Early next morning, Ruan Xia regained her spirits. She and the chubby kid met Song Tingshen at the doorway. The three of them took the elevator down to one of the hotel’s restaurants and had a pleasant breakfast there.

  She had bought their return tickets for the early evening, so there was time to take the chubby kid out for sightseeing.

  Actually, summer really wasn’t a suitable time to go somewhere for a vacation. The hot sun bore down on them. Ruan Xia guessed that the outdoor temperature was above 104 Fahrenheit, but the officials didn’t dare to casually announce such a high temperature. She felt worn down by the heat.

  When she turned her head to the side to look at Song Tingshen, he still looked as if he was standing somewhere fresh and cool. He was barely sweating. How aggravating.

  As for Song Shuyan, his face was flushed from playing. Children were probably more sensitive to extreme heat than extreme cold. But, despite the heat, he was still especially excited and energetic.

  She had originally planned on bringing him to an amusement park, but it was summer break, so the lines there would stretch to an eternity. Besides, the chubby kid wasn’t tall enough for some of the amusement park’s activities. She and Song Tingshen wouldn’t be interested in that either, so she could only give up on going there.

  With the chubby kid serving as a buffer, it didn’t feel that awkward to be around Song Tingshen. However, they adhered to the principle of saying as little as possible to each other. If they had to talk, they would be as concise as possible and keep their conversations short.

  Ruan Xia was holding a small paper fan. Although the fan wasn’t very effective, it was better than nothing.

  Fortunately, she had thought ahead and wasn’t wearing heavy makeup. Otherwise, the makeup would have already come off by now from her sweating in this oppressive heat.

  Song Tingshen had a lot more patience than her. She could see that he probably had a lot of experience taking care of Song Shuyan.

  This was Ruan Xia’s first time at motherhood. She was only a recent graduate herself. Although she could get along with the chubby kid and play with him, she wasn’t nearly as attentive as Song Tingshen in taking care of the kid.

  —


  When afternoon came around, the three of them didn’t have much of an appetite. They had been snacking on random snacks instead of going to a restaurant.

  Song Tingshen raised his hand and looked at his watch. He finally asked, “What time is the flight? There’ll be traffic at rush hour.”


  Ruan Xia froze in surprise for a moment. Then, she shook her head. “We’re not flying back.”


  Song Tingshen nodded. “High-speed rail then? What time? We’re somewhat far from the train station.”


  Ruan Xia: “Not the high-speed rail either……”


  Song Tingshen finally looked at her. After a moment of silence, he asked, “You didn’t book tickets?”


  “I did.” Ruan Xia took out her phone. “I bought train tickets for 5:45 PM.”


  She had thought it over. Song Tingshen had gotten into a car accident on his way to the airport. So, they definitely couldn’t take a plane back. Even if various studies showed that flying was the safest mode of transportation, Ruan Xia still felt somewhat afraid.

  So, why take the train?

  Ruan Xia couldn’t put it into words, but she had an absolute trust towards trains. In her heart, trains were much safer than planes and high-speed rails!

  Song Tingshen: “.……”