On the long-distance bus.
Zhang Ye brought Chenchen with him up on the bus before paying for the tickets. Behind them, a few other passengers also boarded before the bus sluggishly started its engine and drove out of the bus station. The people dressed in Chinese tunic shirts sat in the middle row on the right side of the bus. They were talking among themselves and did not seem bothered by Zhang Ye and Chenchen's presence. There were not a lot of passengers on the bus, so Zhang Ye did a quick scan and found two seats in the second to last row to sit down at. He was a bit afraid to get too close to the group but did not want to be too far away either, so he just left an empty row of seats between themselves and the group.
On the bus, those people deliberately lowered their volume, or perhaps the noise on the bus made it sound like they were speaking softer.
Zhang Ye leaned slightly forward and had to make a great deal of effort to hear what they were saying.
