Chapter 23
Li Ye sat down a step behind Yao Yao in the waiting room. Even after walking such a long way, the blush on her face hadn't completely faded. After sitting down, she took out a wet wipe from her backpack, spread it out, and covered her face, trying to cool it down.
Luckily, she hadn't put on much makeup today, otherwise she wouldn't have done something so unladylike. Li Ye unfolded the wet wipe, folded the side that had been in contact with her face, and used the clean side to wipe the back of her neck, hoping that physical cooling would be effective.
Yao Yao watched with a face full of curiosity, and was the first to lose in the contest of who would lose patience first, "Did you and him just kiss?"
Li Ye's attempt to cool down her face was a complete failure. Now, the two blushes on her cheeks had spread to her entire face, making her look like a kettle about to boil over.
Without speaking, Li Ye simply shook her head slightly to indicate that there had been no kiss. She dared not speak at the moment, completely unaware of what kind of noise she would make if she opened her mouth now; it was too embarrassing.
Yao Yao unfolded the thin blanket and covered Li Ye's head, casually moving Li Ye's long and smooth braid, and said self-deprecatingly, "Now I'm really the only one who has never experienced love. None of the blind dates I went on during the New Year were decent. What should I do?"
Several minutes later, Li Ye, having calmed down, hugged the thin blanket to her chest. Her face had turned rosy, and after a few tries, she successfully regained her voice.
"When did you start thinking about dating? It's not like you just go on blind dates when you think about marriage."
Yao Yao was also helpless: "Putting aside age, my conditions aren't that great, but they're not that bad either. The people my family introduces should at least look presentable. Or is it that my appearance is like that in their eyes?"
“When I really want to get married, I will take the initiative to go on blind dates.” Yao Yao was indignant when she thought about missing Zeng Yuan’s wedding last year. “Why did they have to choose me for the business trip at that time? I haven’t even been to your and Zeng Yuan’s hometown yet.”
"If you had attended Zeng Yuan's wedding, you might actually be going on blind dates now. You and your childhood sweetheart need to work harder."
Ignoring Yao Yao's hints, Li Ye abruptly changed the subject, bringing up the trip himself, "Did you look at the travel itinerary I sent you?"
Yao Yao hadn't originally intended to delve into Li Ye's emotional entanglements, as that required a specialist, so she went along with it and said, "I see, he's planning to travel all over Southern Xinjiang this month."
"It's not a good time to travel, but we want to see more natural scenery without being crowded, so our choices are very limited." Li Ye opened the travel guide document on his phone and pointed it out to Yao Yao. "This is the first version of the two-month travel guide."
Yao Yao opened the latest version of the travel guide in her hand and quickly noticed the biggest difference between the two versions. She couldn't help but ask, "The first version had so many cultural attractions. I still prefer the current version. Although the schedule is like a military training exercise, it's definitely better to see fewer people when you travel."
"I agreed to travel with you, just like you said, to get away and relax." Yao Yao asked the question she had been thinking about for the past few days, "So how did you come up with the idea of traveling together?"
Li Ye looked at Yao Yao with a curious expression: "You got caught, didn't you? You didn't read the group chat announcement carefully. This trip was also part of the plan. You were also in charge of photography and photo editing, and you even composited the game characters onto the photos."
"Huh? Shooting footage?" Yao Yao belatedly realized that there seemed to be such a thing. It's all because work is too mentally taxing. This time, she needs to adjust her mindset properly.
The flight was actually quite boring, so Li Ye took out the paper and pen he had prepared and continued to work on the storyboard for the animation. Yao Yao could also say a few words about it, and soon the two people sitting next to each other started discussing it quietly until the plane landed smoothly.
Li Ye, who was tired from traveling and didn't wear makeup, and Yao Yao, who didn't wear makeup when she wasn't working, were two young women with bare faces. They left the airport, took a taxi, and headed straight to their booked hotel. No matter when, traveling is always tiring, and they need to quickly replenish their energy.
This time, the two of them booked a double room, with one bed for each person so they wouldn't disturb each other. Li Ye sat on the bed and posted her daily update on WeChat Moments, a candid shot taken at the airport after landing. Within a minute, she received a video call from Zhou Yuan.
He rummaged through his backpack for his earphones, adjusted his sitting position on the bed, and when the video call connected, Zhou Yuan saw Li Ye wearing earphones, curled up at the head of the hotel bed.
"Didn't you book a private room?" Zhou Yuan could tell that it was a double room, which meant that he wouldn't be able to see Li Ye's face clearly during the next month of video chats.
Li Ye lowered his voice and explained one by one: "Saving money and safety are the top priorities; convenience for us to travel together is the second; and finding guesthouses instead of staying in hotels for extended periods is the third. Is that alright?"
Zhou Yuan's low voice also reached Li Ye's ears through the internet, "Mm."
Then the camera shifted, showing a recurring element in every video call after they went to the music school: Zhou Yuan practicing the violin. The piece he always played was "One Step Away." Every time the video call connected, the sound of the violin would play, and he would only say a few words after the practice session was over.
Today, the chat session was probably brought forward. As usual, Li Ye stared intently at Zhou Yuan on the screen, unable to tell whether she was listening to the violin music or Zhou Yuan's music.
