Love Me in Another Universe

Chapter 64. Soupy's Uncle in Shaoguan

January 24, 1998, Saturday. Guan Xuchen was packing his luggage at home when the phone rang. He went to answer it.

"Hello, may I speak to Guan Xuchen, please?" A boy's voice came from the other end of the line.

Guan Xuchen recognized the voice and quickly realized it was Cheng Xianchu, his class monitor from junior middle school and now a student in Class 2, Senior Two. He smiled and said, "Hello, Monitor! What a pleasant surprise to get a call from you!"

"I thought you might have forgotten me," Cheng Xianchu teased, then explained, "Here's the thing. I just spoke with Miss Wang Yuemei. It turns out she recently got married. Our classmates from junior middle school want to visit her during the Lunar New Year and to congratulate her. We're tentatively planning to go on February 2nd, the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. Will you be free then?"

Guan Xuchen thought for a moment and replied, "I'm going to Shaoguan City with my parents tomorrow. And I'm going to visit my current teacher on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. The sixth day should be okay."

"Great, so you're in. See you then." Cheng Xianchu spoke concisely and was about to hang up.

"Wait, Monitor," Guan Xuchen called out, then asked hesitantly, "Um... who else is going?"

"We've already lined up five or six classmates. Besides me, there's Feng Yuhua, Wu Yixin..." Cheng Xianchu paused after mentioning two names, then smiled and said, "I haven't contacted Gao Xinglang yet. Why don't you ask him for me?"

"Oh, sure," Guan Xuchen replied softly.

After finishing the call with Cheng Xianchu, Guan Xuchen dialed Gao Xinglang's home number, but the ringing tone turned to a busy signal without anyone answering. Guan Xuchen glanced at the wall clock—it was already past 8 p.m. He murmured to himself, "Is Lang still at his grandmother's house? Why hasn't he come back yet..."

Just then, he heard his mother call impatiently from the room, "Xuchen, stop wasting time on the phone! Have you finished packing yet? We'll be leaving early in the morning!"

"Oh, got it," Guan Xuchen had to put down the phone and return to packing his luggage.

January 25, 1998, Sunday. Guan Xuchen sat listlessly with his parents on the green-skinned train from Guangzhou to Shaoguan.

Around ten o'clock last night, just before bed, Guan Xuchen called Gao Xinglang's home again—but still no answer. He was starting to worry about Gao. On top of that, he'd been preoccupied with having to wake up early, so he didn't sleep very well. Just before 7 a.m. today, as they were about to leave, Guan Xuchen tried to sneak a call to Gao Xinglang's house while his mother was in the bathroom. But thinking it might be too early to disturb Gao, he picked up the receiver and hesitated, then set it down again.

Guan Xuchen felt tired and closed his eyes in his seat, trying to take a nap. But his mind kept wandering to Gao Xinglang, and he just couldn't fall asleep. He opened his eyes, shook his mother's arm, and complained softly, "Mom, why can't we go to Uncle's house in two days? In that case, we won't miss the Lunar New Year Fair..."

"There's also the Lunar New Year Fair in Shaoguan. You can also enjoy yourself there." Mrs. Guan replied briskly. Seeing her son pout, she smiled and explained, "Your uncle is busy with work; he has to go on a business trip on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year..."

She paused, glanced at her husband, and added pointedly, "Oh, your uncle is the company's general manager now, so busy! And he's just bought a new house. Your aunt is so lucky to have married my younger brother!"

Mr. Guan merely smiled faintly, rubbing his hands, and said nothing.

More than four hours later, the train finally pulled into Shaoguan Station. Guan Xuchen stretched and groaned, "Taking the train is so tiring. If only it could take only an hour to get to Shaoguan!"