If you ask a girl about her favorite animals, you'll likely hear answers like dogs, cats, rabbits, Kumamon... Rarely would you hear answers like snakes, spiders, or lizards.
Hai Baihe also loves cuddly little animals, but her favorite is the sea dragon, once one of the rulers of the ocean.
She has an indescribable longing for the deep sea.
However...
"Shut up, Baihe! This is the 123rd time you've stood me up for swimming because you lost track of time. 123 times!" Mugong, wearing sportswear, stood by the pool with one hand on her hip, raising three fingers to express her annoyance.
"The notice said the deadline for signing is half past three, and it's already three o'clock. Hurry up and get up!" If Mugong knew how to swim, she would have jumped in and pulled Hai Baihe out of the pool.
Hai Baihe swam to her side, grabbed the handrail, and emerged from the water. Crystal-clear water droplets fell from her long legs. She took off her swim cap and lazily ran her fingers through her hair, saying, "I promise I can make it. Give me five minutes, I'll take a quick shower."
"If you're not ready in five minutes, I won't be polite." Mugong pressed the stopwatch on her wrist.
"No need to be like this." Hai Baihe didn't want to delay any longer. She quickly rushed into the bathroom, took a quick battle shower, put on a clean t-shirt and shorts, and loosely tied her hair behind her back.
Mugong had already brought out her bicycle. "Hurry up, it's ten past three."
"I'll definitely make it in twenty minutes." Hai Baihe hopped on the bike and squinted her eyes, looking at the scorching sun. "It's so hot in June. I wonder how tough it will be in July."
"In July, we'll be in Inner Mongolia." Mugong opened her arms. "The vast grassland~ where the wind blows low and the cows and sheep roam~ Baihe, why aren't you excited? It might be Genghis Khan's tomb!"
Mugong and Hai Baihe have been close friends since childhood. Now they have both been admitted to He Ping University, one of the top universities in the country.
He Ping University excels in many fields, and the history department is also one of its renowned majors, thanks to the presence of several experts. Moreover, every year He Ping University offers a limited number of internship positions at various archaeological sites, which are highly sought after but hard to get.
Mugong is a third-year student majoring in archaeology. She never thought she would be selected when she applied, and if she missed the deadline to confirm the signature due to Hai Baihe's swimming incident, she would never forgive her, even if they were best friends.
Hai Baihe said, "Because I study paleobiology, dear."
There is such a major where there may be only one student in a year or even no student at all. That's the legendary paleobiology that Hai Baihe studies.
In theory, it should fall under the category of science, as most of the courses overlap with life sciences and earth sciences, and there is more time spent in the laboratory studying fossils.
However, this major also requires mandatory field internships, so Hai Baihe and Mugong applied for internships in the archaeology department together.
As it is well known, students who go on archaeological field trips are no different from farmers [smile].
Moreover, this year's internship site is a suspected tomb related to
Genghis Khan, located in the vast grasslands of Inner Mongolia, far from any village or store. Just thinking about it makes their backs ache.
Hastily rushing, they arrived at the administrative office of the college at 3:25 pm to confirm their signatures. There were a total of six interns this time, three males and three females. Due to limited funds, the university only provided train tickets for the students.
Hard sleeper.
Mugong exclaimed in frustration, "I knew archaeology would be tiring, but I didn't expect to feel exhausted even before leaving."
"Take it easy." In the archaeology department, girls act like boys, and boys are treated like livestock. If you don't get tanned like a farmer, you're not a qualified archaeology student.
Hai Baihe patted her shoulder. "Buy a few bottles of sunscreen and face masks."
Mugong had already prepared several bottles of high SPF sunscreen, but now she wasn't confident and ordered several face masks online. "I chose this major, and I'll finish it even if I have to kneel."
At the east gate of the university, Hai Baihe and Mugong parted ways. "I'm going home today and won't return to the dorm."
"Okay, let's meet at the train station on Monday."
Hai Baihe bid farewell to her friend and took two public buses to go home. She had a luxury apartment near the university, but today she was going to her old home in the suburbs.
She arrived home after 5 p.m., just in time for the evening market. Instead of going home, Hai Baihe headed straight to the market.
Familiar with the route, she bypassed the vegetable and pork stalls and went to the area dedicated to seafood. From a distance, she heard her dad's loud voice, "Give you a discount, eight yuan, can't get any cheaper!"
"Dad." Hai Baihe's high heels were about to touch the dirty ground, and Hai Youyu quickly stopped her. "Don't come over, Baihe. I'm closing up."
Efficiently packing up the goods, he quickly sold the remaining fish in the basin to waiting customers. "Last one, five yuan, hurry up."
"I want it!" A middle-aged woman quickly grabbed the discounted fish.
In just three minutes, Hai Youyu sold all the fish with lightning speed, closed up, and took his daughter home.
Along the way, he kept asking, "Why did you come back today? Such a long journey. If you wanted to eat fish, I would have cooked and brought it to you."
"I'm going to Inner Mongolia next week for a summer internship. I came back just for a visit." Hai Baihe paused her footsteps. "The grilled chicken smells so good!"
Hai Youyu took out his wallet. "A new grilled chicken shop opened over there. I was thinking of bringing you one when I come to visit you next time. Boss, give us a grilled chicken, a plump one. My daughter is back."
"Sure thing." The boss also joined in and selected a plump chicken for them. "Twenty yuan."
Without hesitation, Hai Youyu asked again, "Do you want exploding fish?"
"Yes!"
"They sell fried chicken wings over there. I'll buy you two."
As they passed a nearby milk tea shop, Hai Youyu said, "Let's get you a milk tea to drink, a large cup. Do you want pearls?"
"No, just plain."
Father and daughter walked home, their hands full of bags, almost unable to carry them all. Once they arrived home, Hai Youyu busied himself in the kitchen, frying two small yellow croakers, while Hai Baihe immediately rushed
to the basement. "Where's my tail? You said you moved it. Where did you move it to?"
"It's in the other refrigerator downstairs." Hai Youyu wiped his hands on his apron, followed his daughter downstairs, and turned on the lights. "You don't even turn on the lights. Aren't you afraid of falling and getting hurt?"