The King of Black Fog

"Truce, truce." Upon arriving at the bus station, Li Changzhou was panting slightly, both tired and hot, feeling like he could melt into a puddle and collapse at any moment.

"I'll deal with you when we get back!" Li Qianxia said, grabbing his sweat-soaked collar.

She took a bottle of mineral water from her bag, tilted her head back, and took a big gulp.

Li Changzhou, too exhausted to speak, gestured with his hand that he wanted some too.

Li Qianxia handed him the water.

While he drank, Li Qianxia looked around.

It was ten in the morning, and the bus station near the hospital was deserted.

The sunlight was blinding, there wasn't a breath of wind, and the leaves on the trees lining the street were motionless, as if painted.

Li Qianxia turned her head and saw her brother, who had rehydrated, staring blankly at something, looking dazed from the heat.

The sweat had dampened his bangs, sodden enough that it made one want to wipe it off for him.

"We," she hesitated, then said, "should we just take a taxi back?"

"Hmm?" Li Changzhou snapped back to reality, turned his head, and asked, "Why?"

"It's too hot, and who knows when the bus will come. I want to get back early, take a shower, lie in the dorm, and chill with the air conditioning and my phone."

Li Changzhou thought for a moment. Taking a taxi was a bit more expensive, but on such a hot day, if his sister wanted to get back early, there was no need to save that bit of money.

He wanted to get back early too.

"Okay," Li Changzhou nodded, "let's take a taxi."

He took out his phone and opened the ride-hailing app.

Just then, the bus from 'Life Square' to 'Tech Park' emerged from the heat-distorted air and drove over.

"Oh, here it comes, lucky us." Li Changzhou turned off his phone and put it back in his pocket.

The bus smoothly pulled up to the stop, and they got on one after the other.

"I'll swipe the bus card," Li Qianxia said.

"It's over, the sun is going to rise from the south tomorrow."

Li Changzhou couldn't accept it; his sister, who always tried to spend his money, was actually offering to pay the fare.

Li Qianxia glanced at Li Changzhou, who was walking towards the back of the bus, said nothing, took out her phone, and scanned it twice on the machine.

The bus wasn't crowded, but they didn't skimp on the air conditioning; it was cool and refreshing inside.

Li Changzhou, adjusting his collar, walked along and couldn't help but glance towards the single seat in front of the back door of the bus.

A young girl was sitting there.

A white French shirt, short-sleeved with pleats.

A deep teal cinched waist skirt, the hem just covering the knees.

She wore a black baseball cap, its deep brim shielding her eyes, but the light reflecting off her delicate, straight nose, her softly pink, flower-like beautiful lips, and her fair, radiant profile revealed her uncommonly beautiful features.

Li Changzhou walked a few more steps back, stepped up onto the small platform, and sat in the first row on the right, just behind and to the left of the girl.

Her hair was like silk, cascading down like a waterfall, reaching all the way to her waist.

He finally understood the feelings of the girl from his junior year summer night class, who watched him so intently.

Li Qianxia walked over and sat down, glanced at her brother, and playfully jabbed him with her elbow, both disdainful and teasing.

"Sigh," Li Changzhou sighed, tilting his head back, and said in a lazy, air-conditioned summery voice, "Wouldn't it be great if I were rich, could afford a house, a car?"

"What if she doesn't want a house, doesn't want a car?" Li Qianxia barely held back her laughter.

"Whether she wants them is her business; I need to have them."

"No house, no car, not even the confidence to ask for her WeChat?"

"Confidence maxed out!" Li Changzhou asserted confidently, because being handsome was his one advantage, so he staunchly supported the 'appearance federation'.

As a member of the 'appearance federation' and being handsome, how could he not be confident?

It's just that sometimes, he thought — It would be perfect if I just had a bit more money, really just sometimes.

"I've heard now a matching kidney for transplant, if found a good buyer, can sell for 800,000!"

"Girls can sell kidneys too."

"It's not like I'm marrying a wife."

"If only we weren't siblings, we wouldn't need a house or a car to get married."

"No way."

"You wouldn't want to marry me? You used to insist on marrying me when we were little."

"That was when we were kids but now..."

"What's wrong now?" Li Changzhou asked curiously.

Li Qianxia glanced at her older brother's casual pants and sighed exaggeratedly, saying, "Do you think a woman would marry a man who clearly has no girlfriend but indulges excessively in pleasure?"

"That's a quack!"

"They said you were perfectly normal, didn't prescribe you any medication, and took your money, just reminding you to pay attention to your lifestyle."

"I am not normal, who wants to be normal?!"

"Right, you're not normal, you just need to be happy."

"...You're getting less and less cute," the brother said.

"Your health is deteriorating by the day," the sister replied.

At this point, both of them were out of energy.

The sweat on their bodies dried under the air conditioner, and sleepiness suddenly surged.

Li Changzhou's eyelids grew heavier, and the cool air from the air conditioner gently caressed his cheeks.

As he was about to fall asleep, he faintly heard a song.

(Buses, subways, ships, airplanes, just like us, are destined to wander.)

(Someday, though we don't know when, we will become our true selves.)

He didn't know how long he had slept.

"...My brother fell in love with you at first sight," the sister's lively and sunny voice like a sprinting fawn rang out.

"I heard it," the breeze-like girlish voice responded.

Li Changzhou, still groggy, decided to sleep a little longer.

"My brother is handsome, cleans once a week, doesn't mind cooking, bathes every day in summer, skips occasionally in winter, has yet to date anyone, comes home on time, a definite virgin. Wanna consider?"

Hey, who are you calling a virgin?

Have you checked? Do you have the right to speak?

"Not interested," the breeze-like girlish voice flatly refused.

"Why not!" The sister seemed to not understand. With her brother being so great, why would someone reject him?

"Didn't you say it? A man who clearly has no girlfriend, is still a virgin, but indulges excessively, wouldn't be considered by any girl, right?"

It was said that it's not excessive indulgence!

Li Changzhou felt the need to prove himself, he dispelled the sleepiness and slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was a mass of humanoid black fog, without a face, without feet, and the hands grabbing the handrail lacked fingers too.

The black fog quietly stared out the window, like an ordinary passenger.

Li Changzhou did not scream nor was he surprised; this thing, whether an illusion or a ghost, had been following him for a week.

The first time he saw it, was in the school dormitory.

He had a class that morning, woke up at seven thirty desperate, sitting on the bed, and at that moment, he caught a glimpse of the mass of black fog standing in the wash area, gazing at the female dormitory across.

The roommate in Bed No. 2, right beside the black fog, nonchalantly styled his hair like an adult.

Li Changzhou on the bed shuddered.

He had gone to see the doctor today because of it, only to be deemed normal by the quack, just indulging too much, and lost face in front of his sister.

Li Changzhou shifted his gaze away from the black fog.

He had expected to see the pretty girl with the hat, but the single seat near the rear door was empty and glaring, the sun squeezing in there, no sign of her.

Turning his head, Li Changzhou saw his sister.

She had somehow moved to the seat across the aisle— right behind where the hat girl had been, and beside her, at the window seat, sat a person.

It was the girl from before.

Li Changzhou propped up his arms, straightening his body.

"Old bro woke up?" Li Qianxia turned around.

"Yeah," Li Changzhou nodded, "Haven't we arrived yet?"

He unconsciously used a pleasant tone, the kind that guys use when talking to girls over the phone.

"Bro," Li Qianxia said seriously, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Li Changzhou reached for his face, wondering if she had doodled on it.

Ding dong, the bus broadcast announced.

('59631 Arena' has arrived, please be careful when opening doors, walk carefully when disembarking.)