The 21st was the day I returned home from Beijing. Everything went smoothly in the morning; I arrived at the airport very early, and the flight was not delayed. However, an unexpected turn of events occurred.
Due to the influence of a typhoon, there was heavy rain in Guangdong. Consequently, the plane circled over Guangzhou for more than half an hour. The flight, which was supposed to land at 16:00, did not touch down until nearly 17:00. Fortunately, I had not checked any luggage this time, so I rushed to the exit immediately after disembarking and caught the 17:10 airport express bus. After another two-hour journey, I arrived at the Zhaoqing Main Bus Station around 19:00.
The ticket seller at the bus station informed me that the earliest bus back to Xinxing was at 20:10, an hour away. I hesitated, thinking it was too long a wait. With a stroke of luck in mind, I took a taxi to the Zhaoqing Qiaoxi Bus Station, hoping there might be an earlier bus there. However, the result was disappointing: there were no more buses passing through Xinxing. At that moment, a girl in front of me spoke up.
"Oh, there are no more buses! What should I do?" her voice was very soft.
She noticed my inquiry to the ticket seller and asked me, "Are you also going back to Xinxing?"
I took notice of her; she looked very simple and beautiful. I confirmed her question, and she said she was also heading to Xinxing. She asked where in Xinxing I lived, and I replied Taiping. She mentioned her address, though she wasn’t familiar with Taiping. Since there were no more buses here, she didn’t know what to do. I told her there was still a 20:10 bus at the Main Station and that our only option was to go there. Then she said, "I don’t know what to do, I can only follow you..." Clearly, she was very pure-minded with little social experience (trusting a stranger so easily can be dangerous... perhaps she felt at ease because I looked like a student). Or perhaps she was just too panicked about not being able to get home.
We took separate motorcycle taxis to the Main Station, but things were unpredictable. Perhaps because of the Mid-Autumn Festival, not only was the 20:10 bus full, but even the 20:30 bus had no seats left. Only the 20:40 bus had seven seats remaining. Seats were in high demand. She and I quickly bought our tickets and sat in the waiting hall. It was about 19:30 then. I didn’t expect that after a round trip, things would change so much. About ten minutes later, the seat next to me became vacant. She ran over, placed her bag on the empty seat, and asked me to watch it while she went to the restroom. This showed her trust in me and further proved she was a simple and kind girl.
After returning from the restroom, she sat next to me, and we started chatting. We talked about our hometowns, studies, the Mid-Autumn Festival, interests, and my recent IOAA (International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics) trip (the waiting time was indeed "long"). It turned out she was from Zhanjiang and was a sophomore studying in Foshan. Her family was in Xinxing, and she was going back to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with them (a filial girl...). When we talked about IOAA, she expressed admiration; when we talked about astronomy, she mentioned her interest in constellations. When the 20:10 bus departed, she smiled and said that if I hadn’t gone to the Qiaoxi station, I would have been almost home by now. Her voice was sweet and elegant. In fact, I didn’t feel I had lost anything. Although it was a bit late, I had unexpectedly helped someone, and if she hadn’t been there, the wait would have been dull and impatient.
Misfortunes—or in this case, surprises—seldom come alone; the 20:40 bus was delayed. We had to continue waiting. The bus didn’t appear until after 21:00. During the ticket check, she suggested taking my ticket to check them together to save time (she was in front of me in line). I agreed, as I truly found no reason to refuse her kindness (though if she were a bad person, I would have been in trouble...). After boarding, our seats were adjacent, so we sat together again.
We continued chatting. She mentioned that she used to get very motion sick, but after traveling more, she had adapted somewhat, though she still felt a bit uncomfortable, so she usually just slept on the bus. However, she didn’t sleep this time. During our conversation, I learned she was a Chinese major at the Foshan Campus of South China Normal University. She is a future teacher (gardener), which I admire. She is very interested in languages and wants to learn English and French (a great girl!). Because of this, we discussed the meaning and origin of the name "BoJone" (I initially asked her what the word meant in French). Unfortunately, we still couldn’t find the meaning of "BoJone" (neither in English nor French). I suddenly realized that after talking for so long, I still didn’t know her name! I requested her name, and to my surprise, she left both her phone number and QQ (a very lovely girl). Subsequently, I left mine as well. Amidst the conversation, time flew by.
The bus drove so "slowly." What should have been a one-hour journey took us an hour and a half. Around 22:50, we got off the bus. After waving goodbye, I took a photo of her as a precious memory. Then, we took different motorcycle taxis and headed in different directions. After arriving home, I received a message from her saying she had arrived, and I replied, wishing her a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival.
Because of this encounter at the bus station, I gained a new friend and a new memory, and it also served as a perfect conclusion to my IOAA trip!
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