Chapter 4
The days passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the day of vacation.
During the National Day holiday, Xu Yan went home and Zhou Bin went to find his girlfriend. Only Zhang Xiaotian and Lu Bai, who were about to leave, were left in the dormitory.
"We should arrive at the station half an hour early. The next door city isn't a famous tourist attraction, so it won't be too crowded." Lu Bai checked his documents and luggage. "Check to see if you've brought your ID and student ID, as well as a change of clothes for the next few days."
"I've got everything." Zhang Xiaotian slung his backpack onto his back. "Didn't you check everything yesterday? Why are you acting like elementary school kids going on a spring outing?"
"I'm really excited." Lu Bai chuckled. "If you've finished checking everything, we can go to the station early and wait."
"Let's go." Zhang Xiaotian said.
The nearly two-hour drive was neither fast nor slow, and by the time they got off the bus, they were already in another city. They first went to find the hotel they had booked in advance to store their luggage.
After grabbing the room card and following Lu Bai, Zhang Xiaotian belatedly realized they were about to share a room. This wasn't like the dorm. Back then, Zhang Xiaotian would go to work after class and go back to sleep, leaving him no time for idle thoughts. Besides, they weren't the only two in the dorm. But now, he didn't need to work either. These three days and two nights would be truly alone time for the two of them. Only then did Zhang Xiaotian feel nervous.
So much time has passed, and this is not the first time we have stayed in a hotel room.
Zhang Xiaotian began to prepare himself mentally.
"302, here, Tian'er." Lu Bai found their room according to the room card and called Zhang Xiaotian to come in quickly. As soon as he entered the room, it was an ordinary double room. Zhang Xiaotian put down his backpack and walked into the bathroom to wash his hands. Just as he turned on the faucet, Lu Bai also walked in.
"You said this shower room is quite big. Is it big enough for the two of us to take a shower together?" Lu Bai commented on the shower room.
What indecent things he said, he hadn't changed at all. Zhang Xiaotian looked at his hands and didn't want to pay attention to him.
"Ah, I'm asking you, why don't you pay attention to me?" Lu Bai asked him.
"Can't you take a shower by yourself? You need me to join you?" Zhang Xiaotian finished washing his hands and was about to turn around when Lu Bai leaned over. He leaned on the edge of the sink with one hand and touched the mirror with the other, just in time to hold Zhang Xiaotian in his arms.
So close. Zhang Xiaotian subconsciously held his breath, his heartbeat suddenly speeding up. The distance was so close that he could even see his eyelashes clearly.
"Don't they say that if you put your finger on the mirror, you can tell if there's a camera inside it?" Lu Bai seemed to be really studying the mirror. He looked at it for a long time but couldn't figure it out. He turned around and looked at Zhang Xiaotian, "Can you see it?"
"I, I..." Zhang Xiaotian felt as if a string in his head had been plucked violently, making a sharp buzzing sound. He opened his mouth for a long time, and finally found his voice, "I don't know either."
"Then let's not look for them." Lu Bai smiled at him, stood up and walked out of the bathroom. "There's nothing good about two men anyway."
After Lu Bai walked out, Zhang Xiaotian let out a long sigh.
Can I really stay friends with him forever? Zhang Xiaotian touched his still pounding chest. It seems I'll have to keep my distance from him from now on.
The two cities are not far apart, so the weather and scenery are similar, but there is a rafting spot here that is quite famous, so the two decided to start with rafting.
It was a man-made river, lined with planted trees. At the starting point was a small dock with a number of two-person kayaks.
"How long does it take from here to the end?" Zhang Xiaotian looked down the river and could not see the end.
"We'll be there in about half an hour." The boss pulled up a green kayak and handed them life jackets. "I'll also give you each a stick. If the kayak drifts, poke it against the wooden stakes on the riverbank." He then made a gesture of prodding with a stick.
It looked quite scary, but once he got on, Zhang Xiaotian found it quite comfortable. It wasn't as fast as he'd imagined, but rather swayed slowly, allowing him to focus on the trees on either side. It had rained the day before, so the road was still wet when he arrived. Looking around, all he could see was fresh green, tinged with moisture. The shallow water was thick with silt, and the water wasn't clear, so he didn't see any fish.
"If I had known it would be so slow, I should have brought my camera with me." Lu Bai put the stick at his feet, looked at Zhang Xiaotian across from him and asked, "What do you think?"
"It's pretty good, very comfortable." Zhang Xiaotian looked at the woods without blinking, "Lu Bai, there are birds over there!"
"Where is it?" Lu Bai followed his hand and looked over, but saw nothing. He then moved his butt forward and stretched his neck as far as he could. "No way, why can't I see it?"
"You saw it too late!" Zhang Xiaotian couldn't help laughing when he saw his silly look, and his whole body was shaking with laughter.
"What are you laughing at?" Lu Bai was still craning his neck to look. "Are you kidding me? Is there a bird?"
"Really? You'll be able to see it soon." Zhang Xiaotian laughed heartily, "Sit back a little, or you'll fall down again."
The rubber boat drifted downstream along with the current. The air around was moist and fresh. It was quiet for a while and only his and Lu Bai's laughter could be heard. Zhang Xiaotian stood up after laughing enough and looked at Lu Bai who was sitting opposite him. He thought that he would never have the chance to meet Lu Bai again, but he didn't expect that not only did they meet now, but they were also roommates and could travel together. The gap that he thought would be a regret was now filled in a perfect way. This feeling was like a dream. Lu Bai happened to look at him, and when their eyes met, it was as if there was a flame burning, burning Zhang Xiaotian's heart, and he couldn't move his eyes away for a while.
