She actually had this intention; otherwise, she wouldn’t have taken a whole goldfish bowl with just one yuan. That would be downright unreasonable.
When Jiaojiao and the others left with the bucket, the shopkeeper’s previously sour expression was replaced with joy. Ecstatic, he followed them for a short stretch before turning back to clean up his stall.
The group wandered through many other places after that, until the ti grew late and everyone gathered at the designated spot to say their goodbyes.
Yu Rou, knowing Jiaojiao and her group were leaving soon, felt reluctant to part with her new friend. The two young girls stood together chatting for quite a while. They exchanged phone numbers and mailing addresses before finally, reluctantly separating.
Jiang Bin and the others watched as Jiaojiao’s group boarded their car, only then getting into theirs.
Jiang Bin drove, with Jiang Xun and Yu Rou seated in the back.
The two cousins had always been rather silent around each other, so much like on their way to the outing, they sat on opposite sides of the backseat, gazing at the street outside blanketed with lanterns.
Nearly wordless along the entire ride back to the Jiang Family’s residence, when they stepped out of the car, Jiang Xun suddenly called out to Yu Rou, who was walking ahead: "Yu Rou."
"What is it, cousin?" Yu Rou frowned as she turned back, her tone showing so dissatisfaction with him calling her by her full na.
Jiang Xun seed hesitant, staring at her for a long while without saying anything. Just as Yu Rou ran out of patience, he extended his hand toward her: "Jiaojiao’s phone number—lend it to to copy."
"..." Yu Rou stared in disbelief.
She looked at him curiously. Based on her observations from the past three encounters, Jiaojiao didn’t seem to have any particularly close relationship with her cousin. So why was he asking for her number now? Was he planning to write her letters or call her in the future?
Ultimately, Yu Rou handed over Jiaojiao’s phone number, and Jiang Xun copied it down before returning it.
Standing to the side, Jiang Bin had seen the entire exchange. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. When he brought Jiang Xun to Beidu, the boy’s request before the trip had been specifically to visit Jiaojiao. Back then, Jiang Bin assud the two kids were close.
But ever since arriving in Beidu, Jiang Xun hadn’t brought up contacting Jiaojiao at all. Even after eting her twice during their stay, Jiang Bin didn’t notice any particular enthusiasm from him toward the girl. He had thought he might have been mistaken. Yet now, it seed Jiang Xun harbored so special feelings for Jiaojiao after all.
After Jiang Xun finished copying the phone number, Jiang Bin gently tousled both their heads and said, "Alright, it’s late. Get so sleep early."
Jiang Xun gripped the phone number tightly in his hand, nodded, and then flashed Yu Rou a smile—the first one she’d seen from him in ages, leaving her stunned on the spot for quite a while.
anwhile, on the other side, Jiaojiao and her group had barely arrived ho when they were greeted with an enormous surprise prepared by Grandpa Shu.
Compared to the fireworks display on New Year’s Eve, Grandpa Shu had truly splurged this ti. The entire path on their drive back was decorated from start to finish.
As their car drove in front, fireworks started going off behind them.
By the ti Jiaojiao’s car stopped in front of the small villa, all the fireworks had been lit, bursting into a dazzling array that illuminated the entire sky.
Jiaojiao scread in delight repeatedly, tilting her head up to gaze at the brilliant, colorful night sky, unwilling to blink for even a second.
Shu Jiao shook her head repeatedly, feeling helpless about Grandpa Shu’s ostentatious, over-the-top behavior. Yet, her eyes couldn’t hide the smile she struggled to suppress.
"Classic capitalist behavior—a complete no-go," Shu Lang sighed, thoroughly impressed by the old man’s theatrics. Was there really a need to go to such extres?
Shu Wen, with her hands in her pockets, stared up at the sky, lost in thought. After a while, she smiled lightly.
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