Six-day itinerary: two days in Kun City, two days in Dali, two days in Shangri-La.
Jiuxiang Cave, Cang Mountain and Erhai, Meili Snow Mountain... They had seen every beautiful place in South of the Cloud, there’s a type of travel called "the scenery is on the road".
Because it was the off-season for tourism, there was no crowding in the scenic areas, nor was there any need to queue up, making their travel experience quite enjoyable.
On the last day, they donned traditional Tibetan attire and wandered under the ancient architecture of Songzanlin Temple, where the slanting sun cast the girls’ shadows on the yellow-white walls, intertwining innocence with antiquity at that moment.
For dinner, they enjoyed a local specialty, yak meat hotpot, putting a perfect end to this spur-of-the-moment trip.
At eight o’clock in the evening, they boarded the first-class cabin of a plane back to Hong Kong from Diqing Airport.
The short six-day, five-night journey had depleted the young people’s boundless vitality, and the five girls fell fast asleep with their eye masks on as soon as they boarded the plane.
Xu Qingfan recalled the experiences of the past few days. Whenever he thought of students of his age studying at Licheng Middle School miles away, he felt like an NPC who had strayed from its fixed location.
This feeling was like walking the bustling streets in a school uniform during school hours, feeling out of place as though one is the only outsider in this world.
Regardless of whether youth has a price tag, their youth would be without regrets, at least for now.
Xu Qingfan put the eye mask hanging around his neck back on and slowly closed his eyes...
After disembarking from the plane, they immediately boarded Zhang Chunxue’s pre-arranged business van. By the time they arrived back in Li City, it was nearly midnight.
After sleeping for over two hours on the plane, the five girls were now completely alert.
As the adults had been notified ahead of time of their return, they were all waiting at home.
Moreover, since the next day was Sunday, the night life of the people of Li City typically lasted until one or two in the morning, so it wouldn’t affect the adults’ rest.
After waving goodbye to Xiao Ruawen, the car accelerated and soon reached Lianhua Courtyard.
The several dogs in the yard barked when they sensed activity, as Xu Qingfan, Xia Xiaoxiao, and Wu Lingyu got off the car with all their luggage.
"Tomorrow... see you when I wake up!" Xu Qingfan realized it was already past midnight and corrected himself.
"Goodbye, Brother Qingfan!"
Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi leaned against the window, waving goodbye to them.
"Be safe and get some rest early when you get back," Zhang Chunxue also waved with a smile.
Only after watching the three return to the third floor did the car start up and leave Lianhua Courtyard.
"Auntie," Xu Qingfan and Wu Lingyu greeted along with Xia Xiaoxiao.
"Are you back already, was Kun City fun?" Lin Jing grasped Xia Xiaoxiao’s shoulders and scrutinized her, "You got a little tanner."
"The elevation is higher there. Auntie, have you had your late-night snack? I brought back some mushrooms; I’ll make you a mushroom soup!" Xu Qingfan said, patting his suitcase.
"Sure, I am actually a bit hungry!" Lin Jing’s smile was brimming with joy; Xia Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingyu had been gone for a few days, and she had been rather lonely at home alone. Now that they were back, everything seemed right again.
"You’re home and not coming in first; what, do you want to be a live-in son-in-law?" Yao Jinping and Xu Aiguo came out from the adjoining living room upon hearing the noises, scolding Xu Qingfan as they did so.
"You’re finally back. Not seeing you for a few days made us feel empty inside."
Xu Qingfan thought Yao Jinping’s words were meant for him and was about to feel touched when he saw that she overlooked him and wrapped one arm around Xia Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingyu, bringing them into her embrace.
"You’re back now, go take a shower," Xu Aiguo said indifferently, taking a cigarette out of the box and lighting it.
[So love can shift, huh?] Xu Qingfan pouted and pushed his suitcase into the house.
Upon opening the bedroom door after a week away, the room was still tidy. The air conditioner that had been placed haphazardly was folded neatly on the bed at some point, indicating that Yao Jinping had been helping clean his room during the week he was away.
"It looks like Mom still loves me," Xu Qingfan said softly, a bit touched as he muttered to himself, taking out his usual pajamas from the wardrobe.
After staying in five-star hotels for so many days, it turned out that the water heater at home was the most comfortable, with the perfect water pressure and temperature creating a unique muscle memory on his body.
After a quick and satisfying twenty-minute hot shower and drying off, he put on a loose sleep shirt. There probably wasn’t anything more comfortable than this.
When he returned to the living room, Yao Jinping had already sorted his luggage, with dirty clothes in the washing machine on the balcony, mushrooms in the kitchen, and some unnameable handicrafts left untouched.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Xu Qingfan entered the kitchen and found Yao Jinping preparing snacks for them.
"These are the mushrooms you brought back from Kun City? They seem to smell better than those bought at the market," Yao Jinping raised a mushroom to her nose to sniff.
"These are non-poisonous. The poisonous ones are more fragrant and tastier, but I didn’t dare to buy them because I don’t know how to cook them," Xu Qingfan said.
"Leave the rest for a three-fresh soup tomorrow," she said, taking half of the mushrooms out of the bag and into the sink. Turning around, she saw Xu Qingfan, still with damp hair standing at the kitchen doorway, and scolded, "Go blow-dry it with the hairdryer, or you’ll see how bad it is when you get old and have a stroke!"