I really like your sand sculpture group friends

"By the way, how are you now?"

Yan Nuoya paused slightly and said softly, "...Very good, you've made several friends."

After saying that, she seemed to remember something, and with a slight smile, she added, "Yes, and important good friends too."

"I see."

The old lady didn't say anything more, she just nodded.

Her slightly hunched back seemed to relax imperceptibly, and her tightly pursed lips softened.

Good luck, kid.

Chapter 175 Yan, are you a child?!

Sneak across Yinping and head straight for Shu Han!

Who would have thought that he would secretly travel to Nuoya's hometown to give her a surprise?

Well, part of it was because I felt a little uneasy after talking with Yan Nuoya the day before yesterday.

As a result, Yan Nuoya ran away again without saying a word yesterday, making him extremely worried.

Of course, even if everyone made a special trip to see it, he would never admit to such a thing.

After I get off the high-speed rail station, I'll use navigation to find her house. If I still can't find it, I'll ask around when I get nearby.

Then, after arriving at her doorstep, I called her to come out.

The plan is in place.

He couldn't help but imagine what kind of expression Noah would have when she saw him.

Mo Xiangwen followed the flow of people out of the ticket gate. He hesitated for a moment when he saw the navigation sign without any subway directions, and decided to go to the small square outside the high-speed rail station first.

Since there's no subway, let's go out and check out the situation.

Judging from the map, there shouldn't be any problems riding a bicycle or electric vehicle, so taking a taxi isn't necessarily necessary.

Since we're already here, it wouldn't hurt to take a look at the scenery of this city.

He had just stepped out of the high-speed rail station and arrived at the small park square in front of it. Just as he was about to turn on his phone's navigation, his eyes were drawn to the scene before him.

In the bustling park square, the familiar silver-white girl sat under the shade of a tree, her profile seemingly lost in thought.

She looked up at the branches above, holding a cup of milk tea in her hand.

What's Noah doing here? Did she just happen to bump into her on her way to go on a trip? Or is she, like Su Mengli and Su Mengyao, Noah's older or younger sister?

Mo Xiangwen was puzzled, but he did not stop. Instead, he turned slightly to the side, intending to approach the girl from the side.

She had only taken a few steps when she suddenly turned her head and her gaze fell squarely on him.

The girl paused slightly, then a faint smile appeared on her lips, a smile that seemed to carry a hint of helplessness.

She stood up from the chair and walked quickly toward him.

Then there's no need to think about it anymore; it seems it really is Yan Nuoya.

Just as Mo Xiangwen was stunned, Yan Nuoya had already come to him, looked up at him quietly, and had a faint smile in her eyes.

He could clearly see that those usually calm purple eyes were filled with complex and unreadable emotions, but there was no surprise in them.

The two stared at each other for a long time before Yan Nuoya chuckled and teased, "My dear Mo, are you still a child? Why are you always thinking about giving others a surprise?"

"That's not important." Mo Xiangwen asked hesitantly, "I only mentioned tourism, how could you guess I was coming?"

“Yes, that’s right.” Yan Nuoya nodded frankly: “If you don’t say anything, I naturally won’t be able to guess.”

As she spoke, she chuckled softly.

"Who told you to act like a little kid?" Yan Nuoya switched the milk tea to her left hand, reached out her right hand and gently tapped his chest, teasing him, "You know that as long as you say it, you might expose your purpose, but you still can't help but want to test it."

Mo Xiangwen sighed softly.

Just as Yan Nuoya said, he knew all too well that if he mentioned it even slightly, he might expose his purpose to Yan Nuoya. The best way was to make arrangements secretly without saying a word, just like when Bai Shishi first came to the school.

That way, no matter how smart she is, she won't be able to guess what she's going to do.

"Alright, stop frowning." Yan Nuoya shoved the milk tea into his hand: "Here, you must be tired from the journey, I've prepared some fruit tea for you."

Now that things have come to this, it's just a cup of milk tea, so he didn't stand on ceremony with Yan Nuoya and simply reached out to take it.

