Besides its famous hot springs, Qing City is also a popular tourist destination, ranking highly among other cities in terms of the number of tourists during the National Day holiday each year.
Fang Bai didn't want to stay in the hotel for several days, so on the way there he told Ji Yuning and Mu Xuerou that he would take them around.
So before going to bed, Fang Bai set an alarm clock, afraid that the two guys who were used to waking up early would be sitting in the living room waiting for her again, just like in the afternoon.
The next day, Fang Bai woke up to his alarm clock.
Fang Bai slipped on his slippers and opened the bedroom door. He subconsciously glanced at the spot where Ji Yuning and Mu Xuerou had done their homework the day before, only to see Ji Yuning wearing headphones with a book in front of her.
“…”
Okay, even with an alarm clock, she still couldn't wake up as early as Ji Yuning.
Fang Bai first went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water. After coming out of the kitchen, he walked closer to the sofa, glanced at it, and saw that it was an English book.
Noticing Fang Bai's approach, Ji Yuning took off one of her earphones and looked up.
Fang Bai's hair was a bit messy from sleeping, with a strand sticking up on top of his head, swaying playfully as he moved around.
However, Fang Bai didn't notice her hair at all, because she thought that since she got up early, no one would see her looking like she had just woken up when she went out to get a drink of water. After going out, she was attracted by Ji Yuning and had long forgotten about her appearance.
Fang Bai drank his water and said to Ji Yuning, "I ordered breakfast. Message Xiao Mu and tell her to come up for breakfast."
Ji Yuning's gaze lingered on the top of Fang Bai's head. "Mm."
Fang Bai noticed that Ji Yuning was looking at her and thought it was strange. Usually, Ji Yuning wouldn't even glance at her, but today she hadn't looked away.
Fang Bai sat down opposite Ji Yuning. There was a glass wall opposite them, and the reflection in the glass cast her shadow. Fang Bai saw her messy hair and raised his hand to smooth it.
After tidying up, Fang Bai noticed that Ji Yuning wasn't looking at her anymore, and thought to herself, "That's more like it."
Fang Bai would often find topics to chat about with Ji Yuning, and this time was no exception. As she drank her water, she asked, "What time did you wake up?"
Six o'clock.
Fang Bai hummed in agreement and continued, "What were you listening to?"
"word."
When the water in the glass is empty, it means the conversation is over.
Fang Bai put down his water glass. "I'm going to wash up. Remember to open the door later."
Fang Bai was afraid that Ji Yuning, focused on her studies, wouldn't hear the knocking.
Ji Yuning: "Mm."
When Fang Bai turned around, Ji Yuning took off her headphones and paused her phone.
After a quick wash, Fang Bai changed his clothes.
Fang Bai felt it didn't take long, but when she left the bedroom, Mu Xuerou had already arrived, and breakfast was already set on the table.
When Mu Xuerou saw Fang Bai, she immediately got up from the sofa and said obediently, "Good morning, Aunt Fang."
Fang Bai squinted: "Good morning~"
Fang Bai then looked at Ji Yuning, who was still studying, and said, "Let's eat first."
After the three of them sat down, they ate their meal in silence.
Fang Bai was full after eating only half a sandwich. She took out a tissue to wipe her hands and said, "You guys eat slowly, I'll go tidy up my things."
Fang Bai's bag was left on the sofa in the living room. She went back to the bedroom and packed everything she had brought out into the bag.
Three lollipops caught the eye of the two people sitting at the table.
Looking at the candy that Fang Bai had put into his bag, Mu Xuerou looked at Ji Yuning and said, "Yuning, I just asked the waiter, and she said that they sell candy in the children's area on the third floor of the hotel. Do you still want to buy some? I can go with you after dinner."
Last night, when Mu Xuerou returned to her room, she ran into Ji Yuning in the elevator, and Ji Yuning asked her if there was a place that sold candy.
Ji Yuning glanced at the sofa instantly, and seeing that Fang Bai probably hadn't heard the conversation, she relaxed her pursed lips slightly, "No need, I bought it."
Mu Xuerou said, "That's good."
Ji Yuning nodded, and seeing Mu Xuerou eating her meal in small bites, she whispered, "You..."
Mu Xuerou looked up. "Hmm?"
When Ji Yuning met Mu Xuerou yesterday, Mu Xuerou was flustered and her face was very red. But Ji Yuning was preoccupied with other things at the time, so she only asked Mu Xuerou a question in a hurry. After hearing that Mu Xuerou was fine, she didn't care anymore.
Now that Mu Xuerou was still thinking about what happened last night, Ji Yuning felt a little guilty and asked, "What happened to you yesterday?"
Mu Xuerou was stunned for a moment, then realized something, her face flushed red, and she quickly shook her head: "Ah? Ah, no, nothing."
Fang Bai walked over at this moment and asked softly, "What do you mean, 'nothing'?"
