Exodus Tales

  Exodus Tales

  They enjoyed an authentic feast of Mediterranean delicacies in Percy’s grange. Their main ingredients were fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans. What left the deepest impression on Yun Xiangxiang was the honey lime fruit salad. It was made with six different fruits; each of a different color. The honey that was poured on them turned them into lusciously inviting food. They felt refreshingly light when popped into the mouth. There was also beaker’s vegetable barley soup. It was made from a combination of a substantial amount of vegetables and barley. It tasted exotic. The broth was said to be beef’s soup; it was full of nutrients.

  Yun Xiangxiang would restart her studies on the ninth. Her flight was scheduled on the night of the seventh. It was twelve hours later than Beijing here. Yun Xiangxiang would reach the country on the night of the eighth. She would attend university the next day after a good night’s sleep. She was completely free on the morning of the seventh. Yun Xiangxiang dropped everyone else to go on a trip with her brother and Song Mian.

  Song Mian met with He Wei when she was shooting for the promotional photos. The contents of their conversation was unknown. He Wei wouldn’t stop her from dating Song Mian anyway. She tried to needle He Wei before, and found out that he only thought that Song Mian was just a normal member of the Song Family. That might be because He Wei didn’t hear about Song Mian’s special eye color, or else he would be able to guess who he was.

  Yun Xiangxiang liked it better this way. He Wei wouldn’t worry about her; nor would be overly tense.

  Song Mian brought Yun Xiangxiang and Yun Lin to Central Park. They rode on bikes, carriages, skied on ice…… Yun Lin was jubilantly indulged. He pulled Yun Xiangxiang aside when Song Mian went to buy cakes and whispered to her, “Sister, is he your boyfriend?”


  “Yeah, he is. What do you think?” Yun Xiangxiang wasn’t afraid to admit it.

  “He’s not bad, for now,” Yun Lin was being slightly picky.

  Yun Xiangxiang patted his head with a smile on her face. She just wanted to let her family get to know Song Mian. Besides, she didn’t really take Yun Lin for a stroll since she brought him here. That was why she planned to accompany him on their last day.

  They went to the children’s museum in the afternoon. Yun Lin was still interested in all things foreign. Song Mian was also a great companion. He managed to take care of both Yun Xiangxiang and her brother. That night, he took them to a restaurant that served great pizza.

  Song Mian sent the two of them to the airport when it was still dark. Everyone else was already waiting there.

  Yun Xiangxiang was reluctant to leave when it was time to drop off. Yun Lin ran off slickly, “I’ll give you two some space.”


  That amused her and Song Mian. But she still leaned over to land a kiss on Song Mian’s cheek, “I’ll be waiting for you at home.”


  “Okay,” He couldn’t stop for too long here. Song Mian nodded contentedly. He didn’t cling too much.

  Yun Xiangxiang promptly got out of the car and waved at him. The siblings sent his car away at the gate. Yun Xiangxiang was unprecedentedly merry. She didn’t feel the thrill of a palpitating heart when she was with Song Mian; nor did she feel the pressing anxiety of clinging to each other. There also wasn’t any sadness or sorrow of being apart.

  But she felt light and happy once they were together. As if even her soul had relaxed.

  She couldn’t really put a finger on how to describe the feeling. Nor did she really want to research about it. What was important was being happy.

  “Don’t worry sister. I’ll keep this a secret,” Yun Lin tugged at his sister’s hand; propping himself up as a small adult.

  “You little rascal,” Yun Xiangxiang pinched his face. She saw Song Qian waiting once she stepped through the gate. Song Mian must have told her the precise drop off location.

  Yun Xiangxiang and Yun Lin were sound asleep on the plane; they were worn out from playing too much during daytime. They spent eight out of ten odd hours of flight sleeping. It was eight o’clock sharp when they reached Beijing.

  She reported their safety to her family as soon as possible. Yun Xiangxiang texted Song Mian. She didn’t know what he would be doing right now. Calling him just like that could interrupt what he was doing.

  Song Mian only replied with a text once she showered and went through her skincare routine. He advised her to rest early

  It wasn’t any sweet talk, but it was quite practical for her.

  ‘Yo yo yo, Xiangxiang, you look different,” Tao Manni stared at her interrogatively once she saw her early in the morning.

  “Where do I look different though?” Yun Xiangxiang was perplexed.

  “You look like you’re in love,” Ma Linlin declared mysteriously.

  “You can even see that? Why don’t you open up a stall beneath the bridge? [1]” Yun Xiangxiang said sarcastically.

  “Enough. Stop teasing Xiangxiang. It will be on you if she doesn’t bring you any gifts next time,” Feng Xiaolu stood up for her.

  “Okay, I’ll let you off the hook. But just because of the gifts,” Tao Manni shook the present Yun Xiangxiang gave her.

  Yun Xiangxiang stopped. Everyone else stopped doing what they were doing. All of them stared at Zhu Yuan.

  “Someone tried to get the news about you from our roommates,” Zhu Yuan’s other two roommates were from different courses, “Suspicious.”


  Yun Xiangxiang swallowed her food before asking, “What did they poke around about?”


  “Things like your whereabouts during the holiday; whether you competed in the election of class cadres; they even asked about the identity of our class cadres; did they get elected because you voted……” Zhu Yuan spilled it all out. Nothing seemed to be out of line if it was just heard once. They were all inconsequential matters. However, Zhu Yuan wasn’t the only one to get creeped out hearing that; everyone else did too.

  “I know why!” Feng Xiaolu pushed her glasses, “The reason why they were so concerned was because they want to slander Xiangxiang! They want to paint us out as sheeple! Accusing Xiangxiang of violating the school spirit through her influence and nepotism!”


  “It was lucky you didn’t vote for me or Tingting, Xiangxiang,” Ma Linlin had similar sentiments.

  “Seems you offended some people, Xiangxiang,” Zhu Yuan looked at Yun Xiangxiang with concern.

  “Sounds like a conspiracy theory to me,” Yun Xiangxiang was sure about their goal, “I offend a lot of people.”


  It was obvious from the earlier post about her buying her way into trending that shot up into trending on Weibo. She couldn’t say who were the demons for sure at the moment though.

  “Yuanyuan, Tingting. Try to find out who wants to know about my activity,” She wanted to investigate in private. Prevention is always better than cure.

  “No problem,” Both of them thumped their chests in assurance.

  It was just a little blip. “Xiangxiang, look at this piece of news. I’ll send it to you on WeChat,” Song Meng called her when she was trying to take an afternoon nap.

  The headline read: Confession Through a Call on Variety Show. Is It an Act, or Is It What He Truly Feels?

  Turned out the variety show Fang Nanyuan was on had already aired. What he said to Yun Xiangxiang on the call that night was made into news. If nobody was doing this on purpose, this topic wouldn’t be chosen to take up a huge space on the publication. Not to mention that there was an overtone that suggested her being a couple with Fang Nanyuan.