NOVPUBThe news about the Olympic torch relay in Hong Kong played on the TV, and the host’s sweet voice announced, "Ignite the passion, pass on the dreams, let’s meet at the sports event. On May 7, let’s all cheer for the Olympic torchbearers!"
"It’s a pity, I won’t be in Hong Kong that day, so I can’t come to see you," Zhang Chaoqun said somewhat regretfully to his wife after hearing the news.
"As if you could come even if you were here, I’m used to it," Qin Qifang replied disdainfully, giving her husband a side glance.
"Wow, Auntie, you’re a torchbearer?" Lin Wanning, who had been quiet until then, couldn’t help but ask curiously.
After all, the Olympics were now the most discussed topic among the citizens, so it was quite surprising for the torchbearer to suddenly appear right in front of her.
"Yes, your Aunt Qin is a very impressive doctor, selected to be a torchbearer as a representative!" Zhang Chaoqun said boastfully.
"Doctors save lives and help the injured, Auntie, you’re so amazing!" Lin Wanning said with a sweet smile.
"Auntie’s awesome!" Zhang Yiyi also nodded in agreement at the side.
"You three kids are pretty amazing too, being able to create such excellent comics. Look at my naughty boy, he disappeared after dinner, probably ran upstairs to play computer games!" Qin Qifang said sweetly, her hand held by Zhang Chaoqun under the table.
"But Brother Qingfan is the most capable, all the ideas were his!"
"You’re the talented ones, I can’t even draw, I’d hardly take credit for a quarter of it!" Xu Qingfan humbly shook his head repeatedly.
"Why a quarter? Which of you three would take two shares of the credit?" Qin Qifang asked teasingly, her face beaming with a smile.
"That has to be Aunt Zhang, without her help, what could a bunch of first and second graders accomplish at that time? So, she must deserve at least a quarter of the credit!" Xu Qingfan said without a second thought.
Zhang Chunxue was nearly squinting her eyes with delight at Xu Qingfan’s flattering words, "Where are you exaggerating like that, I just helped you contact the publisher."
"Thanks, Mom!" Zhang Yiyi stood up and planted a kiss on his mother’s cheek.
"Hee hee, Auntie and Brother Qingfan are both super!" Lin Wanning quickly followed, planting a kiss on the other cheek.
"Uh...should I also give a kiss?" Seeing everyone at the dining table looking at him, Xu Qingfan blinked awkwardly.
"Haha..." Everyone burst into laughter.
Even Zhang Yiyi’s grandparents, who rarely show their emotions, exhibited a smile. It was clear that no matter what one’s status or position, gathering together as a family was immensely joyful and satisfying.
Xu Qingfan, with a blush, leaned forward and ended up kissing the same spot Zhang Yiyi had just kissed.
The casual conversation continued until after 1 PM when the two elders wanted to take a nap, and Zhang Chunxue finally took the three back to the car and drove out of the provincial government compound.
"Do you guys want to go straight home, or go somewhere fun?" Zhang Chunxue asked the three young passengers in the back seat as they waited at a red light.
"Go out and play! Go out and play!!" Lin Wanning chose without hesitation.
After hearing the honking from a car behind, Zhang Chunxue instinctively looked up before stepping on the gas; there were still three seconds on the countdown for the red light. Thankfully, she reacted quickly and hit the brakes in time to avoid running the red light.
"Why honk like that, where do you kids want to go play then?" Zhang Chunxue muttered under her breath, slowly starting the car when the light turned completely green.
"Want to go... want to go... ask Brother Qingfan!" Lin Wanning didn’t really know where she wanted to go at the moment, but being lively and active, she was just eager to get out and have fun.
"How about we go to Chimelong Wildlife World? I’ve never been there before," Xu Qingfan suggested after a moment’s thought.
"Yes, yes, I want to see the white tigers!"
"And the giraffes!"
The two girls nodded repeatedly, clearly very pleased with Xu Qingfan’s suggestion.
"Alright, then let’s go to the zoo!"
Chimelong Wildlife World introduced a new self-driving mode to view free-roaming animals in 2004, and after driving for over fifty minutes, they arrived at the queue entrance. 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Because it was Saturday, there were quite a few cars in line, though they all very politely kept a considerable distance from Zhang Chunxue’s car.
When their turn came, the normally rough staff member who knocked on the windows unexpectedly became gentle, politely collected the entrance fee, and let them through.
"Wow, a kangaroo!"
