Chapter 187 - 106: Departure to Jiuzhaigou!
Zhao Ruoxuan muttered quietly: "That’s why I resigned."
Her mom didn’t catch what she said.
"What did you say?"
Zhao Ruoxuan shook her head: "I didn’t say anything."
The phone rang, Zhao Xiaofang saw it was Li Younan’s mom calling, and said: "They should be arriving soon, let’s get ready to head downstairs."
Sure enough, on the other end of the phone Li Younan’s mom said they’d arrive in about ten minutes.
Zhao Xiaofang decided to use the restroom once more and asked Zhao Ruoxuan to wait at the door.
Zhao Ruoxuan took out her phone and messaged a friend to vent: "My mom told me not to dawdle and to pick a time before we leave to go to the bathroom, haha."
The friend replied: "I’m so jealous, you get to go out and have fun."
Zhao Ruoxuan sent a sigh emoji: "I was excited at first, but suddenly I’m a bit worried."
"What are you worried about?" the friend asked.
Zhao Ruoxuan typed swiftly, her fingers flying across the keyboard: "You don’t know, my mom’s best friend’s son was either the top of his class or the second in our county; he’s a super scholar, went to a school second only to Tsinghua and Peking University, and seems to be studying a top subject."
The friend asked: "So what?"
"So what? He’s the quintessential ’other people’s child’! My mom constantly says I should learn whatever from my Brother Nan, it’s so annoying. I was happy, but now I’m thinking about this..."
The friend sent a mischievous emoji: "What are you afraid of? If that bookworm tries to act superior, you can just put him in his place."
Zhao Ruoxuan only vaguely remembered Li Younan.
After all, Li Younan was at university for four years and then stayed in Shanghai for a few years; when he left, she was still in elementary school.
Though he returned once or twice and visited her home, there wasn’t much interaction, and she couldn’t quite remember what he looked like, let alone have any specific impression.
Her mom did say that when she was little, she’d trail after Li Younan when he visited, but that memory seemed deleted from her brain, she couldn’t recall it at all.
So, in essence, Li Younan was a figure who existed mostly in legend.
The more her parents admired and praised someone, the more counter-culture it seemed.
Zhao Ruoxuan’s friend asked: "By the way, what does your mom’s friend’s scholar son look like?"
Zhao Ruoxuan thought for a moment: "I forgot."
The friend sent a laughing emoji: "All bookworms look the same, definitely glasses and a plaid shirt."
Zhao Ruoxuan laughed too: "Could be bald too."
"No way, didn’t you say he’s quite young? Only twenty-five or twenty-six."
"I heard he’s a computer science programmer; going bald at twenty-five or twenty-six is quite normal."
The friend sent a string of laughing emojis.
"Alright, good luck."
Zhao Ruoxuan felt a bit better now and said: "You’re right, no matter how he is, I’ll just stay unchanged; if he tries to lecture me, I’ll just ignore him. How about that? What can he do, hehe."
The friend replied: "Exactly, how about that? What can he do, hmm~"
A few minutes later, Zhao Ruoxuan’s mom came out, holding her phone, and said: "They’ve arrived downstairs, let’s go."
Zhao Ruoxuan carried a suitcase full of her belongings, and her mom had another suitcase; they both took their things and went downstairs.
A huge Land Cruiser was parked at the entrance, Zhao Ruoxuan blinked, she knew this car was very, very expensive.
Zhao Xiaofang said next to her: "This was bought by your Brother Nan himself, impressive right? Heard it costs over a million."
Zhao Ruoxuan said nothing.
Then she saw the driver’s door open, a figure jumped down.
Li Younan had long changed his hairstyle, now it was fresh and stylish.
The morning sunlight was a bit dazzling, so he wore sunglasses.
Zhao Ruoxuan was stunned for a moment, seeing the person getting out of the car was tall with handsome features, and when he took off his glasses, his eyes were filled with warmth, looking especially friendly.
Oh, really? He looks like this?
Zhao Xiaofang said: "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and greet him."
Zhao Ruoxuan snapped out of it and obediently greeted Li Younan and his mom: "Hello, Brother Nan! Hello, Aunt!"
She appeared to be a well-behaved good girl, with no signs of rebellion.
Zhao Xiaofang looked curiously at her daughter.
What Zhao Ruoxuan was thinking was, hmm...he’s quite handsome, but...how about that? What can he do?
Sooner or later, he’d probably start lecturing.
...
The official journey to Jiuzhaigou began.
From Anchuan, they had to take the Jiuzhaigou Highway.
After passing Jiangyou, the traffic reduced noticeably, you could look far ahead and not see another car.
While driving, Li Younan’s mom remained quiet as usual, sitting in the passenger seat watching the road, occasionally peeling an orange to feed Li Younan, mostly staying silent.
After a while, Aunt Zhao and her daughter fell asleep in the back; the car became very quiet.
Before officially exiting the highway, this stretch was easy to drive, and unknowingly, Li Younan slipped into a flow state.
He amused himself thinking, with so few cars on this highway, could the toll booth earn enough to pay the staff, let alone the highway breaking even?
Of course, national infrastructure isn’t considered in this manner, Li Younan knew that, he was just bored, letting his mind come up with odd thoughts.
