After several snowfalls, Zhuancheng, a typical northern city, appeared exceptionally white in its silvery attire.
Yue Jiannan got off the bus and stretched languidly.
He needed to get home early, as his family must have been especially worried about him.
On the other side, Lin Chunju was complaining to the children.
"I was hoping he’d work during the holidays to experience some hardships of life, but he came back so soon, and now I have to clean out a room for him."
Yue Jiannan was blissfully unaware of all this, stepping onto the bus with a sense of pride.
The cold weather had increased the number of people commuting by bus.
There weren’t many buses in the city, causing each one to be packed like a can of sardines.
You never knew how many people could fit inside until you reached the station.
The conductor shouted hoarsely, "Squeeze in, there’s still room! Let the people outside come in during this cold weather, there’s an old lady here too. Which comrade will show some spirit and give up a seat?"
At such times, stepping on feet and squeezing were inevitable, with people forced to stick together, staying upright even when the bus braked suddenly.
Yue Jiannan had waited for two buses before finally managing to squeeze on.
As the bus started, his body was packed so tightly that he couldn’t move, with only his neck freely moving.
Casually glancing around, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure.
On the same bus, Lin Yushan with her fishtail braid was biting her lower lip, looking particularly embarrassed.
Ever since she got on the bus, she felt that a man behind her was deliberately pressing against her and even breathing on her neck.
Initially, Lin Yushan thought she was being paranoid and moved to the side when someone got off at the previous stop.
But that person followed her, still pressing close.
Now, Lin Yushan was certain that she had encountered a pervert.
She deliberately stomped on his foot hard. The man let out a yelp of pain but moved even closer.
Lin Yushan wanted to scold him fiercely, but if he denied it and turned the blame on her, she would be the one embarrassed.
Her fingernails dug into her palm. Lin Yushan was so anxious she wanted to cry, but didn’t know what to do.
Little did she know that not far away, Yue Jiannan was witnessing everything.
As a man with a strong sense of justice, and since Lin Yushan was a close junior from elementary school,
Jiannan was burning with fury, wishing he could push through the crowd and slap the harasser hard.
But in such a crowded carriage, it was difficult to move and easy to inadvertently hurt other passengers.
Moreover, this way of handling things could negatively affect Lin Yushan.
During his time in college, Yue Jiannan had heard female classmates complain about similar incidents.
The bus was so crowded that some bastards deliberately pressed against the girls.
The harassed girls would scold them loudly.
The men would retort that the carriage was inherently crowded and disdainfully suggest buying a private car if they disliked the crush, infuriating the girls.
What was even more infuriating was that some old-fashioned old ladies and like-minded men would chime in, blaming the girls for not being proper themselves.
They would say things like "it takes two to clap" and "flies don’t sting seamless eggs", which brought the girls to tears.
Remembering this, Yue Jiannan snorted heavily, determined to teach the harasser a lesson he would never forget.
"Excuse me, please let me through," said Jiannan as he apologized and made his way toward Lin Yushan.
The pervert was smugly reveling in his act.
"This chick probably is still a student, pretty and just my type, a rare find indeed," he thought.
He intentionally bowed his head, preparing to blow in Lin Yushan’s ear.
Suddenly, an inexplicable chill ran down his spine to the crown of his head.
Someone had touched his buttocks.