travel
The wind at the end of June, with the unique heat and freedom of summer, blew away the last trace of haze.
The long summer for teenagers has officially begun.
Before Xu Zhiyi and Song Chengrui's date plan could even begin, a phone call from Zhang Ningxia disrupted it.
"Come out, come out! Everyone, come out! Celebrate our escape from suffering and our journey to a brighter future!"
Zhang Ningxia's voice on the other end of the phone was full of energy, and the background sound was mixed with the laughter of several other familiar people.
So, the original world of two people turned into a small class reunion.
The venue was set at the KTV that we often go to. It was said that the squad leader Peng Shiming had already generously booked the largest private room.
When Song Chengrui naturally took Xu Zhiyi's hand and walked into the box, there was already a mess inside.
Zhang Ningxia was holding the microphone and screaming a passionate rock song. When she saw them come in, the singing stopped abruptly. She widened her eyes, pointed at their clasped hands, and let out an exaggerated gasp.
“Whoa—!”
The box instantly became quiet, and everyone's eyes were focused on them.
Others cheered: "Good job, Song Chengrui! You're quick enough!"
Xu Zhiyi's cheeks felt slightly hot, and she subconsciously wanted to pull her hand back, but Song Chengrui held it even tighter.
He looked calm, but the blush at the base of his ears betrayed him. He cleared his throat and said, "Yes, we are together."
"Congratulations!"
"Oh, bless you guys!"
“We must treat you!”
Blessings and teasing instantly overwhelmed them.
Zhang Ningxia rushed over, hugged Xu Zhiyi, and whispered excitedly in her ear, "I didn't expect you to be so blatant."
Xu Zhiyi found a place to sit down and whispered, "I didn't intend to be so high-profile, but you all know... He won't let go."
Zhang Ningxia rolled her eyes at her, having already seen through her thoughts. "Come on, that's exactly what you want. It prevents him from attracting other men. Now he's taken! How wonderful."
The atmosphere quickly became lively again, and became even more lively because of the newly-revealed young couple.
Zheng Yan, standing by, smiled and pushed the song selection screen in front of them: "A love song duet must be arranged!"
Song Chengrui and Xu Zhiyi looked at each other, and amid everyone's cheers, they chose a soothing love song.
When the melody sounded, the two held the microphones and their eyes met. The sweetness and uneasiness described in the lyrics were so consistent with the mental journey they had just experienced.
At first, they were a little hesitant to let go, but as they sang, they became immersed in the tacit understanding that belonged to each other. The noise in the box seemed to fade away, leaving only their own reflections in each other's eyes.
When the song ended, the applause and whistles almost blew the roof off.
Zhang Ningxia covered her heart and acted intoxicated: "It's too sweet, I'm choking!"
When they were tired of singing, a group of people would huddle on the sofa, eating snacks, drinking drinks, and chatting about all sorts of things.
Qin Mingyue raised her Coke cup and said loudly:
"Come on, let's drink a toast to finally getting rid of the five-year college entrance exam and three-year mock exams!"
"Cheers!" More than a dozen cups clinked together, the crisp sound mixed with the hearty laughter of the teenagers, filled with the breath of youth.
Zheng Yan suggested taking a short trip without any preparation.
Led by Peng Shiming, five or six people hit it off and decided to go to a newly developed ancient town in a neighboring city for two days and one night.
They squeezed into a shaky long-distance bus, sharing the same pair of headphones, and the scenery outside the window switched from high-rise buildings in the city to rice fields in the countryside.
In the ancient town, they strolled along the bluestone roads and lingered in the specialty shops. Xu Zhiyi and Zhang Ningxia bought the same hand-woven bracelet, while Song Chengrui secretly bought a small and exquisite silver bookmark for Xu Zhiyi.
At night, we stayed in a homestay by the river. Everyone crowded on the terrace to play Werewolf. The laughter and noise attracted the attention of many tourists, and some even held up their mobile phones to record them.
But they don't care much about it. Instead, they are immersed in this atmosphere of freedom.
