao said, reaching out to take hold of Tang Zhi and ease her toward the window.

Held by Wei Zhao, Tang Zhi's delicate body gave a sudden shudder. She was about to resist, but seeing the clarity in his eyes and understanding his intent, she could not help closing her mouth... Did he really mean to help her? She could only hope so... Shielded by Wei Zhao, she reached the window, and Wei Zhao braced his hand hard against it, opening a space for her with his arm, and their bodies came apart.

Though Wei Zhao felt some reluctance, he did not much care for this manner of taking advantage. Seeing how unwilling Tang Zhi looked, he would not have felt easy in his conscience doing it.

As for Wei Zhao's conduct, the people on the bus could only glare. The bus was already packed to bursting, and here he was carving out a space to curry favor with his girlfriend; was that not a bit immoral?

Some wanted to call him out, though these were people who had boarded at this stop and had not witnessed Wei Zhao's earlier glorious deed. Just as they were about to speak, a kind soul beside them held them back: "Don't stick your neck out. There was a young man a while ago, and he flung him clean out the bus door..."

Hearing that, the would-be critic shrank back at once. No joke: with a man like that, best to provoke him as little as possible. If he could open up space, it was because he had the strength and the ability; what business was it of anyone else's?

Still, Wei Zhao's position with Tang Zhi was a little ambiguous. Setting aside this particular setting, anywhere else, Wei Zhao wrapping Tang Zhi up like that would have looked like nothing so much as a pack of hoodlum students harassing a schoolgirl.

Tang Zhi kept her head down, her heart far from calm, a little nervous and a little surprised too. Wei Zhao really had not taken further advantage of her. He was a far cry from the great villain she had imagined. With such a fine opportunity, why had he not seized it?

Any other time it might have been better, but yesterday she had laid her cards on the table with him, and he no longer needed to keep up the act. Yet today... At this thought, Tang Zhi silently cursed herself for a fool. Was it not just as well that he did not take advantage of her? Did this villain have to take advantage of her for things to be as they should?

As more and more people boarded at the later stops, Tang Zhi felt the bus growing ever more crowded, yet the little space Wei Zhao guarded for her had not changed in the least. Slightly astonished, she glanced over from the corner of her eye and saw that behind Wei Zhao the crush was about to squeeze the smoke out of him, and at his sides too, yet he kept the same posture as before, not shifting a hair...

She knew Wei Zhao was strong, but being sheltered with such care still left her uneasy. He was a rich young master just the same, and in the past... even Xiaofen's boyfriend would never have done such a thing...

At this, Tang Zhi suddenly felt that Wei Zhao did not seem so very bad after all... No, wrong, how could she think that? It must be that Wei Zhao was putting on an act on purpose, to make her let down her guard and slowly break through her defenses... Yes, that had to be it! She must not be fooled!

At this, Tang Zhi stopped looking at Wei Zhao, lowered her head, and her mind went blank...

"Songshan City No.1 High School is approaching. Passengers getting off, please prepare. the-next-station-is-singsh-no.1-middle-school."

The voice of the stop announcer came from within the carriage: the next stop was Songshan City No.1 High School.

"Time to get off. I'll shield you while we squeeze out," Wei Zhao said to Tang Zhi.

"Oh..." Tang Zhi gave the faintest nod, her long lashes quivering slightly. Clearly, her heart was anything but calm.

As before, Wei Zhao put his arm around Tang Zhi's waist and carefully shielded her as they pushed toward the exit. But without the support of the window wall, Tang Zhi was inevitably pressed against Wei Zhao's chest.

Breathing in the masculine scent that clung to Wei Zhao, Tang Zhi was so flustered with shyness that she scarcely knew what to do. Her body went stiff and taut, and she did not dare move, hopping along like a stiffened corpse as she followed Wei Zhao toward the door...

"Phew..." At last they reached the stop and got off. Wei Zhao released Tang Zhi and let out a breath of relief. This was far more exhausting than squeezing onto the bus himself.

Earlier, Tang Zhi had thought that the very first thing she would do once off the bus was make Wei Zhao let go of her. But when they got off, before she could say a word, Wei Zhao had voluntarily released her, which left her unexpectedly a little disappointed. What was he really thinking?