”No need!” Shui Jing snorted coldly, with a mischievous mood of wanting to bully him.
He didn’t remember…
Her conflicted emotions made it hard to describe her feelings. She recalled what Xiao Mei had said before: The master loves you so much that if you just coquettishly smile, even if you ask for the moon from the sky, he would help you get it…
Let’s try it out!
”I want to travel,” she said.
Anywhere would do; she needed space to breathe and think.
”Okay,” Guan Longji agreed, “I’ll have my secretary arrange the itinerary. We have chain hotels in the north, central, and south regions, and there’s also a hot spring hotel in Zhiben…”
Shui Jing’s eyes widened. What a joke!
”I want to be alone and not hear anyone call me ‘madam’!” she was a bit angry.
Recalling her semi-independent travel experience in Tokyo during her junior year summer vacation, she blurted out, “I’m going to Japan! Don’t tell me you have hotels there too!”
”…” Guan Longji hesitated about whether to tell the truth.
”Really?” Shui Jing was surprised, “Never mind! Anyway, I want to be ‘alone’. Don’t send anyone to follow me.”
Guan Longji’s expression changed.
”Don’t worry! Japan has good public safety, and besides, I’ll use your money to stay in five-star hotels and the most expensive Kyoto inns.”
She blurted out going to Japan because of the beautiful memories of her student days’ frugal independent travel.
She needed space and time to settle her thoughts and consider her next steps.
At the moment the plane took off, her heart seemed to fly out of the golden cage, gaining freedom.
Japan’s early autumn was breathtakingly beautiful.
The maple leaves had the most rich and varied colors: orange, green, tangerine, red, golden, and brown, with varying depths that were difficult to capture with a brush.
From south to north, from the bustling Tokyo to the endless horizon of Hokkaido, she looked at mountains and seas, flowers and moon. Tsugaru Strait, Lake Biwa, Himeji Castle, Toshogu Shrine… traveling leisurely, she found she could no longer recapture the carefree spirit of her previous independent travels. She knew her heart was now tethered, like a kite flying high but still connected to the ground by a string – a lovely daughter and an annoying husband forming a family.
