Two more days passed.
"Tang Tang, you don't need to see us off, go on with your work. The three of us can manage."
Qiu Xi and the other two bought tickets for the afternoon to return home and were currently packing their things to leave.
"Then... that's fine too," Tang Siran hesitated before nodding.
"Remember to message me when you arrive."
"Yes, don't worry, we'll message you from the airport and when we get home."
"Mm, okay."
At 1 PM, Qiu Xi and the others boarded the plane to their country on time.
...
"Brother, we're here."
It was past 9 PM, almost 10 PM, when they returned to their country.
When they learned that the children were returning, the family discussed it, and in the end, they decided to have Xu Xuanming pick them up.
At the airport, Xu Xuanming walked over quickly upon hearing the voices.
"Brother Xuan Ming, long time no see."
"Mm, long time no see."
Due to their close relationship, Hua Linglong and the others naturally knew Xu Xuanming.
"Xiao Xi, are you tired?"
Xu Xuanming casually took the suitcase from Qiu Xi's hand.
"It's okay, not too tired, just a bit hungry~"
"That's easy to fix. Get in the car first. Auntie and Uncle have saved dinner for you at home."
"Okay."
Half an hour later—
"You guys go in first, I'll be there in a moment." As soon as the car stopped, Xu Xuanming, who was on the phone, called out to them.
"Little Snowflake, Linglong, let's go in first, the three of us."
"Mm, okay."
"Dad, we're back~"
As soon as Qiu Xi entered, she saw her father sitting there looking at his phone.
"Uncle, good evening."
"Mm, come over and sit quickly."
"I'll get you the dishes." As soon as he saw his daughter, Qiu's father immediately put away his phone and stood up.
"Dad, I'll help you."
With that, Qiu Xi followed him.
Later, Qiu Xi and the other two sat eating, with Qiu's father watching beside them.
"Xiao Xi, how was your trip this time?" Qiu's father asked with concern.
"Dad, let me tell you, Tang Tang's arrangements for this trip were absolutely perfect!"
"When you have time, you and Mom should go out and play too..."
"The four of us, these past few days we've seen..."
As the three ate, they chatted with Qiu's father.
"..."
"So, Uncle Qiu, if you want to go someday, you can go out and play."
"Okay~ I definitely will!" Qiu's father smiled so much that his eyes were almost invisible.
These three children really knew how to talk.
"Do you want anything else to eat? I'll make it for you."
"Uncle, this is already enough, no need to trouble yourself further."
"Dad, we just got back, we can talk about it tomorrow."
"Okay~"
"I'll go to the market tomorrow and make you a good meal."
"Okay~"
"You guys eat first, then go upstairs after you're done. Rest early."
"We know, Dad, you go rest first."
"Okay, then you guys go ahead and do your thing, I'm going upstairs."
With that, Qiu's father went upstairs first.
A moment later, Xu Xuanming came in.
"Brother, why don't you have something to eat too?" Qiu Xi called out as soon as she saw him.
"You guys don't need to eat, I already ate before I left."
"Okay then."
"Mm, then I'll be going back now. You guys get some rest early." Since his aunt and uncle weren't around, he didn't want to linger.
"Okay, thank you, Brother~" Qiu Xi said with a smile.
Xu Xuanming smiled, "It's nothing."
Then he waved and returned next door.
...
The next day—
"Xiao Xi, when did you get back last night?"
Grandpa Qiu and Grandma Qiu were a little happy to see their granddaughter first thing in the morning.
They knew she got back last night, but the elderly tended to sleep early.
"Grandpa, Grandma, good morning~"
"We got home after 10 PM last night, it was a bit late..."
"Grandpa, Grandma, come and have breakfast with us."
Although she slept late, she woke up very early today and made breakfast since she had nothing to do.
"Okay~ Coming."
"Xiao Xi, you're up quite early today." Qiu's father looked at his daughter, who was already sitting there, with some surprise.
"Dad, you're up too, come and have breakfast..."
"Alright, I'll be right there. I'll go call your mother."
"Okay."
Soon, everyone was seated at the Qiu family's dining table.
"It's been a while since I've tasted Xiao Xi's cooking, it's still as delicious as before!"
Qiu Xi smiled broadly at the praise from the elders.
Everyone was in a good mood early in the morning.
...
Afternoon—
"Xiao Xi, Linglong, I might be heading back tomorrow, just letting you know in advance."
