Chapter Thirty-Six: Returning Home

  The crowded train station, the waves of people surged forward, and I made my way through the crowd to the ticket gate. Turning back, where was Gu Hanhao's shadow? Raising my tiptoes to take a look, I finally saw that Gu Hanhao was stuck about ten meters away, blocked by several migrant workers carrying huge bundles. Looking at his embarrassed expression, it seemed he rarely came to train stations and couldn't cope at all.

  When Gu Hanhao finally made his way through the obstacles to reach Ling Lan's side, Ling Lan was already laughing so hard she was doubled over, "How was it? Did you gain some experience?"

  Gu Hanhao covered his slanted backpack and looked at Ling Lan with an admiring gaze, "I've learned my lesson, I've learned my lesson."

  Ling Lan became even more arrogant, putting on airs, "You rich second-generation brats who have been pampered and spoiled, it's about time you experienced the hardships of the common people! Let this be a lesson to you, so that next time you indulge in luxury and waste, you'll feel guilty!"

  Gu Hanhao's attitude was particularly good today, nodding repeatedly in agreement. "You're right, you're right, I'm guilty, I'm guilty. But are you sure the album isn't too much? Otherwise, we can experience the hardships of the common people and be done with it, or we can just drive there."

  "What? You're done experiencing it? This hasn't even started yet! I specifically chose the most rundown station, this is the cheapest, slowest and most crowded train, just to let you fully experience the long four hours on the train! Don't worry, on the way back you can also experience the thrill of being packed like a sardine in an overcrowded train, guaranteed to be an unforgettable experience for you!"

  Gu Hanhao was crying and laughing at the same time, "Little girl, are you taking revenge? Just because of what I said yesterday, 'plaything'?"

  Ling Lan glared at Gu Han Hao fiercely, "You still mention it? If not for your good performance, I would never go back with you no matter what!"

  Just as Gu Hanhao was about to say something, a huge force came from behind him. He was about to turn around and make a fuss, but found that the force was even greater. It turned out that the ticket checking had already begun, and the crowd was like a dancing giant snake, getting excited.

  Gu Hanhao and Ling Lan were squeezed so tightly that they lost their elegance, with twisted facial expressions and awkward postures.

  "Little girl, I see, I see, you want to perish with me!"

  Among Gu Hanhao's complaints and Ling Lan's laughter, the two were swept through the ticket gate by the crowd.

  It wasn't easy getting on the train, but Ling Lan finally found a seat for Gu Hanhao to sit down. She waved the two train tickets in her hand and said, "Enjoy it secretly, I haven't even bought platform tickets yet."

  Gu Hanhao dodged pedestrians on the passageway while sighing, "Yes, you're still not stupid."

  Five minutes after the train started, Ling Lan found that Gu Han Hao began to be curious about everything around him, especially the scenery outside the window. This made her very satisfied.

  "By the way, have you contacted Peng Ze to cancel today's appointment?" Gu Hanhao asked.

  Ling Lan smiled and shook her head, "No, I still can't bring myself to refuse him. Let him wait."

  Unbeknownst to her, Linglan had fallen asleep, and with the swaying of the train, her head swung back and forth before finally coming to rest on Gu Hanhao's shoulder. However, Gu Hanhao couldn't sleep at all. He remembered that the last time he took a train was when he was 21 years old, traveling with his university classmates during their vacation. After so many years, taking the train again, and still in such poor conditions, made him somewhat anxious. To be honest, the backrest of the hard seat had no curvature at all, making it really uncomfortable to sit on. And now that Linglan's head was leaning on his shoulder, he couldn't change his sitting posture frequently anymore.

  After gazing out the window for a while, Gu Hanhao brought his gaze back and inadvertently swept it over to the two women sitting across from him. They appeared to be a mother-daughter pair, with the daughter looking like a middle school student and the mother being a middle-aged woman who still had a charming aura about her. At this moment, both of their gazes were fixed on Gu Hanhao, and upon noticing that he had caught them staring, they quickly looked away.

  Gu Hanhao felt a bit uncomfortable and moved his shoulders, planning to wake up Ling Lan and chat with her to ease the current awkwardness.

  Ling Lan opened her dazed and confused eyes, and sat up straight.

  Gu Hanhao turned his head to the side, only then noticing that Ling Lan's hair had been tossed over her shoulder, revealing a red and swollen mark on the side of her neck.

  "What's going on?" Gu Hanhao pointed at Ling Lan's neck.

  Ling Lan was still a bit dazed, "And you're saying, isn't it all your fault, yesterday..."

