Chapter 25 Chapter 25 Getting Ready to Go

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"Zixuan, Zihan, slow down, walk slower!"

The streets were shrouded in thick fog and were pitch black, like a bottomless abyss, but from above the abyss, clear laughter could be heard from time to time, easily driving away the panic and confusion lurking in the darkness.

Visibility became even lower after nightfall. Four people, with a group of small followers, walked in the deserted street in the dim light of flashlights.

Liang Zhao walked in front and led the way, pushing an old-fashioned human-powered tricycle with difficulty. The large and small bags on the tricycle contained all the supplies of the Sunshine Kindergarten, which Wei Qianlan and Zhou Qin had dug out from the ruins these days.

Gu Mengran followed closely with two flashlights, shining one beam of light at Liang Zhao's feet and one beam of light beside himself, acting conscientiously as a lighting master.

Children's bracelet spring rope is a good thing. Wei Qianlan and Zhou Qin followed behind Gu Mengran, holding two children in each hand and leading a group of little ones along the way without any effort.

The weather was too hot and the children were all exhausted from the heat. In addition, there were strangers around, so they were a little shy. They didn't say a word on the way and just followed the teacher miserably.

But there are always a few cool people in a group of people, like the chubby boy who had heatstroke yesterday but is full of energy today, or the chubby little girl with double ponytails.

The two children became very interested in Gu Mengran. They stretched the spring ropes on their wrists to their longest lengths and, ignoring the teacher's dissuasion, they surrounded Gu Mengran from the left and right.

The little fat boy was not shy at all. He looked at Gu Mengran eagerly and chased him to ask questions: "Brother Tour Guide, where did you park your car? Teacher Wei said we are going to Yinan and it will take a very long time to sit in the car, right? Can I choose a seat by the window? I, I am a little carsick."

Before Gu Mengran could answer, the cute little girl next to him chirped, "There must be a lot of delicious food in Yinan City! Brother, what are they? Can you introduce them to us in advance?"

Guide, tour guide?

As soon as the two children opened their mouths, Gu Mengran was almost confused.

However, he reacted quickly, calmly lowered his surprised brow, smiled and said to the two children: "The bus is parked on the main road, and it will take a while to drive. Thank you for your hard work. There are many seats on the bus, and we will arrange window seats for you when the time comes."

"Really? Thank you, brother!" Xiaopang danced with joy.

"Of course, my brother never lies to children."

Gu Mengran smiled, facing the girl's expectant gaze, and said softly, "You are right. There are many delicious foods in Yinan. Have you seen cold shrimps? The sweet soup looks like shrimps, and it is sweet. There are also spring rolls, which are thin dough wrapped with shredded vegetables, crispy and delicious."

"Wow!" Zi Han was almost crying, and after swallowing, he asked, "Brother, can we take a plane? Can we get to Yinan as soon as possible? Then I'll ask my dad to buy some cold shrimp for me, my brother, and my teacher."

Gu Mengran raised his eyebrows slightly and asked casually, "Is your father in Yinan?"

Zi Han nodded like a little chicken pecking at rice, "Yes! Teacher Wei said that my father, mother, grandfather and grandmother are waiting for us in Yinan. They can't come to pick me up because they have important things to do. I have grown up, I have to be brave, I will follow the teacher to find them!"

"Brave? Hahaha... You are so brave, Song Zihan. Who was the one hiding and crying just now?"

"Zhang Zixuan you——I'm going to let my mother beat you up!"

"Lululu, I can't beat him. The teacher said my brother and mom are waiting for me in Yinan. He's already in primary school, you know? He's as strong as a bull!"

"I don't want to play with you anymore!"

…

The children were not afraid of the heat and were happily bickering with each other. Gu Mengran frowned and felt so suffocated that he could hardly breathe.

How long can a white lie last? Maybe they can get along peacefully along the way, but what will the children do when they learn the truth after reaching the end?

Living an isolated life in Huangjiang, Gu Mengran almost forgot that the real end of the world would be so cruel.

I was forced to slow down as I was hurrying with the child, and it took me almost two hours to see the bus, which was supposed to be a journey of more than an hour.

