It was already noon when she was done with cleaning his place. Shao Yan took her keys and left the house, to the parking garage.
Li Xiqing brought her to his home frequently now, and she always didn't get the chance to drive her own car anymore. She complained to Li Xiqing about this. But his solution was:
"Here, take it." and Li Xiqing handed a set of car keys to her. Shao Yan looked at him puzzled. "If I drive your car, then what about you?"
"That's not mine. That's my sister's. After she got married, she followed her husband to move to London. I sent it to Polo for maintenance check last week. It is all good, and you can drive it."
"But don't get too pampered with it, alright," he rubbed her hair, and continued, "The car was bought by her husband when they got married, so she would have her own reliable vehicle when she's visiting city S."
…..
Shao Yan just reached the parking garage, and looked for the car that Li Xiqing told her about. She pressed the remote around, and finally a sound rang from her left corner. Shao Yan walked over.
It's a Jaguar F-pace SUV in white color.
Shao Yan walked around the car and stared for a while.
Very luxurious! She was excited. Now she knew why Li Xiqing told her not to get too pampered. Whoa! Big Sis! You're amazing! Who was this man that you're married to! Just for a spare car, yet he got you a Jaguar?!
She got in and adjusted the mirrors, and she was ready to drive back to her apartment.
When she reached her apartment, Shao Yan quickly did her laundry.
Qi Ling was on the road again; she would be away for almost two months this time. She flew to Tokyo last night. And then it would be Madrid, Paris, London, Delhi and New York. Shao Yan really could not figure out how she could live a life so hectic like that.
She cleaned the whole house. When she was finally done, she cooked a simple omelette for lunch. Around late afternoon, she finally decided to leave the house to hunt for some pictures.
Shao Yan put on her hat, and carried her camera bag and left the house.
.....
The sun was shining so brightly today, not even a speck of cloud could be seen in the blue sky. It's very rare to have such a clear weather.
City S on weekdays and Shao Yan was not working. She actually felt so refreshed being amongst the normal people.
She decided to take her camera to the riverside. The last time she went there was around sunset, and she saw many kids were running around with colorful balls. So she thought this time would be interesting as well.
When Shao Yan reached the riverside, from afar she saw a crowd of people and many colorful banners. There was a sports event going on there. She saw colorful posters and some students were walking around and approaching people to tell them about the event. Shao Yan was intrigued by the lively atmosphere and quickly strode over.
.....
It's a 'Summer and Sports Festival' hosted by the local university nearby, and it's open to the public.
Shao Yan decided to explore around. She wanted to take a lot of pictures and also snack on a lot of things. As she was exploring around, Li Xiqing's call came in.
"I miss you" his soft gentle voice suddenly sounded in her ears, making her blushed. Her hand unconsciously held her necklace, and her fingertips played around the little cherub.
Shao Yan instantly smiled, and she just bowed her head down and nodded. She realized that he couldn't see her, so she answered, "En." she paused for a while. And then she still decided to add, "I miss you too" she spoke so so soft.
"Have you eaten?" he spoke to her so gently.
Shao Yan was walking around the food stands now, "Uh huh. I cooked an omelette before I left the house. What about you?" Shao Yan subconsciously spoke softer as well.
Li Xiqing could hear she was somewhere outside. "Tempura bento. Where are you now?"
He had been busy with new employee training and his office set up today and he only had a short break before the next meeting would begin. So he quickly took the chance to call her.
"I was walking around with my camera, and then I saw this festival was going on by the riverside. So I just got curious and now I'm here wandering around" she laughed.
Her joy was transmitted over the phone, tickled his hear softly and Li Xiqing smiled too. Shao Yan could hear his deep chuckles in her ears.
"Alright, be careful okay? I will come home earlier for dinner." and then he paused for a while, seemed wanting to say something, but he held it back.
Shao Yan didn't notice this, and just said goodbye and hung up.
She held her cheeks for a moment.
Alright, Shao Yan, let's continue your adventure here!
.....
Shao Yan was having fun, taking a lot of pictures and also snacking around. she even participated in some games - that she failed miserably.
Shao Yan quickly decided that she was not lucky in games, and would just continue with picture hunting and food hunting.
Kids ran around her, and they were carrying their trophies from winning the games. Shao Yan also wandered around them and captured their happy moments with her camera.
She also saw a lot of seniors today. Old couple walked hand in hand while accompanying their grandkids, and she managed to capture their gentle eyes that basked with warmth.
The next path she walked on was an open field with man-made walls from paper board. She approached the crowd in front of the board and saw a wall full of doodles.
She stopped on her track and reached for her cameras. Shao Yan started to take pictures of some of the drawings and writings closed up. Girls would write love confession on the wall, hoping that their crush would see them. Guys would also wrote love confession here under the threats of their girlfriend to declare their love to each other.
Shao Yan laughed while reading some of the contents and drawings. Kids nowadays were so cute! Some of the words were too cringy to read out loud! Everyone was very much straightforward compared to her generation.
She was smiling happily when suddenly some of the past memories fleeted by, haunting her.