Yao Shen's tension grows as the familiar landscape speeds by through the bullet train's windows.
Xin Hulei told them he could bring them here, but Yao Shen declined, saying the train ride would help him get his thoughts in order before he saw his father.
He hadn't been back in his hometown in almost five years. Speaking honestly, he never expected to return.
But the train pulls into the dilapidated station and Yao Shen is officially back.
Only a thin trickle of people leave the train at this stop, and none of them spare Yao Shen and Xin Hulei a single glance.
They're trying to be inconspicuous, with twin bucket hats shoved deep into their heads, and wearing the kind of clothes people usually associate with backpackers.
Yao Shen is almost dizzy with trepidation, as he makes his way through the familiar cobbled streets, the spaces between the ancient cut stones overgrown with weeds and wildflowers.
