Go out and play

Although Qingtian Guang knew a little Mandarin, he could not fully understand the conversation between the shaman monk and Jiang Zhizhi.

"What did that person say to you?" Qingtian Guang asked, seemingly discussing the chess game.

"He said I'm not good at Go." Jiang Zhizhi smiled faintly, but she was a little concerned in her heart.

Her Go is timid?

Did that person really see her future from the chess moves?

What she really wants...

All she wanted was to live happily with her mother.

She has always been firm in her goal.

Jiang Zhizhi lowered her eyes, contemplating the shaman's words. Qing Tianguang, who was standing by, saw this and thought she was feeling down because of the game of Go. He said, "You play Go very well."

Standard Mandarin is used.

Jiang Zhizhi looked up in surprise. She didn't expect that this young man who seemed indifferent to everything would actually comfort her.

It seems that he is not as difficult to get along with as imagined.

"It's still early, is there anywhere else you want to go?" Jiang Zhizhi glanced at her watch. It was just past four o'clock.

Where I want to go...

Qingtian Guang stopped in front of a floor-to-ceiling window and looked through the window at the vast sky outside.

"Can you take me out?"

"Go out?" Jiang Zhizhi followed his gaze and looked out the window. Outside was the entrance to Jinhai City. Going forward along the entrance was a bustling street with a constant stream of cars and people.

She was silent for a moment, then reminded him, "It's almost dinner time. If you want to go out, shouldn't you tell your mother?"

"She's not my mother, just my father's new wife." Qing Tianguang's originally indifferent face suddenly revealed obvious disgust. "Forget it, I know you won't take me out. Let's go back."

After saying that, he turned and walked back in the direction he came from.

Jiang Zhizhi felt somewhat helpless and had to follow him. Seeing that he was in a bad mood, she kindly said, "There's still time. How about I take you to the lower floors to play? I'm more familiar with the downstairs. There are hot springs, swimming pools, and many large entertainment facilities there..."

He didn't answer and returned to the cold attitude he had when they first met that morning, seemingly having no interest in what was happening downstairs.

"Hmm... How about this? I'll call Secretary Wei and have him help you arrange your trip."

Jiang Zhizhi's words made Qingtian Guang stop.

"Okay." He nodded and looked at her.

Jiang Zhizhi took out her cell phone and called Weidong. Weidong learned that Qingtian Guang wanted to go out and play, and after reporting it to Qin Lin, he quickly agreed.

After a while, everything was arranged, and Jiang Zhizhi and Wei Dong left Jinhai City by car, accompanied by two bodyguards in black.

The car drove out of the special passage of Jinhai City and soon arrived at the bustling street. Qingtian Guang changed his indifferent attitude when he came, and looked at the tall buildings and shops lining the road outside the car window with interest.

It was as if it was just a puppet, but now it suddenly came to life.

"Have you known about Nanshi before coming here? Is there any place you want to go?" Jiang Zhizhi asked in a gentle voice.

Qingtian Guang shook his head, with a look of confusion in his eyes.

Jiang Zhizhi couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. She herself was not a playful person. Although she had lived in Nanshi for two lifetimes, she still couldn't think of any place that Qingtian Guang would find fun.

After all, the parks, aquariums, and water parks she had visited before must also exist in Country N. There was nothing special about them.

She looked out the window and thought, when suddenly, a locust tree in the green belt by the road came into her sight.

"By the way, there's a thousand-year-old tree in our Dongxin District. Do you want to go see it?"

In Jinhai City, Qingtian Guang was most interested in the glass forest besides Go.

He would probably like plants and nature.

The thousand-year-old tree in Dongxin District is more visually shocking than the fake trees in the glass forest.

Every time she passed by, she couldn't help but take a few more glances at the huge and dense treetops.

"millennium?"

"Well, I remember that the tree can be traced back to more than 600 AD according to the age estimation. There is also a small square over there, which will be very lively at night."

Qingtian Guang agreed to Jiang Zhizhi's proposal.

When we arrived at the small square, it was exactly eight o'clock in the evening.

Before getting off the car, Qing Tianguang saw the thousand-year-old tree in the center of the square. It was a huge ancient locust tree with a diameter of more than four meters. Although its height looked only seven or eight meters, its crown was more than ten meters wide. From a distance, it was an extremely shocking behemoth.

The evening breeze blew through the rustling branches of the ancient locust tree and brushed across the young man's cheek. For a moment, he seemed to be able to feel the majestic vitality of the ancient locust tree flowing into his body, and he felt an indescribable sense of comfort.

There are various food stalls on both sides of the square. The northeast corner is particularly lively. A square stage is located there. The stage is wrapped in red silk cloth. Some people are singing and dancing on it, and the audience below is watching with great interest.

The aroma of snacks wafted over. Jiang Zhizhi was feeling a little hungry, so she looked at Qing Tianguang and asked, "Would you like to try our pancakes? They're delicious."

