Chapter 224 Summer Vacation is Over (Two in One)
Normally, Wen Susu was the last one to wake up in the family, but today she woke up especially early because her younger brothers and sisters were leaving Shanghai and going back to a distant island.
When she woke up, the room was still dim. She looked at the time. It was five o'clock in the morning.
Last night, everyone played poker until very late before going to bed. She was afraid that Fang Wei Cailing would oversleep and not wake up yet, so when she opened the door and prepared to call them, she found that she was still the last one to wake up.
Fang Wei Cailing knew that Yi had woken up very early, had already washed up, and was now packing her luggage in the room.
The sun had not risen yet, the sky outside the window was gray, the lights were on in the room, and the three of them were packing their luggage together. They moved very quietly and spoke in very low voices, as if they were afraid of waking her up.
"You guys woke up so early?"
"Sister...? You woke up so early too?"
Wen Susu stood at the door of the room, still in her pajamas, and came in to help pack the luggage.
"Yes, I was afraid that you would oversleep, so I was going to come over and wake you up, but I didn't expect that you would wake up earlier than me."
"Hey, we're also afraid of oversleeping!"
"If we really oversleep, we can just play for one more day and go back tomorrow." Wen Susu said with a smile.
Just like when they came, they were about to go home. Xu Cailing and Liu Zhiyi both had insomnia last night. They whispered for a long time in bed before they fell asleep unknowingly. Then they were thinking about taking the boat, so they woke up naturally early again today.
The four of them had some dark circles under their eyes, but they looked quite energetic at the moment.
"Sister, if you feel sleepy, go back and take a nap. We can pack our luggage by ourselves. We don't have much to bring. After breakfast, Uncle Liu will take us to the dock."
"I will definitely take you to the dock to take the boat, otherwise I won't feel at ease."
"It's quite far. It will take 40 minutes to drive there."
"Is it farther than the journey from the island to my place?"
"..."
The three of Fang Wei couldn't persuade her, so they had to clean up together.
There was indeed not much luggage, mainly clothes and other things. Wen Susu helped them fold the clothes one by one and put them into their respective travel bags.
Just like every time she went home, they would send her to the dock, so Wen Susu would naturally send them to the dock in person.
It was not until this moment before leaving that I suddenly sighed that time passed so quickly.
At this time of year in previous years, she would have been preparing to return to the island to teach, but this time she was not going back. Instead, she wanted to send her students back personally.
She felt a little melancholy and lost. She was used to them living together at home, and now they were going back. Her heart suddenly felt a little empty, just like this huge house.
Of course, she would not tell them about her feelings. Wen Susu was just like a caring sister. She gently folded their clothes while giving them long-winded instructions:
"After we go back, you will go to school soon. When you get to No. 1 Middle School, you must work as hard as you did in junior high school. Remember to call me more often when you have time, okay?"
"Yeah! Got it!"
"Also, remember to practice the painting you learned during the summer vacation when you have time, otherwise I'll be surprised if I see you guys haven't made any progress next time, hehe..."
“Must practice!”
"Have you told your family that you are going back today? Who will pick you up then?"
"Uncle Yuan will come to pick us up."
"Well, that's good. Can you get the things? Do you want me to ask Uncle Liu to go with you?"
"Hahaha, sister, let Uncle Liu go! We can do it!"
"Remember to call me when you get home!"
"I know~!"
"Did you bring all those photos I gave you?"
"Of course I brought it!"
She didn't stop nagging until she put the last piece of clothing into the travel bag and reached out to zip up the bag.
"Okay, have you all brushed your teeth and washed your faces?"
"Uh-huh!"
"I asked Aunt Wang to prepare breakfast early today. After breakfast, we will go to the pier together."
"it is good!"
Wen Susu left the room.
Fang Wei and the other two simply tidied up their rooms and beds, put the pillows in place, folded the quilts, and took out all the small trash.
Even though Aunt Wang can do these things, they still want to do them.
I carried my travel bag to the living room and put it down first. In the kitchen, Aunt Wang had already prepared breakfast.
