31: travel

The moment Liu Zhuoyun began to sing, everyone was shocked once again.

Her voice was clear and ethereal, like a stream in a mountain ravine, or a lark whispering in a valley. Although it carried a trace of imperceptible shyness and timidity, its purity and beauty made it incredibly pleasant to hear. Every note seemed to carry a healing power, gently brushing against everyone's heartstrings, making them unable to help but immerse themselves in it.

The crowd remained motionless, listening quietly. Many of them had heard this song before and clearly remembered that summer in 2018, when this song became popular across the streets and alleys, carrying the youthful memories of countless people.

"I was once unable to extricate myself from the vastness of the world, and indulged in its daydreams. I couldn't tell truth from false, made no struggle, and feared no ridicule. I once let my youth surge into her, and also plucked the midsummer with my fingertips. Whatever moves the heart, just let it follow fate..."

When Liu Zhuoyun sang, she seemed like a different person. She became brighter and more confident. Standing there, she was like a pure white lotus rising from the mud without being stained, blooming alone in the light and shadow. That demeanor, so completely different from her usual self, made everyone look at her with admiration.

"Whatever moves the heart, just let it go with the wind. In the name of love, are you still willing?"

It wasn't until Liu Zhuoyun finished the whole song that the private room regained its vitality. The crowd came back to their senses as if waking from a dream, and immediately erupted into thunderous applause and cheers.

"Thank you, everyone."

Liu Zhuoyun bowed slightly with a sweet smile on her face, handed the microphone to Zhang Xueya beside her, and then quietly sat back down beside Jiang Yuan, as if the dazzling moment just now had never happened.

"What are you thinking about?" Liu Zhuoyun's gentle voice gently pulled Jiang Yuan out of his memories.

The latter was stunned for a moment, scratched his head, and wore a nostalgic smile on his face: "When this song was first released, I was still in school. So many years have passed in a blink of an eye; I was just feeling a bit emotional, recalling the days of the past."

"Is that so? I also started liking this song at that time, and I've been listening to it for many years."

Liu Zhuoyun's state seemed even better than before. Perhaps because everyone had become more familiar with each other, she actually started to take the initiative to talk to Jiang Yuan, occasionally making small jokes, and her face carried a few more relaxed smiles.

Time passed unconsciously, and they sang until almost twelve o'clock. In the end, a duet of "The Most Dazzling Folk Style" by Zhao Xin and Li Yu, amidst deafening singing, brought a perfect end to tonight's KTV revelry.

During this time, Jiang Yuan and Liu Zhuoyun even sang a few more songs together. Their voices blended seamlessly, like heavenly music, making everyone listen in intoxication, as if they were in a fairyland.

If it weren't for the fact that Liu Zhuoyun's throat was a bit dry from singing, the others probably wouldn't have let them off easily and would have insisted they continue singing.

After the event ended, Jiang Yuan walked beside Liu Zhuoyun. The night breeze carried a hint of coolness, but it couldn't blow away the warmth in his heart.

He looked at Liu Zhuoyun, whose voice was slightly hoarse from singing but still pleasant, and his heart was filled with admiration. The confidence she had shown on stage just now formed a strong contrast with her usual introversion, which allowed him to see more of her unknown side.

"You sing really well. I didn't expect you to have this skill." Jiang Yuan praised softly, his tone filled with sincere appreciation.

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhuoyun's cheeks turned red again, and she smiled embarrassedly: "Thank you."

The hotel was booked personally by Jiang Yuan. He was generous and directly booked four of the most comfortable business suites in a five-star hotel.

Nothing happened overnight, only the neon lights of Yanji outside the window flickered quietly, adding a touch of dreamy color to this city.

The next day, just as the light of dawn appeared, several young people got up early. The air was filled with fresh vitality and a sense of impatience for the new journey.

Because there were still many unique sceneries and pleasures in Yanji waiting for them to explore, no one wanted to waste this precious time.

However, today's group was missing the two familiar figures of Zhao Xin and Li Yu.

