Chapter 77: Qu Xingxuan Arrives
Xuan Xia stared at the message sent by Zhou Shiqing for a good while, unable to interpret his message in any positive tone.
It was completely that as soon as she glanced at the text, the only image that popped into her mind was Zhou Shiqing with a crooked mouth, squinting eyes, looking like a rebellious son.
After trying, Xuan Xia decided to give up on beautifying it for him and simply replied: “So what does Teacher Zhou think should be done?”
After asking, Xuan Xia switched away directly to continue looking at her renovation plans.
Almost immediately, Zhou Shiqing’s text message came back.
Xuan Xia only roughly glanced at the content shown in the notification, already knowing that the message he sent was not something she liked.
After letting it sit for a bit, she switched back to check, and sure enough, it was.
Not a single word was what she loved to see.
‘Zhou Shiqing: Can’t you stay until confirming that we’re all fine before leaving?’
Xuan Xia: “Yes, Teacher Zhou. I did confirm that everyone was fine before leaving.”
‘Zhou Shiqing: ……’
‘Zhou Shiqing: You sure???’
Xuan Xia: “Yes.”
And then, there was no then.
Xuan Xia was able to continue doing what she wanted to do.
***
At night, Xuan Xia got absorbed tinkering with renovation issues, delaying her bedtime again.
She had already prepared to be woken up by birds the next day, but unexpectedly, early in the morning, what woke her was not birds, but a mobile phone call.
Xuan Xia finally managed to open her eyes a crack, seeing the caller ID noted as “Qu Xingxuan”.
This person who hadn’t replied to her messages for a day and a night actually chose to call her early in the morning.
Xuan Xia had a hundred curse words in her heart, but when she answered the call, she still maintained politeness.
Just as she said “hello”, Qu Xingxuan on the other end already shouted excitedly: “I’ve arrived in Ningzhou! Where are you? Come quickly to the bus station to pick me up!”
Xuan Xia: “…”
She couldn’t help but check the time again.
Then she asked Qu Xingxuan: “Did you take an overnight bus from Yanjing?”
Otherwise, how could he arrive in Ningzhou at this hour.
Qu Xingxuan said righteously: “I’m a high school student, where would I get so much money? Of course I bought the cheap ticket.”
After being righteous, Qu Xingxuan started urging again: “Come pick me up quickly! Didn’t you say you’re in Ningzhou?”
“You wouldn’t be deceiving me, would you?!”
Xuan Xia really didn’t know how to evaluate this kid, who neither confirmed nor informed, just rushed over excitedly overnight by bus.
Only after arriving did he start doubting if he’d been tricked; with this innocence, he could even count money for those who sold him.
But thinking again about Qu Xingxuan’s personality, Xuan Xia could only say it was not surprising at all for him.
Xuan Xia’s only bit of morning temper was completely dispelled by Qu Xingxuan’s few words.
She shook herself awake, thought for a moment, and said: “Then take a cab now to the scenic area entrance; I’ll wait for you at the entrance.”
When Qu Xingxuan heard the first half, the words “I have no money” were already on the tip of his tongue, but Xuan Xia quickly added the last sentence, so he hurriedly rolled his tongue back, swallowing those three words.
Xuan Xia said: “I’ll reimburse the cab fare; I’ll pay.”
“You’re going to pay for my cab? Oh…”
Xuan Xia thought he was embarrassed, but then heard him say: “What if you stand me up later?”
Xuan Xia held back, but couldn’t hold back, rolling her eyes as she said: “Then call Daoist Master Qin and have him come rescue you.”
“Right.” Qu Xingxuan just reacted that he had Daoist Master Qin in his contacts.
This time, his confidence instantly boosted a lot.
“Alright then,” he said. “I was planning to eat breakfast here and wait for you to pick me up. I haven’t had breakfast yet; there’s so much food here. Do you have breakfast in your temple?”
Xuan Xia: “…”
Maybe just sell him off!
……
The morning temper that had subsided was reignited by Qu Xingxuan, but after hanging up, Xuan Xia had no intention of staying in bed.
Qu Xingxuan’s sudden visit needed to be informed to Daoist Master Qin.
Just as she was about to put down the mobile phone, she noticed there were still unread messages on it.
Xuan Xia thought they were from Qu Xingxuan, but surprisingly, they were from Zhou Shiqing.
This rebellious son ignored her last night, but unexpectedly sent her a message in the middle of the night.
‘Zhou Shiqing: I’m not a person? I was still in a coma at the time!’
‘Zhou Shiqing: You sure are something!’
‘Zhou Shiqing: Call me back the moment you wake up. I have something to ask you.’
There was a gap of over ten minutes between the last message and the previous two; just from the punctuation, his emotional shift was evident.
Just didn’t know how Zhou Shiqing processed his emotions in those ten-plus minutes.
She already guessed what he wanted to ask, but she had no time now.
Putting down the mobile phone, Xuan Xia got up to wash up, then went out to find someone.
At this time, Daoist Master Qin was eating breakfast in the kitchen, chatting with Uncle Zhong on the side.
When Xuan Xia entered, she happened to hear Uncle Zhong listing several dish names in a row.
She thought, no way, is he listing tonight’s dishes? With this number of hearty dishes, she could gain a circle in less than a week.
Seeing Xuan Xia, the two stopped talking, and Uncle Zhong immediately invited her to have breakfast.
Today’s breakfast was freshly cooked white rice porridge and a few homemade pickled vegetable side dishes, which looked very appetizing for this season.
Uncle Zhong served a bowl of porridge to Xuan Xia and asked: “Why didn’t Miss Xuan sleep a bit longer?”
“Qu Xingxuan has arrived and is taking a cab here now. I’ll go to the entrance to pick him up.” Xuan Xia wasn’t sure if Uncle Zhong knew Qu Xingxuan.
Daoist Master Qin hummed, took over and said: “He just called me.”
Xuan Xia was instantly speechless.
This Qu Xingxuan sure moved fast.
Not knowing what Qu Xingxuan had told Daoist Master Qin, Xuan Xia chose to explain from the beginning.
“Previously in Yanjing, we agreed that when summer vacation comes, we’d come stay for a bit. Yesterday I mentioned it casually, and unexpectedly, he came overnight by bus without a word.”
Daoist Master Qin smiled, “He is indeed quite impulsive.”
Then after a few seconds, he added: “Uncle Zhong said to hold a welcome feast for him tonight too.”
So the dishes Uncle Zhong listed earlier were prepared for Qu Xingxuan’s welcome feast?
Xuan Xia suddenly felt the pressure lift.
Good, good, good; let Qu Xingxuan eat more tonight.
……
After breakfast, Xuan Xia prepared to go to the scenic area entrance to pick someone up; Uncle Zhong volunteered to go together, saying he had transportation and could take her there quickly.
Xuan Xia couldn’t resist the temptation of his transportation and agreed.
The result was Uncle Zhong using public vehicle for private use, driving the scenic area’s tour bus to take Xuan Xia to pick someone up.
Sitting on the scenic area’s tour bus again, this time it felt vastly different from the first time.
At least Uncle Zhong’s tour bus had no fixed route and could go wherever, so they arrived at the scenic area entrance in no time.
As Xuan Xia exited the scenic area entrance, a taxi happened to stop at the roadside in front of her, and Qu Xingxuan in the back seat waved at her.
