Chapter 608 - 607: Something’s Fishy (Part 1)

Time always passes so quickly.

Busy days fly by. The days after graduation, when you start working, pass even faster. And of course, once you reach middle age, you get old in the blink of an eye...

This thought was lamented countless times with every changing season.

And just like that, the New Year passed, the weather turned warmer, and then spring arrived.

As life reawakened and tender green buds and shoots began sprouting from the trees and the ground, Su Li found herself sighing with emotion again.

"Spring is here again. Time really does fly."

Walking out of the Imperial City TV Station, Su Li took a deep breath of fresh air and sighed, looking at the tiny new buds on the trees in the greenbelt by the entrance.

"That’s the third time you’ve sighed about that," the cameraman with her said, unmoved.

Su Li fell silent and shook her head as she glanced at the cameraman’s burly figure.

He was a gruff man, completely unable to understand her artistic soul.

"Let’s go." Su Li shook her head again and got into the car first.

"Right." The cameraman, completely oblivious to her mood, followed close behind and shut the door with a firm thud.

Su Li and her colleague were, of course, heading out to cover a story.

There was a literary exchange at the cultural center—a very formal and serious conference, quite large in both scale and influence.

Imperial City TV Station was naturally going to cover it, and to no one’s surprise, Su Li was sent on the assignment.

High-profile conferences like this were bound to have international attendees, which made it very convenient for Su Li if she needed to conduct interviews.

The conference began in the morning. The subsequent interviews and reporting went very smoothly. When they were done, Su Li and the cameraman patted their empty stomachs, deciding to grab a bite before heading back to the station.

The cultural center was in a prime location with beautiful surroundings. The scenery was lovely, especially the rows of willow trees, which looked absolutely fantastic.

Willow trees in spring are at their most enchanting, a subject praised by poets and writers for thousands of years.

After finishing her meal, Su Li rested her chin on her hand and gazed at the willows outside. A poem about willows inevitably came to mind.

"A tall tree dressed in jade, a thousand drooping, silken threads.

Who was it that tailored these fine leaves? The spring breeze of the second month is like a pair of scissors."

A gust of spring wind sent the willow catkins dancing, and Su Li couldn’t help but recite the lines aloud as she watched.

The cameraman tilted his head, swallowed the food in his mouth, and glanced out the door.

"It’s the season for spring outings again. My second kid told me their class is going on one in a couple of days."

The cameraman was married and had both a son and a daughter.

Students, especially in elementary school, had spring outings, summer camps, autumn excursions, and in winter, they’d play with snowmen.

Basically, there was something to do in every season.

Su Li smiled as the cameraman spoke about his child’s spring outing.

"You’re right, it’s that time of year. The weather has been perfect these past couple of days, so a lot of students are probably on outings."

When Tang Mo was younger, he used to go on spring and autumn trips, too. Su Li remembered clearly how the bento boxes she prepared for him were always the most popular among his classmates.

But since starting middle school last year, Tang Mo hadn’t gone on any spring outings.

Su Li tilted her head. Tang Mo was in his third year of middle school now, and he hadn’t mentioned any outings. ’He probably won’t be going this year either.’

’It’s a little sad, now that I think about it. Preparing those spring outing bento boxes for Little Tang Mo, painstakingly making them both delicious and cute, was one of my greatest joys.’

Su Li stroked her chin, thinking. If the school wasn’t organizing anything, maybe she could.

’Hmm, the weekend is coming up, and I should have the day off if nothing comes up. We... we could totally go on our own spring outing!’

The more Su Li thought about it, the better the idea sounded. She was still pondering it as she paid the bill with the cameraman and got back into the car.

She was lost in thought when the car suddenly slammed on its brakes.

Caught off guard, Su Li lurched forward, her head hitting the back of the seat in front of her with a THUD.

"What happened?" Su Li asked the driver, rubbing her forehead as she sat up straight.

The impact didn’t hurt much, leaving just a small red patch on her forehead, but it wasn’t serious.

"That car up ahead just shot out of nowhere! We almost hit it." The driver was still shaken. If he hadn’t reacted so quickly, the two vehicles would have collided.

Su Li looked up, frowning at the vehicle that was now reversing and turning. "What’s going on? What kind of vehicle is that?"

The vehicle had suddenly darted out from an intersection to make a turn. It was in the middle of turning now, and it looked like a public bus.

The driver, still rattled, frowned and craned his neck to get a better look. "It looks like a bus, but buses don’t drive like that. Don’t they know to be careful?"

Su Li leaned forward to get a closer look. It definitely was a bus; she could even make out the sign for Route 102.

While Su Li and the driver were watching, the bus successfully completed its turn and drove off ahead of them.

The driver watched it go and couldn’t help but spit in disgust. "Who the hell is driving that thing? So damn reckless. I’ve never seen anyone drive like that."

Even though the number of vehicles on the road had increased in the past two years, cars were still relatively few, and bus drivers were usually the steadiest. He’d never encountered anything like this.

They almost caused an accident, but instead of getting out to apologize, they just took off without even showing their face.

Despite his complaints, the driver’s hands moved deftly as he restarted the car and drove on, now with extra caution.

The bus continued on ahead of them, but it didn’t stop at any of the bus stops it passed.

Su Li found this strange and took a closer look. She could vaguely make out what seemed to be a group of students on board.

"Is it a school bus?" Su Li muttered to herself.

The cameraman was also watching and chimed in, "They probably chartered a bus for a spring outing."

This was a common way for kids to go on outings. A bus would be chartered for half a day to take all the students to their destination and bring them back after they were done. Of course, the students had to pay a small fee for the trip.

"That’s probably it. But the driving is so unreliable. With students on board, they should be even more careful about safety."

"Tell me about it." The cameraman nodded, making a mental note to contact his second child’s teacher and warn them to be mindful of this driver.

Their car was faster, and they gradually caught up to the bus.

But just as they caught up, the two vehicles went in separate directions.

The bus turned while their car continued straight.

In that final moment, Su Li finally got a clear look at the entire bus.

It was indeed the Route 102 bus, and just as they’d suspected, it was full of children, all around seven, eight, or nine years old.

Some were sitting, some were standing, and a few were even wearing little hats. They were definitely on a spring outing.

In just a few short seconds, the two vehicles passed each other and disappeared from view.

At that moment, Su Li didn’t think much of it, only exchanging a few more words with the driver and the cameraman about the importance of driving safely.

Soon, they were back at the TV station and immersed in their work.

At that time, Su Li had no idea what a sensational incident their brief encounter with that bus would later become.

She worked busily all afternoon, and once she finished everything on her plate, she left for the day right on time.