There were sandwiches, fried eggs, bacon, potato pancakes, hot milk... just like the first breakfast they had in Shanghai, it was quite exquisite and rich.
"Auntie Wang, good morning."
"Good morning, are you going home today?"
"Yeah! School is about to start! Aunt Wang, thank you for preparing breakfast for us so early!"
Although Aunt Wang was only the nanny in the family, both Wen Susu and Fang Weiwei were very polite to her, and Aunt Wang liked them very much.
"Breakfast is ready. Auntie will serve it to you."
"It's okay Aunt Wang, we can do it ourselves!"
Fang Wei and the other two took the initiative to help and took out the small plates and platters containing breakfast.
Wen Susu, who had just returned to her room and finished washing up, also came out. She changed out of her pajamas and put on her favorite long dress. Her messy hair was combed neatly and spread softly on her back.
"Sister, it's time for breakfast!"
"Okay, you guys eat first, no need to wait for me."
Wen Susu walked over, took out three red envelopes in her hand, waved them in front of the three people with a grin, and then gave them to them one by one.
"Red envelope!"
"Yes, keep them all. This is the red envelope I give you for the start of school. I wish you all the best in your studies!"
"Sister Susu...you don't need to give us red envelopes anymore. You've already paid us our wages."
Fang Wei Cailing knew that she didn't open the red envelope, but just by pinching the thickness of the red envelope, she could guess that the amount of money inside was not small.
"What are you talking about? Salaries are salaries, they are given to you by the boss, and red envelopes are red envelopes, they are given by my sister to our good brothers and sisters. I give them to you, so just keep them!"
"Well……"
"Why, you don't want it?"
"I want to! Thank you, sis~!"
Seeing that Wen Susu deliberately frowned, the three of them stopped being polite and accepted the red envelopes in their hands.
Seeing that they accepted it, Wen Susu smiled.
"Okay, let's have breakfast. We'll set off soon after we finish eating."
"Uh-huh!"
……
After breakfast and a rest, it was almost six o'clock.
Fang Wei and the other two had tickets for the 7 o'clock boat. It would take 40 minutes to drive from here to the pier, so it was almost time.
Wen Susu asked Aunt Wang to pack three more sandwiches and put them in a bag so that they could eat them on the way if they were hungry.
Fang Wei and Cai Ling understood what he meant and put on their shoes. They each carried their bulging travel bags and looked back at the home where they had lived for a month and a half. They didn't know when they would come back next time.
"Have you brought everything?"
"Yeah! I brought everything, but I always feel like something is missing..." Cai Ling scratched her head.
In fact, I didn't miss anything. Maybe it's because I'm still reluctant to leave. This summer vacation was too fulfilling. Now that it's about to end and I have to go back, I inexplicably feel like I missed something.
Uncle Liu was already warming up the car and waiting in the parking lot.
When he saw four people coming down from the elevator, he opened the trunk and came forward to help take the things and put them away.
"Uncle Liu, can we catch the seven o'clock boat?"
"Don't worry, miss. There is plenty of time."
"That's fine. You can drive slower."
"Ok."
Fang Wei sat in the passenger seat, while Wen Susu, Xu Cailing and Liu Zhiyi sat in the back seat.
The car started and drove out of the community from the underground parking lot smoothly and slowly.
It's six o'clock now and the sun has risen.
The sky at the end of the street was bright, the skyscrapers were shining in the morning sun, and the glass curtain walls reflected the dazzling light.
The Oriental Pearl Tower, one of the iconic buildings, seems to be covered with a layer of gold in the morning light. The bright lights on the tower are turned off at night, replaced by the warm light of the sun.
Except for the first two days when she would occasionally stare at the Oriental Pearl Tower, Cai Ling didn't pay much attention to the Oriental Pearl Tower during the holidays. After all, it had become a part of her life in Shanghai, just like when she was on an island, she wouldn't go out of her way to see the sea.
But now that she was about to go back, she couldn't help but look at the towering Oriental Pearl Tower. She leaned her little face against the car window, tilted her head, and looked up along the tower. Finally, she sighed, "It's so high..."
