bioinnovel Chapter 26 Leaving Donghai City for Shanghai
Chapter 26 Leaving Donghai City for Shanghai
He looked at Su Qingyue.
The light blue collar accentuated the delicate and soft lines of her jawline.
But when she said those words, there was something in her eyes that she had never seen before. It wasn't the pride of the eldest daughter of the Su family, but the courage of an eighteen-year-old girl who had finally learned to say "no."
"You've changed," Lin Yuan said.
"You woke me up." Su Qingyue met his gaze without flinching or feeling shy, only with a frank and earnest expression.
She looked down at her hands.
That hand was fair and slender, with long, delicate fingers, and a natural, sword-like quality.
But now, there's a shallow callus on her tiger's mouth. It wasn't from practicing swordsmanship, but from the past few days when she'd been practicing her skills in the training room at the Su residence, repeatedly slashing and thrusting at wooden stakes.
"So you're going to Shanghai?" Lin Yuan asked.
Su Qingyue looked up, her eyes reflecting the sunlight streaming in through the window.
"Yes, the city is located by the sea, and the Abyss Sea lies just outside the city. The density of monsters there is ten times that of the wasteland."
Teacher Shen said that the training grounds at the Shanghai Academy are built right next to the entrance to the Abyss Sea, with daily practical training classes and weekly sea clearing missions.
She paused.
"I want to go there and hone my sword skills until I can kill monsters."
Lin Yuan stared at her for a long time.
Then he put down the soup bowl, stretched out his left hand, and gently placed it on the top of her head.
Su Qingyue's body stiffened slightly, but she did not dodge.
"Don't underestimate yourself," Lin Yuan said softly, with a hint of a smile.
"S-rank Ice Phoenix, six rounds of bone tempering, ten days to advance to the third level. Your talent is not a problem, you just lack a place where you won't be treated like a pampered young lady."
He withdrew his hand and picked up the soup bowl again.
"Shanghai is that place."
Su Qingyue kept her head down, her bangs obscuring her eyes. After a while, she finally raised her head, her eyes a little red, but the corners of her mouth were curved.
"Um."
The osmanthus tree outside the window was blown by the wind, and delicate petals fell down, with a few drifting into the windowsill.
Three days later, Lin Yuan received a notification from Shen Man.
"Two children:"
I have good news and bad news for you.
The good news is that all your enrollment procedures have been completed, and the villa has been arranged.
Lin Yuan's villa is an S-level privileged residence, complete with a private cultivation room. Su Qingyue's villa is also an S-level privileged residence, similarly equipped with a cultivation room.
The two courtyards are next to each other, a three-minute walk. You're welcome.
The bad news is that I've been temporarily drafted.
This year's national college entrance examination for people with supernatural abilities has been brought forward. As one of the examination centers, Shanghai University needs to draw a group of teachers to participate in the question setting and invigilation.
I am one of the people who were selected, and I have to leave this afternoon, so I won't be able to pick you up in Donghai City in person.
I will arrange for another teacher to pick you up. His name is Zhou tide, the tutor for the third year, level 4, level 9. He is very reliable, but he talks a lot.
He will arrive in Donghai City in about four days. Just follow him then.
That's all. Buy your own milk tea; I'll reimburse you when you get to Shanghai.
Lin Yuan finished reading the message and handed it to Su Qingyue, who was sitting opposite him.
She took it and read it from beginning to end, her gaze lingering for a moment on the line "The two courtyards are next to each other, a three-minute walk away".
"What are your plans?" she asked.
The two were sitting in that old-established noodle shop in the old town.
Lin Yuan treated everyone not because he had made a fortune, but because Grandma Wang said that after announcing the engagement, he should treat the girl to a meal; it was customary.
Although Lin Yuan didn't quite understand what this rule was, he still did as he was told.
Lin Yuan picked up a mouthful of noodles with his chopsticks and blew on it.
"I rejected Teacher Shen."
Su Qingyue looked up at him.
