Rebirth of Chinese Entertainment, the Diary of a 95 Flower

Chapter 117 The Bottom of the Road, Factory Girl, Outsider

Before getting on the expressway, you can still see the silhouette of the Lujiazui skyline from the outer ring elevated road, but it is quickly replaced by the giant warehouses and container yards of the logistics park.

Because even Shanghai hasn't completed the coal-to-gas conversion these days.

Along the outer ring road, you can still see red brick houses with signs indicating demolition, and chimneys emitting white smoke from coal stoves.

Once you get on the highway, all that's left are the elevated guardrails on both sides.

Jiang Yang floored the accelerator and overtook a Dongfeng Tianlong heavy truck with a Shanghai license plate (沪B) and no rear bumper in the overtaking lane. He then turned the steering wheel slightly and drove back into the fast lane.

The 1.6L naturally aspirated engine is slow to accelerate and the engine heater is also slow to come on. The nickname "Three Aunties on the Street" is no joke.

The engine's heating efficiency has finally improved, and the airflow is so strong it makes you want to doze off.

Yang Chaoyue stared at his phone screen, at the text message he had sent with a single miswritten character.

Father probably doesn't know yet that I'm going back to my hometown today.

Should we send another text message or call Daddy?

Forget it.

Let's just go back.

Give Dad a surprise.

Since dropping out of school to work in another city, I have never seen summer in my rural hometown again.

The cicadas in my hometown are still chirping on that locust tree, but the people listening to their song have changed to the children left behind in the countryside.

In summer, watermelon stains would appear on bamboo mats, which later became sweat residue on textile factory assembly lines.

Busy making a living, time is squeezed by the assembly line. Every day, they numbly spin yarn and wash cotton, missing the three seasons of their hometown like migratory birds.

Only those two weeks before the Spring Festival remain to prove that I still have roots.

Putting away his phone, the excitement wore off and fatigue washed over him. Yang Chaoyue skillfully lowered his seat, tilted his head, and was about to close his eyes and fall asleep.

Suddenly, Jiang Yang said, "Chaoyue, are your shoulders stiff?"

"Yes."

"My limbs still feel heavy, and it's a bit difficult to even lift my feet?"

"Yeah, I was so excited last night that I couldn't sleep, and now I'm really getting into it."

Jiang Yang continued, "My eyes are dry and itchy. I try desperately to open them, but my eyelids keep drooping."

The car was silent for several seconds.

Yang Chaoyue replied with a sigh, "Yeah, I'm so sleepy. How do you know how I feel right now, Brother Yang?"

"I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about myself."

"Where are we now?"

"I don't know, I just woke up."

Jiang Yang's tone was drowsy.

The car was quiet for a few seconds.

Yang Chaoyue suddenly realized what was happening and instantly woke up: "Brother Yang, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

He knew Jiang Yang was joking with him.

I can't laugh at all.

Too dangerous.

Almost forgot.

Yang Ge gets sleepy easily while driving.

The reason I was asked to sit in the passenger seat was so that I could keep Yang company and chat with him to relieve his boredom.

Glancing at Jiang Yang's half-closed eyelids, she quickly pulled up her seat and opened the passenger-side storage compartment.

The candy I got from Canxing was long gone.

Everything inside is newly purchased.

Alps, Want Want, Hsu Fu Chi, White Rabbit, and various other brands—Jiang Yang made her buy them all.

I know Jiang Yang likes to eat White Rabbit candy.

Just like before at Xiangshan Film and Television City, Yang Chaoyue was so immersed in the role of the female beggar that she couldn't get out of it for a while, so Jiang Yang tried to help her by feeding her candy.

Yang Chaoyue tried to use the same method to help Jiang Yang stay alert.

Take out a White Rabbit milk candy.

She peeled off the candy wrapper, her fair fingers holding the candy, and stretched it towards Jiang Yang's lips: "Brother Yang, have a candy to perk you up, open your mouth, ah."

Jiang Yang didn't open his mouth, his eyes fixed on a slow-moving bus in front of him: "Let me overtake this one first. My Corolla is slow enough, this one is even slower than me."

"Alright, Yang-ge."

Yang Chaoyue did not pull his hand back, but instead hovered it near Jiang Yang's cheek.

She casually followed Jiang Yang's gaze.

His gaze fell on the Yutong ZK6129H long-distance bus, manufactured before 08, a hundred meters away. Yang Chaoyue's eyes momentarily lost focus, then he suddenly straightened his spine.

I am very familiar with this bus.

Every year during the Spring Festival travel rush, after packing my luggage in the factory dormitory and carrying a snakeskin bag, I would arrive at the bus station, wearing my gray factory uniform, and board the bus from Shanghai to Yancheng.

The ticket price is 58 yuan.

As Jiang Yang pressed the accelerator firmly, the vehicle accelerated in the fast lane.

Getting closer.

Yang Chaoyue could see it more clearly.

My gaze followed the approaching bus.

The blue and white paint was peeling off, revealing rust spots. The spring suspension was as stiff as an iron rod. Once, after getting off the highway, I went over a speed bump and my buttocks were lifted several centimeters off the seat.

The rear of the vehicle had a faded sticker indicating it could carry 47 people, but last year when it went back to its hometown, it carried 55 people.

Yang Chaoyue turned his head to look out the side window. Amidst the roar of the engine, Jiang Yang's Corolla caught up with the rear of the bus.

It is accelerating past.

The bus's side windows were covered with privacy film, so Yang Chaoyue couldn't see inside.

