False evidence

Chapter 461 Painted Skin (11)

The driver handed me Red Peony cigarettes. I had seen these cigarettes before, but have they ever made cigarettes without any filter?

"Can't get used to smoking without a filter?"

The driver said something, threw the cigarette pack back onto the dashboard, took out a cigarette, and lit it by holding the cigarette butt up to the flame.

The car turned on its high beams twice and stopped on the side of the road.

The car door opened, and someone mumbled something:

"Big brother, you go first, that's the rule."

"No, no, no, brother, you go first."

Before the person even got into the car, the smell of alcohol wafted in.

"I've run into those two drunkards again."

The driver muttered a curse under his breath, then turned and shouted, "No fare, it's only 40 cents for two people!"

As soon as he finished shouting, the two men jumped into the car.

The driver and I exchanged a smile, thinking to ourselves that this guy was quite humorous. Without saying anything more, we turned and walked away.

It was then that I realized that the middle-aged man who had been sitting by the door earlier, with a military green bag slung over his shoulder, was actually the ticket seller.

What surprised me was his attire. In this day and age, why would anyone still wear a Zhongshan suit?

The two men who came up were both very thin middle-aged men. The older one took out a bill and handed it to the man in the Zhongshan suit.

The man in the Zhongshan suit took the money, looked at it, took out a stack of banknotes clipped together from his bag, pulled one out from the top, and handed it back.

This scene completely stunned me.

I saw it clearly: the drunkard handed over a 50-cent bill.

The ticket seller gave him a dime in change!

Are such small denomination banknotes still in circulation?
Wait a minute! You can still occasionally see 50-cent bills, but where are the 10-cent bills?
Besides, the minimum fare for a bus is now one yuan, so where can you find a few cents to take a long-distance bus?
I sensed something was off, and then I realized that the two people who had just boarded the bus, along with the ticket seller, were all looking at me.

The three of them looked at each other strangely, and the ticket seller clutched his bag tightly, as if he were afraid I would steal it from him.

I felt increasingly strange and couldn't help but want to ask, when suddenly I heard two hissing sounds from behind.

Looking up, I saw the girl with the ponytail who had boarded the bus right after us, winking and waving at me.

I resisted my curiosity and walked over, and she gestured for me to sit down.

The two drunkards who had just boarded the bus walked to the last row next to me.

The woman with the ponytail didn't say anything more. After a while, she took out her phone, showed me her WeChat QR code, and gestured with her eyes for me to add her on WeChat.

After scanning the QR code, the other party's name is displayed as Xiaohong.

I soon received a WeChat message from Xiaohong: What were you looking at just now?

I replied: Look at those two who just came up. Did you see them give the ticket seller a 50-cent coin?

I was going to say that the driver gave them a dime in change.

But as soon as she sent the first sentence, Xiaohong's face turned horrified.

I was confused. A little while later, she sent me another WeChat message: "Where did anyone get on the bus just now?"
When the car started moving, the lights inside were off. In the dim light, I looked at her closely and saw the surprise and uncertainty in her eyes more clearly.

That look in her eyes made me feel increasingly uneasy. She couldn't be joking. If she had acting skills like that, it would be a real shame if she wasn't an actress.

I hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something but holding back, but still sent her a WeChat message: Didn't you see anyone get into the car when you parked just now?

Little Red looked at me suspiciously and quickly replied: "The ticket seller who was on the bus went down, and no one came up!"

I thought to myself, "This is ridiculous. The ticket seller is right there..."

I instinctively raised my head, and a chill ran down my spine; my hair stood on end.

The ticket seller in the Zhongshan suit from earlier has disappeared without a trace!

There was only the driver in front, and an old woman sitting to the side with her head down, as if she were asleep.

I was eager to look behind me, but Xiaohong pulled me back and gestured for me to look at her phone screen.

She opened the camera, switched to selfie mode, and held up her phone. On the surface, she was pointing the front camera at us, but in reality, she was using the camera to check the scene behind us.

Although the carriage was dimly lit, it was still possible to see that Cao Xinyun was still sitting in the same spot, staring blankly out the window. However, the last row was completely empty!

Holy crap! This is unbelievable!

No, I can barely 'accept' the two drunks and the ticket seller disappearing, but what about Yan Fengwei?

Where did he go?

My shoulders were pressed together with Xiaohong's, and I could feel her body trembling slightly.

I couldn't care less about anything else. Yan Fengwei definitely didn't get off the bus just now. The minibus only has so much space; where could he have gone...?

Before I could even turn around to look for anyone, suddenly, on my phone's selfie screen, between me and Xiao Hong, a huge head appeared!

"what!"

Xiao Hong screamed in fright, her hand trembled, and her phone fell onto my lap.

I was startled, but I quickly recovered, turned my head, and glared at Yan Fengwei, who had moved to the back row.

"What's going on?" the driver asked loudly.

"It's nothing...it's nothing, Uncle Niu!" Xiao Hong replied, craning her neck, taking the phone and glaring at Yan Fengwei.

"Little sister, are you going to Sanhe this late too?" Yan Fengwei's eyes were somewhat mischievous.

That's because I started flirting with Xiaohong less than halfway through the drive.

Taking the opportunity to turn my head, I carefully looked at the situation behind me.

Xiao Hong's cries also caught Cao Xinyun's attention, but there was really no one else behind him except for him and Yan Fengwei, and the two drunkards were nowhere to be seen.

After much hesitation, I didn't tell Yan Fengwei about the strange thing that had just happened.

If you walk at night too often, you're bound to see ghosts eventually. There's no need to scare others at this crucial moment.

I didn't deliberately move my seat again. Although Xiaohong was next to me, she didn't say anything or send any messages the whole way.

The bus stopped, and the driver shouted, "We've reached the final stop, everyone get off!"

Yan Fengwei looked outside and asked, "Sir, aren't we going into the station?"

"No entry!"

"May I ask you, how far is Lai's shop from here?"

"Never been here before? Isn't this Lai's Shop?"

The driver turned around and said, "Xiao Hong, same as always, I'll give you a ride."

When I saw the driver's appearance, I was completely dumbfounded.

It's true that this driver is bald, but he's completely different from when I offered him a cigarette earlier!
This is not the same person at all!
Seeing the driver's wary look again, and with no intention of getting off the bus, I could only nod to her and get off the bus with Yan Fengwei and Cao Xinyun.

As I watched the minibus drive away, I thought to myself, what a mess this is. We couldn't find Li Meizhi, and this tiny vehicle, this short distance, has turned into such a dramatic ordeal.

"Hey, young man."

A hoarse voice suddenly sounded behind me.

Turning around, we saw the old lady who had come with us and got off the bus before us.

"Grandpa, it's so late, why are you taking the bus alone?"

Yan Fengwei had clearly been keeping an eye on her for some time.

The old woman didn't answer his question, but stared at me for a while, then suddenly asked:
"Young man, did you see something unclean in the car earlier?"

I shook my head with a dry laugh.

It seems I really did see something 'unclean,' but if I say it out loud in the middle of the night and scare the old lady badly, I'll be in deep trouble.

The old lady stared at me for a long time, then shook her head. "It's best if you didn't see it. Even if you did, you have to pretend you didn't see it."

Cao Xinyun finally couldn't help but ask, "Old man, did you see something?"

"Ptooey! Ptooey! Good luck and prosperity!"

The old woman glared at him, pointed at me, and said, "I didn't see anything. I just saw him offer the driver his cigarette, then go back to his seat and start gesturing wildly to himself!"

(End of this chapter)