The journey was rough and bumpy, taking four hours, and Cheng Hao had thrown up everything in his stomach, leaving him utterly disoriented.
This damned place, why are the roads so terrible!
From yesterday to today, Cheng Hao had only eaten the instant noodles in his bag. Fortunately, he had bought quite a few before leaving; otherwise, he might not even have afforded instant noodles.
As soon as he got off the bus, Cheng Hao didn’t care about anything else and just sat down on a roadside stone, waiting until he had finished throwing up, which finally made him feel a lot better.
Compared to Ningbei, Gaoliang County was indeed an extremely backward county town—the tallest building was only six stories high!
Where does Brother Cheng live again?
Cheng Hao rotated his eyeballs, looked around the backward county town, and thought that when he saw Pei Yicheng, he definitely needed to properly acknowledge his hardships.
There was a restaurant by the road, the smell of food wafting through the air. Cheng Hao pinched the twenty yuan in his pocket. The bus fare today cost ten yuan, leaving him with twenty yuan that he had hesitated to spend in South City, fearing what would happen if he couldn’t find Brother Cheng!
Now that he had almost reached Gaoliang County, Cheng Hao thought he should treat himself to a good meal. He ordered a portion of braised pork, a portion of stir-fried chili with eggplant, and ate three full bowls of rice, finishing all the dishes. His empty stomach was finally satisfied.
To have a place to stay at night, Cheng Hao started asking around. Fortunately, he had Pei Yicheng’s address. As he inquired and walked, just when he was too tired to walk any further, he saw a young man and woman. The man looked sunny and handsome, while the woman, although in the most ordinary clothes, had a face full of youth and beautiful eyes that sparkled.
Cheng Hao immediately ran up to them.
"What are you doing?"
Xu Nian’an, looking at Cheng Hao who suddenly rushed up, quickly pulled Xu Nianhua behind him, watching Cheng Hao warily. Cheng Hao’s clothes were neat, but his exhaustion was unmistakable—yet, his eyes were too bright when looking at his younger sister.
"Don’t misunderstand; I just want to ask about this place." Cheng Hao glanced at Xu Nianhua, who Xu Nian’an was blocking, and thought to himself that even in this backward county, there was such a charming girl.
Hearing it was just a question about directions, Xu Nian’an secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He took the paper, glanced at the address, and the more he looked, the more familiar it seemed—wasn’t this Pei Yicheng’s home?
Xu Nian’an scrutinized Cheng Hao again, this time more carefully. The man had a decent appearance, but was a bit unkempt, his beard having grown quite long.
"Do you know where this is?" Cheng Hao asked with a face full of hope.
"Why are you going there?" Xu Nian’an asked instead of answering. "Are these people your relatives?"
As Cheng Hao replied, he suddenly asked Xu Nian’an, "Do you know Brother Cheng?"
Xu Nian’an was sure now—the scruffy man in front of him was indeed looking for Pei Yicheng. However...
Xu Nian’an asked, "Are you younger than Brother Cheng?"
After being corrected by Ji Ying a few times, Xu Nian’an had started calling him Brother Cheng along with Ling Dong.
He examined Cheng Hao again, who seemed older than Pei Yicheng.
He was only twenty-two years old, a year younger than Brother Cheng. Did he really look that old?
Cheng Hao touched his chin, feeling a face full of stubble. Thinking of the hardships of the past few days, he immediately forgot about the concern over his age and said, " Can you take me to find Brother Cheng?"
Since it was someone Pei Yicheng knew, Xu Nian’an naturally wouldn’t refuse.
Along the way, Xu Nian’an found out that his name was Cheng Hao and that he had grown up with Pei Yicheng from childhood.