80: Chapter 80 Departure

May 3, 2025, Saturday, Cloudy, 18 ~ 31℃.

At six in the morning, Qiao Yichen opened his eyes in his rented room.

Without lingering in bed, he sat up directly, quickly washed up, changed into sportswear, and walked toward the open space behind the complex.

After running for half an hour, he was drenched in sweat by the time he returned.

He took a hot shower. The warm stream washed over his skin, washing away the stickiness and fatigue from exercising, and he finally woke up completely.

He changed into fresh clothes, grabbed the backpack he had packed the night before, and left the house.

He hurried toward Liu Yanran's home.

Opening the door and going in, the house was quiet.

There was no one in the living room, and the door to the master bedroom was still tightly shut.

He stepped lightly over, grasped the doorknob, and pushed it open little by little—the curtains were drawn tightly, immersing the entire room in dimness.

Qiao Yichen groped his way to the bedside, lifted the quilt, and dove in.

The quilt was full of her scent, and the warm air enveloped him.

He cautiously moved closer, pressing against her from behind, his arms gently circling her waist.

Through the thin silk pajamas, he could feel the temperature of her body.

Liu Yanran's body stiffened, her breathing hitched for half a beat, and her consciousness was pulled back from sleep.

Qiao Yichen leaned close to her ear and lowered his voice: "Baby, it's me."

Her hand rested back on the back of his hand, her thumb rubbing against his hand, and she didn't speak, only leaning further back into his embrace.

After relaxing, she asked in a voice still husky from sleep, "What time is it?"

Qiao Yichen reached for his phone and glanced at it: "Seven-thirty."

Liu Yanran didn't move, instead snuggling deeper into his arms: "Then let me sleep a little longer."

She closed her eyes, and her breathing slowly became even again.

Qiao Yichen didn't move either, just held her like that, his fingers tracing her hair ends intermittently.

When it was eight o'clock, her own phone alarm rang.

Liu Yanran finally woke up for real. She opened her eyes, lingered in his arms for a few more seconds, then pushed herself up, threw on some clothes, and went to the bathroom.

Qiao Yichen took advantage of this moment to pick up his phone and text Su Qing and Lin Wei: "Are you awake? I'll come pick you up shortly."

About twenty minutes later, the bathroom door finally opened.

Liu Yanran walked out wearing a white bathrobe, the belt loosely tied.

Her wet hair hung over her shoulders, water droplets dripping down from the ends, soaking the fabric over her shoulders.

She sat down in front of the vanity, picked up a towel to dry her hair, and then pulled out the hairdryer.

Qiao Yichen walked over and took the hairdryer from her hand.

"I'll do it."

Liu Yanran glanced at him in the mirror, said nothing, a smile curving the corner of her mouth.

The hairdryer began to buzz. Qiao Yichen ran his fingers through her hair, drying it bit by bit from the roots to the ends.

The warm air swept past, carrying the scent of shampoo. Her hair slipped through his fingers, gradually becoming smooth and voluminous.

When her hair was completely dry, Liu Yanran stood up and pushed him toward the door.

"Out, out, I need to change."

Qiao Yichen was about to say, "What's wrong with doing it right here?" when his waist suddenly stung—Liu Yanran had pinched him, not too hard, just enough to make him shut up.

He wisely retreated, and the door closed behind him.

After waiting for about ten minutes, the door opened again.

Liu Yanran walked out. Her hair was still loosely draped, and the light makeup on her face made her look a few shades softer than usual.

Qiao Yichen's gaze fell on her, and he seemed frozen in place.

A light pink knit camisole, loosely covered by a cardigan of the same color.

The neckline was open, vaguely revealing a bottomless cleavage.

The high-waisted skirt outlined her waistline, and the slit in the hem swayed slightly with her steps, revealing a stretch of fair calf.

She carried her small suitcase, standing at the door looking at him.

Liu Yanran felt a little self-conscious under his gaze. She looked down at herself, then turned around, the skirt swaying slightly: "...Do I look good?"

The skin behind her ears felt warm, but she maintained her composure, waiting for his answer.

"Beautiful," Qiao Yichen walked over, took the suitcase from her hand, and naturally took hers with his free hand, "Let's go."

Liu Yanran curved her lips, didn't speak, and followed him toward the door.

Going downstairs, they put the suitcase and backpack in the trunk. Qiao Yichen opened the passenger door, waited for Liu Yanran to get in, then closed the door and walked around to the driver's seat.

The car started and pulled out of the complex.

"Should we pick them up first?" Liu Yanran asked.

"Yeah, we'll go to Lin Wei's place first." Qiao Yichen signaled to turn, "I messaged them; they should be up by now."

On the way to Lin Wei's house, Qiao Yichen checked the time and told Liu Yanran, "It'll take about fifteen minutes to get there. Tell her to be ready and wait by the door."

