Chapter Twenty-Four: The Trouble with the Bus Beauty (Part Two)

My Legendary Rebirth Without Pop-ups

In that split second, I hesitated, but finally decided to give her a warning. Pretending I was about to get off, I quickly stepped out of my seat, squeezed past the passengers, and made my way to the door, standing beside her at the entrance. By then, I had a clear view: behind her stood two tall men, neither particularly old, but both exuding the air of street thugs. The hand reaching toward the girl's pocket belonged to one of them—a yellow-haired punk with a lollipop dangling from his mouth.

The next stop was approaching quickly. Because of my sudden arrival, the thug pulled his hand back cautiously, but as soon as I was settled, he reached for her pocket again. I panicked, wondering how I might warn the girl without drawing the attention of the two behind me.

As I racked my brains for a plan, it was as if fate itself lent me a hand. The bus driver slammed the brakes to avoid a car cutting in ahead, and everyone lurched forward. Seizing the moment, I pretended to lose my grip on the handrail and fell toward the beautiful girl. My falling body forced the thug to withdraw his hand again, and I bumped into the girl standing beside me.

"Sorry, sorry! I apologize," I said quickly, as her delicate frame was unexpectedly pressed against the handrail. She turned angrily to glare at me, and I hurried to apologize. Taking a glance at her face, I couldn't help but sigh inwardly—she was a true beauty.

She was as lovely as Su Xin and the heiress Chu Qitong, all belonging to the same league. If one were to compare the three, Su Xin was youthful and charming, Chu Qitong was spoiled and fiery, while the girl before me radiated pure warmth and innocence. Even her angry gaze felt gentle, devoid of any real hostility.

Though she was annoyed by my bump, she saw that I apologized profusely and said nothing more, returning to her original spot. I couldn't help but smile wryly; I'd hoped she might suspect I was taking liberties and move away, but my plan had failed. The two thugs behind us were growing impatient, but the yellow-haired one tried again, reaching for her pocket a third time. Clearly, he was determined to get her wallet.

At this point, I was frantic, like an ant on a hot pan, with no clue what to do next. Seeing the hand inch closer to her pocket, I suddenly had an idea. Laughing awkwardly, I turned to the girl and said loudly, "Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to the Youth Culture Center? I’m not from C City and don’t know the route well. Would you mind pointing the way?"

The girl glanced at me, and seeing sincerity in my eyes, seemed to believe me. After thinking for a moment, she replied softly, "If you want to go to the Youth Culture Center, just get off at the next stop and walk ahead for a few minutes. It's not far."

"Oh, I see! So it's already so close. Thank you!" I patted the back of my head, feigning sudden realization, and deliberately leaned closer to her to block her pocket, continuing, "I heard there’s some competition at the Youth Center, do you know anything about it?"

A hint of caution appeared on her face. She edged closer to herself and shook her head. I nodded, "So you don’t know. Actually, I did know how to get there, but after boarding the bus, my note with directions and my wallet were stolen, so I have to ask for directions now. Sorry about that." Seeing she still had no intention of moving, I could only subtly hint through my words.

As expected, hearing this, her brows furrowed, and she seemed more alert. She slipped her soft hand back into her bulging pocket. Finally, I breathed a sigh of relief; now, even if those thieves tried, they wouldn’t succeed.

The yellow-haired thug had been preparing for a fourth attempt, but upon hearing what I said and seeing the girl put her hand in her pocket, he was bitterly disappointed. His furious eyes locked onto me. They weren't fools; they realized my words had been a warning to the girl, and the two were nearly exploding with rage.

The bus was almost at the stop. The girl seemed about to remind me of something, but seeing that I had no intention of getting off, she realized my earlier words were just an excuse to strike up a conversation. Her beautiful eyes immediately filled with wariness and disapproval as she turned away, refusing to acknowledge me. What could I do? All I could do was smile wryly.

"Didn’t you say you’d get off at this stop? Why aren’t you?" The yellow-haired thug, now certain that my earlier words were intentional, sneered coldly, "The Youth Center is easy to find—if you don’t get off now, it’ll just get farther and farther away!"

I glanced at him apologetically and smiled, "Sorry, I just remembered something I need to do. I won’t go to the Youth Center after all. What about you? Are you getting off? Shall I move aside?"

"You—!" The yellow-haired punk was so furious he nearly lashed out, but the other flamboyant young man beside him stopped him with a shake of the head. Though they had influence, attacking someone in front of so many people would be tantamount to admitting to theft. If this went to the police, it would be asking for trouble. So, calming himself, the yellow-haired thug just glared at me fiercely and refrained from violence.

The bus quickly arrived at the stop and opened its doors. The yellow-haired thug and his companion shoved past me, shooting me cold looks as they left. Before getting off, the yellow-haired punk gave me the finger and cursed, "You ruined my business, kid! Don’t let me see you again!" I simply smiled at his furious expression outside the door.

Soon, the bus started moving again. The girl standing next to me finally seemed to understand what had just happened. Hearing the thug’s threat and recalling my warning, she realized I hadn’t been trying to chat her up, but had helped her out of kindness.

"Thank you… thank you," she said quietly, sounding a bit embarrassed. I smiled lightly and shook my head. As long as she didn't misunderstand, it was fine. I had no ulterior motives, after all; I simply admired her beauty and helped out as a fellow traveler.

The atmosphere between us cooled, and only the noisy chatter on the bus could be heard. I could sense her stealing glances at me from time to time, until she finally spoke again, "Are you… are you angry?"

"Hm? No, why would I be angry?" I said, amused by the sight of her blushing face. "Don’t worry about what happened—anyone would help in that situation. It was nothing."

She blinked and nodded, "No matter what, you helped me. I never thought there’d be so many thieves on the bus. Our car broke down today…"

So another heiress, I thought. For some reason, the image of Chu Qitong’s angry face popped into my mind, and I frowned; this kind of rich girl was the type I least wanted to deal with.

"Thank you so much today," she said, pursing her lips earnestly. "Can you tell me your name?"

"No need for that," I replied, refusing politely. "You’re not used to taking the bus, so this seemed like a big deal—but really, it’s nothing. Don’t make it sound like I’m some kind of hero." As the bus reached the next stop, I smiled and waved to her, "Alright, this time I really am getting off. Goodbye."

"Hey… wait…" She tried to say something more, but as the doors opened, I stepped off without looking back. She stomped her foot in embarrassment and stared after my departing figure, lost in thought.

I swaggered down the street as the bus pulled away, sighing to myself, "That girl really is beautiful." But it was just admiration; although I liked pretty women, I wasn’t so obsessed as to fall for every one I met. With my previous experience with Chu Qitong, it was best to steer clear of such heiresses.