"The person who picked us up is a level 3, level 9 mentor. It's safe to go with him," Lin Yuan said, slurping noodles into his mouth.
"But I don't think it's necessary. The superconducting train can get from Donghai City to Shanghai in six hours, and the route passes through the core urban areas, where there are no monsters. I can walk alone."
Su Qingyue did not press for details, but simply spoke slowly.
"I'll leave a few days later."
Lin Yuan looked at her.
"I need to handle the family affairs properly," Su Qingyue said calmly.
Lin Yuan looked at her, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly.
He didn't say things like "You've grown up," because those words sounded too much like something an elder would say.
He simply picked up the braised egg from his bowl and put it into her bowl.
See you in Shanghai.
Su Qingyue looked down at the braised egg, the egg white coated with dark brown broth, which had rolled around in the bowl.
She gave a soft "hmm".
......
The departure date is set for two days from now.
Lin Yuan packed his luggage, but there wasn't much to pack.
A few changes of clothes, a bag of pickles and ten tea eggs that Grandma Wang insisted on giving him, the long gun covered in battle marks, and the plain silver ring on his left index finger.
All my belongings could fit in a single backpack.
I'm leaving tomorrow.
The small house in the old town where he has lived for sixteen years will be empty after tomorrow.
Grandma Wang said she would help him take care of it, open the windows for ventilation regularly, and clean the dust periodically.
He closed his eyes.
......
The next morning, at the Donghai City Superconducting Train Station.
The superconducting train is the product of the Dragon Kingdom's proudest combination of technology and superpowers after the spiritual revival. It is powered by energy provided by superpowered individuals and has a speed of over 800 kilometers per hour. It only takes six hours to travel from Donghai City to Shanghai.
People were coming and going on the platform.
There were merchants carrying large bags and small packages, students in school uniforms, young couples holding children, and superhumans carrying weapons like Lin Yuan.
A soft female voice came over the loudspeaker, announcing the departure times of various trains.
Lin Yuan stood in the waiting area, carrying a long gun on his back and holding the bag of pickles and tea eggs that Grandma Wang had given him.
Grandma Wang stood beside him, her gray hair neatly combed, wearing the navy blue jacket she only took out for the New Year.
The old man had been nagging since he woke up in the morning—be careful on the road, call when you arrive, put the pickles in the refrigerator, and eat the tea eggs within three days.
Lin Yuan responded to each one without the slightest impatience.
Su Qingyue stood on his other side.
The train arrival announcement sounded.
The silver-white train glided into the platform from the end of the tracks, the doors opened, and passengers began to board one after another.
Lin Yuan turned around and looked at Grandma Wang.
"Grandma, I'm leaving."
Grandma Wang's eyes immediately welled up with tears.
After saying goodbye to Grandma Wang, Lin Yuan looked at Su Qingyue.
Their eyes met. The wind on the platform blew a stray strand of hair from her temple, and she reached up to tuck it behind her ear.
"See you in Shanghai," she said.
"See you in Shanghai," Lin Yuan said, then turned and got into the car.
The car door closed behind him with a low, suffocating sound.
He found a seat by the window, placed his rifle horizontally on the luggage rack, and put his backpack at his feet.
The train slowly started moving.
Grandma Wang on the platform waved to him, but Su Qingyue stood beside her without waving back, simply watching the train quietly leave the platform.
The scenery outside the train window began to rush past. The platform, the dome, the buildings in the north of the city, the city walls of Donghai City flashed by one after another, faster and faster, until they finally became a blurry patch of color.
The train left the city and entered the open fields, and the scenery outside the window changed to rolling hills and vast farmlands.
Lin Yuan leaned back in his seat and let out a long breath.
Eighteen years. In my memory, he lived in Donghai City for eighteen years.
The small houses in the old town, Grandma Wang's congee with preserved egg and lean pork, the sandstorms and monster blood on the wasteland, and the fragrance of osmanthus in the Su family garden.
All of this became a thing of the past the moment the train pulled away from the platform.