"N-nothing," Mu Xuerou stammered, afraid that Fang Bai and Ji Yuning would continue to ask questions, and quickly changed the subject, "Aunt Fang, you look really beautiful today."
"Thank you, you look beautiful too." Fang Bai could tell that Mu Xuerou didn't want to be pressed for answers, so he replied politely.
When praising someone, Fang Bai couldn't leave out Ji Yuning. He then turned to look at the other side, his smile tinged with tenderness, "Little Ning too."
Fang Bai's slightly smiling lips entered Ji Yuning's eyes along with the light.
She returned to her usual self, smiling.
For some reason, Ji Yuning always felt that the smile didn't reach her eyes; it was just a smile for the sake of making people think she was smiling.
“…”
After eating, the three rested for a few minutes before heading out.
After getting off the elevator, the group slowly walked towards the lobby.
The lobby was crowded. Besides the group of people at the front desk processing their paperwork, there were tourists like Fang Bai and her friends heading out to have fun.
Fang Bai glanced at the crowd. A figure flashed by, but Fang Bai didn't pay much attention and continued walking forward.
Just as Fang Bai turned the corner and stepped into the center of the hall, someone in the crowd whose gaze swept over him called out, "Aunt Fang!"
The voice sounded familiar.
Fang Bai and the other two stopped in their tracks and looked in the direction of the sound.
They saw... He Ziyan.
He Ziyan wore a light-colored short denim jacket, darker jeans, and pure white sneakers.
When He Ziyan walked up to the three of them, Fang Bai replied softly, "Classmate He."
He Ziyan snorted, "Why didn't Aunt Fang greet me when she saw me?"
Fang Bai raised an eyebrow, realizing that the familiar figure in the crowd was He Ziyan.
Mu Xuerou looked at the person in front of her and asked in confusion, "He Ziyan? What are you doing here?"
"Come and play."
He Ziyan glanced at Ji Yuning, who was standing behind Fang Bai and showed no reaction to her. After receiving a cold look from Ji Yuning, He Ziyan looked at Fang Bai again and asked, "Aunt Fang, are you going out?"
Fang Bai hadn't finished saying "hmm" yet.
He Ziyan then asked, "Can I come along?"
Despite being a pampered young lady who gets whatever she wants, she always acts like a good girl in front of Fang Bai.
Ji Yuning glanced at He Ziyan, parted her lips slightly, and said to the person in front of her, "The car has arrived at the door."
Fang Bai responded and looked at He Ziyan, "Does your mother know you're coming with us?"
Mentioning Zhu Ping, He Ziyan's expression darkened, and she pursed her lips, saying, "I came to Qing City alone."
He Ziyan kicked the ground with her toe and said in a sweet voice, "She and my dad are both busy with work. They gave me money to play by myself. The few people I used to play with all transferred schools and went abroad because of the Fang family incident. No one is with me. I saw Mu Xuerou's post on WeChat Moments and saw you guys here, so I came here specifically to find you."
“…”
Her parents didn't care, she had no friends, and she still came to find them specifically.
From any perspective, there is no reason to refuse.
Fang Bai breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Have you checked in yet?"
He Ziyan nodded and said, "It's all taken care of."
"Let's go then."
—
When Fang Bai said he would take the two of them to explore Qing City, Mu Xuerou told Fang Bai that she had already made a travel guide, so Fang Bai assigned the role of tour guide to Mu Xuerou.
Mu Xuerou blushed as she accepted the important task.
The car was arranged by the hotel, a sedan, which was supposed to have one person in the front seat and two people in the back seat, but because of He Ziyan's sudden appearance, three people had to sit in the back seat.
To make it easier for Mu Xuerou to communicate with the driver, Fang Bai had her sit in the front seat.
After Mu Xuerou got into the car, Fang Bai turned his head and saw that the other two were still standing there without moving.
Fang Bai frowned: "Why aren't you getting in the car?"
He Ziyan glanced at Ji Yuning; she also wanted to ask Ji Yuning this question.
Ji Yuning glanced sideways at He Ziyan, then silently walked around to the other side of the car.
Fang Bai could see it all clearly.
Didn't these two say they wanted to be friends? Why don't they want to sit next to each other anymore?
He then opened the door on the same side, got in the car, and waved to He Ziyan, "Get in."
After getting into the car, Fang Bai told the driver to follow Mu Xuerou's instructions completely, and to go wherever Mu Xuerou said to go.
The driver readily agreed.
Listening to the conversation between the two people in the front row, Fang Bai slowly closed his eyes.
The alarm was set too early.
She was so sleepy.
Fang Bai had originally planned to just take a nap, but as the car slowly started moving, she unknowingly fell asleep.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but at the exact moment the car stopped, Fang Bai opened his eyes.
The intertwined eyelashes parted, and the slightly heavy eyelids were lifted as the driver announced in a strong voice, "We've arrived."
But as soon as Fang Bai opened his eyes, he realized something was wrong.