Thirty, Our Appointment (1)

  In a small restaurant next to the hotel.

  I ordered a bowl of over-the-bridge rice noodles, Ouyang Xiaoxiao ordered a bowl of Guilin rice noodles and also two plates of small cold dishes.

  Ouyang Xiaoxiao picked up a small jar containing chili oil next to her, scooped out two spoons for herself, "Their family's fried chili is very good, hmm, have a spoonful and try it."

  "Thank you," I pushed the bowl in front of me towards Ouyang Xiao.

  "Do you usually eat spicy food?" Ouyang Xiao asked as she scooped a spoonful of chili peppers into my bowl.

  "It's okay, I don't eat it often," I smiled, "How about you?"

  "I quite like eating, but I don't eat much usually," Ouyang Xiaoxiao smiled, "Mu Xian, where are you from?"

  "I'm from Shandong, how about you?"

  "Zhejiang," said Ouyang Xiaoxiao with a smile, "the sea on your side is very beautiful. I went to see it last summer."

  I smiled, "You went to Qingdao, right? I stayed in Yantai for over a year. The first seaside resort there, when I first went, thought it was beautiful and magnificent, but later on, got a bit aesthetically fatigued."

  "I quite like the sea, it's majestic and atmospheric, not like the river at our home which feels narrow-minded," said Ouyang Xiaoxiao with a smile. "When I was little, I yearned for the sea, I remember there was an article in my primary school textbook called 'Seven-colored Flower', at that time, I thought if I had such a seven-colored flower to make a wish, I hoped I could go see the ocean."

  "It seems that many people, when they were young, were full of curiosity and longing for the ocean, imagining standing on the boundless coast, watching the bright moon rising from the sea, experiencing what it's like to have a bright moon born from the sea, sharing this moment at the edge of the sky." I smiled, "When I was young, I also yearned for the ocean, because in an essay book, I saw descriptions of reefs, waves, beaches, seashells, seaweed, jellyfish, and hermit crabs, and I wanted to go see them."

  "Do you like traveling?" asked Ouyang Xiaoxiao.

  "I really like it, I've always wanted to go to Hulunbuir in Inner Mongolia to see the grasslands, and also want to go to Turpan in Xinjiang to see the Gobi Desert," I said with a smile.

  "I also like traveling, I've been to Hohhot, where I saw the grasslands and stayed in a Mongolian yurt. I went to Xinjiang, specifically Urumqi, and also visited Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Anhui, Henan, Hebei, Shaanxi, Hubei, and Heilongjiang. Hmm, I've been to most of the provincial capitals in China. Adding other tourist cities, I've probably been to around 50 or 60 places."

  "Wow, you've been to so many cities," I exclaimed in surprise.

  Moreover, when I went to these cities, it was almost always just me going alone. After arriving, I arranged my own food and accommodation because previously, I had followed a travel agency once, but felt very constrained. Moreover, before I could finish touring the scenic area, the tour guide would rush me, so from that time on, I have been traveling alone.

  "Hey, you mentioned a travel agency, I remembered that I have a friend who works as a tour guide in a travel agency. He said he's coming here these two days and asked me to take care of him," Ou Yang Xiao Xiao's words reminded me of Lan Qi.

  "They're travel agencies, many of them are scams, they take tourists to a scenic spot and then pressure them to buy souvenirs, that's also another reason why I don't like traveling with agencies," said Ouyang Xiaoxiao with a smile.

  "This I'm not very clear about, I've grown up like this and have never been in contact with a travel agency," I said with a smile.

  "Hmm, I'm planning to go to Tibet this year too," said Ouyang Xiaoxiao.

  "Tibet?" I was somewhat surprised.

  "Yes," Ouyang Xiao nodded, "I wanted to go to Lhasa, Tibet from the year before last, but because I was busy with the college entrance exam, I didn't go. Last summer, after the college entrance exam ended, I went to Sanya in Hainan and then to Xishuangbanna and Lijiang in Yunnan. The scenery there was too beautiful, so I stayed for over a month. As a result, time passed by, and now I still haven't been to Lhasa."

  "Tibet is known as the last piece of pure land on earth, also known as the place where souls return, so it's definitely worth a visit," I smiled.

  "Soul return?" Ouyang Xiao smiled wryly and muttered to herself, "I should find myself back..."