Xiao Yuan has indeed changed from before.

In the past, when Xiao Yuan was with you, he would be warm, considerate, and attentive to every detail. But when you weren't around him, it seemed like his world had no trace of you at all.

Run Sheng had seen the boy crouching by the stream with his hand clutching some burning incense after taking his mother's call that night.

He seemed to be climbing up, bit by bit, from a quagmire, while Run Sheng had gotten used to standing in front of him.

Li Zhiyuan arrived at Professor Zhu's house while Professor Zhu was having a meal.

He had just prepared a dish and was holding a rice bowl, sitting in front of his wife's portrait, eating and chatting.

Li Zhiyuan's visit surprised Professor Zhu a bit, because if there was something to discuss, why not talk about it in the classroom?

"Xiao Yuan, did you eat?"

"I have eaten, Professor Zhu."

Li Zhiyuan sat down on a chair nearby and began to chat with Professor Zhu slowly.

While chatting, the boy actively shifted the topic: "Zhangjiajie is such a beautiful place, hasn't Grandma Zhu thought about going back to see her hometown?"

"She thought about it, but first, there's no one left in her hometown, and second, we were busy with work before. By the time we retired, her health gradually worsened."

"Then Grandma Zhu must feel regretful, I heard that after people pass away, their souls will drift back to their hometown to take a look."

Professor Zhu was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, and then he nodded vigorously.

Fearing that Professor Zhu would decide to go by himself, Li Zhiyuan quickly spoke again:

"Professor Zhu, I have a relative who recently started working in Grandma Zhu's hometown. He just called me to visit him. I've already prepared to apply for leave from school to go there.

I'm planning to take that village painting from Grandma Zhu's study and a photo of her to her hometown to help fulfill her wish."

"Your relative?" Professor Zhu asked with concern, "What kind of relative, Xiao Yuan, you're still young, and these days, apart from direct family members, some relatives also have to be..."

Li Zhiyuan struggled to say the two words: "My mother."

"Oh, that's good, that's good." Professor Zhu sighed with relief, worried that the boy might be deceived, as losing such a child could cause great societal loss.

"Professor Zhu, shall I go to the study to get the painting?"

"Then, thank you, Xiao Yuan. Actually, I just listened to your words and was planning to go myself."

"You're too old, and so many students are eagerly looking forward to your lessons."

"Indeed, I have no choice but to trouble you."

"That's what I should do, no need to be courteous."

The belongings of Grandma Zhu were also sorted by Li Zhiyuan, so he knew where the painting was. Professor Zhu brought a photo of Grandma Zhu to Li Zhiyuan as well. The photo was also in black and white, but Grandma Zhu looked younger in it.

"She probably would like to look a bit younger when returning to her hometown, right?" This last question was directed towards the portrait.

Li Zhiyuan first organized the things and then lit three sticks of incense for Grandma Zhu.

The elderly might not have had such a strong obsession with their hometown, but he added this wish for her.

She was already gone, so causality couldn't involve her, but he, to some extent, utilized her.

Li Zhiyuan handed the note with Tan Wenbin's pager number and the studio's phone number to Professor Zhu.

In the team, Tan Wenbin was the one most sensitive to the pager's sound, and the studio's phone was manned 24/7.

"What's this?"

"Professor, if you ever need anything or something like a headache or fever that requires going to the hospital, call this number, and we'll be there right away."

"I don't need this, my health is fine, and also, how can I keep troubling you?"

"This is our sincere intention as students, please accept it."

"Alright, alright, I'll take it, thank you, child, I'll keep it under the glass on my desk."

Professor Zhu took the note into the inner room.

Li Zhiyuan turned his head to look at Grandma Zhu's portrait, the smoke from the three sticks of incense curling gently, and Deng Chen's photography skills were extremely detailed.

In the portrait, Grandma Zhu looked at the boy and smiled amid the white smoke.

...

Tan Wenbin walked out of the school gate, next he was going to the bureau to find his father.

However, he didn't drive the store's little pickup truck like he usually did, but instead hailed a taxi at the school gate.

Following the script, he needed to add more drama for himself now.

As soon as he got in the car, the driver smiled and said, "Oh, it's you, haha."

"Driver, what a coincidence?"

"Yes, it's quite a coincidence."

This taxi driver was the same one who drove Tan Wenbin from Pingju Photography Studio to the hospital last time. The driver had told him that a kid had gotten into a car accident, and coincidentally, he was going to the hospital to visit an old buddy, so he waived the fare.

Jinling is vast, filled with numerous taxis, yet this was the second encounter, so Tan Wenbin casually glanced at the work ID displayed in front: Liu Changping.

Liu Changping was chatting while driving: "Tonight I'm going to watch a movie with someone."

"Found a partner?"

"Just a little bit close!"

"Congratulations, congratulations."

"Really, it's all thanks to you. If it wasn't for you taking my taxi to the hospital that day, I wouldn't have met her."

"Oh?"

"She's an intern nurse at the hospital. I happened to meet her when parking, and she had just fallen, so I helped her up, and that's how we met."

"That's your own fortune."

"Hehe."

Tan Wenbin was well aware that it was because Liu Changping didn't charge him money that day.

After accompanying the Dragon King through a wave, he generously offered to drive him, which allowed him to gain a touch of Merit from it.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.