Before leaving, Xu Wangping repeatedly reminded Xu Zhiyi to be careful and they also agreed to have video calls twice a day.
In order to have a quiet journey, Xu Zhiyi had no choice but to do everything he was told.
She was standing at the gate of the B&B. She had just hung up the phone and was about to turn around when she saw Song Chengrui's face.
She was a little surprised, "Hey, why did you come downstairs?"
Song Chengrui leaned against the door with the fruit in his hand. He walked forward again after seeing that she had finished her business.
"I didn't see you. I heard from Zhang Ningxia that you came downstairs to make a phone call."
"Yeah, just finished." Xu Zhiyi saw him handing over the plate, reached out and took a grape and put it in his mouth.
“So sweet.”
Song Chengrui smiled and said, "It seems that I picked a pretty good one."
He and Xu Zhiyi walked side by side, and they found a bench at the door and sat down. The sky was dotted with stars, and there was a hint of peace and comfort in the tranquility.
He placed the fruit plate on his lap and tilted his head towards the person next to him, "Is your father still worried?"
Xu Zhiyi smiled helplessly, "He never feels at ease. He calls me twice a day without fail, and we keep talking."
Song Chengrui sighed softly, "How should I put it? Actually, he just cares about you."
"I know," Xu Zhiyi took another grape. "I love them too, but sometimes I feel like they're controlling me too much. I'm always torn between loving them and feeling guilty about them. It's so annoying and tiring."
"Just let it be." Song Chengrui lifted the fruit plate. "Look, my parents' care is like this plate of grapes. It's sweet to take a bite occasionally, but it gets greasy if you eat too much. It's just the right amount to satisfy your cravings during travel. Sometimes you just need to find a balance."
Xu Zhiyi looked at him softly, "Have you mastered this balance?"
"without."
"Hahahaha, you're still talking to me so clearly!"
Xu Zhiyi burst out laughing, and then heard Song Chengrui add, "Isn't this just trying hard?"
Xu Zhiyi pinched a grape and handed it to his mouth: "Here, this is your reward. Although it's not done yet, you got full marks for theoretical knowledge!"
Song Chengrui was stunned, then lowered his head and opened his mouth to bite the grape. Xu Zhiyi quickly withdrew his fingertips, but seemed a little more flustered.
Song Chengrui swallowed the grape and looked at her, "It's really sweet."
It seems to have a hidden meaning.
Suddenly, something was stuffed into Xu Zhiyi's hand. "This is for you."
Xu Zhiyi was a little stunned, looking down at the exquisite bookmark in his hand, "What is this?"
"Something for you."
"When did you buy it?"
"When you bought the bracelet when I first came here, I thought it looked nice, so I bought it."
He was a little cautious and looked at her tentatively, "You...see how it goes."
Xu Zhiyi solemnly took the bookmark in her hand, looked at it carefully again and again, and answered him seriously: "I like it very much. It looks very nice. Thank you."
Song Chengrui seemed a little shy and turned his head away, "No...you're welcome."
Suddenly, the sound of a window opening was heard above their heads. Zhang Ningxia stuck his head out and shouted at them.
"Hey, you two sneakers, come up quickly, we're short of a judge."
"Oh, I see!" Xu Zhiyi raised his head and responded to her, waving his hand, "I'll be right there."
After she finished speaking, she lowered her head and looked at Song Chengrui, "Let's go. Let's go up."
"good."
The two of them talked and laughed as they walked upstairs.
When Xu Zhiyi and Song Chengrui returned to the room, they found a few unfamiliar faces in the living room.
Zhang Ningxia came over and explained with a smile: "These are the people next door. We were short of people and they also know how to play, so we called them to join us."
Everyone has reshuffled and prepared for the next round.
Zhang Ningxia put the cards into Xu Zhiyi's hand:
"Come on, come on. You were the only one away just now. You be the judge this time."
The game went on until late at night, and it was not until the owner of the B&B came up to remind them that the group left reluctantly.