I clearly remember the scene of sitting in the car on my way home during last year's Spring Festival travel rush.

It smells like an adult's feet.

The main smell was of canvas shoes and nylon stockings. There was also vomit in the last row.

I was sitting by the window at the time, and the poor-quality sealing strip was letting in drafts, with cold wind seeping in through the window cracks.

The artificial leather seat surface is cracked, exposing the yellow sponge. The seat cushion is higher in the front and lower in the back, causing your buttocks to slide down when braking.

The mesh pocket on the back of the front seat contained a 2014 copy of "Story Club" magazine and used tissues.

The bus stopped at the Dafeng service area for 15 minutes, and seven or eight people who were carsick rushed to the toilet. While queuing, some people vomited in the sink.

I was a year younger back then, wearing the factory uniform, holding a worn-out schoolbag with frayed seams, and looking out the window.

Watching cars speed past in the overtaking lane.

I'm so envious.

I really want to save up enough money to buy a car and drive it home.

No need to endure the odor in the bus, and the space is spacious.

As Jiang Yang floored the accelerator in his Corolla, Yang Chaoyue felt a rare surge of acceleration, and his vision suddenly blurred.

The privacy film on the bus actually became clearer.

The scene inside was immediately visible.

In the middle of the vehicle, by the window, sat a female worker wearing a light gray textile factory uniform.

The cuffs are frayed, and the collar is stained with machine oil.

The long parting in her hair caused it to stick to lint that could only be removed by washing her hair, like labels stuck to the female worker's body.

She's from the bottom rungs of society, a factory worker, and an outsider.

The female worker looked at the car outside the window with envy.

Suddenly, their eyes met. The other person smiled, their eyes sparkling, and waved goodbye to them sitting in the car.

Yang Chaoyue's neck suddenly tightened.

That was my past self.

Like two sisters gazing at each other across parallel universes.

One person on the bus felt envious, while the other in the car felt sorry for them.

Even the slowest Corolla is faster than a bus.

Streetlights always come on in cities before they do in rural areas.

And now, I am someone who follows Brother Yang in chasing the light.

Jiang Yang eased off the accelerator, the brief feeling of being pushed back disappeared, and Yang Chaoyue's vision became clear.

I then realized that the privacy film on the bus windows was applied so tightly that I couldn't see what was inside at all.

But always remember your past self.

My palm suddenly trembled.

Jiang Yang gripped the steering wheel, turned on the turn signal, and returned to the fast lane. His attention was entirely on the road; he couldn't spare any attention to what kind of candy Yang Chaoyue was feeding her, only noticing its strange taste.

"Chaoyue, what brand of candy is this? I licked it, and it's salty."

"Brother Yang, it looks like you're licking my little finger." Yang Chaoyue turned his head to look at him.

"No wonder, ptooey, you must have peeled the tea egg without washing your hands."

"Hehe, yes, yes."

Make a few jokes.

He stuffed the White Rabbit milk candy into Jiang Yang's mouth.

Yang Chaoyue withdrew his hand and looked through the rearview mirror at the bus that was falling further and further behind, gradually becoming a small dot.

What's gradually fading away isn't just the bus, but also the past that once lived on that bus.

She also realized how far she had come by following Jiang Yang.

She raised her hand to her cheek, waved goodbye softly, and whispered in a voice only she could hear, "Take advantage of that interview opportunity, everything will be alright."

The one waving goodbye wasn't the bus, but oneself, forever left behind on the Spring Festival travel rush.

"What are you muttering about?" Jiang Yang asked with a smile.

"I smelled your pinky finger when you licked it, ugh, it stinks!"

Jiang Yang's smile froze instantly.

"I brush my teeth every morning and night, and I don't even have tartar."

"Just kidding, Yang-ge. Don't take it seriously. It doesn't smell bad at all."

"Wow, Chaoyue, you've got some nerve making the boss laugh. The boss treats you like a brother, but you treat him like dirt."

"I'm sorry, boss." Yang Chaoyue lowered his head slightly, his tone becoming softer.

Jiang Yang hummed in response, but didn't say anything more.

She lifted her face, puffed out her chest, raised her head, and grinned: "You'll dare to do it again next time!"

He spoke with great confidence.

Before, in the factory, I could only bow my head and endure the boss's scolding, but now I dare to talk back with a smile.

Jiang Yang glanced at Yang Chaoyue, raised his hand holding the gear shift, and gave a thumbs-up: "You're something else, you're arrogant, you dare to talk back to the boss."

Not a moment later.

Jiang Yang turned the steering wheel and drove towards the service area.

"Brother Yang, would you like to rest at a service area for a while?"

"No."

"Do I need to get out of the car to buy something?"

"Not at all."

Jiang Yang explained, "I'm just a little sleepy and want to do something to refresh myself."

"What is it?"

"Find a secluded spot and spank the employee."

After a pause, Jiang Yang changed his tune, mimicking Yang Chaoyue's teasing tone: "Just kidding, Chaoyue, don't take it seriously. I'm not looking for a deserted place, I'm looking for a place without surveillance cameras."
-
P.S.: Thank you to 似水、流年、 for the 5000 Qidian Coins reward for the character Yang Chaoyue, and thank you to 长玖 for the 1000 Qidian Coins reward for this book... I was so excited when I received the rewards that my hands were shaking, and I ended up deleting my saved drafts... (Just kidding, I'm going to start writing right now!)
Please give me a monthly ticket.

(End of this chapter)