Chapter 96: Trip to China

When the plane landed in Shanghai, it was already past eight o'clock in the evening there.

Lao Zhang needed to transfer at the airport and fly back to his hometown; Liang Yan exchanged a few words with him before parting, then followed the main group out of the airport and boarded the minibus sent by the travel agency to pick them up.

On the way to the hotel, several team members who had never been to China gazed at the street scenery outside the window, feeling novelty; they chattered nonstop all the way, shouting about wanting to go out and explore Chinese night markets.

But Shanghai hardly has any night markets, and after such a long flight everyone was actually quite tired; after checking in at the hotel, upon seeing the soft, white big bed, the fatigue and drowsiness that excitement had suppressed surged up uncontrollably, so they scrambled to take showers first, then, under Biman's individual supervision, reluctantly blew dry their hair, and then fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

Nothing happened all night.

The next morning at nine, Biman again went door to door, knocking to wake everyone up; after washing up, they gathered in the hotel's first-floor restaurant, finished breakfast, and then immediately got on the bus to depart.

During the day, the tour minibus, with the Oriental Pearl Tower as its center, made a round of several attractions within a ten‑kilometer radius.

At that time G2 was still unknown domestically; even though they were in Shanghai, the birthplace of Chinese esports, very few people knew them, and passersby stared in astonishment at this group of tall, bulky white tourists. Fortunately, Tang Anna dissuaded Ka Lao Si's harebrained idea of having everyone wear the team uniform when going out, otherwise they would probably have been gawked at like monkeys.

Among the G2 entourage, Liang Yan had the best appearance, but an Eastern face among a group of Westerners was naturally overlooked by locals; besides Liang Yan, the still‑full‑haired Zven best matched Eastern aesthetics, so to passersby he looked like a tall, handsome guy. Consequently, at each scenic spot quite a few girls would come up asking to take a photo with Zven, and others did too, though not as many as Zven; there were even some fashion‑forward bold ones who dared to ask Zven for contact information, clearly hoping to have a deeper interaction with him.

Zven looked quite tempted, but the timing was wrong; with everyone watching, and Ka Lao Si and Tang Anna also looking on, he ultimately felt too embarrassed to give out his newly registered WeChat, and politely refused them all.

Liang Yan walked at the rear of the group with his hands in his pockets, strolling leisurely, casually gazing at the scenery all around, too lazy to watch others' bustle, seeming like an outsider.

Ka Lao Si was tactful; he knew Liang Yan was immersed in his own world, privately enjoying the feeling of returning to his homeland, so he didn't come over to disturb him, merely privately telling Biman to keep an eye on him lest he get lost.

At dinner in a local restaurant billed as serving authentic cuisine, Ka Lao Si ordered all the signature dishes; however, apart from being especially pricey and especially sweet, Liang Yan couldn't detect any other distinctive flavor, and according to his taste he could only say it wasn't as good as Hunan or Cantonese cuisine, while the others ate with relish, heaping mounds of rice drenched in sauce and constantly giving thumbs‑up; Liang Yan couldn't help but remark that these guys must have grown up eating coarse greens, because to them even coarse grain now seems like a supreme delicacy.

After dinner they went for a cruise on the Huangpu River, took a sightseeing boat, and watched the fireworks.

Then they returned to the hotel.

In the vehicle, Zven began to critique each girl who had taken a photo with him, flipping through his phone album to show off to the group; his excitement and conceit practically shone from his forehead, and his speech carried a hint of contempt.

In Liang Yan's presence Zven certainly wouldn't outright utter disparaging remarks, but once back at the hotel with the door closed, who knows what might slip—things like ESG, say, are probably inevitable; in fact it's no wonder people talk that way, given how extravagantly overseas‑studying youths have behaved these years, and the domestic scene is full of deviant trends, so it's natural that they leave behind all sorts of negative stereotypes.

The next day the schedule was roughly the same, only the exploration radius was expanded to twenty kilometers.

The plan for the third day was free time.

On the evening before the free day, as Liang Yan passed by Tang Anna's room, he saw her packing her luggage and, curious, couldn't help asking:

"Miss Tang, where are you headed? Do you need help?"

He said this while walking inside.

Tang Anna pressed her knees against the clothes, trying to cram a mountain‑sized pile of garments into the tiny suitcase, but her strength fell short; several attempts all ended in failure.

She lifted her head to glance at Liang Yan, pouted her lips, shook her head in a huff, muttered "No," and kept trying on her own.

Liang Yan then stood aside with his arms crossed, amusedly watching, and asked again:

"Where are you going?"

Tang Anna was straining, forcing out a place name with effort.

Liang Yan nodded and murmured "oh," suddenly understanding. He had heard somewhere—he couldn't recall who—that Tang Anna's ancestors were from that place, her great‑grandfather was buried there, and he guessed there were still some near and far relatives who hadn't left, so this trip was probably to visit family.

"Or let me do it."

Watching Tang Anna exert herself to the point of turning red in the face yet still unable to flatten the luggage, Liang Yan couldn't stand it; he stepped forward, pulled her up, bent down, pressed with both hands, fastened the elastic band, then brought the two sides together, stood up, and with a swish zipped the suitcase shut neatly.

"All done."

Liang Yan straightened up and saw Tang Anna staring blankly at him,

"What's wrong?"

"... Nothing. Thank you."

"What time are you leaving?"

"Right away, the car I called is already waiting outside."

"... Huh?"

Everyone's already here and you're still struggling with the luggage, refusing help… If I were the driver, by now I'd probably have cursed your ancestors several generations over.

Liang Yan kept that "huh?" expression on his face, stared at her for two seconds, then sighed, picked up the suitcase, turned, and walked out.

Tang Anna didn't refuse his help and silently followed.

The two took the elevator down, watching the floor numbers slowly decrease; in the quiet, cramped space a subtle and awkward atmosphere gradually brewed.

Of course, the awkwardness was only Tang Anna's feeling; Liang Yan could almost be said to be someone for whom the dictionary has no entry for "awkward."

Arriving at the hotel's wide parking lot, Liang Yan saw Tang Anna into the car, waved and said goodbye, habitually slipped his hands into his pockets, and turned to walk back into the hotel.

Tang Anna sat in the car, watching that tall figure gradually merge into the night, a hint of contemplation flickering in her eyes.

"Shall we go, beauty?"

The driver asked from the front.

"Let's go."

The vehicle started up and slowly eased onto the road.

Even though that person had long since entered the hotel, Tang Anna still couldn't help glancing occasionally at the rearview mirror, though of course she could no longer see anything there.