vacation
Xu Changjia didn't get up. She sat blankly on the bed, trying to wake up, but all she felt was a buzzing sound, like mosquitoes and flies swirling around her.
No, she needs something else to distract herself.
When I turn on my phone, a list of 99+ missed calls, 99+ unread text messages, and 99+ unread messages pops up.
So most of it is still Ou Liyao's concern for her. She reasonably suspects that if she can't contact her today, she will rush to their house to confront them or call the police directly.
Scrolling down her messages, I found the long essay she mentioned—the vacation post. It included all the plans for her trip to H country; in the words of her father's travel agency, it was a complete itinerary for their trip to H country.
This is a seven-day trip itinerary with flights, detailed down to how many attractions to visit each day and where to eat each meal. H country is a small island with sunshine, beaches, waves, and lighthouses. Isn't that exactly the peace and tranquility she has longed for?
The itinerary included two days of free time, as if it were tailor-made for them. They could take the time to visit Zheng Ruoqian, and perhaps even see Yunhe, who was studying abroad.
Anyway, there's still some time before the college entrance exam results are released. In her previous life, she had only ever lived in Junzhou, and even her university studies were in the local area. She had never left before. Now that she has the opportunity to go out and travel, it's a good thing. But how can she convince her parents to let her go abroad? Will they allow her to step out of the house and travel far away on her own?
She had made her own decision; she was determined to go to H country. The only question was, what reason could she give to convince her parents? With this in mind, she went out to find some food. Passing a print shop, she pondered for a moment and printed out the itinerary that Ou Liyao had sent her.
When Xu's mother returned home from her business trip, she inexplicably noticed that her daughter was being more attentive and caring towards her. She subtly inquired about it and received the answer: "I want to go to H country for a trip."
Her first reaction was to object. They weren't allowed to go to such a far place; what if they got kidnapped? Safety was of paramount importance.
But looking at her daughter, who was already half a young adult, and meeting her bright, expectant eyes, it seemed that if she uttered the word "no," two lines of tears would immediately flow.
She switched to a gentler tone and patted her daughter's hand tenderly, "Jiajia, Mom needs to think about this carefully. I'll discuss it with your dad when he gets back."
Having made thorough preparations long ago, Xu Changjia presented the itinerary plan and brought it to his mother to persuade them. He also praised the travel agency owned by Ou Liyao's family to the skies, using every kind of compliment imaginable.
As Mrs. Xu opened the book "Blooming Youth: A Seven-Day Trip to Country H by Air," she subtly observed her daughter, who was gesturing wildly in front of her. It was rare to see her like this. She was already somewhat convinced, but she remained outwardly calm, pretending to be indifferent. "Good, the plan is quite good. I'll talk to your father about it when he gets back."
She swore she had never longed for her father to come home so eagerly. She was distracted while watching TV all night and asked her mother no less than thirty or fifty times: When is Dad coming home?
"Wait a little longer, he'll be back from the south bank tonight, maybe he's on his way."
The mother and daughter were lying on separate sofas, watching TV. They would occasionally stare at each other, neither of them paying attention to where the popular TV series "Tales of the Tang Dynasty" was.
Upon hearing the sound of the key turning, Xu Changjia jumped up like a rabbit, slipped on his slippers, and hurried to the door to greet him.
As soon as Mr. Xu opened the door, he saw his daughter helping him get slippers and carrying his bag. His face was full of question marks, so he looked at his wife.
Mrs. Xu didn't care. She just chuckled twice and saw through her little scheme. "She wants you to let her go to H country to go out and play with Ou Liyao."
“Our daughter wants to go out and play, that’s great…”
Seeing his wife's eyes change from smiling to somewhat sharp, he changed the subject again, "However, there is some danger outside, and I need to think about it carefully."
Seeing her nod in satisfaction, he quickly went into his bedroom, making an excuse that he needed to take a shower and go to sleep, saying that they could talk about it tomorrow, without giving his daughter any chance to advise him.
Having failed to win over her father, Xu Changjia then placed her hopes on her mother. Her mother took her itinerary back to her room, patted her head, and simply said, "We'll talk about it tomorrow."
The familiar words echoed in her ears again. She felt as if her parents had set her up, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong. Oh well, you have your clever plans, and I have my own ways to get around them.
As soon as she closed the bedroom door, she sent a message to Ou Liyao, asking if she could invite her parents to dinner so that the two families could sit together and talk about traveling to H country.
The message had just been sent when Ou Liyao called.
After the college entrance examination, no one restricted her from reading novels, playing on her phone, or traveling. She could eat, drink, and have fun 24 hours a day, and was as free as she wanted. Her parents no longer lectured her when she called them at 11 or 12 at night.
"Jiajia, do your parents not agree to you going out?"