Xu Zhiyi and Zhang Ningxia slept in the same room. They lay in bed unable to sleep and started gossiping again.
"Honestly," Zhang Ningxia turned sideways to face her, "how do you feel about being with Song Chengrui?"
Xu Zhiyi stared at the ceiling and thought for a moment: "It's just... I feel at ease. When I'm with him, everything feels good."
Zhang Ningxia clicked her tongue twice: "The sour smell of love."
"What about you?" Xu Zhiyi turned to look at her, "Do you have someone you like?"
Zhang Ningxia snorted, "I'm not like you, giving up so early. I want to play for a few more years."
Xu Zhiyi hugged the pillow and complained, "Oh my, who was it that was so obsessed with chasing after the handsome guy in the first place?"
"Oh no!" Zhang Ningxia wanted to hide her head in the quilt. "That's old news. Don't talk about it anymore!"
The two chatted from the beginning of their freshman year to their future universities, even fantasizing about their future jobs and marriage, until Xu Zhiyi's eyelids started to droop, "Let's go to sleep... If you don't sleep now, it will be dawn..."
Early the next morning, Xu Zhiyi was awakened by the deafening sound of firecrackers outside.
"Why is it so noisy..." She rubbed her eyes and sat up.
"It seems someone is getting married today," Zhang Ningxia muttered while hugging the quilt. "It's too early! It's not even daybreak yet..."
After washing up and walking out of the room, they found Song Chengrui and Peng Shiming already sitting in the courtyard of the B&B.
"You guys really know how to enjoy yourself." Zhang Ningxia exclaimed.
Song Chengrui closed the book, looked at Xu Zhiyi with a smile, and said in an especially gentle voice: "Awake?"
Xu Zhiyi nodded and sat down next to him.
Song Chengrui poured her a glass of warm water and handed it to her, "Take a couple of sips first, then we'll go for a walk around the neighborhood."
The four of them went to have a local breakfast together, and then the others woke up one after another.
The itinerary for this day was relatively casual, and everyone decided to go their separate ways and gather again in the evening to return.
Xu Zhiyi and Song Chengrui chose a rarely visited alley and explored it slowly.
In an old bookstore, they found a yellowed local gazetteer. They flipped through the book together, heads leaning against each other, and marveled at the legends of the ancient town recorded in the book.
"Do you want to go look for the century-old wishing tree mentioned in the book?" Song Chengrui suggested.
Following the description in the book, they walked downstream along the river for about twenty minutes, and sure enough, they found the ancient tree covered with red silk on a small hillside.
Under the tree sat an old man selling wishing silk.
"Young man, write a wish and hang it up. It will be very effective." The old man handed over two pieces of red silk with a smile.
Xu Zhiyi took the pen and turned sideways to cover his own writing.
Song Chengrui also turned around, and the two of them wrote down their wishes back to back in tacit understanding, and then tied the red silk to the branches together.
"What wish did you make?" Song Chengrui couldn't help asking when they were going down the mountain.
Xu Zhiyi smiled slyly: "It won't work if I say it out loud. But... maybe it's similar to yours."
"Then my wish is," he suddenly stopped and looked at her seriously, "I hope this day will come to me every year."
Xu Zhiyi was stunned and his heart skipped a beat.
He said this subtly, but his meaning was clear as day.
"Greedy," she turned her face away, her ears red.
"Isn't one year enough?"
"Not enough," he chuckled, reaching out to touch her cheek gently, "not even a lifetime."
On the return bus, Xu Zhiyi fell asleep leaning on Song Chengrui's shoulder.
Song Chengrui carefully adjusted his posture to make her more comfortable. He gently held her hand, interlocking their fingers.
Xu Zhiyi unconsciously rubbed against his arms in her sleep, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised.
Zhang Ningxia, who was sitting in the back row, witnessed all this and silently took out his mobile phone to take a photo and posted it in the small group.
Caption: [I can’t bear to watch it, I really can’t bear to watch it. ]
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