"Nianhua, once the photo gets an award, we’ll split the prize money in half!" Pei Yining was hell-bent on winning this thing, she felt that if her photo didn’t win an award, it would be downright abnormal.
"Okay, I’ll be waiting for your prize money then," Xu Nianhua said with a smile, and added, "It’s hot, don’t run out under the big sun, be careful of heatstroke."
She reminded her, noticing that Pei Yining had gotten quite tan before the summer was even over. She just couldn’t sit still at home and always thought about going out.
"I know, don’t worry, I’ll definitely take good care of myself," Pei Yining kept Xu Nianhua company all the way to the platform, urging her to have a safe trip, to call home upon arrival, or to chat whenever she had free time.
"You should head back," Xu Nianhua urged Pei Yining to leave, her gaze lingering on Pei Yining. After they finished talking, she also reminded Cheng Hao to take care of Xu Nianhua on the way.
Seeing this, Xu Nianhua felt a quiet sigh of relief in her heart; Pei Yining was already chatting naturally with Cheng Hao, and when she brought him up, she no longer seemed as dejected as before.
All the luggage Xu Nianhua planned to take back was carried by Cheng Hao.
"Cheng Ge said to take good care of you on the road. I have no luggage, so I’ll help you carry it," Cheng Hao insisted on carrying the luggage, allowing Xu Nianhua to travel light. On the train, Cheng Hao took very good care of her throughout the journey.
Watching her make notes in her book on the way back, Xu Nianhua thought to herself that Zou Yaru must be regretting now. No, Zou Yaru was already regretting, but alas, there was no medicine for regret in this world.
Arriving early in the morning at South City, Xu Nianhua got off the train and bumped into Xu Nianji at the station.
"Big brother!" Xu Nianhua excitedly looked at Xu Nianji, completely not expecting that he would be here.
"Why are you at the train station? Do you have something to do?"
Xu Nianhua asked curiously.
"Waiting for you!" Xu Nianji looked Xu Nianhua over, who looked as pretty as before, with that same brilliant smile on her face. He felt relieved and said, "I guessed you’d be back these days, so I made a special trip to check. I didn’t expect that you really came back, and you even mentioned calling."
"I’m not a three-year-old child; you didn’t need to come pick me up." Xu Nianhua thought it would be a bother, which is why she hadn’t informed her big brother to come pick her up, and didn’t expect that he would actually make a special trip to wait for her.
"Cheng Hao, you’re back in South City too?" Xu Nianji finally noticed Cheng Hao standing to the side and greeted him.
"Yes, I just need to check the factory, so I came back with Nianhua. It’s good to have someone to accompany her on the road," Cheng Hao explained.
Xu Nianji took over the luggage and kept thanking Cheng Hao. The trip back to the county went smoothly. Cheng Hao planned to first drop off the things he brought to Du Chang.
"I’ll walk you there," Xu Nianji offered, but Cheng Hao said it wasn’t necessary and that he wanted to walk alone.
Shortly after Cheng Hao got out of the car, Xu Nianhua noticed that Cheng Hao had left a bag behind. She and Xu Nianji went to deliver it to Cheng Hao, but after just a few steps, they saw Cheng Hao run into someone at the corner of the street.
"Is that..." Xu Nianhua looked uncertainly at the person, and after a moment, she asked, "Big brother, isn’t that Zou Yaru’s mother?"
She had seen her once or twice, but wasn’t entirely certain.
"It is," Xu Nianji said. He was close to Cheng Hao and had also met Zou Yaru’s mother.