Shortly after entering the park, they saw a lazy adult kangaroo lying by the roadside, unbothered by their vehicle’s arrival and leisurely scratching its thigh.
A large group of black swans lazily sprawled under a banyan tree just seven or eight meters away from the kangaroo group.
"Won’t they fight?" Lin Wanning couldn’t help but ask curiously.
"It shouldn’t really happen, they’re all herbivores. Only Ma Building ones would be so cheeky as to hit other animals!" Xu Qingfan recalled the monkeys from a certain 5A scenic spot.
"Brother Qing Fan, what animal is that?"
"That one is a flamingo, I guess."
"And that one?" Zhang Yiyi also pointed to an animal she didn’t recognize.
Following the direction Zhang Yiyi was pointing, Xu Qingfan saw a large, brown-furred animal with a long neck, resembling both a deer and a sheep.
"Uh... maybe an alpaca?" he said uncertainly.
"Giraffe!" Both girls’ attention was quickly drawn to a herd of giraffes, no longer paying attention to the odd-looking animal from earlier.
Koalas, kangaroos, rhinoceroses... Groups of animals nestled on the grass as if they were in the East African savannah, feeling as though they were part of a documentary.
Xu Qingfan and Zhang Chunxue, having turned around, glanced at each other and shared a knowing smile.
The dangerous carnivores were separated by wire fencing, forcing them to watch from seven or eight meters away as the white tigers frolicked and played.
The two girls had been driving around the park for over an hour yet were still not ready to leave, but since the self-drive section was only available from 9 to 16:30, it was almost half-past four, and they had to leave with their vehicle.
After parking the car, they caught the last cable car circuit of the day before the park closed at five.
Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi, like curious babies encountering something new, didn’t stop moving around inside the cable car, enjoying the park’s scenery from every angle.
Under the gentle lighting, the lush Chimelong Wildlife World slowly ascended.
Dense eucalyptus forests nourished the koala families, black swans glided on the lake, giraffes gathered under the shade of trees, and herds of hartebeests and gazelles cast long shadows as they passed through.
The clear laughter of the two girls echoed in the air, making everything seem so beautiful.
...
Leaving the zoo was nearing six o’clock, and the setting sun seemed immersed in an orange sea, the continuous twilight sparkling brilliantly.
The residual warmth before sunset wasn’t scorching, and Zhang Chunxue turned off the car’s air conditioning, opening the windows to let the evening breeze blow through.
Birds perched on the telephone poles, and Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi leaned out of the open windows watching, the sky on fire reflected in their eyes.
"So beautiful~"
The evening breeze brushed across their faces, scattering their bangs, and in that moment, the young girls seemed to embody this fresh innocence.
After dinner at an expensive Western restaurant, their car started back towards their home in Li City.
In the car, Lin Wanning rested on Xu Qingfan’s thigh, curling up sweetly and falling asleep.
Zhang Yiyi, also exhausted, leaned against Xu Qingfan’s shoulder and soon drifted off to sleep.
Xu Qingfan, concerned about Zhang Chunxue’s fatigue from driving, chatted with her sporadically.
"Auntie, where did you go to university?"
"Yan University, Xiao Fan. With your grades, you might end up being schoolmates with me."
"Damn~ Auntie, you’re that awesome!" Xu Qingfan exclaimed without waking the girls and quickly whispered, "Auntie, what did you major in at university?"
"Finance. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been surprised about that subprime crisis talk you gave. You could have written a doctoral thesis on that!"
"Impressive, impressive. No wonder you could run a big company!"
"What’s the use? The money I made in ten years of hard work isn’t even a tenth of what I’ve earned in recent years following your advice. You’re a bit more impressive, Xiao Fan." Zhang Chunxue said teasingly, her eyes sparkling.
"How can that be the same? I’ve heard from those who start businesses that the process from zero to a million is the hardest, after that, from a million to ten million to a hundred million gets easier!"
"Where did you hear such twisted logic, Xiao Fan? My journey from zero to a million was the easiest. In ’92, when I first entered freshman year, I started buying stocks and subscription warrants in Shanghai with the New Year’s money and allowance from home. I remember having only a bit over eight thousand, and by the time I was a sophomore, that had turned into a million." Zhang Chunxue reminisced about her initial rebellious choice to study finance and play the stock market, indulging in nostalgia.
Xu Qingfan:...
"Sophomore year..."
Good grief, he didn’t even have ten thousand in his pocket in his previous life as a grad student!
