Running away from home without a plan would make you feel like a headless fly, and even put yourself and Xia Yuan in great danger, which would be a clumsy way of putting the cart before the horse.
Therefore, Mei Fang had decided on the specific direction of her running away from home from the very beginning.
That is Grandma Xia Yuan’s home in Jiangcheng.
During this period, they will disappear for about 10 hours, which is long enough to cause concern to parents, but the impact is relatively controllable.
Unable to solve the problem of parents, turning to the closest grandmother for help is also in line with Xia Yuan's thinking in a sense.
By the way, it can also clear the suspicion of "elopement" between himself and Xia Yuan.
Because of concerns about unexpected events, the plan to run away from home was not delayed too long and was planned to be the next morning.
He asked Xia Yuan to find an unused small suitcase at home the night before, secretly stuff all the things he had prepared into the suitcase, and hide it away.
The next day at school, the three of them agreed to meet at a place to make sure there were no unexpected events.
"It seems that you are ready too..." Mei Fang stared at the blue beret on Xia Yuan's head for a while, "You usually don't wear a hat when you go out, why did you wear one today?"
“Is it very conspicuous?”
Xia Yuan was surprised and said, "I wear this hat because I'm afraid of being recognized."
"That's not the case. I just think this hat is very nice."
"whee… "
Xia Yuan subconsciously adjusted his hat.
"Did you finish writing the letter about running away from home last night?"
Xia Yuan nodded, "It's done."
"I don't have anything special to prepare..."
While holding Xia Yuan's hand, Lin Youxi said to Mei Fang seriously, "Xia Yuan is very easy to be deceived, Mei Fang, you must protect her."
"Don't think I'm so naive, please!"
Xia Yuan said dissatisfiedly, "Isn't it just going to Jiangcheng to visit my grandma? I often go there during the summer vacation. It's not impossible to treat it as a trip..."
Take a trip...
Xia Yuan and the others did not have Mei Fang's perspective of later generations, so they could not imagine the serious consequences of this incident.
He was the only one who was worried about the child.
Mei Fang sighed, "It should be about the same time that your mother is leaving home. Let's go to your house and get your luggage."
"Yeah, okay!"
Mei Fangxiayuan said goodbye to Lin Youxi and then returned home.
In 2005, all train tickets were required to have real names, so minors without ID cards could not board the train. However, ID card checking was not yet a common requirement on buses. Mei Fang and Xia Yuan took the bus to the bus station, saying that they were brother and sister going to Jiangcheng to visit relatives, and they easily bought tickets.
Because it was a weekday, the buses to Jiangcheng were not full.
Mei Fang asked Xia Yuan to get on the bus first, and he put the luggage in the lower carriage.
After getting on the bus, Xia Yuan found a seat on the inside by the window. He kept leaning against the window to look for Mei Fang. He only sat down with peace of mind when Mei Fang appeared in his sight.
Before getting on the bus, Mei Fang bought a box of cookies from the store and handed it to Xia Yuan.
"You haven't had breakfast yet, let's fill our stomachs."
"Uh-huh… "
Xia Yuan carefully opened the package without making any extra noise. He glanced at the passengers around him, and after making sure that no one was paying attention to them, he began to chew the biscuits gently.
She ate just one or two pieces and gave them to Mei Fang, all the while staring out the window.
As if waiting for someone to appear.
The bus engine roared and the car started slowly. Xia Yuan lowered his head and finally asked Mei Fang in a low voice:
"Did we go too far this time? I feel bad that Mom and Dad are so worried about us."
"It's still not too late to ask the driver to stop now."
"That's not what I meant!"
Xia Yuan held Mei Fang's hand and said, "When I was writing the letter last night, I thought a lot. I wondered if I could persuade Dad a little longer so that he would agree to my idea of selling the hotel, or talk to Mom so that she could give up the idea of divorce..."
"Well... I actually know that's impossible."
Xia Yuan smiled and shook her head. "Like I told you before, my dad only cared about work and socializing after I started elementary school. I wanted him to take me to the amusement park, but he never took me there once. Later, when I went to my grandma's house for the summer vacation, it was always my mom and I who went there."
"Dad and Mom have been arguing a lot for a long time. They just act like they are in love in front of everyone."
"And... in front of me."
Xia Yuan lowered his head and hesitated for a while, then looked out the window.
"They always quarreled with the bedroom door closed. Sometimes the noise was so loud that I could hear it from outside, but I pretended not to know."
"Why are you pretending not to know?"
Xia Yuan said softly, "Because they hope I don't know, and I don't want to make them sad."
"Is that so..."
Mei Fang seemed to be thinking about something, and his opinion of Xia Yuan also changed a little.
Xia Yuan is a well-behaved and sensible child.
But in other words, she is also a child who is always trying to meet her parents' expectations.
Her idol image is not just to maintain her good image.
More importantly, it is to avoid embarrassing parents and not disappoint their expectations.
Listening to Xia Yuan telling her own troubles, Mei Fang's hand unconsciously placed on Xia Yuan's head and gently stroked it.
"What are you doing...you!"
Xia Yuan stared at Mei Fang angrily and said, "I told you not to touch my head like an adult. How many years have passed and you still haven't changed this habit? Am I going to hit you?"
Although she would say words of disgust, Mei Fang had been touching her for many years, and Xia Yuan no longer disliked such behavior.
"I didn't expect that you have been working so hard..."
Mei Fang smiled slightly, "Then at least, you can relax in front of me. I won't tell you how you should behave or what you want to do."
Xia Yuan raised his head and looked at Mei Fang, his eyes blinking with a beautiful light flashing in his pupils.
“This is the first time someone has said this to me.”
"This means that you are also pretending in front of me, right?"
"Let me think about it... Even if I'm alone, I do care about my image..."
Xia Yuan kept talking to herself while enjoying Mei Fang's pat on the head.
Soon, she fell asleep leaning on Mei Fang's arm.
The bus ran smoothly and soon arrived in Jiangcheng from Baimei County.
Xia Yuan's grandmother lives in the countryside of Jiangcheng, so she has to change buses after arriving in Jiangcheng.
But after all, the car ride from Baimei County took more than 4 hours, and the journey was tiring, so the two were not in a hurry to continue.
After breathing in the air of the provincial capital for a while, Mei Fang turned to look at Xia Yuan:
"Let's go have lunch first, what do you want to eat?"
Xia Yuan put his hands behind his back, jumped forward with light steps, leaned close to Mei Fang's cheek, and looked at him with a smile.
She looked a little excited, and her previous worries about her relatives no longer interfered with her mood to run away from home.
"Mei Fang, I will always remember what you said, okay?"
"Specifically, what does that mean..."
"I can do whatever I want in front of you and be my true self, and you won't care or dislike it, right?"
Mei Fang nodded: "Well, just be yourself."
"So, since I've come all the way to Jiangcheng, I must eat some junk food that my parents would never let me eat before!"
Xia Yuan smacked her lips and then stuck out her tongue mischievously.
(End of this chapter)