It was likely that these robbers had already been molesting the attendant in the back of the bus, but the wide body of the vehicle concealed what was happening.
Seeing the attendant's troubled expression, Ning Wei remained silent.
After boarding, the group sat with their eyes closed, appearing no different from other passengers.
As dusk began to fall, Ning Wei and her companions, knowing what was about to happen, wore grim expressions.
As expected, just as the sky darkened, the man began feigning stomach pain again.
This time, Ning Wei refused to stop the bus. She refused to believe the man genuinely needed to relieve himself.
Mei Nan noticed their worried faces and subtly gestured for Ning Wei to stop.
In reality, Ning Wei's opinions on this bus held little weight, as most passengers favored stopping and letting the man get off.
The driver pulled the bus over at the place where the nightmare had begun. The man sprinted off, appearing genuinely distressed.
Soon after, he didn't return. The second and third men who went to find him also vanished.
Once again, the passengers found themselves deliberating who should go down.
Ning Wei stepped forward and suggested, "Since they are all together, why don't those two wait by the roadside with their luggage? We should head back to the terminal. We can't let these three hold up so many of us."
Her words were an attempt to test the hidden rules, but this time she hadn't triggered them, and everyone remained on the bus.
Upon hearing her suggestion, the other, uninformed passengers glared at her with condemnation.
"How can you, a young student, have such a cruel heart!"
"Exactly. Those three went down and haven't returned. If you make these two get off too, aren't you pushing them to their deaths!"
Ning Wei shrugged indifferently. "Since you are so benevolent, why don't you go and see for yourselves?"
Silence fell again. No one wanted to risk it, but that didn't mean others couldn't.
"They got off this bus, so it's only right they should go and check the situation!" a passenger declared, full of self-righteousness.
This way, their consciences would be clear, and their own safety ensured – a win-win.
Ning Wei almost laughed out loud, her mocking amusement spreading through the entire bus.
The night outside was eerily quiet, making her laughter particularly striking.
The three men hiding in the bushes shivered at the sudden sound.
"Crazy woman!" one passenger muttered.
"Alright, alright, I'll go," the driver said, seeing the passengers arguing. He immediately decided to go himself.
Then, the attendant reached out to stop him, offering to go instead.
Ning Wei considered this, then took the attendant's hand. "You don't need to go. I'm brave. I'll go take a look!"
The attendant refused. How could she let such a pretty young student risk her life?
They had driven this route for years and knew it well. It would be better for her to go than Ning Wei.
As the attendant and Ning Wei failed to convince each other, the others were content as long as it wasn't them going down.
Finally, Ning Wei forcefully pushed the attendant back into her seat and then leaped out of the bus.
The moment her feet touched the ground, the environment drastically changed.
The passengers looked at the brightly lit road and the burning bonfire, gazing at Ning Wei with a mixture of helplessness.
"Perhaps we cannot alter the original course of events, or we will be sent back to the beginning?" Mei Nan asked Ning Wei.
Everyone nodded, sharing the same feeling.
"The first time we returned after fighting. The second time, Ning Wei insisted on getting off. Are there any connections between these two instances?"
"Perhaps, as Teacher Mei said, we cannot change what is destined to happen?" Yuan Yuan said uncertainly.
"What is destined to happen, is the attendant being raped by those men? Our entire bus being robbed?" Zhu Yilian clearly couldn't accept this reality, especially the despairing cries of Wang Chunxia, which they couldn't forget.
"Perhaps next time, you shouldn't act and we can observe more?" Song Zhi carefully glanced at Ning Wei and subtly reminded her.
Ning Wei nodded. She had deliberately gotten off the bus to test her own hypothesis.
Now it seemed confirmed: they could not change what was destined to happen.
However, the first time she hadn't changed anything, and they had still returned to this point. Ning Wei was deeply puzzled.
Then came the long wait. This time, no one was willing to wait by the roadside. Since Ning Wei had superior hearing, her alone would suffice.
After an eternity, the bus finally arrived. They dusted themselves off, boarded, and began the third repetition.
This time, to avoid returning to the beginning, they watched as the attendant got off, and then saw the robbers begin their search.
As they were about to drag the attendant off for "that business," Tang Tang tugged at Ning Wei's sleeve and whispered, "What should we do?"
They were unwilling to see the attendant violated, but intervening might reset them to the beginning.
As they stood there in despair, two men dragged the attendant to the side of the road.
Under the threat of their sharp knives, the attendant, desperate to survive, began to undress, tears streaming down her face.
On the bus, besides Ning Wei's group, were the other indifferent passengers.
Ning Wei sensed something and fixed her gaze on them. "There are only five of them. Are you sure you want to watch the attendant be violated?"
"Don't say anything more. It's all for self-preservation!" someone retorted, unable to listen further.
The robbers chuckled, finding Ning Wei's audacity in trying to incite rebellion in front of them amusing. One of them reached out a lecherous hand towards her.
Ning Wei was not one to be trifled with. She kicked the knife out of the robber's hand and then sent him sprawling to the ground.
Mei Nan and the others also moved, and soon the bus erupted into a brawl.
Ning Wei had disarmed them all. Now, unarmed, it was uncertain who would win.
Seizing an opportunity, Ning Wei approached the group of passengers, grabbing one by the collar. "We've all stepped in. Are you truly not going to help?"
The man she grabbed clearly wavered. After all, the situation now seemed to be in their favor.
Just as a passenger was about to rise and assist, the world spun violently, and Ning Wei and her group found themselves back by the roadside, waiting for the bus.
Tang Tang and the others stared blankly, their fists still clenched.
"What caused it this time?" Song Zhi, locked in a fierce struggle with a robber, had no idea what had happened behind him.