Everyone's been reborn, so who would bother finding a wife on their own?

Chapter 92 Going to the Countryside

The next morning, Song Huan stood at the door of Xiao Yunqing's house with her bag on her back.

The bag was bulging with a change of clothes, a charger, and a set of physics practice papers, though he probably wouldn't be able to do a single one.

Knock on the door.

Xu Wan opened the door, dressed in pajamas with her hair casually tied up, a stark contrast to her usual capable demeanor at the Education Bureau.

When she saw Song Huan, she didn't say anything, but nodded to him with a confident expression that said, "He's here as expected."

Then she turned and called into the house, "Little Cloud, Huanhuan is here to see you."

Song Huan stood at the door and sighed inwardly.

These two mothers must have conspired together long ago; one was responsible for sending him back, and the other for handing over their daughter.

He changed his shoes at the door and went inside.

Xiao Haifeng sat on the sofa reading the newspaper, just like he had more than ten years ago, his posture hadn't changed at all.

A cup of tea, steaming hot, sits on the coffee table.

"Hello, Uncle Xiao."

Xiao Haifeng peeked out from behind the newspaper, nodded, and said, "You're here? Have a seat."

Song Huan didn't sit down; she stood in the middle of the living room and waited.

Xiao Yunqing walked out of the room, her hair casually tied up, with stray hairs sticking to the side of her face.

There was a bluish-gray ring under his eyes, which clearly indicated that he had stayed up very late again last night.

She was wearing pajamas with a school uniform jacket over them, and clutching a set of physics test papers in her hand. The edges of the papers were rolled up, showing that she had flipped through them many times.

She saw Song Huan and was taken aback. "What brings you here?"

Song Huan looked at her appearance and then at the test paper in her hand.

"I want to ask you to go out and have fun."

"I'm not going." She looked down at her test paper, her voice muffled. "I need to study."

My inner thoughts drifted over, softly, tinged with a hint of resentment.

[Hmph, so you finally decided to come find me.]

[He hasn't asked me to go out for a month.]

[Now you know you're here?]

[I'm not going!]

Song Huan suppressed a laugh, "The air is fresh in the countryside. Haven't you been under a lot of pressure lately? Go out and get some fresh air."

"I'm not under much pressure." She turned to a page of the test paper, staring at a big question for several seconds without actually reading a single word.

"Come with me."

Xiao Yunqing ran her fingers along the edge of the exam paper without saying a word.

My inner voice drifted over again.

[What should I do? He begged me.]

Wouldn't it be fun living in the countryside?

[No, I need to study.]

[But……]

"I'm not going." She gripped the test paper tightly, her voice a little softer than before.

Xu Wan came out of the kitchen, carrying a bag in her hand.

It was pink, bulging, and zipped up; it looked like it had been prepared in advance.

She put her bag on the sofa and looked at Xiao Yunqing.

"Go on, Grandma Song Huan sprained her ankle, go back and help her."

Xiao Yunqing stared at the bag, momentarily stunned.

Xu Wanlian even prepared a bag.

Xiao Haifeng peeked out from behind the newspaper and spoke, unusually, "Go on, don't stay cooped up at home all the time."

Xiao Yunqing stood there, holding the test paper in her hand, her lips pursed.

The inner voice came again, this time a little clearer, because the voice was louder, as if it was struggling with itself.

[Dad has spoken...]

But I really need to study.

The exam is next Monday.

[What if I don't do well on the test again?]

[So annoying! So annoying! So annoying!]

[Song Huan, would it kill you to try and persuade me again?!]

Song Huan almost lost her composure.

He cleared his throat. "Let's go, it'll only take two days. Bring your test papers; you can do them at night in the countryside, the lights are bright enough at my hometown."

Xiao Yunqing looked at him for two seconds.

Then he sighed, the sound coming out through his nose, "Well... alright then. Two days then."

"Okay, okay, two days."

Song Huan wanted to stay for four days, since she wouldn't be going for the midterm exams, but the school wouldn't allow it.

Xu Wan immediately picked up the bag and stuffed it into Song Huan's hand.

He acted so quickly, as if afraid his daughter would change her mind.

Xiao Yunqing looked at the bag, then at Xu Wan, then at Song Huan, and blushed.

"Did you two plan this all along?"

"No." Xu Wan said calmly, "I just packed some things in case you need to go and don't have time."

Xiao Yunqing didn't believe it, but didn't ask any more questions.

She went back to her room, changed her clothes, and came out.

White T-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and my ponytail was retied, looking much neater than before.