"Why are you looking at me?" Lu Bai straightened his hair. "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing." Zhang Xiaotian finally pulled his gaze away from Lu Bai's face and looked at Lu Bai's hand holding the stick. "I just remembered that we talked about having a chance to travel."
"There will be plenty of opportunities in the future." Lu Bai pounded the shore with a wooden stick, and the kayak drifted towards the other side of the river. "You should start thinking about where we'll go next time."
"That's too early to think about it."
"It's not too early. Think of two more and make a list." Zhang Xiaotian felt Lu Bai's gaze fall heavily on him, and his tone suddenly had a hint of promise. "When the time comes, we'll go together and tick a box... Oh, I'll go!"
Suddenly, water came from nowhere and poured onto Lu Bai, startling them both. Zhang Xiaotian looked back and saw a child from an unknown family splashing water everywhere with a water gun. The adults sitting nearby quickly restrained the child and apologized loudly to them.
"Damn, you scared me! Is this water clean? It got all over me!" Lu Bai wiped his face. "Tian'er, did you bring toilet paper?"
"I have some. Here you go." Zhang Xiaotian took out the tissue he brought with him and handed it to him. "You also said you wanted to bring a camera."
"Fortunately I didn't bring it." Lu Bai wiped the water off his face and quickly made a face at the naughty kid.
"Childish." Zhang Xiaotian laughed at him again.
"We should also buy a water gun." Lu Bai picked up his wet collar.
"It's not over yet?" Zhang Xiaotian said, "Why did you buy a water gun? Do you want to spray it back?"
"I bought a water gun," Lu Bai brushed off his pants and suddenly reached out to scoop up a handful of water and threw it towards Zhang Xiaotian. "Of course I bought the water gun to spray you, hahahahaha!"
"Hey! Lu Bai!" Zhang Xiaotian only had time to close his eyes before he was doused. "You just said the water wasn't clean!"
"I'm all wet, and I can't leave you dry!" Lu Bai pushed again, with a bigger movement, and the kayak shook a little.
Zhang Xiaotian didn't even bother to cover his face anymore and quickly grabbed the handles on both sides: "Stop messing around! Lu Bai! You'll fall over in a moment!"
"Tian'er! Turn around!" Lu Bai suddenly sat up straight, "Look over there!"
Zhang Xiaotian subconsciously turned around, and the flash went off. "What?" Zhang Xiaotian hadn't reacted yet.
"Ah, it turns out to be a camera." Lu Bai smiled evilly.
"You sat down straight ahead of time without even telling me." Zhang Xiaotian glanced at him.
"If I told you in advance, you wouldn't know what expression to make. This is perfect, we want a surprise attack!" Lu Bai said.
What a twisted theory! Zhang Xiaotian curled his lips.
They soon reached the end, and staff collected the life jackets and kayaks of the two people.
"We just took a set of 21 beautiful photos for you two on the way. Do you want them?" An older sister with a QR code came over and asked.
"No," Zhang Xiaotian said. It would definitely be an ugly photo.
"Yes, of course I don't want two!" Lu Bai paid quickly and brought back two photos. Zhang Xiaotian took a look and found them really ugly.
"It's so ugly, the face is crooked, why did you buy it?" Zhang Xiaotian scolded him, "You really have too much money to spend."
"Just keep it as a souvenir. Besides, it's pretty good, hahahaha. I don't dislike you!" Lu Bai felt good about himself and put the photo away like a treasure. "Let's go, let's go somewhere else."
The two of them strolled around the street for a while, had lunch at a nearby snack stall, and then returned to the hotel to rest for a while.
"Let's go to the night market in the evening. It is said that the night market here is also famous." Lu Bai said while looking at his strategy.
"You really just eat wherever you go." Zhang Xiaotian said.
"Why? Food is the most important thing for people. Eating is a big deal!" Lu Bai said with a sigh, "Besides, my strategy isn't just about eating."
"Then tell me more, anything else." Zhang Xiaotian lay on the bed with only one eye exposed, looking at him.
"There are plenty!" Lu Bai fiddled with his phone. "Let's go to the history museum tomorrow morning. We can also go to the zoo in the afternoon."
"Okay, I'll take a nap. We'll go to the night market tonight."
After the excitement of rafting wore off, Zhang Xiaotian felt tired all over and seemed like he could fall asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.
"Go to sleep. You look tired." Lu Bai's voice seemed to be very far away. Zhang Xiaotian forced himself to listen to his words and fell into a deep sleep.
Zhang Xiaotian slept until dark, and when he opened his eyes, he was still not fully aware of what was happening. The quilt he was wearing must have been covered by Lu Bai. There was no light in the room, only the faint white light from his phone reflected on Lu Bai's face.
Zhang Xiaotian called out to him, "Lu Bai, why don't you turn on the light when you wake up?"
Seeing that he was awake, Lu Bai stood up and walked to the switch. "I just woke up too. Close your eyes. I'm going to turn on the light."
Zhang Xiaotian closed his eyes obediently.
The light was turned on with a click, making the night outside even darker.
"What time is it?" Zhang Xiaotian asked.
"Eight o'clock." Lu Bai walked over and sat next to Zhang Xiaotian.
Zhang Xiaotian looked out the window: "Is it still too late to go to the night market?"
"Of course we're still in time." Lu Bai said, "Please pack up and we'll go downstairs."
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