Traveling Separately

The two young people in the RV had already fallen asleep, but in the guest room of the inn, the two middle-aged adults were still talking.

Dad Lin massaged Mom Lin's head and asked with concern, "Does your head still feel dizzy?"

"I'm fine. I'll be all right after some rest." Mom Lin took a sip of water, then said, "What do you think of Tian Nina?"

"She's good. Sensible, pretty—I'm just afraid Lin Qiye won't be able to handle her."

"My son is amazing, you know. You have no idea how much that young lady likes him."

"She told you all that?!" Dad Lin was astonished.

"Of course. Who do you think I am?" Mom Lin was very pleased with herself. "I was thinking, this National Day holiday is the best chance. The two of us shouldn't keep hanging around with the youngsters. Wouldn't it be better to give them more room to spend time together and build their relationship?"

Dad Lin laughed. "Well, look at you. Saying one thing and doing another. Out loud you scold me for being improper, but in secret you're helping your son come up with tricks."

"Is that the same? What you did was crude. What I'm doing is caring. All right, stop talking. Sleep early. Tomorrow, the two of us will find a tour group and go have fun on our own."

After a good night's sleep, the sky was already bright.

Lin Qiye was shaken awake. It was Mom Lin calling him to get up.

"Wake up, Big Head Kid. Get up, wash your face and brush your teeth. We're going to breakfast."

Tian Nina chuckled. "Big Head Kid. What a funny nickname. Was his head really big when he was little?"

Dad Lin laughed. "It really was big. Back then there was a cartoon called Big Head Son Small Head Dad. When I carried him out shopping, everyone we knew laughed and said it was just like the cartoon."

With his embarrassing childhood stories brought up by his parents again, Lin Qiye instantly woke up.

He grumbled as he got up, "I was just a little chubby when I was small. My head wasn't big at all. You two keep talking about this every day, making everyone think I had some big-head disease as a kid."

Amid the laughter of his parents and girlfriend, Lin Qiye took a basin and cup from the kitchen storage cabinet, filled them with water, and washed up.

After they finished, the group of four strolled slowly along the roadside, looking for a breakfast place that caught their eye.

As they walked, Dad Lin said, "Qiye, your mom and I discussed it. There's no need for us to stick together every day for the seven days of National Day. For the second half, your mom and I are planning to sign up for a tour group and each do our own thing."

Lin Qiye said in surprise, "What's wrong? Isn't an RV self-driving trip good?"

Mom Lin replied, "No. Riding in this thing once is enough. There's nothing interesting about it. Your dad and I prefer something livelier. We might as well join a middle-aged and elderly tour group. That'd be better."

Dad Lin nodded. "That's right. Young people can have fun the young people's way, and we'll have fun our way. We won't hold each other up."

Lin Qiye understood that his parents were creating an opportunity for him. "I see. Doing our own thing works too. I'll go along with you."

Dad Lin replied, "After breakfast, we'll go take a look at a local travel agency. It'd be best if there's a group leaving today."

Then the four of them went straight into town and entered a breakfast shop with lots of customers.

The shop was called "One Root Noodle."

What it sold was a thick noodle coiled into a big circle.

The shop owner took the thick noodle and pulled it, lowering it bit by bit into the boiling water. When there was about enough for a serving, he pinched it off by hand.

They had never seen this new way of eating noodles before, so all four of them ordered one bowl each.

With the pot boiling hot, even the thickest raw noodle cooked quickly, and it was easy to fish out too. One strand was one bowl, and one bowl was one strand.

"What topping do you want?" Boss asked.

After they each chose their toppings, four bowls of noodles piled high with toppings were placed in front of them.

They still had to add scallions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, oil-splashed chili powder themselves, and there was even fish mint, the sort of thing northern tourists avoided like the plague.

Once they added the seasonings they wanted and mixed everything evenly with chopsticks, they could eat.

"Don't slurp it all in one bite," Tian Nina reminded them. "Last time my classmate came here and slurped a mouthful. Burned his mouth badly."

Hearing that, the shop owner couldn't help laughing. "That's right. Around here, we say you can't eat One Root Noodle without a bit of skill. Don't copy him. If you burn your mouth, we're not responsible."

Lin Qiye nodded, bit off the noodle in his mouth, and asked, "Boss, is there a travel agency nearby? One that's fairly reliable."

"There are plenty. I don't know whether they're reliable or not, but a big travel agency should be better. If you walk over, there's a China Travel Service nearby. Business is pretty good," the shop owner replied.

After finishing their One Root Noodle, the four followed the shop owner's directions to the travel agency. After some discussion with the salesperson, they chose a large tour group that offered good value for money and had a lot of participants. As for the destination, it was naturally still Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

Once they paid and settled everything, the group was set to depart at noon, so Dad Lin and Mom Lin hurried back to get their luggage.

Lin Qiye watched the two of them get on the tour bus and saw them warmly chatting with the middle-aged and elderly travelers in the same group, until the bus started and drove off into the distance.

Lin Qiye lowered his waving arm and asked, "What should we do next?"

Tian Nina blushed a little. Being left alone with just the two of them made her feel very awkward.

"You decide."

Lin Qiye thought for a moment. "I heard the scenery at Erhai Lake is beautiful. We'll park the RV by the lake, then just stay there. While we're at it, we can get your work done."

Tian Nina's eyes widened, and she was instantly drawn in. "That's a great idea. A clear blue sky, a clear blue lake, green grass, and the snowy mountain in the distance. It's so romantic."

Right after that, Tian Nina was about to go back and drive, but Lin Qiye stopped her.

"Don't rush. If we're staying over there for a few days and don't prepare some food, are we supposed to eat dirt?"

That made sense. The two of them walked into a supermarket, bought a large pile of fresh ingredients, and returned to the inn carrying bags big and small.

The RV started up and slowly drove toward Erhai Lake in the distance.

The RV traveled through green mountains and clear waters, searching for a suitable place to stop.

Very few people traveled by RV in 2012, so naturally there were no commercial RV campgrounds, but they couldn't just park anywhere either.

Lin Qiye stood beside the driver's seat and said, "Let's ask the locals about the situation, so we don't run into any trouble."

Tian Nina nodded. The RV continued along the lakeside road, and before long, several houses appeared in the distance.

The RV pulled over. Lin Qiye got out and walked up to the houses, where he saw an old woman sitting on a small stool.

"Granny, I wanted to ask you something. Do you know where we can park an RV?"

"What? Can't understand you." The old woman waved her hand.

She stood up shakily and called upstairs, "San Wa, come down. Someone's here."

On the second floor, a slightly dark-skinned young man in a shirt leaned over the railing and replied, "Got it."

The young man looked at the RV parked by the roadside, his eyes lighting up, and hurried downstairs.

He walked up to Lin Qiye and asked cheerfully, "What's up?"

"We want to find a campsite nearby. Do you know where we can park?"

"Anywhere, really. What kind of place do you want?"

"By the lake, with a good view and plenty of space." As Lin Qiye spoke, he took out a hundred-yuan note. "Can you take us to one?"

"No need for money. I know where to go. Come on, get in. I'll take you there."

Then the two of them got into the RV. Only then did the young man see that the driver was a blonde girl, and he couldn't help looking surprised.

He didn't say anything about it, just pointed ahead and said, "Keep going. There's a dirt road up ahead—turn in there, then go another half kilometer and you'll be there."