The Meaning of Travel

Su Yang smiled faintly and walked alone to the balcony to stretch.

A gust of wind blew, lifting the hair on his forehead, and a faint, fresh scent from the lake wafted into his nostrils.

"Ah, so comfortable~"

On the spacious balcony sat a square tea table, surrounded by several minimalist gray sofas.

Near the lakeside, a swing was also set up.

Su Yang walked over and sat down on the sofa, facing the sparkling Er Lake. Looking out, the majestic Cang Mountain stood at the far end of the lake.

At the foot of Cang Mountain, clusters of white buildings were faintly visible.

Just then, Tang Ziyun also came over. She stepped beside Su Yang, sat down, propped her chin with her hands, and said softly, "So beautiful~"

"Yeah, after being in the bustling city for so long, coming here feels like purifying the soul."

"Right, that's the meaning of travel. It allows you to relax and experience the unique customs and culture of each place," Tang Ziyun said with a smile, gazing at the lake.

Su Yang nodded in agreement. "Mm, exactly!"

"Have you been to Er City before?" Tang Ziyun turned her head to look at Su Yang.

Su Yang shook his head. "No, it's my first time. How about you?"

"Me too. I've only been to the neighboring Li City."

"I haven't been to Li City either. Compared to Er City, which place do you think is better?"

Tang Ziyun smiled slightly. "The two cities are quite different. Li City is also very beautiful, but its downtown area is relatively more commercialized."

"Mm, let's go check it out the day after tomorrow~"

"Sounds good."

"Oh, by the way, have you been to Yulong Snow Mountain?"

Tang Ziyun shook her head. "No, I haven't. I was planning to go back then, but something came up and I had to return to Haicheng early."

"Do you want to go this time?"

"I'd love to! But it depends on everyone else. If they all want to go, then we can go together~"

Su Yang nodded with a smile. "Alright, I'll ask them later."

"Okay~"

"What are you guys talking about?"

At that moment, Meng Qianyu and Su Qingci walked arm in arm onto the balcony, smiling cheerfully.

"Just chatting. Come, have a seat," Su Yang called out, waving.

The two girls also ran over and sat down beside Su Yang, quietly watching the azure lake.

From time to time, a flock of red-billed gulls flew by. No one spoke; they just sat there, suddenly feeling a sense of tranquil, peaceful time.

After everyone rested for over ten minutes, Meng Wenzhou walked onto the balcony and said, "We should probably head out for dinner soon."

Su Yang turned to look at Meng Wenzhou. "Alright, let's go."

They all stood up and walked into the living room. Su Yang looked at the group and asked, "What would you all like to eat?"

"Not sure. What's good to eat around here?"

Zhang Ziming thought for a moment and said, "Since we're in Dian Province, naturally we should try the local mushrooms~"

"Then let's find a Dian cuisine restaurant."

"Sounds good. Let's go, my treat!" Zhang Ziming said with a laugh.

"Everyone, wait for me a moment. I'm going to change my clothes~" Meng Qianyu said, grabbing her backpack and running upstairs.

Seeing this, Su Qingci and Tang Ziyun also picked up their bags and said with a smile, "We'll go change too. We'll be quick, just a few minutes~"

They said this and hurried to follow.

Su Yang turned to Pan Ning, who was still sitting on the sofa, and asked, "Aren't you going to change?"

"Don't feel like moving. I'll change tomorrow~"

"That's fine too."

Seven or eight minutes later, the three girls walked downstairs, looking completely refreshed.

The six boys all turned their heads to look.

Meng Qianyu had changed into a grayish-white crop top, her long hair tied up in her favorite high ponytail, and she also wore a black baseball cap. On the bottom, she wore a pair of loose rose-red casual trousers, looking both chic and sexy.

Tang Ziyun had changed into a black off-the-shoulder, waist-cinching mini dress, her slightly wavy long hair cascading down her back.

Su Qingci changed into a loose white T-shirt, paired with denim hot pants underneath. The long T-shirt just covered her hot pants, revealing only her incredibly long legs.

The six guys took a deep breath and nodded repeatedly, "Good, good, great!"

"What's so good?" Meng Qianyu asked, walking forward with a smile, carrying a small LV handbag.

