Chapter Eleven Departure

  I opened my eyes, and it took me a long time to react. I'm back, back to my girlhood days. The familiar room, the familiar bed, I was lying on it just fine. I closed my eyes and recalled, scene after scene flashing in my mind.

  I was living in the 21st century, but due to an unintentional remark, I crossed back into my teenage years while asleep. On the first night after crossing back, I was brought back to my modern home by the Dream God and ultimately decided to relive my youth. Afterwards, I arrived at the Dream God's palace, had dinner, and painted a picture.

  Later... it seemed like... in a patch of lily flowers, Mo also kissed me. Actually, it didn't count as a kiss, just Mo's lips lightly touched mine. He must have mistaken me for Zi Ruo. Ah, considering how much he helped me, I won't hold it against him. In fact, I even came out on top, right?

  Now I'm really back, and a bit confused. Is all this true or an illusion? It's too mysterious, too magical. I don't have the confidence to convince myself, but my memories are indeed there reminding me that it should be real. But it's just too unbelievable.

  I furrowed my brow in thought, there should be something. What is it? Ah yes, didn't I draw a picture? Let me take a look and see if it's on me. I stood up and searched my body, hmm, nothing. Could everything really have just been a dream of mine? I shook my head and continued searching, no way, how could such vivid memories be fake? And that magical kiss that's impossible to forget, how could that be fake too? I couldn't accept it.

  I scratched my head, what's on my head? I looked in the mirror and found a bright lily flower tucked into my hair bun. No, it should be a lily-shaped hair clip. Lily garden? I remember that Mu's garden was full of lilies, I guess they must be his favorite flowers. I also love them so much, they're so beautiful, clean and pure. Who knew Mu was such a romantic.

  I gently plucked the flower, but wait, there seems to be something inside. I carefully opened the petals and found a painting. I unfolded it, and indeed it was a painting that looked like one of mine, but upon closer inspection, it wasn't quite right. Firstly, the paper was wrong - this paper was extremely fine, with a great texture, and felt like it couldn't be torn. And it's so small! How could a painting shrink? Could magic have been used to miniaturize it? There's something strange about this.

  I thought to myself that the painting would get bigger, and a miracle happened. This painting seemed to be able to sense my heart, and it slowly got bigger. I could see it more clearly now. The side profile of Mo Ye was really enchanting, her silver hair was so flowing, and her white robe was truly elegant.

  I stared at the painting foolishly, so is this painting like Sun Wukong's golden hoop rod that can change in size? I'll try it out. Facing the painting, I softly said: "Get a bit bigger, and then even bigger." Really, the painting slowly started to get bigger, until it was as big as the original canvas and stopped.

  Wow, great baby! I whispered again: "Get smaller, even smaller." As expected, the painting slowly shrunk. I was so excited that I almost fainted. It's like a fairy tale. Ah, it's too much for you. This way, can't we be together every day? Haha, it's too blissful. I wonder if this painting has any special functions? After all, it was given by an immortal.

  "Knock, knock, knock...". Someone was knocking on the door. I hastily shrunk the painting and hid it in my backpack, then opened the door to see that it was Mom: "Get up quickly, the noodles are done, go wash your hands and come eat!"

  I rubbed my eyes and responded with a murmur. Today was the day I started school, and I had to leave home to live in the dormitory. Hurriedly, I combed my hair, put on my lily hair clip, and wore the clothes that were altered yesterday - a white blouse with a floral collar paired with a floral skirt, a typical beautiful girl's outfit. Unfortunately, I was too short and developed too slowly. Alas, who made me not choose a good birth time?

  I was born when my mother was over 30 years old, and our family life was already very difficult. With many children and a low standard of living, it's no wonder that I didn't get enough nutrition. It would be strange if I had grown up well. This is what they call "born with insufficiency, not supplemented later". Now, I make a funny face in front of the mirror, youth, I'm here! Just wait and see my transformation!!

  I arrived at the kitchen, and my mom had already served the noodles. Wow, the egg and vegetable noodles smelled so good, it's my favorite! In my memory, eggs were a rare thing in our household. Generally speaking, the eggs laid by our chicken would either be sold or given as gifts. At most, we'd eat some during holidays, but not usually. Today, my mom made three eggs just for me to eat, I'm so happy!

  Just as I was eating, Hua came, carrying big and small bags, with her father, my second uncle, following behind. "Are you ready, Yun?" she asked as soon as she entered the door. "Almost, just a minute." I finished eating in a few mouthfuls, and went to the living room, where Mom had already packed my luggage.

  Because we were sharing a bed, Qiaoyi and I each brought a quilt and a mattress, one big package per person. My dad had to send the big packages over, while I carried several small ones containing spare clothes, toiletries, and a week's worth of rice and vegetables.

  Sigh, why doesn't the cafeteria just serve meals? Instead, we have to bring our own lunch boxes and steam our own rice every day. To be honest, the rice from the lunch box is quite tasty because it's all brought from home. We can control how much we eat by steaming only what we need, which is manageable. The problem is with the dishes - there's no place to stir-fry them, so we bring cooked dishes from home. But now that it's summer, fresh vegetables can't be stored for long periods of time. So we can only bring a day's worth of greens and have to eat pickled vegetables the rest of the time, which are packed in glass jars and last a whole week. We go back home on weekends to pick up the next week's supply.

  We set off with all preparations ready, our group of people - I and Qiu Wei, Dad and Second Uncle, went to our destination - Meiling Middle School.

  I saw a figure in white standing at the head of the wooden bridge from afar. White clothes? My heart skipped a beat, could it be Mo? But upon closer inspection, there was no silver hair, only short black hair. As I drew nearer, oh, it turned out to be that guy - Xiao Yang. He also came to school today, but why didn't he bring his luggage?

  I curiously asked, "Why didn't you bring your luggage? Don't you need to stay overnight? What about self-study at night?" Xiao Yang politely greeted the two parents: "Uncle and aunt, I'm here to help!" Second Uncle smiled and said, "You're Yulan's brother, right? You're quite sensible. If someone bullies them in school, you have to help them out." Xiao Yang smiled and replied, "Got it." After that, he walked up to me, took the bag from my hand, and whispered, "I'll help you, we agreed on it yesterday." I was taken aback - when did we agree on this yesterday?

  I stared at him in confusion. He nodded: "Yes, what I said before going home yesterday, you agreed to it." Oh, it seemed like he had said something, but at that time I was distracted and didn't hear clearly. I smiled apologetically and asked softly: "Then where is your luggage?" "It's already been sent," he said lightly. As we spoke, the others had already crossed the single-plank bridge.

  Looking at the single-plank bridge, I was indeed a bit scared. Xiao Yang said with concern: "Don't be afraid, I'm watching you from behind. Or you hold onto my backpack strap and I'll lead you across." I followed his words, holding onto the strap, he walked slowly in front, while I closely followed behind.

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