Qingtian Guang had never been to a place with such a strong urban atmosphere. When he was in Country N, his daily travel schedule was very full and he had no time to breathe. He had not even tasted the street snacks in Country N, let alone those in South City.

"Yeah." A sense of curiosity and anticipation surged in his heart.

Jiang Zhizhi took him to a pancake stall and bought two pancakes.

While the boss was making pancakes, Qingtian Guang watched without blinking, seeming to be very interested.

After a while, the two of them each took a pancake and sat on the stone platform on the fence under the thousand-year-old locust tree.

Most of the people in the square went to watch the performances on the stage. It was very quiet here, with a gentle evening breeze and a peaceful and leisurely atmosphere.

"It's a pity that it's September now. If you had come a month earlier, you could have caught the flowering period of this locust tree." Jiang Zhizhi ate a pancake while sitting on the stone platform, swinging her legs contentedly.

Qingtian Guang sat next to her, and behind him was the huge root system of the locust tree that emerged from the ground, which seemed to have a particularly heavy sense of history.

He couldn't help but touch it, his white and tender palms stroking the rough bark.

"If you don't eat the pancake while it's hot, it will become soft and won't taste good," Jiang Zhizhi reminded him.

Qingtian Guang finally came to his senses, blinked, opened the paper bag and took a bite.

The soft and tender omelet and the crispy crackling that breaks apart with a "crunch" have two completely different tastes. Paired with the salty and fragrant sauce, it is surprisingly delicious.

Qingtian Guang usually has a light taste, so this pancake is too strong for him, but he can't stop eating it.

"Delicious." He stared blankly at the pancake in his hand, his face filled with shock as if he had been struck by the delicious taste.

Suddenly, music started playing on a distant stage.

The passionate drum beats seemed to strike people's hearts, and those who had no interest in the stage couldn't help but look over there.

It's Latin dance music.

Like everyone else, Jiang Zhizhi subconsciously looked over there.

She remembered that Lin Qingyu learned Latin dance...

On the stage, several teenage girls wearing beautiful and sexy Latin dance costumes were dancing happily to the music, as if they were starting a carnival, and the scene became extremely lively.

Jiang Zhizhi didn't care much about this Latin dance at first, but the next moment, she saw a familiar figure among the dancers.

She stood up suddenly and looked at the stage in disbelief.

What a coincidence?

It turned out to be Lin Qingyu!

Jiang Zhizhi subconsciously wanted to go over and take a look, but suddenly remembered that she was out with someone today and had no freedom of movement, so she stopped.

"What's wrong?" Qingtian Guang noticed that something was wrong with her.

"Nothing, just saw a friend."

"Do you want to go say hello? I can wait for you here." Qingtian Guang said calmly.

Jiang Zhizhi retracted her gaze, was silent for a moment, and shook her head, "No need."

Since school started, she and Lin Qingyu haven't spoken much.

She didn't know if it was her illusion, but she always felt that after Xu Qingbo skipped a grade, Lin Qingyu became much quieter and interacted less with her and Li Rongrong.

The situation became a little delicate, as if their friendship was a pavilion supported by four pillars, and it collapsed after Xu Qingbo, the pillar, left.

Jiang Zhizhi suddenly felt a little sad.

She turned to Qing Tianguang and smiled, "Isn't it too noisy here? Why don't we go somewhere else and have a look?"

"Where do you want to take me?"

"……I don't know either."

"Where do you often go?"

Jiang Zhizhi thought for a moment and smiled awkwardly, "Library, school, chess room... doesn't that sound boring?"

Qing Tianguang looked at her but didn't smile. He raised his head calmly, his eyes passing through the dense treetops and looking at the sky. "So you are just like me, without freedom."

"Not free? No, I am free."

Jiang Zhizhi was very sure of this.

Everything she did was her free choice.

Qing Tianguang was a little surprised. "Isn't your itinerary also arranged?"

"I arrange my own schedule. I like reading in the library, going to school, and playing Go. I've always been doing what I like."

“…”

Knowing all this in advance, Jiang Zhizhi was happy from the bottom of her heart.

Looking at her expression, Qingtian Guang felt a little envious.

He turned his head, hiding his emotions, and pointed to the other side of the square, "What's that over there?"

“It seems like a wasteland.”

"Let's go and take a look."

Qing Tianguang said this, and without waiting for Jiang Zhizhi's response, he stood up and walked over there.

After walking to the edge of the square and crossing two green belts, I saw a wasteland in front of me that was uninhabited. A dilapidated railway track crossed it and extended into the invisible distance.

"It's very desolate over there, there's nothing to see." Jiang Zhizhi looked at Qingtian Guang who was walking forward with his head down, and looked back at the bodyguards not far away. After confirming that they were following not far away, she felt slightly relieved.

Qingtian Guang didn't answer her and continued walking along the train tracks. Before Jiang Zhizhi caught up with him, her cell phone suddenly rang.

It was my mother Chen Yuping calling.