It was too hot, especially for the kids. Fortunately, the bus started early, the mist in the car dissipated, and the air conditioner kept running to cool the car, keeping the temperature at around 27 degrees.

The two teachers organized the group in an orderly manner and the children lined up obediently to get on the bus.

At first, they were like weeds withered by the sun on the roadside, with their heads drooping and looking weak. But as soon as they got on the bus, the refreshing cool air blew over their faces, and the little guys felt like they were bathed in spring breeze, and the withered leaves turned green again.

"Wow, what a big car! I want to sit in the first row."

"It's so comfortable. I'm not hot anymore after I come in."

"I, I want a seat by the window!"

As the cool breeze blew, the children instantly became energetic, running around in the carriage and choosing their seats excitedly.

"Don't rush. There are plenty of seats in the car. Each person can pick two seats next to each other, which will be convenient for sleeping at night. Once you have chosen, sit down and rest. Don't run around."

Zhou Qin instructed loudly, and the children said in unison: "Okay!"

Wei Qianlan was in charge of the front door and Zhou Qin was in charge of the back door. After the children got on the bus, they stood in front of the door and looked back at the carriage. Their foreheads were covered with fine beads of sweat, but their faces were filled with a relaxed and happy smile.

The two teachers did their job conscientiously. Gu Mengran stood on the side of the road for a while. Seeing that he could not help, he lifted up his coat to wipe the sweat from his forehead, then got into the car and opened the luggage rack guard.

Brand new, unopened T-shirts, carefully prepared snacks, pre-washed and dried fruits... Children can't control their appetites, and the food can't be shared all at once. Gu Mengran called Zhou Qin over and gave the supplies on the luggage rack to her for safekeeping.

Seeing the T-shirts and snacks, Zhou Qin silently sighed at how much supplies they had. But a bag of fresh fruit with water droplets hanging on it suddenly appeared in front of her, and for a moment, Zhou Qin thought she was hallucinating.

"What fresh fruits! We can actually eat fruits nowadays. Where did you find them here?" Zhou Qin was stunned. She took a lot of effort to move her eyes away from the red apples and looked at Gu Mengran in disbelief.

Although she was surprised, she lowered her voice deliberately so that the children could not hear her.

Gu Mengran took a deep breath and said calmly, "We came across a fruit shop that was almost intact on the way. We got some of the fruits there. As for these... we took a detour and saw a lot of fruit trees in the suburbs, so we picked them."

Without waiting for Zhou Qin to ask again, Gu Mengran said, "Give it to the children as you see fit. Of course, don't be polite and help yourself to food. The clothes are for adults, so you can only make do with them."

Gu Mengran paused, glanced at the exhausted children sitting in their seats, and said in a serious tone: "Don't be too stingy with food and drink, just eat when you need to, children are growing. You don't have to worry about supplies, we can still find them on the way. Since we have decided to go together, we will take care of these things."

A slightly hoarse voice echoed in the carriage, and Zhou Qin's eyes instantly turned red.

She moved her lips as if she wanted to thank Gu Mengran, but the sudden surge of emotions made her throat inexplicably tight and she couldn't make any sound.

"It's okay, it's okay. We are just helping out a little. You are good teachers with nice personalities and good hearts. Don't think too much and go to bed early." Gu Mengran said with a smile. He stretched out his hand and patted her shoulder gently, then walked past her to the driving seat.

The bus is complicated to operate, so Gu Mengran called Wei Qianlan to the driver's platform and taught her important matters such as how to close the door and how to adjust the air-conditioning temperature.

The visibility at night is pitifully low, so we are not going to leave tonight. I took the kids into the car so late at night mainly so that they can enjoy the air conditioning and have a good night's sleep.

After saying goodnight to the children, Gu Mengran got off the bus. Liang Zhao had just packed up the supplies on the tricycle and was pushing it towards the off-road vehicle in front.

When they passed by each other, Gu Mengran decisively called him, and then the two of them pushed the tricycle into the pitch-black fog and quietly put it into the space.