"Nothing, nothing. All changed? Then let's head out~"

"Okay~ Sis, why didn't you change?" Meng Qianyu asked, looking at Pan Ning beside her.

Pan Ning stood up: "Don't feel like it. Let's go~"

"Alrighty! Little Su Su, Ziyun, come on over, time to eat!"

Meng Qianyu pulled the two of them along and led the way towards the main entrance.

The others shook their heads with a smile and quickly followed.

They soon walked along the shaded path they came on to the courtyard in front of the "Waiting for the Wind" guesthouse.

The spacious courtyard now had four or five more cars besides the ones belonging to Su Yang and his group.

Meng Wenzhou looked at Su Yang and said, "Old Su, how about we take a taxi? I really can't drive anymore~"

"Yeah, Brother Yang, let's just get a taxi. I don't want to drive either," Liu Bo also said with a wry smile.

Just as Su Yang was about to reply, Ji Bo and Zhang Ziming walked up beside him and said with a laugh, "Did you forget we can drive too?"

"Oh right!" Liu Bo was taken aback.

"Mainly, it's probably not easy to get a taxi around here. Better to drive~"

"Fine, fine, then you guys drive." As he spoke, Liu Bo took out his car key and tossed it to Ji Bo.

Ji Bo caught the key and thought for a moment: "Wait, we don't need to drive this car. We can just ride in Brother Meng's car, it fits five people perfectly."

"Oh right? Haha, look at me, driving these past couple of days has made me dumb."

Ji Bo smiled and handed the car key back to Liu Bo.

Seeing this, Meng Wenzhou took out his own car key and handed it to Zhang Ziming: "You drive."

"Alrighty."

The five of them walked over to the Range Rover, opened the doors, and got in.

On the other side, Su Yang walked to the driver's side and was about to open the door when Pan Ning called from behind, "You take the passenger seat~"

Su Yang turned and asked, "Are you driving?"

"Mm, you rest. I'll drive."

Hearing this, Su Yang felt inexplicably touched for some reason. Even though it was just a small thing, he couldn't explain why he felt that way.

He looked at Pan Ning, who was walking over, and winked with a smile: "Hehe, you're still the... you're still good to me~"

Pan Ning rolled her eyes at Su Yang: "Keys."

Su Yang fished out the car key and handed it to Pan Ning. Then he walked around to the passenger side and called out to Meng Qianyu and the other two, who were still looking at the flowers: "You three, stop looking. Get in the car~"

"Coming~"

"Where are we going to eat?" Meng Qianyu asked, scrambling into the car first.

Su Yang fastened his seatbelt and glanced back at the others: "Ziming said to go eat in the ancient town. We'll head there first."

"Oh oh, okay. Perfect, after eating we can all take a stroll inside the ancient town."

Su Qingci nodded: "Right! I was thinking the same thing."

"Giggle, that's exactly why I changed clothes~"

......

Soon, the two cars drove out of the guesthouse courtyard one after another and onto the coastal ring road outside.

In the car, Pan Ning glanced at the navigation on the central control screen, which showed the ancient town was over forty kilometers away. Not too far, but not exactly close either.

Su Yang leaned back in his seat, took out his phone, and checked the WeChat group. The restaurant Zhang Ziming had sent was called Diannan Ethnic Cuisine, located near the ancient town.

Approximately half an hour later, the two cars arrived at the designated street, found a spot, and parked.

It was already 7:30 PM, though the sky in Ercheng darkened a bit later; it wasn't completely dark yet.

Everyone followed Zhang Ziming towards the restaurant, arriving outside the entrance of Diannan Ethnic Cuisine a few minutes later.

The establishment looked like a rather large inn, with an antique charm. The shop's name was written on a plaque above the main gate.

Two bright red lanterns hung on either side of the entrance, and two servers dressed in ancient-style attire stood by the door.

The group walked over quickly.

One of the servers led the ten of them inside. The restaurant was already nearly full of guests.

However, Zhang Ziming had booked a private room in advance. Private rooms were more expensive, and fortunately, two had been left when he made the reservation.

Following the server upstairs to the second floor, they walked down a corridor and arrived outside a private room named "Cangshan."

The young server opened the door, gestured with his hand, and said with a smile, "Please come in, ladies and gentlemen~"

...