Chapter 33

Chapter 33

“I’m fine, don’t worry.” Ning An pushed back the strands of hair hanging down on his forehead and covered his face with his hands such that his expression couldn’t be seen. His voice also sounded stuffy and dull. “Sorry, let’s go shopping a few days later. Today, I’m a little……”

“It’s okay. I’ll be going home in a few days. Things can also be bought on the star network.” He Xin didn’t quite understand what had happened. He also didn’t know how he should comfort Ning An. Everyone had moments when they were in a bad mood. “Why don’t you come with me to my place to have a look? The scenery there is very good. I heard that they’re also going to develop a tourism business.”

Ning An hesitated and didn’t reply.

“Come and play at my place. Didn’t you say at the start of school that you would come over to my house during the holidays?” He Xin excitedly opened his terminal. “I’ll tell my family at once. They’ll certainly be very happy. My grandma will boil honey milk for us to drink.”

“Okay, okay.” Perhaps relaxing and doing something else would also be pretty good. Ning An felt that Elina shouldn’t be opposed to this. He was just worried that Ning Meng would be all alone at home. “Let me ask Ning Meng if she wants to come with us. I’m worried about her staying home by herself. We won’t trouble you guys with the accommodation; we can just stay in a hotel.”

“It’s fine, we have plenty of rooms in our house. You don’t need to worry.” He Xin gave a big smile and exposed his neat set of white teeth. Infected by his smile, Ning An also didn’t feel as bad as before.

Elina cheerfully agreed on Ning An and Ning Meng taking a trip to Nong Mu Star. After telling them to pay attention to their safety, she transferred some money into their bank accounts to let them play to their heart’s content.

Ning Meng was very excited during the entire journey there, only taking a nap after Ning An had finally persuaded her to rest. After arriving at Nong Mu Star and boarding a rental flying car, she started excitedly taking pictures again.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

The flying car advanced on the route set by He Xin. The buildings around them became fewer and fewer, replaced with vast stretches of farmland and pastures. The blue sky and green land looked very scenic.

“Ge, look! There’s sheep over there!” Ning Meng opened her terminal and continuously took photos. “There’s also so many little lambs. God, they look so fluffy! I really want to touch them.”

“Pa’r j gfji mbk!”

“Obbx, ibbx! Ktfgf’r j ugbeq bo vemxr lc atja qbcv!”

Ktf oislcu mjg revvfcis rabqqfv klatbea kjgclcu. Rlcu Cc jcv Rlcu Zfcu ibbxfv lc mbcoerlbc ja atf iert ugffc olfiv reggbecvfv ys j kbbvfc ofcmf jcv atfc ibbxfv ja Lf Wlc ktb kjr qgfqjglcu ab ufa boo atf mjg. Rlcu Cc afcajalnfis jrxfv: “Qf’gf tfgf?”

“We’re here!” Hearing this, Ning An also got off the car to move his luggage. After Ning Meng got out, the flying car then flew back according to its preset settings and disappeared into the distance. He Xin then explained: “This is the entrance to my family’s farm. I can’t input the location of our house, so the flying car can only stop here. Look, my family is driving over to pick us up.”

Ning An and Ning Meng looked in the direction that He Xin was pointing at. There was a black dot that was growing bigger and bigger. Finally, a modified three-wheeled truck stopped in front of the three of them. A young woman in overalls who looked quite similar to He Xin got out of the car. As soon as she got off, she gave He Xin a big hug. “Aiyah, this kid is finally willing to come back? Is the Capital Star fun? How was school?”

“Biao Jie, loosen up a bit.” He Xin struggled out of that woman’s hug, his face thoroughly red. “School’s great. Cousin, this is my friend Ning An. Next to him is his little sister Ning Meng. This is my cousin, He Yan.”

“Hello Jie Jie.” The siblings said in unison. He Yan replied, “Hello. Get on, get on. Uncle and auntie are waiting.”

There was only the driver’s seat in the car, so the three of them sat in the cargo hold in the back, putting their suitcases down to act as seats.

“He Xin Ge, this area can’t all be your home right?” Ning Meng clung to the edge of the cargo hold, looking around at the endless fields of grass with groups of cows and sheep gathered here and there.

“Yes, this is all my home.” He Xin looked outside. “This side is the pastures; it’s quite big. We live on that side of the farm. Is something wrong?”

“It’s so big.” Ning An and Ning Meng have pretty much always stayed in the Capital Star. This was the first time that they had seen such a wide area of grassland, with the gentle breeze carrying the sweet scent of grass. Ning An felt that this really was a great place.

He Xin’s family home was a one story building, but the area wasn’t small and there were also a lot of empty rooms. He Xin said that it was because his relatives would come to stay over during Chinese New Year and other festivities. They were also used as guesthouses for visitors. Ning An and Ning Meng’s rooms were next to each other, opposite the rooms of He Xin and He Yan. He Xin said that He Yan was studying at the top educational establishment on Nong Mu Star. She only came back during the holidays to help out on the farm and accumulate some practical experience.

He Xin’s parents were both very welcoming, especially after receiving the gift that Elina had asked Ning An to pass on, causing Ning An and Ning Meng to feel a little embarrassed. After eating dinner, the two of them excused themselves and left the dining table. Ning An accompanied Ning Meng to sit on the swing in the yard and watch the sunset.

The sun moved from one side of the sky to the other, but it didn’t fall below the horizon. It stayed suspended in the sky, but no longer emitted a warm glaring light. The sky also transitioned from azure to a deep blue, and stars started to light up the night sky.

“Ge.” Ning Meng moved closer to Ning An and rested her head on his shoulder. “Which star do you think mum and dad are on now?”

“Perhaps that one?” Ning An randomly pointed at a star. He knew that Ning Meng was a little irritated. Growing up, their parents didn’t have much time to be with them. They both worked and were very busy. Not to mention Ning Meng, Ning An also felt a little jealous looking at He Xin’s family, but they knew that love could be expressed in many different ways.

“I will accompany you.” Ning An pushed his leg against the ground and the swing started to rock. “Let’s play on the swing?”

*****

Perhaps because the siblings’ thoughts were quite strong, the next day, they saw their father at the entrance of He Yan’s school gymnasium — this gymnasium was built on **** Year * Month * Day. Donor: Ning Xin Bo. There was also a printed photograph beside it.

“Ge, why do I suddenly feel a little ashamed.” The two siblings took after Elina. Ning Meng also knew that no one would specifically stare at the donor’s photo. But with the number of people passing by this big entrance, she still moved behind Ning An so she couldn’t see the photograph.

“I also have this feeling. It’s fine to just write the name. To also hang a photo… ah this isn’t good, I don’t want to look.” Early morning, He Xin had gone with his father to the market to purchase fodder for the animals. Ning An and Ning Meng came with He Yan to her school. While He Yan went to the office to find a teacher and get her documents, Ning An and Ning Meng waited for her at the gymnasium. Who could have imagined that they would see such a photo at the entrance.

“Hello.” Perhaps their unusual behaviour here was somewhat conspicuous. Someone had walked over; it was a male; his height was rather tall. Ning An subconsciously moved Ning Meng behind him and only relaxed after Ning Meng whispered something into his ear. The person who walked up smiled and said, “Are you new students coming to look around the school?”

“Hello.” It seemed that this person thought that they were new students who had gotten lost. “We came here to tour around. We’re just waiting from someone here. Are we blocking the entrance?”

Saying this, Ning An lead Ning Meng and moved to the side.