"I didn't expect Yan to prepare milk tea for me." Mo Xiangwen chuckled. "It's clear that Yan is very happy to have me here."

"Hmm." Yan Nuoya gave a soft hum, responding to him casually, "Then raise your arm a little higher."

Although he was a little confused, he still obediently raised his arm a little as Yan Nuoya had told him.

The next moment, a soft body suddenly pressed close and bumped into his arms.

Yan Nuoya reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him tightly.

Even without looking down, he could smell that familiar fragrance emanating from Yan Nuoya.

Mo Xiangwen's body stiffened, his raised arm frozen in mid-air. He could clearly feel the softness pressed against his chest, strongly asserting its presence.

It seemed that this was not enough. Yan Nuoya tightened her arms, as if she wanted to pull him into her embrace, as if she wanted to vent all her emotions on him.

Mo Xiangwen didn't move, letting her hold him. But as time passed, she showed no sign of letting go, nor did she cry or sob. Only silence continued to spread, making the surrounding air gradually sink.

“Well, my dear Yan seems to be in a bad mood.” Mo Xiangwen pretended to be helpless, trying to brighten the atmosphere a bit, and sighed, “However, it is my duty to lend Yan a chest to vent her frustrations once in a while, so I won’t charge Yan for it.”

"No," Yan Nuoya mumbled in his arms, then released his grip and took a step back.

Yan Nuoya's eyes were bright as she looked at him with a gentle smile: "There has never been a better time than now."

Mo Xiangwen looked into her bright purple eyes and was speechless for a moment.

The autumn wind swept across the square, gently lifting her long, silvery hair, which shimmered softly in the sunlight.

She stood quietly in the sunlight, her smile gentle yet undeniably earnest.

Mo Xiangwen squinted unconsciously because of the swaying, but he knew in his heart that she was serious.

“My dear Mo,” Yan Nuoya said softly, opening her arms to him and winking playfully, “I’ll give you a chance. Just this once.”

He hesitated for only a moment before stepping forward and pulling her back into his arms.

Yan Nuoya immediately responded by wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling them closer.

Just then, Mo Xiangwen suddenly lowered his head, his lips close to her ear, and said in a low voice with a smile, "My dear Yan, are you still a child?"

...Sigh, this person really knows how to ruin the mood.

Yan Nuoya sighed and felt a little dissatisfied. Her hand, which was originally wrapped around his waist, slid down and pinched the soft flesh of his waist.

"Wait—" Noticing her little movement, Mo Xiangwen was startled and quickly said, "Let's talk this out."

"Why didn't you speak properly just now? It's too late now." Yan Nuoya gritted her teeth in dissatisfaction and twisted her arm forcefully: "Then I just want to be a child today."

A distinct but not intense pain came from his waist.

"Ouch, Yan!"

"I'll let you deliberately act naughty and ruin the atmosphere."

"I was wrong, I was really wrong."

Chapter 176. Room and board included, no bargaining.

After some playful banter, the two gradually calmed down.

Yan Nuoya returned to her usual aloof demeanor, though a faint blush lingered on her fair cheeks, like cherry blossoms quietly falling on the snow in early spring.

The two of them sat side by side on a bench in the square, the autumn sunlight filtering through the leaves and falling on them.

Yan Nuoya began to tell him about her background in a soft voice, as if she were telling someone else's story.

Mo Xiangwen listened quietly, and suddenly realized something.

No wonder she reacted that way when he mentioned that she was also going home for the Chinese New Year, saying "I don't need to."

No wonder he had met almost all the other parents in the group, but had never heard her mention her own family.

After a brief silence, Yan Nuoya turned to look at him, a slight smile playing on her lips. "By the way, aren't you here for tourism?" she asked softly, her gaze fixed on his face. "Would you like me to show you around the city? It's not exactly a famous tourist destination, but there are some nice places."

