The short-haired woman was obviously displeased. She was about to speak when she was stopped by the woman with a ponytail beside her.
“It’s okay… It’s okay. Your seat is the one at the back?”
“Yes.”
This kind of simple conversation was a staple in an express bus. Jennifer remembered that when she was in university, she would have a weekend trip to the nearby cities with several girls in her dormitory when she had time. They would take the express bus too just like these three women.
The short-haired woman seemed a little upset. She rolled her eyes and helped the woman with the ponytail to put up her luggage. Then, she mumbled just within Jennifer’s earshot.
“It’s fine when you stopped for someone good-looking, but now even for an old man…”
Old man…
Jennifer felt that she was suddenly choking on her saliva. She wanted to laugh but dared not.
Hans glanced at her with an unfriendly look.
“Pfft…” Jennifer finally couldn’t hold back her laughter and laughed out loud. She attracted the attention of the two women who looked at her several times. They looked embarrassed.
The woman with the ponytail glared at the short-haired woman. When she looked at Jennifer, her face turned red.
The driver finished the headcount and was about to start the car. The car slowly moved. Thinking of Hans being called an old man, Jennifer still couldn’t stop laughing.
Hans was seven years older than her and was now thirty-two years old. Although he was not young anymore, he was still in the prime of his life. But in the eyes of these young women, he was already an old man.
“Is that funny?” Hans tilted his head, looking at her coldly.
“It’s not that funny…”
Jennifer pursed her lips and tried her best not to think about how fast Hans’s face dropped when he heard they called him an old man. The speed of which was quite impressive.
Looking at Jennifer stifling her laugh, Hans felt inexplicably angry.
“An old man?
“Am I old?” Hans thought.
It was not a bumpy ride along the way, but it was not as comfortable as his car. Hans frowned the whole time. Not long after the bus moved, there was a gradual pressure on his shoulder. He lowered his head and saw that her head was leaning on his shoulder, looking like she had fallen asleep.
“She could fall asleep within minutes. No wonder she always lost her things when she went out with her friends in college. Look at her, it was a miracle that she didn’t lose herself somehow.”
While he was thinking, his body did not move at all. He maintained the same position all the way to Seattle. When the bus passed through a security checkpoint, the driver slammed the brake and the bus shook violently. Everyone who was sleeping jerked awake.
Jennifer too. She jerked forward and hit her forehead into a strange warmness. She looked up in shock, only to see Hans’s palm. When the bus braked, he reacted fast and reached out to hold Jennifer’s forehead first so that her head would not hit the front seat.
She finally woke up and realized that she was leaning in Hans’s arms. She could see his chin when she looked up.
“We are not there yet.” A calm voice came from the top of her head.
She was slightly stunned and nodded while blushing. She carefully moved back to her seat from his arms and did not dare to look into his eyes.
After that, they entered the highway in Seattle. Although it was the highway, there was a traffic jam that made people impatient. The 100-meter-long bridge was filled with cars, with no end in sight. The bus moved slowly. Every time it moved, it would shake violently. Even people like Jennifer who never experienced motion sickness felt a little dizzy.
A gasp came from her side as if it had been suppressed for a long time. She suddenly turned around and saw Hans’s pale face.
“Are you getting motion sickness?” she exclaimed.
“Why are you so loud?” Hans rolled his eyes at her weakly. “Be quiet.”
Hearing his weak tone, her heart sank. In addition, seeing that Hans closed his eyes and did not move after saying that, she was a little panicked. She hurriedly opened her bag and began to rummage through it. She tried to talk to Hans while looking for something.
“I remember that I brought some medicine for motion sickness. I’ll look for it…”
Jennifer took care of the daily chores in the office expertly, she was only clumsy when it came to herself. There were all kinds of things in her large bag, like a treasure chest. However, there were too many things, and she couldn’t find the small box of medicine.
“Is he getting motion sickness?” A weak female voice came from behind.
Jennifer was slightly stunned and she turned around.
The woman with a ponytail seemed a little shy. She handed over something that looked like wet tissue. Her voice was very soft.
“If you don’t mind, you can try this. Put it behind his ears and it will stop the dizziness quickly.”
Jennifer stopped for a second before she took it and said politely,
“Umm… Thank you…”
“No worries. It was for Hailey, but she didn’t need it…” The woman with the ponytail explained with a smile. When she Hailey, she stopped for a moment. “By the way, Hailey is the girl sitting in front of your boyfriend.”
The word “boyfriend” made Jennifer blush. She subconsciously glanced at Hans, but he was expressionless.
Hailey heard someone calling her name and turned around. She put her face on the seat with a contemptuous look on her face.
“I told you I wouldn’t need it. It looks like you guys are using it instead of me.”
After saying this, she looked at Hans knowingly. “Vivian, you are unlucky this time. You should prepare more in the future. Maybe you can pick up a single middle-aged man for yourself…”
“Hailey… you…”
The two young women kept teasing each other. The long-haired woman also turned around and interrupted. From the conversation, Jennifer learnt that the three of them were indeed studying at a university in California. It was not yet winter break, but the semester was already over. The three of them decided to visit Seattle.
Jennifer tore open the packaging, the patches were smaller than her fingernails. Jennifer was stunned for a moment. “Why did it look like this?” She thought.
Vivian saw and she whispered,
“That’s the medicine. Just stick it behind his ears and tear away the protective layer.”
Jennifer couldn’t help smiling as she imagined the patch on Hans.
She pressed the patches behind his ears.
It took effect fast, Hans shivered as he felt a coldness spread from his ears. He opened his eyes only to see four people staring at him.
He frowned and raised his hand to touch his face.
“Don’t move. It’s to relieve your motion sickness…” Jennifer grabbed his hand anxiously.
“Oooh…” The three women looked at each other knowingly.
Hans glanced at Jennifer indifferently and added fuel to fire.
“It’s just that my hair is covering my eyes. I was going to push it away, but how about you do it now?”
The three young women turned their heads and returned to their seats knowingly, trying not to stare at them. Their actions inadvertently increased the tension between the two of them.