Heading to Tokyo

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Lu Mingfei set off for the airport with his uncle and aunt. They had arranged to meet Section Chief Chen and his family at the airport terminal.

They were heading to Japan for a one-week trip, and the timing was perfect; Lu Mingfei and the others would be back just in time for the start of the school semester.

Lu Mingfei helped his aunt carry several bags, which contained their change of clothes and items his uncle and aunt deemed essential.

Upon arriving at the airport, they queued up to pass through security. His uncle checked the time and noted that they still had about an hour before takeoff, so there was no need to rush.

After searching near the boarding gate, they finally spotted Section Chief Chen and his family.

"Old Lu, we were just talking about when you'd arrive, and here you are! What a coincidence!" Section Chief Chen stood up and greeted his uncle warmly.

His uncle responded with equal enthusiasm, and the two exchanged a few pleasantries.

"Come, let me introduce everyone. This is my wife," Section Chief Chen said, gesturing to his spouse.

Mrs. Chen stood up and greeted them.

Lu Gucheng also introduced his wife. In truth, everyone had met before, but they hadn't spoken much; the main goal was to let the younger generation get acquainted.

"Jiajia, why don't you introduce yourself?" Section Chief Chen said to his daughter.

"Hello everyone, I'm Chen Jiawei. You can just call me Jiajia," said the well-mannered girl in a soft voice.

His aunt gave Lu Mingfei and Lu Mingze a look, signaling that it was their turn to show off their social skills.

Lu Mingfei caught the hint, stepped forward, stood straight, and smiled. "I'm Lu Mingfei. I hope everyone has a great time on this trip."

Jiajia's eyes lit up. She looked at the handsome youth and asked excitedly, "Are you Senior Lu?"

Lu Mingfei nodded.

"Senior Lu? What does that mean?" Mrs. Chen asked.

"He's the Senior Lu I mentioned to you, the one who ranked first in the province during the mock exams. He's not even a bit inferior to Senior Chu Zihang."

Jiajia looked at Lu Mingfei with pure admiration. She had been a fan ever since he helped a girl from their school chase off some bullies, and she hadn't expected to be traveling with him.

Section Chief Chen's family was stunned; they hadn't realized the Lu family was hiding such a talent.

Mrs. Chen immediately smiled and said, "Jiajia, you should learn from your Senior Lu and talk to him more."

Jiajia nodded vigorously.

Lu Mingfei felt a bit embarrassed listening to them brag about him. While he knew he was indeed excellent, being talked about like this felt strange.

Seeing this, his aunt thought she couldn't let Lu Mingfei steal the spotlight from Mingze, so she quickly added, "My Mingze is actually quite good too, just a bit behind his brother. Mingze, go ahead and introduce yourself."

Lu Mingze just walked over sluggishly and muttered, "I'm Lu Mingze," before stopping.

His aunt was furious; this made Mingze look inferior to Mingfei.

Although she no longer held prejudices against Lu Mingfei, she felt that if Lu Mingze was overshadowed, it was equivalent to her being overshadowed by Qiaoweini.

The mere thought of Lu Mingfei's glamorous mother made her heart ache.

Lu Mingfei, completely oblivious to his aunt's thoughts, simply deflected the questions from Section Chief Chen's family.

Upon learning that Lu Mingfei's parents were archaeologists, they became even more convinced that Lu Mingfei was destined for greatness, and they urged Jiajia to learn from him.

Although Jiajia was only in her first year of high school, they believed in starting early and hoped she would get into a good university.

Lu Mingze sat in his seat, lost in thought, not even glancing at Jiajia.

By comparison, the melancholic and sentimental person behind the handle "Scar of the Sunset" on QQ was much more to his liking.

Once on the plane, Lu Mingfei, Lu Mingze, and Jiajia sat together with Jiajia in the middle. The flight to Tokyo would take about four hours, meaning they would arrive by evening.

Lu Mingfei sat on the aisle. Even though they were in economy class, the flight attendants kept coming by to ask if he needed anything.

Coupled with Jiajia's curiosity and her constant "Senior Lu" this and "Senior Lu" that, Lu Mingfei began to wonder if he had made a mistake coming on this trip.

All he wanted was to reach Tokyo and dash off to Akihabara to find his spring; he had no interest in anything else.

About an hour later, Lu Mingfei decided to feign sleep. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the seat. Sure enough, seeing him asleep, people stopped bothering him.

Seeing this, a flight attendant thoughtfully brought a blanket and covered him gently, as if afraid the gentleman might catch a chill.

Lu Mingfei drifted off without realizing it, and by the time he woke up, it was time to disembark.

Lu Mingfei helped everyone with their luggage as they left the plane. It was already night, and following the instructions on their vouchers, they arrived at their hotel.

The stay was complimentary, as specified by the seven-day tour voucher, which also promised other special services.

His uncle's voucher covered two suites: one with two bedrooms and a living room, and one large room with a double bed. His uncle's family marveled at the company's generosity, surprised by how luxurious the hotel was.

Lu Mingfei chose the single room, letting Lu Mingze stay in the two-bedroom suite with his uncle and aunt.

After dropping off his luggage, Lu Mingfei went out to meet them, as the two families were to have dinner together.

When they arrived at a nearby restaurant, they realized they didn't know how to order since none of them spoke Japanese. They looked at each other in embarrassment.

Seeing this, Lu Mingfei stepped forward, communicated with the waiter in fluent Japanese, and then explained the menu to his uncle and aunt.

"Mingfei is truly a talented youth, his Japanese is so good," Section Chief Chen praised.

His uncle and aunt were equally astonished, then shot a questioning look at Lu Mingze, as if asking why he couldn't learn from his brother.

Lu Mingze was on the verge of tears. He didn't even know when Lu Mingfei had learned the language—could he have taught himself while watching anime?

If Lu Mingfei knew what Lu Mingze was thinking, he would surely say to him, "Do you have any idea how hard your big brother has worked? He suffered through absolute torture just to learn this bird language."

Section Chief Chen and his family were finding Lu Mingfei increasingly agreeable. With every dish served, the waiter would explain its origin and preparation method.

Lu Mingfei acted as the translator, helping to introduce the dishes.

"Senior Lu is truly reliable!" Jiajia said with a look of reverence, genuinely yearning for someone like him.

After dinner, Lu Mingfei returned to his room and found a card under the door. It stated that by presenting this card at a shop in Akihabara that sold various anime merchandise, one could enjoy a thirty percent discount.

It looked like it might come in handy, and since he didn't have much money, Lu Mingfei tucked it away.