She had been away for quite some time, and it was indeed time to return to oversee the follow-up matters.
"We know..." The two nodded.
There was nothing they could do about it; even they had a lot to do these past couple of days.
Moreover, they all had university friends, and with graduation approaching, they each had their own arrangements.
"Let me know when your ticket is, and I'll see you off then," Qiu Xi said.
"I just checked, and I plan to buy a ticket for tomorrow afternoon to return."
"Mm, that's fine."
"You start packing, and I'll see if there's anything you need to bring..."
"Xiao Xi, I'll just take these back, anything more and I won't be able to carry it," Ni Xue said with a smile, shaking her head.
They had gone abroad together and had already bought quite a lot of things.
Besides those for gifts, they had plenty for themselves.
Looking at her suitcase, which weighed twice as much as when she arrived, Ni Xue shook her head.
Qiu Xi nodded, "I know, it's just some small things, they don't take up much space."
If necessary, she would directly mail the heavier items, so there was no need to go to such trouble.
"Then all right..." Ni Xue had no choice but to nod.
"Okay, you finish packing, I'm going down to say something," Qiu Xi said and went downstairs.
If she mentioned it to her parents and grandparents now, they would probably pack a whole lot of things for them to take back.
It was better for her to handle it herself, to lighten the load for her own sisters.
Ni Xue finished packing that evening.
And Hua Linglong, who had spent another day at Qiu's house, also prepared to hitch a ride back to school with Qiu Xi the next day when she was seeing someone off.
...
The next day—
After seeing Ni Xue and Hua Linglong off, Qiu Xi also returned to school with her things.
"Xiao Xi, you're back~"
It was almost time for the dormitory's siesta, and everyone was in the dorm.
"Yes, I just dropped Ni Xue off and drove straight back."
"Here, these are the gifts I brought for you all from our trip to Country Y," Qiu Xi said, patting the suitcase in her hands.
She had only brought two sets of clothes on this trip; everything else was either bought there or borrowed from Tang Tang.
The suitcase she took with her was for Tang Tang's gifts, and the one she brought back was for everyone's gifts.
"Xiao Xi~"
"Love you to death~"
"Let me see what's inside."
Song Daixuan and the others were a bit excited. After hearing Qiu Xi speak, they rushed forward.
None of them lacked money; they could buy these things whenever they wanted. They just liked the feeling of receiving gifts.
And as a gesture of goodwill, they would reciprocate at the appropriate time.
After the gifts were distributed.
"Have you guys thought about it? When are we setting off?"
It was already May, and the thesis defense would be at the end of May. A trip of about ten days should be enough.
"We've all thought about it. It's the May Day holiday right now. We'll set off after the holiday ends in a couple of days."
"We can't visit so many cities, so we've chosen a few representative ones. Two days in each place should be enough. We'll be back after two weeks, which is the perfect timing."
Listening to Shen Yan and looking at the plan they had summarized, Qiu Xi nodded.
"I think it's a good plan."
"You three are really clever. I feel a little embarrassed to just enjoy the fruits of your labor~"
"What's there to be embarrassed about!"
"We're the ones who just received gifts, so we're the embarrassed ones," Song Daixuan said with a giggle.
Qiu Xi smiled and said, "Okay, then I won't be polite. Thank you for your hard work."
"Alright, now that Xiao Xi is back, let's prepare and buy our tickets soon."
"Okay."
In just a few minutes of conversation, the group had already bought tickets for the first stop and booked hotels.
Since they had already visited the grasslands, they decided to head south this time.
Their plan was to travel along their country's coastline to the southernmost point and then circle back inland.
...
"Sisters, my good days might be coming to an end soon!"
Qiu Xi and the other two were stunned by Shen Yan's exclamation.
"Yan Yan, what's wrong that you're so excited!" Song Daixuan looked at Shen Yan, her eyes wide.
"My graduate supervisor just sent me a message, asking about my thesis. At the end, he told me to prepare to join his research group after things here wrap up..."
"My good days seem to be coming to an end soon..."
The three were speechless.
"So soon!!!"
"Did none of you receive one?" Shen Yan blinked.
The three shook their heads in unison, "No... at least not yet..."
But they had a feeling it wouldn't be long...
Especially Qiu Xi, she understood these professors the best among them.
She felt it might be soon too...