It was difficult for Chen Yuan to explain everything clearly to Ke Bing.
They talked for a long ti.
But it ended on a sour note.
He could only drive back quickly. The traffic was smooth all the way, and it didn't take long for him to get back to the hotel.
...
On a road near the coast, an auntie pushed a tal cart, her lodious calls echoing as she walked, capturing the attention of passersby.
Although her dialect was a bit thick and hard to understand, it was far more pleasant than a recorded loudspeaker.
The two of them strolled under towering trees. Spaced about five ters apart, the large trees stretched their branches in the wind. Behind them were low-lying flower bushes.
The most imdiate thing Chen Yuan noticed after arriving in Sanya was how green everything was. As far as the eye could see, there was hardly a barren spot.
"Do you want so pineapple? I'll go buy so."
The sky in the distance was just beginning to set. Propped up by low mountains, fiery red clouds surged in clusters, looking like a blazing fire.
Before Jiangg Ning could even respond, Chen Yuan had already walked over and exchanged a few words with the auntie selling pineapple.
He then ca back holding two slices, one large and one small.
"Here." He held it out to her.
"Why are you eating such a small piece? Don't you like it?"
"Yeah, I've never been a fan of sour things, even as a kid. A little taste is enough for . I don't even really like apples, but my mom absolutely loves them," Chen Yuan took a bite of his pineapple and said with a smile. "You know how adults always use the excuse 'the kids love it' to buy things for themselves? So I always ate a ton of apples, and even asked for green apple flavored lollipops. That way, my mom could buy lots of apples without feeling guilty."
"Is that so..." Jiangg Ning didn't quite get it, but she understood the general aning behind Chen Yuan's words.
She had done social research before and knew that, in fact, many family dynamics in Huaxia were rather dysfunctional.
This "the kids love it" excuse was a classic example of such a pathological reason.
While the love for the child is real, there's no need to justify everything with that reason.
"You've probably never seen it in my small northern town. You know those semi-trucks that sell apples? They sell them by the bagful—ten, twenty pounds at a ti."
"Huh? That much? We always buy them by the piece."
The two continued their leisurely stroll, chatting idly.
After coming back from Ke Bing's place, Chen Yuan felt it was too boring to be cooped up in the hotel, so he ca out with Jiangg Ning.
Traveling didn't always have to an visiting beautiful sights every mont. A walk through the streets of an unfamiliar city had its own special charm.
Jiangg Ning was very drawn to the idea.
She recalled a line from a book by Camus: the easiest way to get to know a city is to find out how its people work, how they love, and how they die.
Now, she was listening to Chen Yuan talk about his hotown, a small, unremarkable county town.
Jiangg Ning listened intently.
She paid close attention to every word, as if trying to piece together the story of Chen Yuan's upbringing from these little fragnts.
'Getting to know him starting from age eighteen seed a little late, but not too late. There was still ti.'
"Back then, supermarkets weren't on every corner. The most common thing was the little convenience store at the school gate. Fruit from out of town was all shipped in on those big trucks, which is why people bought so much at once." Chen Yuan finished his pineapple in a few bites.
Beside him, Jiangg Ning thoughtfully pulled a tissue from her bag and handed it to him.
"Um... I've actually been a little curious, Chen... what's your family like?"
"Huh? What do you an, 'what kind'?"
"Well..." Jiangg Ning regretted blurting out the question and now scrambled for the right words. "I an, your family situation. Do they run a business in your small town? Or are your parents in industry?"
"A business? No way. I told you before that my mom's a teacher, but my dad is too. They both teach at the sa school."
"Huh?" Jiangg Ning was stunned. She found it hard to believe.
She had imagined that Chen's father was so kind of small-town tycoon, with a family fortune, albeit one limited to the local area.
Otherwise, how could Chen Yuan be so extravagant?
He was, after all, just an eighteen-year-old college student.
But he could afford to live in a high-end residential complex and stay in top-tier suites. When it ca to travel, he'd just up and leave at a mont's notice.
If he ca from an ordinary family, how could he do all that?
'It was completely impossible.'
It wasn't that Jiangg Ning cared about Chen Yuan's family status; she was just considering the logic of it all.
"I'm tired of walking. Let's sit for a bit."
Chen Yuan found a bench, gave it a few quick wipes with the tissue he'd used on his mouth, and sat down without a second thought.
The wind blew past.
It rustled the lazy strands of hair on his forehead.
Passersby on bicycles zipped along the road, and the rush of air from their passing made Jiangg Ning's skirt flutter.
The conversation about his family, only halfway through, ca to an abrupt halt.
Perhaps Chen Yuan was hesitating, wondering whether he should tell her everything.
Jiangg Ning sat down as well.
She proactively changed the subject. "Oh, right, I haven't asked you yet. How was your visit to your elder's ho today?"
"It was great. I ate till I was stuffed, and they even slipped a red envelope." Chen Yuan suddenly rembered the envelope! He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced inside. "Whoa! Ke gave a thousand yuan. He's really generous."
He grinned, then stuffed the red envelope into Jiangg Ning's hands.
"I might lose it if I keep it in my pocket. You put it in your bag."
"Okay."
Jiangg Ning obediently took it.
The scene felt strangely harmonious, like a husband handing over his salary to his beautiful wife.
"This visit was just like old tis. When I was a kid, I used to go over to their place to freeload als all the ti. Sotis it would be eight or nine at night and I still wouldn't know to go ho. Then my mom would shout over the wall, 'Yuan, hurry ho and go to sleep!' As soon as I heard her, I'd scurry right back. The auntie's cooking still tastes exactly the sa, and she's as warm and welcoming as ever. When I was leaving, Rourou walked out and asked a ton of questions."
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