Chapter 140

"......"

Samson Nan glanced at the time. There were 10 minutes left until midnight.

The Midsummer Festival had ended long ago.

Most of the tourists who came here had set up their tents by the lake to spend the night. Of course, there were also those like them who were ready to rush back home.

The sign at the entrance of the platform indicated that the last bus back to Copenhagen would be at midnight, passing through the town of Drø within their overnight stay.

So they came here in advance to wait for the bus.

" It's so cold..."

Bell Tong rubbed her hands, sitting on the worn-out bench at the platform.

The temperature had dropped further in the night, and the lakeside, which had been lively a few hours ago, had now become quiet.

Misty air enveloped the lake, creating a layer of white veil.

"......"

A straight road stretched into the depths of the dark night, with no end in sight.

The dim light at the platform swayed, emitting intermittent light, illuminating the faces of the people waiting for the bus...

More than a platform, it was just a bench with no shelter from the rain.

"......"

Roxie Lin was probably too tired. She fell asleep on Raina Nan's shoulder, oblivious to the cold.

Honk honk-

At this moment, two lights appeared not far away.

The last bus of the night had finally arrived.

After everyone boarded the bus, Samson Nan carried the drunken William Wei onto the bus.

...

The space inside the bus was not large, but luckily there were hardly any passengers at this time.

The day's journey had been enjoyable but also physically exhausting.

As soon as the three girls boarded the bus, they sat in the back row and fell asleep...

William Wei sat between Samson Nan and Jocelyn York, resting his head on the backrest of the front seat. He dozed off while muttering something...

"Luo Jia, you should get some rest too. I'll wake you up when we arrive."

"Me...?"

She was taken aback.

Only the driver and the two of them were still awake on the bus...

"I'm not sleepy..."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

She said, slightly turning her face.

There was no light on the bus. With the moonlight shining through the window, she could see his face a little more clearly.

"You must be tired, right?"

He smiled lightly and spoke softly.

"For enduring all this with us."

"No, not really..."

She smiled with narrowed eyes.

They fell into silence, not saying anything.

After a moment, she looked at him again.

"It's more like... I'm really happy."

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

"When you called me that day and suddenly asked me to join you in the trip to Northern Europe... I thought you were joking..."

"Why?"

"Why..."

After a moment of hesitation, she spoke softly again:

"Isn't this Raina and their graduation trip? It might be strange for me to come along, right?"

"......"

Samson Nan remained silent.

Was the old Jocelyn York someone who would think about such things?

He pondered for a moment and then spoke again:

"Because we needed a translator~"

"......"

She paused for a second or two, without saying a word.

...

"But I am quite expensive~"

Resting her chin on her hand, she looked at him with drooping eyelids.

"Is that so?"

He chuckled and glanced at her.

"But in the end, you still came along~"

"......"

She paused for a moment.

Hesitantly, she looked out the window.

"Samson Nan..."

"......"

"Do you remember our graduation day?"

The sound of the wheels rolling on the road drowned her voice, making it almost inaudible.

"......"

He reached out and pinched his nose, remaining silent.

A long wait...

"Yeah."

"Indeed..."

She rested her head against the back of the seat in front of her, turned her face to the side, smiled at him.

"I knew it~"

She knew that all his arrangements had reasons behind them...

"..."

He was stunned, looking at her with surprise.

After a moment of silence, he smiled again and shook his head:

"You can even guess what I'm thinking... it's too scary~"

"It's not guessing~"

Her eyes were fixed on him, unwavering.

Half a second later, they curved into a crescent moon.

"Because I know everything about Samson Nan~"

"...So confident?"

"Yeah, so confident~"

She said without hesitation.

...

"..."

He was silent.

Seemingly wanting to say something, but couldn't bring himself to say it...

...

Déjà vu of the timeline

Memories pieced back together, as if it were yesterday, unforgettable.

...

The afternoon of graduation

The boy packed up his things and walked among the noisy crowd, stepping out through the school gate.

"Samson Nan..."

A voice came from behind.

He turned around at the sound.

"Luo Jia?"

"I..."

The girl with short and neat hair was swaying in the bustling crowd, particularly eye-catching.

She hesitated, just as she was about to speak, she stopped.

"What are you afraid of? Just say it!"

It was another boy next to her who became anxious, urging her on.

"..."

"Can you come to the school tomorrow?"

The girl finally gathered the courage to speak to him.

"Tomorrow? What for?"

"I have something I want to tell you..."

The girl could probably guess how embarrassed her own burning face must look right now.

