Chapter 144: The Bus

"What are we doing after we finish eating?" Qi Kun asked, a crafty glint in his eyes.

Yang Meng shrugged. "What else? Go back to our respective homes and look for our respective mothers."

"Where are you staying?" Hu Erleng asked.

Yang Meng spread his hands. "I'll go back to Longyun to see if those three grand-aunts have left yet. If they have, I'll stay at Longyun. If not, I'll find a room at a hotel to make do."

Qi Kun wore a wicked grin. "Come on, we’ve only had half our drinks and we haven't had enough yet!" After saying that, he kept blinking at Hu Erleng.

Yang Meng had a sudden flash of realization and looked at Hu Erleng cheerfully, waiting to see how he would dig himself out of the hole he had just dug.

Hu Erleng gave two dry coughs. "I say, Lobster, don't just think about having fun. Mengmeng is our big boss now. Can you have any filthy thoughts with the boss right here?"

Qi Kun's eyes widened. "What filthy thoughts did I have? I just said we haven't had enough to drink! Damn it, you guys are the ones with the filthy minds, alright?"

"What's this? You mean change venues and keep drinking? Shall we go grab some meat skewers?" Yang Meng asked with a grin.

Qi Kun said righteously, "Exactly! That's what I mean! Change venues and keep drinking! But... forget the skewers. Which place's grilled skewers can ever match the taste back home?"

Yang Meng asked curiously, "Then where do you plan to go for a drink?"

"Hehe, we can go somewhere where we can sing and drink at the same time." Qi Kun gave his answer.

Yang Meng was instantly speechless. "Figures, you're still thinking about chicks."

Qi Kun grinned broadly. "We're all men! It's my treat. How about Dihao?"

Just as Yang Meng and Hu Erleng wanted to roast Qi Kun a bit more, they heard a cold snort from the neighboring table. "Hmph, did you guys see that? Men are all the same! They only have lower bodies and no brains!"

Everyone turned their heads. A few young girls were sitting at the next table, surrounded by piles of shopping bags on the neighboring chairs. It was obvious they had just been out shopping together.

"What are you looking at? Did I say something wrong? Men are no good!" One of the girls glared directly at Yang Meng and the others, looking ready to stand up and pick a fight.

Hu Erleng was about to retort when Yang Meng grabbed his arm. "Oho, a little spitfire! Too hot to handle, too hot to handle. Let's just mind our own food."

"Damn it, someone talks to you like that and you don't talk back? Mengmeng, this doesn't fit your personality! Aren't you usually picking a fight with whoever crosses your path?" Hu Erleng asked in confusion.

Yang Meng wore a deadpan expression. "What you're talking about is a troll! Alright, can't even delicious crayfish shut your mouth? Now that we're full and satisfied, let's listen to Lobster and go sing! Let's live our own lives and care less about what others say. What? Don't tell me you fell in love at first sight with these chicks and want to chase them? If so, you really should mind your image."

"Them?" Hu Erleng glanced at the girls at the next table and said with utter disgust, "Their faces are painted like old male roles in Beijing opera, and their faces and necks aren't even the same color. I'm afraid I'd have nightmares if I saw what they look like after taking off their makeup. Look at them, too, each one as skinny as firewood. Forget it."

Yang Meng wore a look of sudden realization. "Oh, so that's your aesthetic? No wonder you sneaked a peek at Widow Li taking a bath when you were a kid. She's robust enough! Three or five men couldn't pin her down!"

"Hahahaha." Hearing this, Qi Kun couldn't help laughing either.

Another cold snort came from the neighboring table. "These country folk have zero class! Squawking and hollering while eating, what is wrong with them?" The three of them had been speaking in their hometown accent, making it obvious they were not locals.

Hu Erleng was furious when he heard this. "Is this damn thing ever going to end?"

Yang Meng smiled. "What's wrong, Erleng? We haven't heard people say that about us a few times after being in Handong all these years. Can't take it now? Look at Lobster here, acting like he didn't hear a thing."

Hearing Yang Meng talk about him, Qi Kun grinned. "Can I act the same as before now that I'm a boss?"

Hu Erleng curled his lip, glanced at the girls over there, and angrily chugged his beer. "If Mengmeng weren't here today, I'd definitely curse these dead girls to death."

Yang Meng hurriedly waved his hand. "No, no, no. I didn't mean for you to endure it. I meant for you to go beat the crap out of them. Smash their faces into pig heads!"

"Huh? Isn't that too brutal?" Hu Erleng was startled.

Yang Meng shrugged. "Yelling at them doesn't make them lose flesh or teach them a lesson; that's just wasted effort. What's our Zhuoshanzi motto? If you can use your fists, don't flap your gums!"

Hu Erleng waved his hand. "Fine, you win, I'm not angry anymore. Let's hurry up and eat, then go sing once we're full!"

Yang Meng pointed at Qi Kun. "Waiting for Lobster to get full will take till kingdom come. His stomach is a bottomless pit. Do you think the fat on him grew for nothing?"

Hearing this, Qi Kun replied, "It's fine, it's fine. They say you eat your fill when hungry and sing when full, right? Aren't we going to sing? Me being half-full to go sing is just right!"

Yang Meng and Hu Erleng looked together at the mountain of crayfish shells piled in front of Qi Kun. Was this being *half-full*?