Liu Yanran looked down and messaged Lin Wei, then quickly looked up: "She said she just finished washing up and is putting on makeup."

"What about Su Qing?"

"Almost done packing up."

Qiao Yichen nodded and stepped on the accelerator.

Fifteen minutes later, the car stopped exactly at the entrance of Lin Wei's complex.

Then came the waiting.

Five minutes passed, no one came. Eight minutes passed, still no one.

Just as Liu Yanran was about to text again, she finally saw a figure jogging out of the unit door, carrying a suitcase. Lin Wei was wearing a floral dress, her hair tied in a ponytail; her skirt swayed as she ran.

Qiao Yichen had already gotten out of the car to wait nearby, taking her suitcase and putting it in the trunk.

Lin Wei pulled open the rear car door, panting, and climbed in: "Sorry, sorry, I took a snooze..."

Liu Yanran turned around from the passenger seat to look at her and couldn't help but tease, "You're the slowest one."

Lin Wei chuckled, didn't argue, leaned back against the seat, adopting a completely unbothered posture.

Qiao Yichen returned to the driver's seat, buckled his seatbelt, and glanced at her through the rearview mirror: "I can tell you haven't eaten breakfast."

"Did you guys eat?" Lin Wei leaned forward, looking at Liu Yanran, then at Qiao Yichen.

Liu Yanran shook her head: "Neither did we."

"Then that settles it." Lin Wei leaned back, "Let's go, let's go, pick up Su Qing. I'm starving."

The car turned into Su Qing's complex, and from a distance, they saw her standing by the entrance. Her suitcase was at her feet, and she was holding a convenience store bag, looking down at her phone.

Qiao Yichen stopped the car steadily and took the suitcase from her.

Su Qing opened the rear door, handed the bag to Lin Wei first, and then sat down herself.

"What did you buy?" Lin Wei looked down into the bag, "Sandwiches, bread, milk, tea eggs, water... Holy crap, that's everything?"

Su Qing closed the car door and said plainly, "I figured you might not have anything to eat on the road, so I bought it on impulse."

Qiao Yichen glanced at her through the rearview mirror, gave her a thumbs-up: "Lawyer Su is punctual and prepared. Unlike some people."

Lin Wei glared at the back of his head, knowing she was in the wrong, but stubbornly remained silent.

The car pulled out of the complex and merged into the morning rush hour traffic.

During a red light, Liu Yanran pulled a tea egg out of the bag and started peeling it, looking down. The eggshell peeled off in pieces, revealing the tender white of the egg. Once it was clean, she turned sideways and offered it to Qiao Yichen's mouth.

Qiao Yichen swallowed half of it in one bite.

"Slow down." Liu Yanran took out water next, unscrewed the cap, and handed it over.

Qiao Yichen took it, drank a couple of sips, and handed the bottle back to her. Liu Yanran screwed the cap on and put it back in the bag.

A faint voice came from the back seat: "Excuse me... can you consider the feelings of the passengers in the back?"

Su Qing took a bite of her sandwich without looking up: "You'll get used to it."

Lin Wei choked.

After driving for a while, Qiao Yichen glanced at the navigation, signaled, and turned into a parking lot.

"There's a supermarket ahead, let's stop there for a moment." He looked back at the rear seats, "It'll take about an hour and a half to get to Mogan Mountain. See if there's anything you want to buy and we'll grab it for the road."

Lin Wei immediately perked up: "Yay!"

Su Qing quietly put down the half-eaten sandwich in her hand.

The four of them spent half an hour in the supermarket. Lin Wei pushed the cart, tossing in chips and spicy strips. Su Qing picked out mineral water and functional drinks. Liu Yanran carefully selected a box of strawberries and a box of cherries in the fruit section. Qiao Yichen held a bag, carefully packing everything they chose.

After paying, Qiao Yichen checked the time and signaled it was time to go.

The car got back on the road and soon entered the highway.

The first half hour was filled with chatter and laughter. Lin Wei munched on chips in the back seat, rambling on about the recent business of her Taobao store.

Su Qing occasionally replied, but mostly just stared out the window. Later, at some point, the voices gradually faded away.

Qiao Yichen glanced in the rearview mirror—both of them in the back seat were leaning against the seatbacks, dozing off. Su Qing's head was tilted toward the window, while Lin Wei had completely curled up into a ball, sleeping soundly.

The car became completely quiet.

Liu Yanran sat in the passenger seat; she wasn't asleep. She occasionally looked at the scenery flashing by outside the window, occasionally turned her head to look at Qiao Yichen driving, not speaking, just quietly keeping him company.

Another service area sign flashed past the window.

Qiao Yichen freed his right hand, gently squeezed hers, rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand, then let go, continuing to grip the steering wheel.

Liu Yanran didn't speak, her gaze fixed on the road ahead.

The car drove steadily forward.