Chapter 45: Aircraft Carrier

“It’s finally vacation time, I’m going to play.”

Jiang Mingzhi tossed her backpack onto her back, pushed her chair under the desk, and walked out of the classroom with Guan Jinxu.

Qiu Tang had planned a girls’ trip to Europe half a month ago.

She told Jiang Mingzhi that one should use their feet to measure the world, and that while they’re young and energetic, they should travel and see more of the world.

Jiang Mingzhi reasonably suspected that it was her mother who really wanted to go because, according to her, she hadn’t had a proper vacation for three or four years due to work.

“I’m leaving tomorrow. I’ll send you postcards when I get there.”

Guan Jinxu lowered his eyes. “Then I hope you have fun. Let me know when you’re back.”

Jiang Mingzhi waved her hand. “I’ll definitely have fun.”

The group laughed and talked as they reached the school gate, each heading off to start their own vacation.

Zhuang Heyang slung his arm over Guan Jinxu’s shoulder and teased, “Xu Ge, I don’t get why you seem so calm about it.”

Guan Jinxu was feeling troubled and couldn’t even be bothered to shake him off. “Why should she be sentimental?”

Zhuang Heyang laughed mischievously. “Then why are you so sentimental?”

Guan Jinxu replied, “I’m sad because you, this ungrateful child, didn’t do well in the exams.”

Hearing this, Zhuang Heyang wasn’t angry; instead, he wore a smug grin. “Don’t blame me for not warning you. If nothing goes wrong, I’ll be single no more this summer. You’ll just have to envy me then.”

Guan Jinxu kicked him lightly in the rear. “Which girl would fall for you?”

“She’s from the school across from mine. She goes to Fourth Middle School. We sometimes run into each other when we go out. Now that it’s summer, I won’t have to do long-distance anymore.”

Zhuang Heyang grinned foolishly, and Guan Jinxu couldn’t take it anymore. He sped up to head home.

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The first postcard Guan Jinxu received was from France, arriving two weeks after the start of summer vacation. At that time, Jiang Mingzhi was on her flight back to China.

The postcard was handwritten by Jiang Mingzhi herself:

“Hello Guan Jinxu, I’m writing these words for you outside the Palace of Versailles, wishing you happiness every day~”

It was just a few short words, but Guan Jinxu stared at it for a long time.

Could he take this as proof that each postal stamp on the card was a sign that he was being thought of?

He told Jiang Mingzhi on WeChat that he had received her blessings from France.

Jiang Mingzhi sent him a cute emoji.

【There are still a few more to come, look forward to them.】

She had visited three countries and several cities during her European trip.

This time, there was no Pei Jinyang with her, though one of the cities was full of memories of him. However, with time passing, she believed that in the future, when she mentioned Dublin, it would be tied to memories of her mother.

The plane landed in Beijing, and Jiang Mingzhi received a small video from Guan Jinxu. The video showed a grayish-white teddy dog eating happily.

It was his dog, Keli, and the bowl was the one they had made together in pottery class.

After finishing the food in the bowl, Keli kept sniffing around the edge of the bowl for any remaining bones.

“This silly dog always thinks the bones are real.”

The boy laughed softly, then made a “squeak-squeak” sound. Jiang Mingzhi couldn’t help but replay the voice message just to hear those two “squeaks.”

With her headphones on, his voice seemed so vivid, making Jiang Mingzhi feel like he was speaking right next to her.

She listened to it three times before replying contentedly, “I think the dog is actually smart, it must keep sniffing the bone because its name is carved on it. This dog can read! You should send it to college soon.”

Guan Jinxu: 【I haven’t even gone to college yet, is it going before me?】

Jiang Mingzhi giggled, and Qiu Tang asked, “What are you laughing at so happily?”

“Nothing, just chatting with a friend.”

Qiu Tang didn’t say anything else. After more than ten days of traveling, the bond between mother and daughter had become stronger, and she had come to understand her daughter better.

It turned out that Jiang Mingzhi was far more mature than she had imagined. Sometimes, when faced with unexpected situations, it was even Jiang Mingzhi who stayed calm and came up with solutions first.

She would give fashion advice, take beautiful photos for her, and sometimes it felt like she was more of a sister than a mother.

After adjusting to the time difference, Jiang Mingzhi went out for hotpot with Lin Wan and Meng Yuanyuan. God knows how much she had missed domestic food during her time abroad.