Just as they were preparing to leave, the girl at the neighboring table suddenly said to them, "I'm going on a video call now, keep it down!"

"Huh?" Yang Meng and the others looked at each other in bewilderment; they weren't even talking loudly!

Even Yang Meng couldn't take it anymore. Goodness gracious, truly the kind-hearted get bullied. Because they hadn't bothered to bicker with these girls at first, did these girls view Yang Meng and his crew as weak? It was infuriating as hell!

Meanwhile, the girl turned on her phone for a video call. Because of the angle, Yang Meng couldn't see the screen clearly, but he heard the girl speaking in a sweet, coquettish voice. "Darling, why are you still doubting me? Look, I'm just eating crayfish with my besties! Didn't we just finish our exams? I think I did really well this time, so we came out to reward ourselves." After saying that, she even panned her phone around to show all the other girls.

The girl was wearing earphones, so they couldn't hear what the person on the other end was saying. They only saw her pout with a wronged expression. "Hubby, you're still saying that. I finally understand now—when people are happy, nothing good comes of it. The sisters and I went shopping today, and you know how women lose all reason when shopping. By the time I came to my senses, I'd already spent over ten thousand, and my credit card is almost maxed out! With the New Year right around the corner, tell me what I should do!"

After speaking, she put on an expression as if she were about to burst into tears—the kind of acting level that could win an Oscar.

Who knows how the person on the other end comforted her? Within a moment, the girl broke into a smile through her tears, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and hung up the video call. The moment she took off her earphones, the Alipay notification chime rang out from her phone: *"Fifteen thousand Renminbi has been successfully received."*

The girl smugly waved her phone at her companions. "Done! Today's crayfish are on me! Aren't men just like this? Coax them with a few words and anything goes."

Hu Erleng curled his lip. "I've truly opened my eyes. Is this what these 'high-class' people do?"

Yang Meng chuckled. "Everyone has their own way of living. Some people are just into this sort of thing. Didn't you two do the same? Running to the Longyun Fitness Club and staring at black silk stockings without being able to pull your eyes away?"

Qi Kun put down the crayfish in his hand. "Judging by their tone, these girls are still college students. Is this what college students are like these days?"

Yang Meng waved a hand. "Don't let a single rat turd ruin the whole pot of soup. People like this only represent themselves, not everyone. Would you say everyone in Handong is like this just because they are from Handong? That's just nonsense. Remember, criticize whoever has the problem; don't generalize from a single instance."

Qi Kun spread his hands. "Fine, Mengmeng is a saint now. Look how he's lecturing me."

Yang Meng laughed. "I'm realizing now why there are so many 'saints' online. Turns out standing on the moral high ground and pointing fingers at others feels pretty great."

Qi Kun was about to retort when he suddenly heard the girl from the video call earlier talking to another friend. "I say, Xiaoli, how is your loan repayment going?"

The other girl smiled bitterly. "The interest is piling up way too fast! These loan sharks are simply inhuman! They send text messages and call every day. Yesterday they even said if I don't pay up, they're going to publish my photos. How am I supposed to show my face after that? Sister Ping, please help me."

Hearing this, Hu Erleng curled his lip and remarked, "They spend money with a snap of their fingers when taking out loans, and then start getting depressed when it's time to pay back. Why couldn't they think about today when they were spending? Whenever loans are mentioned, people only think about how those loan companies devour people without spitting out the bones, but nobody ever blames the borrowers themselves. Who on earth could do something like stripping naked and taking photos just for a couple thousand bucks? There's truly a reason behind the saying: behind every pitiful person lies something hateful."

Yang Meng gave a thumbs-up. "Well said! There should be applause right here!"

While they were muttering softly among themselves, they heard the girl who had just finished her video call say to the one named 'Xiaoli', "Xiaoli, I'm telling you, you're just being foolish. Why not just find a rich boyfriend? Look at me, when have I ever lacked money? Do I need to go out and take out loans? You're even prettier than I am. I'll have my boyfriend find you a rich match later! All his friends are wealthy."

Xiaoli, however, replied, "Sister Ping, your boyfriend is a bit old. Aren't his friends around his age too?"

'Sister Ping' let out a cold snort. "I'm telling you, Xiaoli, what kind of holier-than-thou act are you putting on? You're going to let a man screw you anyway, what difference does it make who does it? Which woman doesn't want to find someone young, handsome, and rich? But can you actually find one? Having money is the absolute truth these days! Let me tell you, men are just like the food in our school cafeteria: gross as it is, if you go too late, it'll all be gone!"

Yang Meng couldn't listen anymore. "Lobster, Erleng, let's go. Turns out we've got a madam sitting right next to us!"

He didn't hold back his voice, and the girls at the neighboring table heard every word. That 'Sister Ping' slapped the table. "Who the hell are you calling a madam?!"

Yang Meng wasn't angry at all. He picked up his cycling backpack, slung it over his shoulder, glanced at the girl, and said, "Erleng, Lobster, remember this: you must keep your eyes wide open when choosing women. Some women are just like public buses—super cheap to ride, a single buck gets you a long ride for ages. But if you actually want to buy one? It costs millions! Yet who the hell would spend millions to buy a public bus?"

"You... you dare insult people!"