“Only one person is required to get off at each station. Have you considered we might not have enough passengers on the bus to reach the last station ? Your decision might cause everyone’s sacrifice to be meaningless.” The painter Gao Ming didn’t expect the kind Gao Ming to force him to leave the bus. Weren’t they all Gao Mings?
“If that really happens, I am willing to accept the consequences. You can place all the blame on me. Curse me and have me experience the worst fate.” The kind Gao Ming smiled. His kindness was not blind kindness. It was not him going around demanding others to accept his kindness. His kindness meant the willingness to accept kindness’ consequences.
No one on the bus sided with the painter Gao Ming. The kind Gao Ming had been controlling the situation. He planned to sacrifice himself. His only request was to get the painter Gao Ming to follow him. A few of the Gao Mings who noticed the issues with the painter Gao Ming sided with the kind Gao Ming. If he were unwilling to get off the bus, they would ‘help’ get him off.
“I didn’t expect that even after you’ve been spliced into this state, you’d still be able to protect yourself,” The painter Gao Ming knew his fate was sealed, so he walked to the kind Gao Ming’s side, “You are very impressive.”
The door opened. The kind Gao Ming grabbed the painter Gao Ming, and they both walked past the station and entered the hospital in the dark. There was no sound. No one knew what was inside the hospital. The kind and painter Gao Mings disappeared just like that.
“Li San Hospital should be another key point in our past. What happened to us there? Why would we lose our kindness there?” The normal Gao Ming placed his fingers against the window. The rain blurred the view. He couldn’t see those who had left.
After the cowardly Gao Ming left, the bus kept moving forward.
After the emotional Gao Ming killed himself, the passengers started to become serious.
After the kind Gao Ming got off the bus, the bus became so quiet. No one said anything.
The normal Gao Ming lowered his head. He didn’t think things would turn out . He didn’t know what to do next. The bus paused and started. Each station had a blurry building behind them, and they were attached to an unforgettable memory of the past.
I once hated aloofness. I once felt happiness. I once cried my heart out. I once saw this beautiful scenery…
I once had a family that loved me. I once tried so hard. I once felt so lucky. I once experienced the sting of anxiety…
There were fewer and fewer passengers and more and more empty seats.
The different Gao Mings were left in the past. The pain fell on the Gao Mings, who were still on the bus. The storm made the road unclear. In the thundering night, the door opened again. The station looked eerie. A man with a deformed body stood with his back to the passengers. He knelt on the ground. Before him was a corpse with an indeterminate gender. When he heard the bus door open, the man turned around. A face covered in blood entered all the passengers’ eyes. His body was so much taller than normal. His limbs were thin and elongated. He wore a tattered raincoat. He looked similar to the rainy night killer Gao Ming met a very long time ago, Qi Yan.
The killer abandoned the corpse and charged the passengers with his bloody knife!
The bus didn’t intend to close the door. As the killer was about to get on the bus, a Gao Ming who sat at the corner and hadn’t spoken a word suddenly jumped up. His hair, which was longer than the other Gao Mings, covered his eyes. As Qi Yan’s leg stepped on the bus, he rammed into Qi Yan. He strangled Qi Yan, and he cackled madly. Scars from self-mutilation plagued his pale skin. His teeth were uneven. His arm muscles were spread inordinately due to prolonged usage of illegal drugs. This Gao Ming didn’t seem to care about anything. He didn’t talk to anyone. He waited silently until he was triggered by a memory.
The blade cut into his body. The mad Gao Ming didn’t seem to feel pain. He bit Qi Yan’s neck like an animal. The rain washed away the blood. The two figures fought in the most primal way. The door slowly closed. The normal Gao Ming looked at them through the window. This station was called I once sank into madness.
There were only so many passengers left on the bus. However, the vehicle was still moving. The end didn’t seem like it would ever arrive. The electronic clock that moved backwards was about to reach zero, but the road ahead was still shrouded by darkness.
“Is it my turn next?”
A few seconds later, the bus suddenly slowed. There were people waving at them from the station. There were two prison guards standing at the station. A few inmates knelt beside them. Their hands and legs were cuffed. Some of them wore patient’s garb while others were fully naked. Not far away from them, there was a prison van. On the side was the words Hen Shan Penitentiary. ɽãNǒβƐ𝘚
“No! We can’t stop here!” The Gao Ming, who sat at the front, only took a glance outside when he jumped up to smack against the driver’s cubicle. However, the driver didn’t respond. “The two prison guards are wearing the inmates’ shoes. They are fake!”
No matter what Gao Ming said, the bus still stopped at the station. To prevent the inmates from getting on the bus, Gao Ming stood at the door. Once the door opened, he used his body to block the door. His schoolbag fell to the ground. The books related to psychiatry inside the bag were drenched by the rain.
“Close the door now!”
In just a few seconds, before the inmates could react, the bus started again. The normal Gao Ming saw the Gao Ming being detained by the inmates. He was forced to the ground. The station was called I once tried to cure illnesses.
Being a psychiatrist was Gao Ming’s dream. However, when he really walked on that path, he lost even his dream. The rain was clear in his ears. When the normal Gao Ming saw the abandoned Gao Ming, he was scared and helpless. He was not smart enough to see through other people’s ploy; he was not brave enough to stand up for himself; he was not kind enough to sacrifice himself.
The stations rolled by. There wasn’t much time left.
“Hey!” Someone touched his shoulder. The normal Gao Ming lifted his head. He saw an arm covered in prayers and a face written with curses.
“The bus only has two of us left.” The flesh Gao Ming seemed to have confirmed something. He patted the normal Gao Ming’s shoulder. “Who would have thought the normal you would have become the current you?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” The normal Gao Ming looked at him dumbly.
“This process must have been extremely painful. Thank you for everything.” The flesh Gao Ming smiled, “This is my station. You’ll have to travel the rest of the road on your own.”
The normal Gao Ming stood up. It was then that he realised the originally full bus was now empty. The bus door opened. The flesh Gao Ming exited the bus. There was a middle-aged doctor with a dragon tattoo on his face at the station. The normal Gao Ming had no memory of this doctor. However, once he saw the doctor’s face, a name appeared in his heart: Lu Zang.
“You will reach the end.” The flesh Gao Ming waved at him with a smile. The bus started again.
Sitting alone on the bus, the normal Gao Ming looked out the window.
We always bid ourselves farewell. When we stop and turn around, the past cannot be seen anymore.