She suddenly understood the meaning of landmark buildings. Such an Oriental Pearl Tower could only be seen in Shanghai.
"Hehe, now that I think about it, we've already been to the Oriental Pearl Tower and had dinner there. It feels like a dream!"
Fortunately, I took a lot of photos. Fortunately, time cannot erase the good memories. On the contrary, after being embellished by memory, the taste of the memories becomes more mellow as time goes by.
Uncle Liu is indeed a professional driver. He doesn't drive fast, but he is very accurate in time. At 6:40, the four of them arrived at the pier on time.
We arrived in Shanghai at noon, and now we are leaving Shanghai in the morning. The scenery at Chaogang Wharf is also different.
It was not as hot as at noon. The breeze blowing from the sea in the early morning was cool. All kinds of ships came and went in the port. Cranes in the distance were working busily. Dock workers in work clothes were coming and going between the ships and the shore.
Having not seen the sea for a month and a half, Xu Cailing seemed very excited standing on the beach. Even though the sea at Chaogang Wharf was not as clear and clean as the sea at Pineapple Island, she felt as if she was being called by something.
"Why do I feel like I'm home just by coming to the beach?!"
"Hahaha, isn't that too exaggerated?"
"really!"
But to be honest, among the four, only Xu Cailing was setting foot in the inland for the first time.
For islanders, the sea is like this vast land, it is life and the place where they were born.
Fang Wei knew Cai Ling's unspeakable feeling. Just standing on the beach, looking down at the ocean, listening to the sound of the waves gently caressing the shore, bathing in the moisture-filled sea breeze coming from below the rocky shore, he would naturally feel a sense of security and comfort deep in his genes and bones lingering in his heart.
Maybe this is what is called the root.
"Sister Susu, do you like the sea?"
"Yes! I went to teach on the island because I love the sea. Otherwise, I would have gone to teach in the mountains like my senior sister did."
Wen Susu, standing in the sun, was also looking at the sea in the distance. The sea breeze ruffled her hair, and she reached out to put it behind her ears.
"What about you, Zhiyi? Do you like the sea? You are different from Fang Wei and I. You grew up inland!"
After knowing each other for such a long time, this was the first time Xu Cailing asked Liu Zhiyi whether she liked the sea. After all, she grew up on an island. To her, this kind of question was like an inland person asking a friend "Do you like land?"
"I like it very much!" said Liu Zhiyi.
"why?"
"Because my parents also grew up on an island... Although I didn't grow up on an island, I also like the sea and swimming. Maybe the closer you are to the sea, the fewer worries you have..."
Hearing this, Wen Susu agreed: "Zhiyi is right! Maybe this is why many people like us who grew up inland like the sea? As soon as we see the vast and boundless sea, we feel that our troubles are so small in comparison!"
Xu Cailing was more confused about their answers. Unlike Wen Susu and Liu Zhiyi, as an islander who was born and raised in the sea, many of her troubles came from the sea, just like people who grew up in the mountains may worry about not being able to get out of the mountains.
But if you say that she doesn't like the sea, she can't really say that she doesn't like it, because this is her home and the place where she was born. No matter how many places she goes to or how beautiful the scenery she sees, when she returns to the beach when she is tired, she can inexplicably feel the peace and tranquility that the sea brings her. This is her connection with the sea that she will never be able to break.
"What about you? Do you like the sea?"
"What about you?" Fang Wei asked her back.
Cai Ling pinched her chin and thought, and for a moment her vocabulary was not enough:
"I don't know. I can't describe the feeling! It's very complicated... I can't simply describe it as like or dislike..."
"me too."
"Wow, you're so cunning! You can only imitate human speech!"
"You are the same!"
As we chatted, time passed by and it was already six fifty.
Unlike the crew at Baitan Wharf who shouted through loud speakers, the passenger station at Chaogang Wharf sounded with electronic broadcasting.
[Attention, passengers. The ship from Shanghai to Baitan Wharf is ready to depart at 7 o'clock. Passengers who need to board the ship, please bring your luggage and check in. The final destination of this flight is Baitan Wharf, passing through...]
