Chapter 53 - 43: A Clean Sweep
Su Ran toured the RV and said, "You can drive this RV with a regular license. It’s not very spacious, but... that bed is huge. More than enough room for a few people to sleep."
"In that case... want to come up and feel it for yourself?"
Sitting on the edge of the bed, the four girls patted the sheets.
"Hah... stop trying to set me up. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to."
Su Ran wasn’t an idiot. ’These four girls have a whole playbook of tricks.’
"It’s not bad. I feel better now. You’re not familiar with the route out of the city, so I’ll drive. The rest of you should get ready, too. Double-check if you’ve packed everything you need."
Xiao Wanqing stood up, patted Su Ran’s shoulder, and headed to the driver’s cabin.
Among the five of them, only she and Su Ran knew how to drive.
"We’re going to change now. Su Ran, no peeking, you hear? Or your dear Jinyu will gouge your eyes out."
SWISH— The bedroom door slid shut. ’So much for trust between people, huh?’
The three girls changed their clothes inside.
This RV trip had no set time limit. As long as they made it back before school registration at the end of the month, everything was fine.
Since they had plenty of time, they all agreed not to follow a set itinerary.
They would mainly stick to the Hu Yu Highway. When they got tired, they’d pull off, find something to eat, see the sights, experience the local culture—stopping and starting as they pleased, enjoying life and deepening their bonds with each other.
「A few minutes later.」
SWISH—
The three girls emerged in casual wear. Shorts in pink, white, and yellow hugged their perky behinds, accentuating their lovely curves.
Their long, fair, and delicate legs ended in small feet clad in cute slippers. They walked over, adjusting their T-shirts and hair buns.
In the scorching midsummer heat, the air was sticky, and clothes clung to the body, revealing faint outlines.
Xie Yiren and Aina sat on the sofa across from them, while Liu Jinyu sat down next to Su Ran.
So youthful, so lively.
"Come on, let’s take a picture to remember this."
Su Ran held the selfie stick at a 45-degree angle. Xie Yiren and Aina leaned in, making cute faces. Liu Jinyu pouted her lips, pretending to kiss Su Ran’s cheek.
One, two, three... CLICK—
Capturing the most beautiful moment in time.
"Buckle up, everyone! We’re off~"
From the driver’s cabin, Xiao Wanqing called out as she started the RV and pulled away.
From the cabin’s sofa, by the window, the scenery of Shanghai flashed past.
’Honestly, a relationship just like this is the best, isn’t it?’
Liu Jinyu dumped a large bag of snacks onto the table.
"Dig in, everyone! We can worry about dieting when school starts."
They were dance students and were usually very careful about their figures. But on this road trip, they didn’t care about gaining a little weight. They would enjoy themselves first and then go on an intense diet later.
Aina: "Should we play a game?"
Liu Jinyu: "What game?"
Aina: "Pen Immortal?"
Xie Yiren shook her head frantically. "Let’s not play that. Weren’t you scared to death last time in the dorm? If you want to play, play by yourself. I’m not playing, anyway."
Aina: "The Pen Immortal is super accurate! It answers whatever you ask. Last time, didn’t Jinyu ask— Mmph mmph mmph~"
"Keep that in your mouth!"
Before she could finish, Liu Jinyu grabbed a grilled sausage and stuffed it into Aina’s mouth.
Su Ran’s interest was piqued. "What unspeakable secret did you ask?"
Liu Jinyu shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then straightened up, adopting the air of a cool older sister. "You’re so nosy, Ranran! Stop asking! And I’m warning you two—don’t you dare tell Su Ran, or I’ll kill you!"
Just then, Xiao Wanqing’s laugh came from the driver’s cabin. "Didn’t you just ask when your Mr. Right would appear, and the Pen Immortal told you it would be during a trip, which is why you went traveling? What’s there to be embarrassed about?"
"Ahhh~"
Liu Jinyu was going frantic.
Su Ran chuckled and teased, "So, you were waiting at Jiuxi Lake, hoping I’d just show up?"