He was still clutching that set of physics exam papers in his hand.

"Let's go," she said, her tone carrying a sense of reluctance, as if she were being forced into it.

But they had already stepped towards the door.

Song Huan slung her own bag over her shoulder and picked up the one Xu Wan had prepared, then followed behind her.

As he reached the door, he glanced back and saw Xu Wan standing in the living room, giving him an "OK" sign.

Xiao Haifeng was still reading the newspaper, but a slight smile appeared on his lips.

The bus station is located in the east of the city, on an old cement floor, with rows of plastic chairs placed against the wall.

Above the ticket window hangs an electronic screen with flashing red text: "Jiangcheng - Songxi, ticket price 18 yuan, departure at 8:30."

To be honest, this price is a bit expensive.

Song Huan saw a bus going to Brazil last time, and it only cost 3 yuan.

Song Huan carried two bags to the ticket window, bought the tickets, and turned back.

Xiao Yunqing stood in the middle of the waiting hall, spread the test paper on the wall, and looked down at the last big question.

His brows were furrowed, his lips were slightly pursed, and his fingers traced patterns on the test paper.

Song Huan walked over. "Still looking?"

"This is the last one." She didn't even look up. "They were just given out on Friday. The teacher didn't explain it, so I don't know how to do it."

Song Huan leaned over and took a look.

Physics, the last big question, kinematics.

He glanced at the question and had a general idea in mind.

Xiao Yunqing wrote two lines on the draft paper, crossed them out, wrote two more lines, and crossed them out again.

"Stop thinking about it, get in the car and we'll talk about it."

"No, I've been thinking about it all night." She bit the pen cap, her brows furrowing even more.

Looking at her like that, Song Huan sighed inwardly.

When this girl gets stubborn, even the King of Heaven himself can't stop her.

He stood beside her, waiting for her to finish writing.

After waiting for five minutes, she wrote two more lines and then crossed them out.

The draft paper was covered in black lumps, which was annoying to look at.

"Xiao Yunqing," he said.

"Um?"

"You're not good at science, so why don't you choose humanities in your second year of high school?"

Xiao Yunqing stopped writing.

She looked up at him, her expression like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"No way!"

The voice was urgent and harsh, as if someone had poked something sensitive.

Song Huan was stunned for a moment, and before she could ask why, her inner thoughts floated over.

It was so close, so clear, as if she were standing right in front of him, whispering in his ear.

[But you're good at science.]

Song Huan stood there, clutching two train tickets in her hand, looking at her.

She lowered her head again and continued writing the problem, the pen tip scratching on the paper.

She wrote very carefully, even more carefully than before.

But the writing on the draft paper was crooked, and F and B were written together, making it impossible to tell which was which.

Song Huan didn't say anything, but took the test paper from her hand, folded it, and stuffed it into her bag.

"What are you doing!" She reached out to grab it.

"Write it on the bus, I'll teach you."

Her hand froze in mid-air, stunned for a moment.

Then pull it back, stuff it into your pocket, and turn your head away.

Nearby was a parking lot, where several buses were lined up, their bodies covered in a layer of dust.

She stared at the buses for several seconds.

"You said it." The voice was very soft.

"I said it."

She turned back, took one of the tickets from his hand, looked down at it, and walked toward the ticket gate.

She walked very fast, her ponytail swinging high in the air.

When we reached the ticket gate, I stopped and looked back at him. "Hurry up, the train is about to depart."

Song Huan followed.

The two of them passed through the ticket gate, found the bus, and boarded it.

Xiao Yunqing chose a seat by the window, placed her bag on her lap, and hugged it.

Song Huan sat down next to her and put the two bags on the luggage rack.

The bus started and swayed as it drove out of the station.

The buildings outside the window gradually became shorter, turning into factories and then into farmland.

Sunlight streamed in through the window and fell on her face. She leaned against the window, looking outside. After a while, she slowly closed her eyes.

You must have studied very late again last night.

Seeing her asleep, Song Huan took off her coat and covered her with it.

She stirred slightly, but didn't wake up. She shrank her face into her coat, like a cat.

The bus was driving on the national highway, and the wind outside the window blew in, blowing her stray hairs onto her face.

He reached out and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear.

When my finger touched her ear, she flinched and mumbled something, but I couldn't hear it.

He withdrew his hand and leaned back in his chair.

Outside the window are rice paddies, vast stretches of green and yellow, swaying in the wind like waves.

In the distance, there are small hills, short and round, lying where the sky meets the earth.

It's been a long time since I've been back. I wonder if the pineapple tree in the yard is still there.