Peeling (Request for Monthly Tickets)

"Wanqing, why are you trembling?"

Wan Xiaolou shielded herself from the rain with one hand as she ran beneath the shelter, staring at her best friend in confusion.

"The license plate we saw was number nine, but the little girl said it was number thirteen..."

Wen Wanqing's lips had turned slightly purple, and her eyes were filled with terror. "Look again..."

Wan Xiaolou followed the direction Wen Wanqing was pointing. The bus was just about to disappear completely into the darkness, leaving only a section of its rear barely visible.

The number on the bus was blood-red—444!

Wan Xiaolou's eyes widened. Together with the little girl beside her, Yunyun, she stood there dumbfounded. "Bus 444? I think I've heard a terrifying urban legend about it... They say... once someone boards it, they'll be taken to an unknown place and will never be able to return."

She glanced at the sky, nearly bursting into tears. "But aren't urban legends supposed to appear at night? It's raining now, but it's still daytime..."

"Who says urban legends have to appear at night?"

Zhong Shenxiu gave a derisive laugh. "Though darkness does indeed intensify people's fear."

As he spoke, he handed the parasol back to the little girl. "Here's your umbrella. Go take the next bus..."

"Brother Kui... you..."

Wan Xiaolou stared at Zhong Shenxiu, feeling a curse jammed in her throat, unable to get it out.

She suddenly realized that she and Wen Wanqing had also come within a hair's breadth of boarding that Bus 444!

But what about this Kui Yi?

Apart from tripping up a little girl with a single sentence, he hadn't given them the slightest warning. Was he really planning to watch them go to their deaths?

And... thinking back now, everyone at the bus stop had seemed