Liu Jinyu hurriedly explained, "No, no! I was just traveling, I really wasn’t thinking about... Ugh, fine! So what if I was waiting for you! Is that a problem?!"
Just like that, she was forcing herself to act tough again.
"Of course it’s not a problem. But... I’ve heard of that Pen Immortal thing, but I’ve never played. Is it really accurate? I’d like to give it a try."
"What do you want to ask?" Liu Jinyu grew curious.
"Just whatever, for fun. As a materialist, I don’t believe in that stuff," Su Ran said casually.
"It won’t work well now. Let’s do it tonight. We’ll play tonight, it’ll have more of an atmosphere," Xiao Wanqing said.
"Yay, we get to play again! I love playing these kinds of super games," Aina said, getting up and bouncing around, things jiggling as she moved.
Liu Jinyu scoffed. "Tch. You’re terrible at it but you’re still addicted. You’re always the one who gets scared half to death."
"None of your business! So what if I like it? I have my hubby here to protect me, hmph." Aina said, hugging Xie Yiren.
Xie Yiren, the most timid of them all, didn’t say a word.
Amidst constant laughter and chatter, they talked about everything under the sun. Their conversations ranged from outer space to the most private gossip, saying whatever came to mind, and the time flew by.
「Two hours later,」 Su Ran took over for Xiao Wanqing. He drove for another two hours on the Hu Yu Highway until, a little after 7 PM, they exited the highway. They weren’t in a city or a town, but a small, sparsely populated village. They parked the RV by a river, ready to be self-sufficient for the night.
The group got out to stretch their legs. They set up the retractable outdoor awning and started preparing dinner.
Aina leaned in and whispered gloomily to Xie Yiren, "Doesn’t this place feel a little like one of those villages from a scary old ghost movie?"
"You’re so annoying! Don’t say things like that."
"Hahaha..."
Liu Jinyu: "Aina, stop running your mouth and get over here and wash the cucumber. I’m going to make a vegetable salad."
Su Ran walked back from the riverbank. "I saw a bunch of holes over there. There should be swamp eels inside. Find me a piece of wire. I’ll bend it into a hook, bait it with an earthworm, and fish them out. I’ll make you guys some braised eel later."
They found a piece of wire. After a little sharpening, the simple, crude tool was put to use. Aina, who was useless at chores, was put in charge of holding the bucket for Su Ran to put the eels in.
Everyone had their assigned tasks and got busy with dinner.
From time to time, Aina’s voice would drift from the riverbank: "Su Ran, you’re so amazing! You got another eel~"
"Keep your voice down, you’ll scare all the eels away."
Just as Su Ran pulled up an eel, his hand slipped, and it landed on Aina’s foot. It startled her so much she kicked out her leg, lost her footing, and plopped right down into the soft mud.
"What’s moving under me?"
"Aina, get up, quick!"
"AHHH—"
She leaped up, screaming.
"Hahaha—"
The sound of the young men and women’s laughter echoed through the silent, old village at night.
Dinner.
Braised local swamp eel, fruit salad, twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts, tomato and egg drop soup, cola chicken wings, shredded pork with green peppers, and sweet and sour pork ribs.
And, to drink: Brave the World beer!
"Come on, cheers!"
CLINK~
They downed their drinks in one go.
They extravagantly praised each other’s cooking skills.
The atmosphere was harmonious, and the bottles of beer were emptied one after another.
「After dinner, they rested for a bit.」
Xiao Wanqing spoke up. "Okay! Time for the next event. Let’s play Pen Immortal!"
Eek~
Xie Yiren shivered. "Maybe we should skip it... This village is creepy. Haven’t you noticed there’s not a single other person around? And we’re going to play a taboo game on top of that? Let’s not."
Su Ran nodded. "She’s right. Let’s not play. I was just talking casually back in the RV."
Liu Jinyu and Aina didn’t mind either way, since they had played before.
Xiao Wanqing said, "What’s there to be afraid of? We’re playing! It’s rare for us all to be together like this tonight. We should ask whatever we want to ask. Wait here, I’ll go get the props."
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