Hearing the broadcast, Fang Wei and the other two also started moving, with mixed feelings.
On the shore not far away, the familiar transport ship had docked at the pier. The crew lowered the connecting board, and outside the corridor bridge, passengers began to line up for ticket checking.
There was a loud speaker, and in case some passengers didn't notice the broadcast, the ship staff held the loud speaker and reminded the crowd.
"Sister, shall we go?"
"Yeah, remember to call me when you get home, okay?"
"I know~"
"When do you plan to report to No. 1 Middle School for the start of the semester?"
"The 30th and 31st are the registration dates for the new semester. We should go to the city a day or two earlier. Since we live outside, we need to clean up the house by then."
"How long does it take to get home from the city?" "About two hours."
"Coming to Shanghai from the city?"
After hearing what Wen Susu said, Fang Wei understood what she meant and said with a smile, "It's also two hours!"
"Hehehe..."
Wen Susu smiled evilly and threatened them. She walked forward and gently tidied up the clothes of the three people. "Since it takes two hours to go home and two hours to come to Shanghai, what should you do? I don't need you to be taught by me, right?"
"Don't worry, Sister Susu!"
Cai Ling was smart and quickly promised: "When we have time during the holidays, we will come to Shanghai to play with me!"
"It's not playing, it's class! Learning to paint requires perseverance, and you can't be lazy. When you have time in the future, remember to come back for class, okay?"
"Got it! Teacher Wen!" the three of them agreed in unison.
Only then did Wen Susu feel satisfied.
"Okay, let's go line up for ticket checking."
"Goodbye Sister Susu~!"
"Bye~"
The three of them, carrying their travel bags, lined up in the ticket checking queue together.
Cailing and Zhiyi stood in front, and Fangwei stood in the back.
After a while, Fang Wei turned around to look, and after a while, the two girls turned their little heads away from his tall back and looked back.
Wen Susu was still standing there, and every time they looked back, she would smile and wave, and they would wave back too.
The ticket inspector took the tickets from the three people, tore off the ticket stubs and returned them to them.
"One seat on the second floor, third row, two seats on the second floor, third row, three seats on the second floor."
"Thank you."
Fang Wei walked in front, leading the two girls across the corridor bridge, across the connecting board, and stood on the deck.
When they looked up, Wen Susu on the fence on the shore was also looking at them.
The three of them waved to her again. Wen Susu also waved and then made a phone call gesture to her ear. Fang Wei made an OK gesture to her, then he no longer wanted to linger and walked into the cabin with Cai Ling and Zhiyi.
After Fang Wei Cailing understood what was going on and walked into the cabin, Wen Susu on the shore could no longer see them.
But she still didn't leave. She waited until the whistle sounded, and the transport boat in front of her started, the propeller stirred, the bow broke through the waves, and slowly and leisurely sailed steadily onto the vast ocean.
The waves separated into two white streaks on both sides of the boat, and her eyes followed them for a long distance until she could no longer see them.
The surroundings suddenly became quiet, and for a moment, Wen Susu also felt a little empty...
"Miss, then let's..."
"Let's go back to class."
"Ok."
……
The transport boat was sailing slowly on the sea, the red flag on the mast fluttering in the wind, and a few seagulls circling behind the air flow broken by the hull.
On the second floor of the cabin, in three rows of three connected seats, young boys and girls were opening the curtains and looking at the sea through the glass.
This is the most important journey in the three people's youth.
The three of us set off for Shanghai together, and then came back together with full hearts. It felt really good.
A relationship will only become closer after going through many things together. There is nothing happier than going to see the distant world with the person you love in your youth.
The two girls were very quiet at this moment, not saying anything. They just stared at the blue sky and sea outside the window in a daze, as if they were full and busy digesting the experiences and emotions accumulated in the past month and a half.
Fang Wei stood up, took the travel bag from the luggage rack, took out the water cup and the sandwiches he brought, and fed the two girls.
