Her Immortal Love - Chapter 6

After boarding the bus, Qin Changsheng and Xu Jing sat together, while Jiang Zhongxue had a separate ticket. She took her ticket and walked straight to her seat, settling by the window in the last row.

Xu Jing pulled out a variety of snacks from her backpack, tore open a bag of sunflower seeds, and then took out a pack of biscuits, handing them to Qin Changsheng. “For her,” she said.

The bus started two or three minutes behind schedule. Jiang Zhongxue sat quietly in the last row. Qin Changsheng took the biscuits and walked over to her. The seat next to her was empty, so Qin sat down and handed her the biscuits.

Jiang Zhongxue had been gazing out the window, her legs curled up. Sunlight streamed in, making her face appear as if carved from ice and snow, radiant and translucent.

Occasionally, people flagged down the bus along the way to hitch a ride. Jiang Zhongxue’s eyes seemed unfocused as she stared calmly and indifferently out the window, as if watching something, yet also seemingly lost in a daze.

Qin Changsheng reached out to offer her the biscuits, but Jiang Zhongxue neither turned around nor accepted them. Qin coughed lightly, placed the biscuits on the empty seat beside her, then opened her backpack and set a small green box next to her. “I just bought some mosquito repellent and essential balm. There are a lot of mosquitoes in the mountains.”

Jiang Zhongxue still did not turn around.

Qin Changsheng felt like a fool in her heart, here she was, enthusiastically trying to be friendly while the other person remained cold and aloof.

Earlier, while waiting to board at the station, she had noticed a stall selling miscellaneous goods nearby. After all, this was a scenic area, and they had everything from mosquito repellent to motion sickness patches. Glancing at Jiang Zhongxue’s slender legs ahead, she hesitated for a moment but eventually bought two bottles.

After standing there for a while with no response from Jiang Zhongxue, Qin Changsheng muttered a few frustrated complaints to herself. Still, out of respect for Qin Shifeng’s repeated reminders, she maintained a polite attitude, zipped up her backpack, and nodded courteously. “I’ll leave these here for you.”

With that, she dejectedly returned to her seat next to Xu Jing.

Along the way, people occasionally flagged down the bus to hitch a ride. In principle, once the bus had left the station, no additional passengers were allowed. But for the driver, these roadside pickups were an extra source of income, as long as no one caught them, it was pure profit.

The driver glanced around and, seeing no one watching, let the person board.

Xu Jing cracked sunflower seeds as she tossed the shells into a small trash bag in front of her. The person who boarded was a young woman, quite pretty and seemingly in her prime. Qin Changsheng hadn’t paid much attention to her at first, but perhaps because the bus had started moving, the woman was walking down the aisle toward an empty seat in the back when she suddenly stumbled and nearly fell.

Qin Changsheng, sitting in the aisle seat, instinctively reached out to steady her. The girl appeared thin and tall, but when Qin grabbed her, she almost pulled Qin down with her.

In that instant, Qin felt an immense weight from the girl, completely at odds with her slender appearance. If Qin hadn’t grabbed the safety railing beside her, she would have fallen too.

The girl let out a pained cry, but thanks to Qin’s grip, she managed to pull herself up, avoiding an embarrassing fall to the floor.

The girl, startled, scrambled to her feet and, with Qin Changsheng’s help, sat down in the adjacent seat. She then began thanking Qin Changsheng profusely.

Qin Changsheng was somewhat taken aback by the strength she had felt moments earlier, but it had little to do with her. She swallowed her surprise, nodded graciously, and replied with a smile, “It was nothing.” The girl, slightly embarrassed, straightened her clothes, which had nearly been dirtied. Noticing the two women dressed in windbreakers and sportswear, she gave them a friendly smile and asked, “Are you also heading to Jishan for tourism?”

Qin Changsheng nodded. Beside her, Xu Jing turned her head and studied the girl for a long moment before asking, “Are you a student at Xingnong University? You look familiar, have we met somewhere before?”

The girl froze for a second, staring back at Xu Jing. After a pause, her expression cleared as if she had just remembered something. “Yes, I am. Are you too?”

Xu Jing laughed cheerfully. “Yes! I knew you looked familiar. Even though we haven’t officially met, I must have seen you around campus. My name is Xu Jing. What’s yours?”

The girl continued to smile, though her expression seemed slightly strained. “I’m Yu Yin.”

Qin Changsheng didn’t even lift her eyelids, showing no reaction whatsoever. As Xu Jing chatted warmly with Yu Yin, Qin Changsheng gazed into the empty space beside them, a faint sigh tugging at the corner of her lips.

Some encounters are fated, arriving just when least expected.

The atmosphere around them held an unusual stillness. In the back seat, Jiang Zhongxue held a black umbrella, calmly looking out the window. Qin Changsheng glanced to the side, where Yu Yin had turned away, rummaging through her small bag as if searching for something.

Xu Jing enthusiastically offered snacks to Yu Yin and asked with a smile, “Are you also traveling to Jishan?”

Yu Yin pulled out a small bottle from her bag, a transparent glass container filled with a crystal-clear lotion. She sprayed a little into her palm, smoothed it over her face, and patted gently while smiling at Xu Jing. “No, I’ve been to Jishan many times. It’s not that interesting anymore. I just left something behind at the inn during my last visit, so I’m going back to retrieve it.”

