Travel: Imperial Capital arc (epilogue): Countdown to midsummer

"Cousin, you're leaving already?" Xiao Xue asked, her voice tinged with reluctance as she looked at Xiao Ling, who was already packing his luggage.

"To be honest, sometimes I wonder if you're more reluctant to leave me or to leave behind my cooking." Xiao Ling took a moment to look up from the pile of luggage and grinned at her cousin. "What's wrong? Feeling sad that no one will cook for you anymore after I leave?"

Who cares about your cooking?

"Then I won't make it for you next time."

"Hey, you brat, you're always picking on my weak points, aren't you!" Xiao Xue was furious and made a move to hit him.

"Haha, please calm down, big sister, please calm down, I know I was wrong," Xiao Ling said with a grin, begging for forgiveness.

The cousins bickered and argued, but their movements didn't slow down at all. Xiao Xue, who had come uninvited, naturally helped Xiao Ling pack his luggage.

It wasn't until Xiao Xue had quickly packed the last bag of luggage for Xiao Ling that she truly felt the impending separation.

"Here, your luggage is all ready." Xiao Xue forced a smile and handed the last bag of luggage to Xiao Ling.

"Thank you for your hard work, you even helped me pack my luggage." Xiao Ling said with a light smile.

"We're all family, what's with all this talk about hard work..." Xiao Xue muttered softly.

Perhaps feeling that it would be a long time before they met again after this separation, Xiao Xue finally put on the demeanor of an elder sister.

"Listen carefully, after you leave, you must treat those girls well. Don't lose your temper with them, especially Yaya! She's already had a hard enough life; you're not allowed to bully her!"

"Cousin, are you talking about serious bullying or inappropriate bullying?" Xiao Ling joked.

"Get your attitude straight! I'm giving you a serious warning!" Xiao Xue raised her eyebrows and immediately kicked the unserious Hajiling.

"I'm hungry~" Xiao Ling made an exaggerated sound effect of being hit.

(Eat when you're hungry.)

"Alright, I'm not going to bother you anymore, hurry up and go." Xiao Xue turned Xiao Ling around and pushed him towards the door. "Oh, and don't forget to come back for Chinese New Year, bring all your girls with you, not one less, you hear me?!"

Xiao Ling turned around, looked at Xiao Xue who was trying to keep a straight face, and revealed a relieved smile.

"Contact Green Bubble if you need anything," he said with a hearty smile. "And don't miss me or my cooking too much."

Who cares about that!

"It seems you and your sister have a good relationship, Xiao Yu."

Stepping out of the room, Xiao Ling, carrying large and small bags, immediately saw Yangyang standing dignifiedly at the door waiting for her.

"Our relationship is quite good now, but we used to dislike each other," Xiao Ling said with a light laugh, walking side by side with Yangyang as they walked out of the courtyard.

"Really? It seems there must have been quite a lot between you two, enough to transform your relationship from irreconcilable to one of blood ties." Yangyang nodded with a smile.

"I wouldn't say I've been through a lot, except that I once helped her avoid a bad relationship, and I almost got kicked out of the house by my uncle because of it," Xiao Ling said softly with a smile, as if it had nothing to do with her.

Can we talk now?

"You want to hear it?" Xiao Ling raised an eyebrow. "It's not impossible, but I'm not really in the mood to talk about it right now. Come find me secretly when we get to Qiongzhou and no one's around, and I'll tell you all about it."

Yangyang's eyes lit up as she realized this was a good opportunity to win over Xiao, and she quickly nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I will remember this promise."

"So it's settled then?" Xiao Ling smiled. "Alright, let's hurry to the door, everyone should be waiting for us."

"Okay, let's go."

"Oh my, you two have finally arrived! We've been waiting for you for ages!"

At the entrance of the courtyard house, Lynae immediately started complaining when she saw Yangyang and Xiao Ling arriving late.

"Haha, sorry, sorry, there's just too much stuff to pack all at once. Sorry to have kept you waiting." Xiao Ling scratched his head apologetically.

"Hmm? Lynae, what's that red string on your wrist...?" Yangyang, with her sharp eyes, immediately noticed the red string tied around Lynae's wrist.

"Oh, you mean this? Sister Xiao Yue tied them on for us all, saying it was to wish us all good things, peace, and joy," Lynae said with a bright smile.

Xiao Ling chuckled and nodded, then looked up and saw that the group of beautiful women in front of him all had a red string tied around their wrists. Sensing his gaze, the girls also raised the red strings on their wrists, indicating that each of them had one.

At the far end of the crowd, her mother was tying a second red ribbon around Dania's neck.

So he walked through the crowd and came to the two of them.

"I never imagined the day of parting would come so soon. I wanted to hear more of your stories..." Xiao Yue's voice was filled with deep reluctance. "I'm sorry, Xiao Ya, Mom can't help you much. I only pray that these two red threads will protect you, bring you peace and joy, and ensure everything goes smoothly for you."

Dania gazed at the gentle elder before her, a touching smile appearing on her face, before embracing her.

"It's alright, I really like this gift," she said softly. "Mom, you should take care of yourself too. As for Ling, I'll discipline him properly, so you don't need to worry too much."

"What? I just got here and I heard someone saying they're going to discipline me?"

Xiao Yue and Dania turned around at the same time and saw Xiao Ling with his arms crossed, looking at them with a smile in his eyes, his tone full of teasing.

"You little brat really need to be disciplined," Xiao Yue said with a look of disgust. "I thought Xiao Xue was just joking with you, but I didn't expect you to actually dare to imitate ancient emperors with three wives and six concubines."

"Isn't this a good thing?" Xiao Ling said shamelessly, "With so many beautiful daughters-in-law, Mom, dare you say you're not happy?"

"Of course Mom is happy," Xiao Yue said with a kind smile. "It's just a little regrettable. Those two little girls who visited us back then have left the Imperial Capital sometime ago. I wish I had tied the red string on them when they came to visit last time."

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Ling had a sudden inspiration and said to his mother, "Mom, do you have any extra red ropes? Give me two."

"Here, take this." Xiao Yue took out two more red strings and handed them to Xiao Ling. "Which pretty girl are you planning to hook up with this time?"

You'll find out then, but for now, it's a secret.

"You little rascal, you're keeping me in suspense now," Xiao Yue said with a laugh.

"Sigh, well, the kids are all grown up and will eventually have to go out and make their own way in the world. Hurry up and go, don't be late. Remember to let us know when you get there, and also, remember to bring the girls back for New Year's Eve dinner!"

"Okay, Mom." Xiao Ling nodded in agreement, then took Dania's hand and walked into the group of girls.

"Well... Mom, I'm leaving now. Take care."

"Yes, good boy, be careful on the road."

"Everyone, are you all ready?" Xiao Ling started to liven up the atmosphere in the car as soon as she got in.

"Ready!" the women responded enthusiastically in unison.

"Great, very energetic!" Xiao Ling praised. "Then let's go! Let's catch the last days of summer!"