"whee……"
Cailing and Zhiyi were eating the sandwiches happily. It was strange, it was the same sandwich, but it didn't taste as good as it did now when they ate it in Shanghai just now.
"Why? What's the reason?"
"This is called not knowing how lucky you are."
"No way!"
"There are so many people like this in the world."
Fang Wei said with a smile, what people talked about most were the 'lost childhood sweethearts' and 'lost deskmates' in their youth.
Fortunately, he won’t do that. He knows how to enjoy the blessings he has.
Fang Wei took out the photo album that Wen Susu gave him from his travel bag.
Compared to clothes or something, perhaps this is the best gift she has prepared for the three of them.
The album is very beautiful, it was specially customized by her. The cover is a group photo of the four of them taken together on the Bund with the Oriental Pearl Tower as the background when they first came to Shanghai.
Fang Wei stood on the far left, followed by Wen Susu, Xu Cailing, and Liu Zhiyi. The four of them looked at the camera, made the scissors hand gesture, and smiled brightly.
This is Wen Susu’s favorite photo, and also Fang Wei Cailing Zhiyi’s favorite photo.
Seeing Fang Wei looking at the photo album, Xu Cailing and Liu Zhiyi also wanted to squeeze over to have a look. They were both by the window, so they changed seats again. Cailing moved her little butt directly over his legs and sat on the outside, pushing Fang Wei to the middle.
“Let’s watch it together!”
"..."
Fang Wei wiped the table clean, then laid the photo album flat on it, opened it, and slowly turned the pages one by one.
The two girls stood on the left and right, leaning forward to watch with him.
I took a lot of photos in this month and a half.
Sorted by time, these photos are arranged page by page like day 1, day 2, etc.
Among them are individual photos of themselves, as well as group photos, not only landscape photos, but also many photos of their daily life during the past one and a half months.
For example, Fang Wei who was playing the piano, Cai Ling Zhiyi who was learning to paint in the studio, and when the four of them were playing poker together on Wen Susu's bed at night, Fang Wei lost the most, and his face was covered with white paper strips, looking funny.
Seeing this photo, Xu Cailing and Liu Zhiyi were overjoyed.
"Hahaha! You're really bad at playing cards! You lose the most!"
"...I let you do it, do you really think I'm yours?"
"Still being stubborn! Still being stubborn!"
"Ha ha……"
Fang Wei didn't tell them, wasn't it just to make you three little princesses happy? !
Thanks to the development of technology, they can still look through the photos one by one to recall their feelings after completing such a reluctant journey.
Wen Susu also kept a copy of the same photo album for herself. I don't know whether it was intentional or not, but she only gave one copy to Fang Wei and the other two.
"How about you leave this photo album with me, Master Fang?"
"Well, okay!"
Xu Cailing and Liu Zhiyi agreed without hesitation. Fang Wei was like a bridge between them, so it was most appropriate for him to keep the photos.
Even though many of them were solo photos of themselves, the two girls did not take them out separately, but kept them all in this album.
The journey was long, and after closing the photo album, the girls gradually felt sleepy.
Fang Wei was right in the middle, and the two girls leaned on his shoulders without any hesitation, one on each side, and dozed off with their eyes closed.
"Don't move, you're pressing on my hair..."
"…My hand is numb. Can I pull my hand out for a while?"
"..."
Fang Wei took his hands out from both sides, but after a while, they were dragged back in by the girls' octopus-like hands.
Seeing that they were not behaving well, Fang Wei simply held their soft little hands.
At that moment, he could clearly feel the girls' bodies tense up for a moment, and then after a while, they seemed to start breathing. The breath that was held in their chests came out softly, and their delicate bodies softened as well, with more weight leaning on his shoulders.
Cailing and Zhiyi both closed their eyes, looking like they were asleep.
But in fact, they didn't sleep at all, and their thin eyelids were trembling slightly.
At the same time, their little hands moved quietly in his palms, slowly opening and closing their palms, and fitting their delicate fingers into the gaps between his fingers.