It wasn't until Yao Yao, who had finished her nap, came over and shook her awake, asking Li Ye if she wanted to put on makeup and go out for food. Only then did she realize, with a start, that her piano practice had long since ended, and the video call hadn't ended. She had no recollection of falling asleep at that time, and her phone, which had gone from almost full to only 30% battery, was now dead.
Ignoring Zhou Yuan's reaction, Li Ye hung up the phone and started applying makeup while urgently charging her phone. One of the most insecure things in modern society is having a low phone battery.
Yao Yao didn't put on makeup as usual, but borrowed Li Ye's makeup mirror to comb her hair again. Li Ye also just put on some light makeup, and five minutes later, he went out with his phone, which had 45% battery left.
For their first meal after landing, dinner in Kunming, the two wanted something simple and safe, so after searching for a while, they found a rice noodle shop near the hotel.
"I suddenly remembered that the mushrooms here are very famous, aren't they?" Yao Yao asked Li Ye while waiting for the food to be served.
The shop owner, who was passing by, casually remarked, "It's not time yet, you're too early."
Li Ye replied, "I deliberately avoided the time when I eat mushrooms, and I'm not familiar with them. It would be risky for me to eat them alone."
"Two people won't work either. If something goes wrong, who will be able to tell the situation from our perspective?" Li Ye bluntly exposed Yao Yao's fantasy.
Hearing this, the proprietress smiled and brought over two bowls of rice noodles. Li Ye ordered chicken soup rice noodles, and Yao Yao ordered rice noodles. Before eating, Li Ye took out his phone to take a picture.
"Do we have to film this too? The camera is still at the hotel. I thought we were just going out for dinner." Yao Yao raised her chopsticks but saw Li Ye's actions and didn't dare to pick them up.
After quickly snapping a picture of the food and putting away his phone, Li Ye noticed Yao Yao's misunderstanding and began to explain, "It's just for posting on WeChat Moments. I would have told you before we set off if we really needed to take some footage."
Li Ye started eating, and only after seeing her swallow the first bite of rice noodles did Yao Yao start eating, which was both funny and exasperating.
"Move a little to the right, make your hand movements a little bigger, and make your expression more natural."
"Okay! Let's change our pose and keep shooting."
The next day, the two, fully equipped, set off for the famous Dianchi Lake. Li Ye chose the most suitable outfit based on the temperature of the day, while Yao Yao carried a camera and accessories.
The weather was perfect when they arrived, and there weren't many people. They found a spot and stood there, which made for great photos. The two of them first took a few photos together, and then started taking photos in Li Ye's photography mode, with photographer Yao Yao on the job.
After taking the cable car to Xishan, the two still went to the Ethnic Village, because it was right there and hard to completely ignore. They had a lot of fun inside, but it was a bit of a pity that they only took a panoramic group photo outside the village at the beginning.
"Do we have to get up early tomorrow?" Yao Yao asked, standing at the bathroom door, holding her freshly washed hair in one hand and a hairdryer in the other.
Li Ye was editing his WeChat Moments for the day: "Yes, tomorrow I'm going to the Stone Forest, the day after tomorrow I'm going to Guandu Ancient Town and visiting a museum."
"Anything else?"
Li Ye stopped typing. "What else? Do you really think you're here for training? You've been working non-stop for days. Don't you need to go back to the city to enjoy some good food and relax? The itinerary can be changed."
"Taking photos is much more tiring than I thought." Li Ye unconsciously rubbed his arms, which had been almost constantly in use all day.
After drying her hair, Yao Yao sat on her bed. "I was holding the camera the whole time, and my hand was still sore."
Li Ye's fulfilling journey is being updated daily in his WeChat Moments. Apart from the daily video call, this is the only two ways Zhou Yuan can see Li Ye.
After saying goodbye at the airport, Zhou Yuan had many questions for Li Ye and wanted to ask them directly in a video call. However, after each piano practice session, he would forget what he wanted to say, and the conversation would consist of repetitive questions about whether he was tired or not, without any substantial content.
Li Ye answered seriously every time, yet it seemed he didn't expect Zhou Yuan to ask about that day. Li Ye praised Zhou Yuan for his strong initiative, but now Zhou Yuan was hesitant.
Li Ye sometimes does daring things, but afterwards she is often filled with fear for a long time. She is not really daring. Zhou Yuan is not sure whether Li Ye is actually taking a step or just pretending to test the waters.
"Ring ring!"
It was time to make the call. Zhou Yuan picked up his violin and turned on his phone, putting aside all his previous random thoughts. Now, all he wanted was for Li Ye to see him.
Li Ye sat on the bed, her phone with earphones plugged in wasn't playing music or videos. She was holding her laptop, looking at the photos she had taken that day, trying to figure out which ones could be used as backgrounds for composites.
His gaze kept shifting from the computer screen to the phone screen, and he was clearly wearing headphones, so he could know as soon as a video came in. This made it seem like Li Ye was inefficient and wasting time.
After saving her progress, Li Ye simply closed and put down her laptop, then leaned against the headboard with her phone in her arms, scrolling through the screen without opening any apps. What was she doing?
The phone rang, and Li Ye answered immediately. Her earphones started working, and the melodious violin music conveyed a sense of reluctance. In her eyes, there was indeed the figure of the violinist.
Li Ye wondered, is this the longing that comes with being separated from someone after falling in love?
The journey she had been looking forward to had only just begun, but she was already thinking about returning home.
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