Mo Xiangwen didn't answer immediately, but looked into her eyes, his tone probing: "Would you like to look around here again? Or is there anything here that you'd like to stay?"

Yan Nuoya was slightly taken aback, but then she understood his unspoken meaning.

She gently shook her head, gazing into the distance as if looking at the street where she had lived for more than a decade.

Yan Nuoya said softly, "I've seen everything I needed to see, and I've let go of everything I needed to let go of."

Her fingertips unconsciously tightened around the backpack straps as she whispered, "This city is like a book I've already finished reading. Whether it was exciting or mundane, it's all in the past."

Mo Xiangwen nodded, a bright smile curving his lips: "Then we won't go shopping."

"You're here for tourism, aren't you?" Yan Nuoya raised an eyebrow at him, her tone teasing.

"Oh dear, because I just remembered something more important." Mo Xiangwen suddenly leaned closer and said jokingly, "I need a kind-hearted and beautiful girl to pretend to be my girlfriend to solve the problem of my family constantly nagging me. This is relatively more urgent."

Yan Nuoya's eyes widened in surprise. Had this person finally come to his senses?

She suppressed the flutter in her heart and calmly hummed, "It has to include food and lodging, no bargaining."

Actually, even if he hadn't chased after her, she had originally planned to sneak to his doorstep after finishing what she was doing and give him a "surprise".

After all, it would be quite... lonely for her to spend the entire winter break alone in a rented apartment.

Unexpectedly, due to a series of unforeseen circumstances, the two ended up taking the high-speed train back together.

"Okay, okay." Mo Xiangwen chuckled softly, "Just like we agreed before, I'll take Yan to eat whatever she likes, and I'll accompany her wherever she wants to go."

Having made their decision, the two got up and headed to the high-speed rail station.

There aren't many universities here, and it's easy to buy a high-speed rail ticket to his hometown, the county seat.

They quickly bought first-class tickets for the next train back, seats together, of course.

While waiting in line for the bus, Mo Xiangwen suddenly felt a little dazed.

The scene before my eyes overlapped with a scene from my memory.

Not long after they met Yan Nuoya, they seemed to have traveled together like this before.

He glanced instinctively at the girl beside him and saw that she was holding that familiar little notebook, a slight smile on her lips, making no attempt to hide her good mood.

“Speaking of which, I’ve been curious about this for a long time,” Mo Xiangwen said, his gaze falling on the leather-bound notebook. “When I first met Noah, you were also using this little notebook to write something, weren’t you?”

"Hmm, that's right." Yan Nuoya answered lightly, her fingers gently tracing the cover of the notebook as if caressing some precious treasure.

"Is it the same book?" Mo Xiangwen couldn't help but ask.

"It's the same book." Yan Nuoya looked up, a sly glint in her purple eyes. "Want to know what's inside?"

Mo Xiangwen immediately became interested and curiously leaned closer: "What's inside?"

"I won't tell you." Yan Nuoya suddenly closed the notebook, hugged it to her chest, and for once, she smiled like a triumphant little fox.

"Tsk." Mo Xiangwen clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, but didn't ask any further questions.

At that moment, with a series of tremors, a long, winding high-speed train slowly came to a stop in front of them.

As the crowd boarded the high-speed train, Yan Nuoya chose a window seat, while Mo Xiangwen sat in an aisle seat.

"Here, it's yours." Yan Nuoya smiled and handed him the bag before sitting down first.

Mo Xiangwen took the bag and placed it on the luggage rack along with his backpack.

The train slowly started moving, and the scenery outside the window began to flow by.

Yan Nuoya lay on the small table, continuing to write something in her notebook.

He had rushed to catch the train early in the morning, and now that he was finally able to relax, he couldn't help but feel a little sleepy.

He adjusted the seat angle and closed his eyes, preparing for a short nap.

However, just as he was about to fall asleep, that familiar feeling of being watched returned.

Just like when I went back to school from my last trip.

He opened his eyes and, as expected, met Yan Nuoya's direct gaze.