Time flies, and the semester is almost over.

A week before summer vacation, Wang Sisi came to Xia Qingqing's dormitory and asked her to go home together.

Xia Qingqing had no objections, of course. She was more than happy to have a companion to chat with and pass the time on the way.

Because of Wang Sisi's connection, Xia Qingqing didn't have to worry about buying tickets; she could just wait to go home.

This semester, Wang Sisi would occasionally come to visit Xia Qingqing, but not often. After all, the two were not in the same major, and they usually went to and from get out of class with their own roommates.

Another reason is that students are really busy with their studies. Everyone is so focused on their studies that they feel anxious when they see others studying. How can they have the mind to go out and have fun?

Wang Sisi sat on Chen Xiu's bed, turned her head to look at Xia Qingqing and asked, "Qingqing, I'm planning to go to the department store to buy some gifts for my family. Do you want to come?"

Xia Qingqing also had the same idea: "Great! We have a holiday tomorrow, let's go tomorrow."

"Then it's settled. I'll come to your dorm at 9 a.m. tomorrow," Wang Sisi said with a smile.

After chatting for a while, Wang Sisi went back to her dormitory.

......

The next day, Wang Sisi appeared at Xia Qingqing's dormitory door on time.

Xia Qingqing, carrying her crossbody bag, smiled at Sisi, who was full of energy early in the morning: "Sisi, have you had breakfast?"

"Not yet, we're waiting for you to go eat together," Wang Sisi shook her head and took Xia Qingqing's arm.

When the two arrived at the school cafeteria, Xia Qingqing only ate two boiled eggs because she hadn't brought her lunchbox with her when she went out to buy something, while Wang Sisi ordered a steamed bun.

After eating, I took a bus from the school gate to the department store.

Wang Sisi calculated her secret stash of money and suddenly sighed, "Sigh."

Xia Qingqing gave her a strange look: "What's wrong? Don't you have enough money?"

All the way there, Wang Sisi kept talking about buying gifts for her family—her parents, her sister, her nephews and nieces, quite a few people.

"No, it's just that we don't have enough tickets," Wang Sisi said with a hint of distress. "I wonder when this will end, that we need tickets to buy even the smallest things."

Xia Qingqing nodded in agreement: "Yes, we have money but we can't spend it."

Fortunately, this situation won't last much longer; soon, buying and selling will be free.

Wang Sisi simply complained for a moment, then quickly composed herself: "What should I buy? Qingqing, can you give me some suggestions?"

Xia Qingqing was also thinking about what to bring back for Zhang Hongyan and the others when she happened to see a counter selling face cream.

So he suggested, "You have many sisters, why don't you buy a few boxes of face cream? It just so happens that face cream doesn't require coupons."

Wang Sisi's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this, and she pulled Xia Qingqing over, pointing to the colorful tin of face cream and asking:

"Comrade, how much does a box of this face cream cost?"

The sales clerk glanced at her indifferently: "50 cents a box."

"It's so expensive! The face cream in the county only costs 20 cents," Wang Sisi muttered.

This tiny box costs 50 cents. Things in Beijing are indeed more expensive than in their county. However, the face cream in the county comes in a bag, while this one comes in a small tin box, so it does look more valuable.

Although Wang Sisi complained about the price, it didn't stop her from buying gifts for her family. After all, how could the face cream she brought back from Beijing be the same as the face cream in the county?

Wang Sisi gestured to the sales clerk: "Comrade, could you please give me four boxes?"

One box for Mom, and one box each for my three older sisters—perfect.

When the sales clerk saw that she wanted four boxes at once, she smiled and nodded: "Okay, that'll be two yuan in total."

Wang Sisi readily handed over two yuan and nudged Xia Qingqing, who was standing next to her in a daze: "Qingqing, aren't you going to bring one back for your aunt?"

"Hey, comrade, could you please get me two boxes too?" Xia Qingqing snapped out of her daze and took out a dollar from her pocket, handing it to the sales clerk.

Xia Qingqing was indeed lost in thought. She was thinking about whether she should bring a watch as a gift for her father when she went home this time. It would be much more convenient to check the time if she had a watch.

Everything else is fine, but she's afraid that Zhang Hongyan will scold her for being a spendthrift again, so she's a bit conflicted about whether or not to take her along.

After this interruption, she suddenly made up her mind: she would bring it along.

Before, she was afraid that if she showed any money, her family would find out something was wrong. Now that she's far away from the emperor, Zhang Hongyan and the others don't know what she's doing in Beijing. Whether she makes money or not is entirely up to her.

——

Soon the holiday arrived, and the roommates said their reluctant goodbyes.

Chen Xiu and Xiang Qiu are locals, and their families helped them with their luggage, so they were the first to leave the dormitory.

Liu Huimin's train ticket was for the morning, so Xia Qingqing helped her carry her luggage downstairs.

"Qingqing, I'm leaving now. Remember to lock the door when you leave."

Xia Qingqing nodded and replied, "No problem, Sister Huimin, don't worry."

"Hehe, I'm about to see my son, I'm a little excited, I'm leaving now, bye-bye," Liu Huimin waved to Xia Qingqing and left with her bags.

Xia Qingqing and Wang Sisi's train tickets were for the evening, which happened to coincide with the summer vacation, making train tickets very difficult to get. It was already quite a feat to get hard sleeper tickets, but Xia Qingqing didn't mind at all.

At noon, Song Ze came to the school and took Xia Qingqing to a state-run restaurant for lunch.

Song Ze looked at Xia Qingqing with reluctance: "How about I go back with you? I'm so reluctant to part with you for so long."

"So where did you stay? Were you going to stay in a guesthouse the whole time? That's not convenient, and the guesthouses in the county aren't very nice," Xia Qingqing asked back.

She still remembers her experience staying in a guesthouse before taking the college entrance exam; the hygiene there was really unacceptable.

Song Ze sighed. He should have bought a house in the county back then. It would be so much more convenient to accompany Qingqing home now.

Song Ze had been persuaded by Xia Qingqing to stop buying a house. Song Ze wanted to buy a house entirely for her sake, but she didn't plan to return to her hometown to develop her career, so why waste the money?

That evening, Song Ze saw Xia Qingqing and Wang Sisi off at the train station. He had prepared a large bag of gifts, saying they were for Xia's parents and Gou Dan. Xia Qingqing couldn't refuse them even if she wanted to.

The train started with a clang, and Song Ze's figure disappeared from Xia Qingqing's sight.

"Qingqing, Comrade Song is so good to you. I'm tired of saying that," Wang Sisi joked with a smile. He's already sending big bags of gifts to his future father-in-law's house before they're even married. What does that mean? It means he cares about Xia Qingqing.

Whether a man likes you or not is often revealed in the details.