"Teacher Yan, didn't you say you were tired?" Qiu Xi asked, her smile not quite reaching her eyes, her face a little stiff.
"Heh heh~"
"As soon as I saw your master, I wasn't tired anymore. Didn't you say you wanted to rest early today? Hurry and go~" she said, waving her hand.
"......"
Helpless, Qiu Xi turned to Du Bin. "Master, it's so late. Why don't we just rest? We're back now. We can talk about anything tomorrow?"
"No bother, it'll only take a moment. You go tidy up, and get to sleep early!"
"......"
Qiu, who achieved nothing, Xi......
"Alright, you two talk then. I'm going back to my room..."
It was so late, all the elders in the house were asleep. Only her master insisted on waiting!
Before they could share their master-disciple affection, the affection had already fractured...
She might as well go to sleep!
Out of sight, out of mind. Might as well pretend nothing happened...
Yan Xingming glanced at Qiu Xi, who had already gone upstairs. "Old Du, the child is gone. Shall we continue?"
"Continue, continue!"
Their laughter continued for a long time before gradually subsiding.
......
"How is Old Xing?" After watching the video, Du Bin chatted with Yan Xingming about more serious matters with some interest.
Yan Xingming nodded. "He looks good. Still healthy and strong."
"After seeing him this time and knowing that Xiao Xi is your disciple, we talked a lot."
"Old Xing specifically stayed an extra day just to chat and exchange ideas with this child Xiao Xi. Even when he was leaving today, he didn't forget to instruct Xiao Xi, saying she could come to him directly if she had any problems in the future."
"Heh~ As expected, old ginger is spicier!" Du Bin chuckled and cursed. "Old Xing is still the same, so full of schemes!"
"He's getting old and worried, which is normal."
Yan Xingming smiled. "Isn't that just like you? You old fellow hasn't lacked schemes either when you went for the exchange meeting!"
"That's true!" Du Bin had no objections to this statement.
On the surface, him letting this child Xiao Xi attend the exchange meeting was something they had planned long ago. But wasn't this also something he had meticulously planned?
The child was still young, and her considerations naturally had to be more long-term.
Seeing Du Bin nod, Yan Xingming continued, "And Old Xing isn't just thinking about personal feelings. This person, he's already over eighty, but his heart is still devoted to his own small patch of land..."
"Who says not..." Du Bin recalled when he was young, Old Xing's heart was already devoted to academics. He taught students his whole life and still thought of it when he was old, hoping that the younger generation could achieve something in the future and contribute to the country.
Speaking of which, he was also full of ambition when he was young, but after some family issues, he didn't have as many aspirations...
As for now, he and his wife could enjoy their old age, and for this child Xiao Xi to have a good future was his greatest hope.
As friends for decades, Yan Xingming could still discern Du Bin's thoughts.
So, without a word, he grabbed him and said, "Alright, it's getting late. Let's go to bed."
"Okay, sleep!"
He didn't want to be lectured by this child Xiao Xi from time to time!
Others were master and disciple, but with him, everything else was fine, except for staying up late... he was always being told off!
After his wife nagged, his young disciple would nag...
......
The next day.
After a full night's rest, Qiu Xi felt exceptionally good.
When she went downstairs, she had expected to see Teacher Yan, but he had already been picked up early in the morning.
"Grandparents, Master, and Grandma Li, you all carry on then. I'm heading back to school too."
She didn't have any classes today, but she still had tasks to complete and needed to get back to "work overtime" quickly.
The elders nodded. "Go ahead."
They didn't feel bored staying here for so long; they had their own ways of relaxing.
Especially with that kid Xuan Ming and two other young men around recently, their days were filled with joy!
That child Nan Hua had also been visiting frequently lately. Yesterday, he even brought Grandpa Nan along, making life even more cheerful.
After their lives became a bit busier, they didn't constantly miss Qiu Xi and Qiu Ge anymore.
......
Qiu Xi rushed back to the dormitory. It was rare to find all her roommates there.
Qiu Xi looked at the three of them, feeling a bit puzzled. "No way, why are you three so orderly today? Everyone is in the dormitory?"
According to their usual resting patterns, on days without classes, weren't they all fully booked?
Especially Liang Yunfei, the workaholic, was also resting?
Liang Yunfei retorted, "Is it strange?"
"It's not strange~" Song Daiyao chimed in.
"......" Qiu Xi rolled her eyes.
For you to say it's not strange is the strangest thing of all!
"See, I told you!"
"We few are so familiar, we're practically family. How could Xiao Xi not notice?"
Shen Yan clapped her hands together, looking a bit helpless.
Song Daiyao pulled a chair and sat down at the table in the center of the dormitory. "So boring..."
Liang Yunfei followed, glancing back.
Qiu Xi, "......"
"What's going on? Tell me!"
Qiu Xi put down her things, lifted a stool, and joined them.
Her curiosity was exploding right now. Tasks could wait for a while!
Seeing Qiu Xi approach, Song Daiyao was the first to lean in.
"Xiao Xi, it's not really a big deal, it's just that..."
"...We bought tickets for May Day without telling you!"
"Why did you buy tickets? And what do you mean, 'without me'?" Qiu Xi didn't quite process the situation at first.
Buying tickets and going out, she had no objections...
"Okay! To tell you the truth, we bought your ticket too!"
"Yes! Exactly!"
"It's tickets for the four of us to go to the Northwest together!"
Seeing that Qiu Xi hadn't reacted, the three of them blurted everything out in a rush.
"......"
This time, Qiu Xi was truly... speechless!
She had thought earlier that the three of them had been doing something strange these past few days... and not going out today...
Turns out they did this, and they just happened to catch her returning today, which was why the three of them hadn't gone out...
"Xiao Xi, if you don't like it, it's okay. We just bought the tickets in advance anyway. If you don't want to go, we can return them."
The three of them explained, seeing Qiu Xi's silence.
The three of them had a sudden impulse and bought them while they were at it.
Xiao Xi would be back, and they would discuss it again. If it wasn't feasible, they would figure something else out, or just return the tickets.
When Qiu Xi came back to her senses, she heard them say this.
"Return them? Why? No need, you've already bought them, and it didn't cost me any money. I'll just consider it you treating me to a trip."
It was a long holiday during May Day, and it wasn't good to just stay cooped up. Since they had the tickets, they might as well go out and explore.
To avoid regretting it later when they had no time.
"Okay~" Qiu Xi wasn't angry, and the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.
"Xiao Xi, let me tell you, we're going to the grasslands, and we can also..."
After agreeing, the four of them excitedly discussed their travel plans.
It wasn't until noon, when their stomachs started rumbling, that they stopped.
"Why don't we go eat first?"
Holding her rumbling stomach, Shen Yan couldn't hold back any longer.
Song Daiyao raised her hand. "I'm hungry too..."
Qiu Xi and Liang Yunfei looked at each other and nodded. "Then let's leave it at that for now. Let's go eat first."
"Mhm!"