Chapter Seven: The new transfer student
Su Can bought breakfast from a soy milk shop outside Gu Jiao Station on South Second Ring Road, then stood on the main road a hundred meters' walk from the City Tale residential community, quietly watching the office workers waiting for buses at the platform with newspapers in hand and shoulder bags slung diagonally across their bodies, along with students in various school uniforms or casual clothes.
The spring morning mist in Jiecheng had not yet fully dispersed. Bicycles formed a long procession in the nonmotorized lane, their bells ringing crisply, while cars streamed along the overpass in the background. The provincial capital already had double-decker buses traveling back and forth. They had only recently entered service and were still something of a novelty.
Su Can remembered the bus routes. If he caught a bus right outside his home, he would have to transfer on the western route to reach No. 27 Middle School. But if he was willing to walk a hundred meters to the main road along the Second Ring Road, he could take a bus straight there.
The bus stopped at the platform. This place had none of Xiahai City's compactness, quiet, or leisure. Even in the early morning, there was only the clamor of a metropolis. Countless utility poles towered overhead, stretching through a city steeped in an old, historical atmosphere. For the moment, Su Can could see no prosperity.
He boarded the double-decker and sat down near the stairs. Eating his breakfast, he quietly watched the streets outside through the window. The bus gradually grew crowded, with quite a few students boarding in clusters and talking about all manner of things happening at their respective schools.
This was unlike Xiahai, where the circles were small. The provincial capital had