Homecoming

It rained for several days in a row. It only showed signs of stopping at night, but started again the next day. It rained on and off, and the roads were barely ever dry.

Shen Nian didn't even want to go far for groceries, so he just bought them at the small vegetable shop downstairs in the residential complex. They only had chicken, duck, pork, and some common vegetables, but he made do with it.

Today was the day to return to the town.

The weather wasn't cooperating, but fortunately, the rain had lightened up a bit. It was expected to rain tomorrow and the day after, and it would be a few more days before it finally stopped.

This was what the rainy season in Cinan was like.

Returning to the town meant packing clothes to some extent. Shen Nian just stuffed two jackets into his bag; he still had some base-layer short sleeves and hoodies at home.

He shoved all the clothes into his backpack. There were two necklace gift boxes in the drawer, which he hid in the innermost layer of the backpack.

They cost several thousand bucks; if he lost them, he would be upset for a long time.

He was already imagining his parents crying tears of joy.

Shen Nian put on his backpack and walked out of his room. Today was Saturday, so Shen Yue was naturally in the living room.

She had gone to bed early the night before, so Shen Yue woke up at ten in the morning. Knowing that Shen Nian was heading back to the town, her sisterly instincts kicked in, and she specially cooked a pot of congee for him.

The side dish was pickled mustard greens. Shen Nian exclaimed that Shen Yue's cooking skills had greatly improved, and Shen Yue gladly accepted the compliment.

Then Shen Nian saw the Fuling pickled mustard greens packaging in the trash can.

"I'm heading out in a bit. Take care of yourself at home, and make sure to lock the door when you come and go," Shen Nian reminded her.

"I know, I don't need you to tell me."

After all, she was an older sister in her mid-twenties.

"Have you finished packing? It's raining, so be careful on the way. Put on some extra clothes, seriously, or you'll catch a cold."

"Got it, got it." Shen Nian made an OK gesture, waved his hand, and left the apartment.

His only luggage was a backpack.

Xia Yanchun's door was open. From the hallway, he could see Xia Yanchun inside, stuffing things into a small bag. An umbrella, a thermos, a small mirror, earmuffs, and a whole bunch of miscellaneous items—she actually managed to cram them all into such a small crossbody bag.

No wonder.

Shen Nian had helped Xia Yanchun carry her luggage before. Even though her suitcase was smaller than his, it was much heavier.

Did she actually master such advanced spatial compression technology? You little rascal Chun...

"Are you still not done?" Shen Nian watched her from the doorway.

"Done, done. Let's go. Did you bring an umbrella?"

"I did."

"Let's go, let's go."

Xia Yanchun had her small crossbody bag by her waist and was dragging a rather small white suitcase. Even though she had clothes to wear at home, she still managed to find so many things to bring back.

They were only going back for a dozen days. Just a few days after the New Year, they would return for the Hundred-Day Pledge rally.

Shen Nian took over her suitcase and helped her carry it downstairs. They walked all the way to the entrance of the residential complex. Without waiting long, the Didi ride they had hailed in advance arrived.

It was mainly because of the rain; otherwise, going home wouldn't be this troublesome. They could just walk to the nearest subway station, ride it all the way to the passenger transport terminal, and take a bus directly to the town entrance. The town entrance was about five kilometers from the town itself, and for that stretch, they would either take an unlicensed cab or have family pick them up.

"Wow, I got all wet." Xia Yanchun patted her sleeves in disgust. Even with an umbrella, she still got a little rained on when getting out of the car.

"That's because you weren't paying attention. Let's go, don't dawdle."

"Hmph, why are you walking so fast? Trying to show off your long legs?"

"Are you admitting that I have long legs? Haha, I accidentally grew into a 1.8-meter-tall handsome guy, I'm so sorry."

"...How can you be so narcissistic..."

"You weren't humble when I praised you for being cute either."

Xia Yanchun put her small hands in her pockets, took two quick steps to get in front of Shen Nian, and muttered softly, "Is that the same? You already praised me for being cute. If I said I wasn't cute, wouldn't your praise go to waste?"

"Alright, alright, alright."

The subway was a direct route. When they reached the passenger transport terminal, many people would get off together, so they didn't have to pay deliberate attention to the station announcements.

Because of the rain, even though it was Saturday, there were quite a few empty seats on the subway. Xia Yanchun plopped down and immediately took out her small mirror to comb her hair.

"It's all messed up by the wind."

"Put on your earmuffs. Just use the earmuffs to press it down."

"True, true."

Xia Yanchun took out her earmuffs and put them on. They looked like headphones and kept her ears warmly protected.

Her clothes were already thick, and with the earmuffs on, Xia Yanchun looked a bit bundled up, like a penguin, which was strangely cute.

Shen Nian glanced sideways at her, wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and pulled the petite girl close to him. The last fist-sized gap between them was squeezed away.

"You still haven't taken this off." Xia Yanchun poked the hair tie on his wrist.

She had put it on Shen Nian the day their holidays started, and up until today, Shen Nian was still wearing it properly on his wrist.

"Why should I take it off? This was given to me by Chunbao. I wouldn't take it off even for a million bucks."

"Tch, you're bragging. If there really was a million bucks, you'd probably slap me to death for it."

"I'm kidding. Actually, a hundred thousand would be enough."

"I knew it..." Xia Yanchun gave him a deadpan stare, her little mouth chattering away. "As expected, the two of us can never be the best of friends in this lifetime..."

"Bullshit, if I call you 'sister' a couple of times, you'd be ready to be the best of friends."

"How is that possible?"

Xia Yanchun sulked a little, but she didn't make Shen Nian guess what was wrong. After leaning against him for two minutes, her annoyance dissipated on its own.

Today was already the fourth day of the holidays, so it was almost impossible to run into classmates on the subway. She confidently and boldly linked her arm with Shen Nian's.

Shen Nian's hand was so big. Xia Yanchun compared it to her own and found it was a whole size larger. And Shen Nian's wrist—she couldn't even wrap her fingers around it!

Girls hit puberty earlier. She had once thought Shen Nian would always remain that small, but he suddenly shot up in height during their third year of middle school.

She didn't speak, quietly sniffing Shen Nian's scent, and didn't let go of his hand all the way to the passenger transport terminal.

There were quite a lot of people at the terminal.

"The rain has lightened up." Shen Nian held up the umbrella and squinted at the sky. The sun was hidden behind thick gray clouds.

"Hurry, hurry."

"I'm hungry," Shen Nian said with a serious face.

Breakfast was just a bowl of plain congee. An eighteen-year-old high school boy was at the peak of his metabolism, so he naturally got hungry very quickly.

"Let's go eat then, you pighead. The food at the terminal is really expensive, but since you helped me carry my luggage, I'll treat you to a meal."

"There's such a good deal?"

"I'm treating you to a meal, so what should you call me?"

"Mumble mumble, what are you saying? I'm starving to death."

"Hey!"

Xia Yanchun pursed her lips and scurried after Shen Nian. How could this guy walk so fast while carrying a backpack and dragging a suitcase?

It had been so many days since she last heard Sister Chun and sister...

Xia Yanchun was helpless against Shen Nian. In broad daylight and in front of a crowd, she couldn't exactly tease Shen Nian until he doubled over laughing like they did at home.

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