Qin Changsheng remained silent but seemed intrigued. Hearing Yu Yin’s explanation, she asked with deliberate curiosity, “If you lost something, couldn’t you just buy a replacement?”

Her gaze was calm, yet she observed every subtle shift in Yu Yin’s expression, not missing the slightest detail. Yu Yin sighed helplessly at the question. “It’s a token of love from my boyfriend. I can’t just lose it, ”

She flashed a playful, lively smile and added, “My boyfriend would be upset, and what can I do about that?”

Qin Changsheng nodded and said nothing more.

Xu Jing hummed in acknowledgment, watching as Yu Yin carefully applied her sunscreen. With a tone of admiration, she remarked, “Your skin is so lovely. Wait, Yu Yin, is that right?”

Her tone shifted slightly, and she glanced hesitantly at Qin Changsheng. Yu Yin, still absorbed in patting the lotion into her skin, turned to Xu Jing and asked naturally, “What’s wrong?”

Xu Jing looked at Yu Yin’s composed expression and spoke hesitantly, “I remember… that girl who died in the sewer on campus last time… her… her roommate was also named Yu Yin, right?”

It was from a campus-wide notice, the most recent one posted on the school bulletin board had featured Yu Yin’s name. At the time, the sewer death case was so shocking that Xu Jing had glanced at the notice a couple more times. It stated that Yu Yin, Shan Ze, and several other students, despite knowing the victim had gone missing in the mountains, had taken a passive stance, leading to delayed rescue efforts and contributing to the student’s death. After deliberation by the school administration, they were given probation.

The surname Yu was far less common than ordinary surnames like Zhao, Qian, Sun, or Li. Remembering her name was largely due to the uniqueness of her surname.

Hearing Xu Jing’s cautious and solemn question, Yu Yin stopped applying her lotion. She replied nonchalantly, “Yes, the girl who died was indeed from our dorm.”

Xu Jing was torn between her curiosity for gossip and the feeling that asking such questions was impolite. Seeing Yu Yin admit it so readily, she quickly apologized, “I’m sorry.”

Yu Yin waved her hand magnanimously, tucked the lotion bottle into her small bag, and smiled warmly at Xu Jing. “It’s fine. This matter has blown up so much that the whole school knows. Plenty of people have asked me about it, don’t worry about it.”

Hearing this, Xu Jing felt much more at ease. Noticing Yu Yin still wore a cheerful expression, she carefully ventured another question, “After something like that happened… do you still dare go to Ji Mountain? I heard your roommate died there, right?”

Yu Yin’s smile remained gentle, complementing her intellectual appearance and giving off a soft vibe. She shook her head, a hint of regret in her expression. “We really don’t know much about it. The school handed out punishments, but as for how my roommate died, we truly have no idea.”

Sensing the helplessness in Yu Yin’s tone, Xu Jing quickly added, “Yeah, I get it. Isn’t that just how the school always handles things? When something happens, they just try to smooth it over and punish a few people. Sigh.”

Qin Changsheng sat nearby, listening quietly. Yu Yin shifted her gaze from Xu Jing to Qin Changsheng’s face and asked curiously, “So… are you from our school too?”

Meeting Yu Yin’s eyes, Qin Changsheng shook her head. “No, I’m just here as a tourist.”

Xu Jing opened another bag of snacks and nodded, explaining to Yu Yin, “She’s a good friend of mine, here to visit. There aren’t many interesting places around, so I brought her to Ji Mountain to take a look.”

Yu Yin gave Qin Changsheng a polite smile and said, “What’s your name? You helped me earlier, and now you’re visiting Ji Mountain. I’ve been there a few times and know the shops on the mountain well. I can take you to try the most authentic wild boar meat, my treat.”

Yu Yin was being excessively polite, and she seemed quite interested in Qin Changsheng. Qin Changsheng shook his head and said, “There’s no need to treat me to a meal. You have your own matters to attend to, and traveling together halfway would be inconvenient. My name is Qin Changsheng. If we happen to meet again in the future, we can have a meal together then.”

Yu Yin nodded. Deep down, Qin Changsheng was willing to travel with Yu Yin, but she reconsidered, thinking about the eccentric Jiang Zhongxue who was still behind her, and decided to drop the idea for the time being.

After all, this Yu Yin was one of their main objectives in coming to Jishan. Her appearance here was somewhat coincidental, a stroke of luck granted by fate.

Having Yu Yin appear openly and confidently in her line of sight was far better than having to search for her while she hid in some obscure corner.

After the bus arrived at the station, Xu Jing and Qin Changsheng got off first. Yu Yin followed closely behind, bid them farewell, and then disappeared into the crowd.

It wasn’t until the last few passengers disembarked that Jiang Zhongxue finally rose from her seat.

She walked over to the spot where Yu Yin had just been sitting, leaned down gently, and ran her fingers over the seat’s headrest. Her fingertips came away with a slick, moist residue.

The glossy, milky-white emulsion smeared and dispersed at her touch, slowly transforming into a fine, bluish powder.