In the evening, Guan Jinxu was scrolling through his Moments and saw Jiang Mingzhi’s new post.

He felt a bit sour in his heart.

Why didn’t she ask him to join?

He liked her posts every day, chatted with her from time to time, and yet, when she returned to the country, she didn’t invite him to join the gathering.

Jiang Mingzhi didn’t have a heart to spare.

He opened the chat window with Jiang Mingzhi and typed: “My dog can do backflips, do you want to see?”

Jiang Mingzhi: “Is that true?”

Guan Jinxu: “No, it can only sit and shake paws.”

Jiang Mingzhi: “……”

Guan Jinxu: “I’m going to the park to walk the dog this evening, are you free? I also brought you a souvenir.”

Jiang Mingzhi: “Sure, I’ll come after I finish playing tennis.”

Guan Jinxu gritted his teeth. She didn’t invite him to play tennis.

“I can play tennis too.”

Jiang Mingzhi: “Really?”

Guan Jinxu: “Really, I started playing in middle school.”

Jiang Mingzhi: “That’s great! Can I invite you to play sometime? That way I won’t have to find a practice partner.”

Guan Jinxu: “……”

She still looks for practice partners.

The next day, Jiang Mingzhi arrived at the park and met Guan Jinxu, who was holding Keli, at the entrance.

Keli was a very cute dog, and very enthusiastic too. As soon as she saw Jiang Mingzhi, she started wagging her tail and leaping toward her legs, sticking out her tongue.

Jiang Mingzhi squatted down and petted the dog’s head. “Keli.”

Keli stretched out her tongue to lick her face, and Jiang Mingzhi quickly leaned back. She didn’t want to get a face full of dog saliva.

Guan Jinxu blocked Keli’s face with his big hand and said disdainfully, “What else can you do except get people covered in slobber?”

Jiang Mingzhi took the leash from him, and together, they walked the dog along the park path.

Keli ran ahead, stopping every now and then, sniffing the grass and stones by the side of the path, sometimes encountering other dogs. If they were friendly, they’d sniff each other; if not, they’d bark at each other.

Luckily, Keli wasn’t a large dog, so Jiang Mingzhi had no trouble holding the leash.

She noticed that Guan Jinxu was carrying a fairly large paper bag and curiously asked, “What’s in your hand?”

“This,” Guan Jinxu said, lifting it, “is a souvenir I brought back for you.”

Jiang Mingzhi: “A souvenir this big? Where did you go?”

Guan Jinxu: “I went to tour the aircraft carrier.”

Jiang Mingzhi: “……”

It was clear that as soon as Guan Jinxu mentioned the aircraft carrier, he opened up and started talking about it—the ship’s length of 302 meters, the draft, the maximum speed, the ski-jump takeoff, and so on.

Jiang Mingzhi didn’t understand much, but she still listened attentively.

Worried that he might go on talking endlessly, Jiang Mingzhi suggested they get some milk tea.

There were rows of milk tea shops, and Jiang Mingzhi had trouble deciding. In the end, she let Keli choose, following the dog wherever it led them, and stopping at whichever shop they passed.

When Jiang Mingzhi saw the staff making ice cream cones at one of the shops, she regretted her decision and turned to Guan Jinxu, saying, “I should’ve just gotten an ice cream cone instead of milk tea.”

Guan Jinxu: “Then let’s get both.”

He told the staff, “One more ice cream cone, please.”

“Thank you, Mr. Guan.”

She smiled extra brightly today, sweeter than usual, and her smile was so infectious that even he couldn’t help but curve his lips up slightly.

Jiang Mingzhi held the dog leash with one hand and the ice cream cone with the other, while Guan Jinxu carried the milk tea and the large bag in his hands.

They found an empty park bench and sat down, finally freeing their hands.

The dog leash was tied to the armrest of the bench, and Keli lay in the grass, panting with her tongue out.

Jiang Mingzhi: “Can dogs eat ice cream? It looks like Keli is really hot.”

Guan Jinxu shook his head. “We’ll just take her home and give her some water later.”

Along the path, people jogged past, some older people were walking hand in hand, and there were toddlers learning to speak who wanted to pet Keli, only to be stopped by their parents.

Jiang Mingzhi observed every living thing that passed by.

Guan Jinxu tilted his head to look at her. They were so close, within arm’s reach, but he still felt that it was too far.