After doing this, the girls' heartbeats became very fast, and their legs towards him subconsciously clamped together, as if there was some kind of huge satisfaction lingering in their hearts, making them unable to help but rub against him like cats, and stopped only when they found the most suitable angle and posture comfortably.
"...Don't move, go to sleep." This time it was Fang Wei who said it.
"..."
The two girls who were pretending to be asleep did not answer him, but they both stayed still and behaved well.
She didn't dare to make any noise, for fear that Cai Ling (Zhi Yi) would find out that she was secretly holding hands with Fang Wei...
That day he was saying Fang Wei was a stinky Fang Wei, but I wonder who is standing so close to him now.
Fang Wei smelled good, like the fresh scent of laundry detergent on his clothes, warm, like he was lying on the grass in the sun...
Gradually, the girls fell asleep.
That's why I can't sleep.
Feeling the warmth on both sides of his arms, pinching the girls' soft and tender little fingers, and smelling the fragrance of their hair scattered on his shoulders, he stayed awake all the way.
……
When Xu Cailing and Liu Zhiyi woke up, they saw Fang Wei with his knees bent and legs raised high.
Fortunately, Fang Wei's strange sitting posture did not attract too much attention from the girls. When they looked out the window, they could already see the Baitan Bridge that spanned the two small islands.
"Y-It's the Baitan Bridge, right?! We're home!"
"It was so fast! I felt like I was home right after a nap!"
The slight melancholy at the time of parting was immediately replaced by excitement when I saw the familiar scenes of my hometown.
Xu Cailing, who was sitting on the aisle side, was busy squeezing towards the window, half bending over and moving her little butt to rub against Fang Wei's arms.
Fang Wei's face flushed, and he slapped her unhappily:
"Can you be more polite?"
"You sit over there, sit over there..."
"..."
"Have you called my dad? Ask him to pick us up! He's free today!"
"You have a cell phone, too."
"Yes."
Xu Cailing quickly took out her cell phone and called her father.
"Hey?"
"Dad! Where are you? We're getting to the dock!"
"Are we there now? I'm at my friend's place in town."
"Then come here quickly!"
"Okay, here I come."
With a slight bump, the transport boat docked steadily on the corridor bridge.
Fang Wei, who had been feeling uncomfortable all the way, finally calmed down. He stood up, took off his travel bag, and without waiting for him to lead the way, the two girls pulled him and walked quickly out of the cabin.
As I stepped onto the dock, a familiar scent hit me.
It has only been a month and a half since I left, but it feels like I have been away for a long time. No wonder my sister always sighs every time I drive her home. Now Cai Ling also understands this feeling.
The afternoon sun was bright and brilliant. On the other side of the sea, the outline of Pineapple Island, which was connected to Baitan Island, was clear.
There are no tall buildings, no Oriental Pearl Tower, no cars, no subways, only seagulls circling in the sky and pooping everywhere. Children are running around wildly on the streets, laughing and giggling. Take a deep breath, you can smell the salty smell of the sea breeze. Looking around, you can see a quaint and old town with cobblestone roads.
It is such a scene that is completely incomparable to Shanghai, but it makes the young boys and girls feel full of familiarity and a warm sense of belonging.
Walk through the bustling crowd, down the deck and across the covered bridge.
A middle-aged man on a motorcycle honked his horn and stopped next to the three people.
"dad!"
"Uncle Yuan!"
"Haha, you're back? Did you bring all your stuff? How was your trip in Shanghai?"
"It must be great! The Oriental Pearl Tower! Dad, we went to the Oriental Pearl Tower and had dinner there!"
Xu Cailing was talking to her father excitedly. Seeing that Xu Zhiyuan was staring at the three of them, she waved her hand again.
"Hey! Dad! Why do you act like you don't know us?!"
"...I was wondering, there was a time when a girl like you could be this pale?!"
Xu Zhiyuan was shocked. Is it true that the climate and soil in the city nourish people? How come Cai Ling has become so much whiter after not seeing her for a month and a half?
"Huh? Am I really turning white?"
"Bai! Let's go, get in the car!"
(End of this chapter)
