Wales was a small town quite far from the city center. When people wanted to go to the city, they either drove their own cars or took a taxi, but the most commonly chosen mode of transport was the bus. At this time, the roads were very sparse with traffic because it was not a main route into the city, so vehicles were few and far between. Except for the morning rush when everyone went to work, the road was quite empty, usually seeing only a few cars or taxis passing by.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, Zoe saw a bus stop. It seemed to be the line that went straight into the big city. There were quite a few people standing and sitting, waiting for the bus to arrive. Zoe also wanted to go into the city to find a job. Since he had not graduated from high school and his personal record was not clean, he could only hope to find a manual job, such as waiting tables at a restaurant. In a large city where no one knew him, it would be even better.
 He didn't want anyone to know about his past and what he had been through. Leaving the past behind to live was the best choice Zoe had made. Since the day he was sent to the reformatory, he had stopped dreaming of a bright future. The future? It seemed like he hadn't thought about it for a long time, and thinking about the future had not crossed his mind, even though he used to think about it often when he was in the orphanage.
Now, he only needed to rent a small room in the city, find a job, and use that as his source of joy for the rest of his life. While pondering what his future might look like, the bus had already stopped at the bus stop. People quickly boarded the bus, the door slammed shut, and the bus slowly began to roll away. Zoe panicked and ran after it, waving his arms and calling out loudly, but it seemed the driver didn't see him. The bus accelerated, and soon it was far ahead of Zoe. 
After running for a while, Zoe stopped, placing his hands on his knees, panting, and looked up to see the bus disappearing in the sunlight at the end of the road. Regaining his composure, he turned around and saw that no other buses were approaching, so he sat down on the bench at the bus stop to rest and wait for the next bus.
Across the road, a red sports car with a low floor and no roof was slowly driving towards this side and then stopped in front of the bus stop where Zoe was sitting. The window was rolled down, and a young man sitting in the car tilted his head out and smiled.
"Hello there, are you heading into the city?"
Zoe looked at the stranger, who had bright eyes glinting like summer sunshine. In dark sportswear and a black baseball cap, the young man looked very dynamic and fashionable. But what was even more striking was his face. His piercing eyes were hidden beneath thick, dark eyebrows, and below his high nose were thin lips that curved into a friendly, moon-like smile, making him extremely handsome. His dark eyes, filled with a warm, gentle smile, captivated anyone who met his gaze, making it impossible to turn away. 
Even Zoe found himself drawn to those eyes. Blinking and standing still for a moment, Zoe didn't immediately respond but continued to stare at the young man. Hesitating over whether to talk to this stranger, Zoe noticed Jill, the ghost sitting next to him with dark, hollow eyes, exuding an unusual chill. It seemed Jill was feeling uneasy or worried about something, its cold and menacing demeanor directed at the person in the car. Jill had never been wary or hesitant about those who tried to approach Zoe, as it would always end up devouring their souls as food. But this time, it was different. 
Though Jill didn't know what harm this person might cause, it sensed something unpleasant and knew it shouldn't approach this stranger, not out of concern for Zoe but for its own soul.
Jill urgently whispered to Zoe, "Don't talk to him."
Zoe turned his head to look at Jill as if glancing into the void, thinking to himself, When did I start taking orders from you? I'm not a child.
Ignoring Jill, Zoe walked closer to the car. Jill quickly followed, anxiously speaking as if afraid someone else might hear, "Don't go over there, Zoe. What if he has bad intentions?... Zoe..."
Standing in front of the red car, Zoe looked at the young man smiling at him and naturally nodded, "I'm waiting for the bus to go into the city."
"You didn’t know the last bus just left?" The young man said gently.
Zoe was surprised. "The last one!?"
The young man nodded. "Yes, that was the last one... This route only has one bus to the city each day. Because it's a long route, people usually prefer to drive their own cars for convenience, so buses don't run frequently on this route."
Zoe looked down, considering whether he should find a taxi to get into the city, when the young man in the car spoke again. "I’m also heading into the city. Would you like a ride?"
Zoe looked up and was about to respond when he heard Jill frantically whispering, "Don’t go with him. He has designs on you, Zoe." Jill continued to speak urgently, "Since you left the reformatory, I’ve seen this car stop across the street, but no one got out. It’s him, the one sitting in the car. I’ve seen him constantly watching you. Although I don’t know his intentions, I’m sure he’s targeting you. Refuse and don’t get in the car."
Noticing Jill’s unusually worried tone, Zoe was even more intrigued. What about this person could make a ghost so fearful and anxious? Zoe understood that Jill’s concerns seemed more about its own soul than about him. If being near this person would cause Jill to leave him, that might be a good thing since a human was preferable to a ghost.
 However, Zoe had nothing of value on him that anyone would want to exploit. If the young man had seen Zoe leaving the reformatory, he would know that Zoe wasn’t exactly a clean slate, so his interest could be either genuine kindness or something more sinister. But what could that be? Judging by the car and the young man’s appearance, he seemed to be wealthy and trustworthy, without any signs of deceit in his gestures or words. Besides, it was just a ride into the city, and with a ghost like Jill around, what could he do?
“Well then, thank you.” Zoe nodded, giving the young man a gentle smile.
“Zoe, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you listening to my warning?... Zoe…” Jill continued to frantically shout in Zoe’s ear.
The young man, hearing the acceptance, beamed with pleasure and quickly got out of the car. “It’s no trouble at all.” He moved swiftly to open the passenger door for Zoe to get in, then returned to the driver’s seat, smiling at Zoe. “It’s even better with company.”
As the car began to move, Zoe glanced at the rearview mirror and saw Jill sitting in the back seat. He smiled slightly. The young man, noticing the smile as he turned his head, also smiled and extended a hand towards Zoe.
“Let’s get acquainted. I’m Neil, Neil Mark.”
The young man’s hand was tanned with long, slender fingers. Zoe extended his hand to shake Neil’s, bowing slightly in a reserved manner.
“My name is Zoe, Zoe James.”