  Ling Lan's words had not finished, the middle-aged woman opposite her couldn't help but burst out laughing. Ling Lan and Gu Hanyao immediately realized how ambiguous Ling Lan's previous words were and what kind of deep meaning was contained in the woman's laughter.

  She took the bee sting marks as hickeys!

  Gu Hanhao awkwardly leaned in close to Ling Lan's ear, "When we get home later, whatever you do, don't let your parents see."

  Ling Lan nodded, hastily using her hair to cover her neck, and only then did she react, realizing that Gu Hanhao's words were even more ambiguous.

  Four hours finally passed, and the two got off the train and set foot on the land of L City.

  According to Ling Lan's request, they couldn't take a taxi and had to take the bus. So the two of them took another 20 minutes' bus ride and arrived at Ling Lan's home.

  Ling Lan's residential area has a history of ten years, her mother is a music teacher at L City Key Middle School, and her father runs a small shop that specializes in selling fishing gear. From young to old, Ling Lan's life was not particularly privileged, but she also didn't struggle with living expenses or tuition fees. In short, she is an ordinary girl from an ordinary family, who hasn't enjoyed much good fortune nor suffered much hardship.

  Ling Lan made up her mind last night to go home with Gu Hanhao and sent a text message to her parents. If she were going back alone, she could have not notified them in advance and given them an unexpected surprise. But since she was bringing Gu Hanhao along, it would be more like an unexpected shock, so she decided to notify them ahead of time that she would be bringing a normal friend home. Although there was a bit of a "no silver here" implication, she still decided to say so.

  Ling Lan rang the doorbell of her own home, and after just a few seconds, she heard the hurried footsteps from inside. The door opened, and Ling Lan's parents appeared together at the entrance, with smiles on their faces.

  But this smile lasted for only three seconds, and soon the two returned to normal, politely inviting them into the house.

  Ling Lan was curious about the change in her parents' expressions, and logically speaking, they shouldn't be dissatisfied with such a handsome boyfriend. Or was it that Gu Han Hao had quietly reminded her when he entered the house, "Pay attention to your neck."

  Ling Lan suddenly understood. The smile on her parents' faces had just disappeared when they saw the "hickey" on her neck, and of course, the conservative couple would not be pleased.

  "Dad and Mom, he is Gu Hanhao, we are just ordinary friends."

  "Hello uncle and auntie, I'm Gu Hanhao." Gu Hanhao felt a little unconscious tension, originally this kind of situation wasn't as easy to deal with as he had thought.

  Ling Lan pulled Gu Han to sit on the sofa, "By the way, mom, don't mention how unlucky I am, I was stung by a bee on my neck. Is there any medicine at home that can be applied? It hurts a bit."

  Ling Lan's mother, Lu Yuqiu, was a gentle and quiet middle-aged woman. She smiled indulgently and said, "I have some medicine in my room, come with me and I'll apply it for you. Zhong Lian, you stay here and keep Mr. Gu company."

  Ling Lan was pulled into the bedroom by her mother, and the door was closed. Lu Yuqiu's expression changed, becoming serious in an instant. "I'm telling you, daughter, how did you find someone like him? He should be a lot older than you, shouldn't he?"

  "What? Can you tell? I thought he looked young for his age, only seven years older than me." Ling Lan sat on the bed, picked up the mirror from the table and examined the spot where she was stung by a bee on her neck.

  Lu Yuqiu took a look at Ling Lan's neck, "It seems like it was indeed stung by a bee."

  Ling Lan pouted, "Mom, why would I lie to you? We really haven't reached that stage, we're just ordinary friends, it's just...we have some feelings for each other. This time I came back is to get the photo album, our school has a big event, and the selected students must use their own photos from childhood to adulthood to make an electronic photo wall. Alas, even if I tell you, you won't understand, anyway, I need to take all the photos back and carefully select them and scan them, don't worry, not one will be lost, after a while I'll send them back to you."

  "I can give you the photo, but I don't agree with this Gu Hanhao, you go back and break up with him quickly!"

  Leaning coquettishly in her mother's arms, "Don't worry, I wasn't interested in him anyway. He insisted on following me, saying he was worried about me traveling alone by train. I promise you, when we get back, I'll break up with him completely. Is that okay?"

  Lu Yuqiu nodded, "Actually, mom doesn't have many requirements for you finding a partner, it's just that Gu Hanhao looks too unreliable. For women, the most important thing in finding a man is a sense of security, just bring back someone who is down-to-earth and reliable."

  Ling Lan nodded in response, but she was not very pleased in her heart. She had originally thought that her parents would be very satisfied with Gu Hanhao, after all, he was excellent. But as a result, even being too handsome wasn't good enough? What kind of parents would be satisfied?!

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