She thought for a moment about how to phrase it and organized her thoughts before telling her what she had told her parents about today.
Ou Liyao slapped her thigh, "Then there's hope since your uncle and aunt didn't refuse. These days are the peak tourist season, and my dad is so busy taking on tour groups that he can't keep up. My mom works as a tour guide under my dad and is also running around everywhere, so she probably doesn't have any free time either. Here's what I'll do: I'll have my mom call your mom when she has some free time and tell her. I think she'll be more willing."
“Okay, I’ll ask Brother Yunhe to help persuade my parents as well.”
This was the first time that Ou Liyao had heard about this "Brother Yunhe" from her, who was not only a few of their friends, but also kept her in the dark about his background. It turned out that he was hiding a childhood sweetheart from her.
"Once we go to Country H, we can take a day off to meet up and get to know each other."
Okay, the core issue here is getting her best friend allowed to go out. If we can get her parents to agree, all the problems will be solved.
The two talked on the phone until the wee hours of the morning, reluctantly hanging up only after all the lights in the houses had gone out, ready to get down to business the next day.
Xu Changjia had something on her mind, and having slept like a log for the past two days, she couldn't fall asleep at all. She tossed and turned in bed until dawn, when she got up and ran into her mother while washing up. She finally asked the question she had been wanting to ask, "Mom, I really want to go out for a walk. Can't you really let me go to H country?"
Wearing a silk nightgown, Mrs. Xu leaned down, cupped her daughter's face, and said earnestly, "Jiajia, it's not that we don't want you to go out, but your parents also have to consider your safety. You're still a child, and it's always worrying for us when you're out and about without your parents by your side. Can we please give us some more time to think about it?"
Mr. Xu came out with a towel to dry his face. Unable to bear seeing his daughter's worried face, he waved his hand and said, "Go, if you want to go to H country, then go. Isn't your good friend Ou Liyao's family in the travel agency? Aren't all the safety issues clearly written in the contract? Dad won't be working tomorrow, I'll go with you to their travel agency to sign the contract."
As soon as he said this, he not only received a glare from Xu's mother, but also a big hug from Xu Changjia.
Yesterday, she chatted with Ou Liyao until midnight about three plans, A, B, and C. They solved the biggest problem without even using any of them. She returned to her room, overjoyed, to continue reporting the latest progress and to arrange to sign the contract at their travel agency tomorrow.
Seeing that the door was closed, Mrs. Xu nudged her with her elbow and questioned, "Didn't we say last night that we should discuss Jiajia's trip to H country again? Why did you agree to it?"
Mr. Xu gently coaxed his wife to calm her down, extinguishing her anger before explaining the situation to her. He explained that Ou Liyao's parents were professionals in tourism; they dared to send their daughter abroad for a good trip, so why couldn't they let their daughter travel as well? Besides, high-speed rail and airplanes are readily available these days, so safety isn't a major issue; they just needed to buy her insurance. Furthermore, Mr. Xu had old friends, the Yunhe family, in H country; asking them to help look after her wouldn't be difficult.
Mr. Xu wasn't in a hurry to go to work today. He specially made breakfast for his wife and advised her to think more positively. He said that their daughter is growing up and should go out and see the world. They can't keep her by their side forever.
Mrs. Xu seemed to understand a little. "So, according to you, we should take our daughter out for a walk every now and then, to see the mountains and the water, right?"
The man across from her pushed the fried egg in front of her, called his daughter to eat breakfast together, and whispered to her, "Yes, you've worked at the TV station your whole life, so tough, and you're the same with your daughter. On the surface you're gentle and soft-spoken, but in reality you always use the guise of doing what's best for her to just stuff your concern into her, right? That's what happened with Yunhe last time. Fortunately, they got along quite well in the end, so you didn't do anything wrong with good intentions."
Mrs. Xu unconsciously touched her nose. Having been used to her position as the head of the editorial office at her workplace, she was always the one who had the final say. Only when she came home could she hear a few truthful words. She knew that her husband was doing it for her own good, so she didn't argue. She put the script she needed for today aside and simply said, "Then tomorrow I will go with you to visit Ou Liyao's parents and sign the contract for Jiajia to go to H country with them."
He smiled and shook his head. "I'll go with Jiajia. Tomorrow's Friday, and you have a meeting you can't cancel. If we go together, people will think we're treating them to dinner. It's peak tourist season, so don't let it interfere with their ability to make big money. You can take your daughter to buy some travel gear this weekend."
"You're so thoughtful." In just a few words over breakfast, the problem that had been bothering her for the past two days was resolved, and she grabbed her script and headed out to work.
Xu Changjia tilted his head back and said "goodbye" to his mother. He glanced at the script and saw a familiar name - Wen Xuanyi.
Her breath hitched, and her mind went blank.
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