It turned out that after several days of rushing about and revelry, the two brothers had spent too much time resting and had been urgently recalled by their families, having to end this trip early. When they left, they still urged Jiang Yuan to make sure to come to their homes for a meal.

Thus, now there was only Jiang Yuan, one male, left to travel with four pretty Girls.

The group seemed a bit "imbalanced with more women than men," but it also had a unique liveliness.

The Girls were all dressed brightly and beautifully. Each of them had brought carefully selected changes of clothes, so it wasn't the case that they had nothing to wear.

However, they were not like some Girls who carried big bags and small bags; instead, each of them just carried a small backpack, which contained all their belongings properly, making them look light and neat.

Come to think of it, this was just a short trip, not a long-term journey. If they brought so much luggage, they would probably have to change clothes every few hours, which would instead become a burden and lose the relaxed feeling of traveling.

For the morning itinerary, they first arrived at the Yanji Dinosaur Museum.

As soon as they stepped into the museum, a coolness carrying the dust of history rushed towards them, and the huge dinosaur fossil skeletons instantly came into view.

Those Tyrannosaurus Rexes several meters high, the gentle Long-necked Dragons, the Stegosauruses with hard backs... They seemed to have traveled through hundreds of millions of years of time, carrying the majesty and mystery of ancient times, standing silently in the center of the exhibition hall, making people involuntarily slow down their steps and look up at these former overlords of the Earth.

And those lifelike artificial dinosaur models were even more vivid.

Every scale, every sharp claw was crafted with extreme detail, baring fangs and brandishing claws as if they could come back to life at any moment, making people feel as if they were in Jurassic Park, full of surprise and shock.

Jiang Yuan took his phone and patiently took many precious photos for the four Girls.

He guided them to pose in various interesting ways, sometimes "staring" at the T-Rex fossils, sometimes pretending to be "snatched away" by a Pterosaur, which drew constant laughter.

Of course, he also took the opportunity to take a few more tacit photos with Liu Zhuoyun. The lens captured the inadvertent eye contact between the two, making the picture exceptionally natural.

Liu Zhuoyun today was wearing two cute braids, with a brown sun hat on her head, which complemented the creamy white sleeveless long dress she was wearing.

There wasn't an ounce of fat on her exposed fair arms, and if one looked closely, one could even see very graceful muscle lines.

A section of slender, fair calves was exposed under the skirt, and she wore a pair of versatile white sneakers on her feet. Her whole person exuded a strong girlish aura, like a pure and harmless neighbor's little sister, making people feel tender affection for her.

As for the others, except for Zhang Xueya, who was wearing a pair of cool sunglasses and had big wavy curly hair, giving off a mature, sexy, "big sister" vibe, the outfits of the other Girls were generally similar, mainly fresh and casual, full of youthful vitality.

This high- Appearance (good-looking) group of theirs, walking outside the museum, naturally attracted passersby to look at them, and many tourists even stopped in their tracks, their eyes filled with undisguised amazement.

Some bolder tourists even took out their phones to secretly take pictures, recording this beautiful scenery.

A couple passed by. The girl quietly tugged at her boyfriend's sleeve and whispered, pointing at Liu Zhuoyun: "Look at that big sister, she looks like someone from a painting." The boyfriend replied with a perfunctory "Uh-huh," but his eyes couldn't help but look at Jiang Yuan a few more times, muttering to himself that this guy was quite lucky with women.

Not far away, several Girls who looked like students held their phones, pointing at them and whispering.

Their faces were full of envy and curiosity, and they were whispering about the identities of this group of people.

"Which influencer is this? Or a celebrity? How come I've never seen them?"

"That woman is so beautiful, she's practically at the level of the 'white moonlight' in my heart, even better looking than my first love!"

"Don't be funny. Look at how handsome that guy is. Go pee and look at your reflection; are you even one percent as handsome as him? A toad lusting after a swan's flesh!"

Some passersby chatted while commenting in low voices.

However, with Jiang Yuan's powerful hearing, he could basically hear the gist of these discussions. To this, he just smiled helplessly, but couldn't help but sigh in his heart: Having money and being handsome, wherever he went, he was the focus. This feeling was actually quite fresh.