Tired, running around outside in the high temperature for a day is no less than moving bricks on a construction site for a day. Walking back to the SUV in the dim light, he gently opened the door, and the refreshing coolness drove away the heat. Only then did Gu Mengran feel that he was still alive.

The driver's seat was folded down, and the old man was lying on the seat holding a palm-leaf fan, sleeping soundly. His snoring, sometimes high and sometimes low, broke the tranquility of the night and added a touch of fireworks to the unfamiliar carriage.

Covered in sweat and stickiness, Gu Mengran sat in the back seat to enjoy the air conditioning for a while. He then decisively took Liang Zhao back to the space to take a shower, and fed some cabbage to the poultry and livestock in the space.

They had dinner early and felt hungry again when they came out. Gu Mengran took out two large bags of fluffy and soft old-fashioned hand-torn bread and ate them with Liang Zhao while drinking orange juice.

The packaging bag made a sizzling sound, and the two people were chewing quite loudly, but the old man didn't wake up at all despite the loud noise, and his snoring became louder and louder.

Gu Mengran was full and took out two big red apples to give to Liang Zhao. He didn't even wash them, let alone peel them. He just wiped the skin with a tissue and bit into them.

At this sound, the old man's nose twitched slightly and he sat up suddenly.

"Bang--"

The movement was too big, and the top of his head came into close contact with the roof of the car, but the old man didn't care. He turned around and looked at Gu Mengran, "Wow, I said I smelled apples, but you ate them alone!"

Gu Mengran took the apple under his nose and took a look to confirm that he was holding an apple and not a durian. He smiled and said jokingly, "Grandpa, you have a really good nose. When can you lend it to me?"

Jokingly, Gu Mengran took out an apple and threw it to his grandfather.

The old man took it steadily with both hands, without even wiping it, and took a big bite. He puffed up his cheeks and sighed with satisfaction: "It tastes just like this again, so crisp and sweet! Oh, it's been a long time since I last had fresh fruit, I'm so greedy."

Hearing this, Gu Mengran touched his nose unnaturally and muttered softly: "Grandpa, you sound like you are being treated unfairly. If you want to eat, just tell me. I only have one brain and sometimes I really forget because I am so busy."

"Hey, kid, you're going to throw this pot on my head?"

“That’s right!”

The pot has to be thrown away, but the food has to be eaten. There are still plenty of fruits in the space anyway, so Gu Mengran simply took out a small fruit plate and put some easy-to-eat fruits such as dates, crisp red plums, and cherries on it.

Seeing this, the old man finished the apple in a few bites, and then grabbed a handful of cherries to enjoy. As he ate, he seemed to finally remember the purpose of being here tonight, and suddenly stopped chewing and stared at Gu Mengran with wide eyes.

"Where are the children? Have you picked them up?"

Gu Mengran chuckled, "Guess?"

Meng Gaoyang: "You kid——"

"Don't worry, Master Meng. Everything has been arranged." Liang Zhao said in a deep voice, turning back and pointing at the rear windshield. "They will sleep in the back car tonight."

"That's good, that's good. I was completely sleepy."

The old man patted his chest and threw a cherry into his mouth. "How are we going to sleep tonight? The seats in the back can accommodate two people, but it's too crowded for three people. It's a bit cramped to lie down in the front and you can't even stretch your legs straight. "

Liang Zhao was tall and his grandfather was too fat, so Gu Mengran, who was only 1.8 meters tall, became the shortest.

Gu Mengran thought for a moment and said, "I'll sleep in the front, you guys squeeze in."

His eyes wandered between Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao. Meng Gaoyang groaned and smiled maliciously, "The bus is so spacious. How about I squeeze in the back and you two sleep here?"

"No." Gu Mengran refused.

The old man thought his grandson was embarrassed to be alone with Liang Zhao, and was about to tease him, but Gu Mengran suddenly became serious and said solemnly: "After all, we are three old men. It's okay during the day, but how can others sleep well if they sleep in a car with others at night?"

"They no longer have a home. The bus is their only place to stay. Give them some privacy and a sense of security."