But today, no matter what, she had to speak up...

"..."

The boy stood just a few meters away from her, looking at her.

After a moment of silence,

He nodded.

...

"Okay, it's a deal!"

A stone in the girl's heart finally fell.

Feeling relieved, she showed a smile.

That night, when she returned home, excited and restless, she tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep all night...

Countless possibilities flashed through her mind.

Was it a step closer than just being "friends"?

Or was even being "friends" no longer possible?

At least, they wouldn't remain stuck in the same place...

...

Regardless of the outcome, she would have no complaints...

What kind of scenery was behind that door?

No matter what, she wanted to see it with her own eyes.

...

...

But when she gathered the courage to stand in front of that door,

God coincidentally played a little trick on her at that moment...

Only then did she realize that, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't push the door open.

...

The person who was supposed to be at the school gate never showed up...

...

This joke

Was not funny at all...

...

She only remembered that it was raining lightly that day.

Her mind was blank.

Standing foolishly at the empty school gate all day...

Until another boy found her and pulled her away, soaked through.

...

It felt like the ending of an absurd novel.

The story had a hasty ending...

The girl couldn't even say that one sentence to the boy before boarding a flight to the other side of the earth.

The three of them went their separate ways, heading in opposite directions.

The graduation trip that was originally planned couldn't happen due to someone's last-minute withdrawal...

...

...

...

"Uhh, uhh..."

William Wei, sitting between them, half closed his eyes and lifted his head.

"Did we wake you up?"

"No doubt..."

He rubbed his eyes, but couldn't open them.

"Are you two flies? Buzzing in my ear all the time..."

He seemed to have sobered up a bit, mumbling in a daze.

But after a while, he fell asleep again, leaning on Samson Nan's shoulder, snoring...

"Huh..."

"Oh my god, drooling!"

"..."

She remained silent, placing her frozen red hands on her cheeks.

The cold temperature might be able to bring her back from her past memories...

...

A "graduation trip" that was delayed for six years.

Does it still count as too late for her? Maybe it doesn't matter anymore.

At least, he is here now...

...

...

After a short car ride of about an hour, they arrived at the small inn in Dräe.

They thought the inn would have turned off its lights at this time.

But when they came back, they found that the town was illuminated, with people who couldn't attend the Midsummer Festival still gathering in various pubs singing and drinking.

"We've arrived."

"Hmm... we're here?"

Bell Tong rubbed her eyes and stood up from her seat.

"Ah~"

Roxie Lin also covered her mouth, letting out a long yawn.

They got off the car.

"Ugh!"

As soon as William Wei got off the car, he felt something churning in his stomach.

Unable to bear the cold wind, he quickly ran to the side and vomited...

"Little One, we've arrived."

Samson Nan walked up to Raina Nan and called her.

But she seemed to be sound asleep and didn't react at all.

"..."

He had no choice but to pick her up from her seat.

As they entered the inn, there were still about ten guests drinking inside.

When the men, who were already in high spirits, saw him carrying a woman inside, they began to applaud and cheer.

"Wedding night! Yoho!"

Someone shouted, and everyone followed suit, yelling:

"Wedding night!"

"Wedding night!"

"Wedding night!"

"..."

Who said that the Scandinavians were cold and serious, not given to laughter?

It seems like they're all the same when they're drunk...

"..."

Anyway, he didn't understand what they were saying.

He could only smile awkwardly at them.

"Why are they shouting..."

"Stupid..."

At this moment, Raina Nan, who was in his arms, opened her eyes slightly and spoke softly:

"It means wedding night, don't you understand..."

"What...!"

He was stunned, looking at her.

After a pause of half a second.

"You're awake?!"

"Yeah."

"Get down, walk by yourself!"

"No."

She said, closing her eyes again.

"..."

The cheering around them didn't diminish at all...

He was speechless.

He could only pace back and forth and carry her back to the room.

"Turn off the lights, go to sleep early."

After placing her on the bed, he planned to open the door and leave.

"Brother."

Her voice stopped him.

"Come here..."

"Why?"

"I want to say something."

"..."

He stopped his steps, turned around, and looked at her.

Even though the noisy sounds from downstairs were faintly heard from a distance, she held a pillow, burying her face in it, with only her two eyes exposed.

The dim light shone on her fair arm.

He could barely make out her appearance...

"..."

"Oh! Sorry..."

At this moment, the door suddenly opened and hit him in the back.

"..."

He turned around.

Jocelyn York stood there looking bewildered.

In a state of confusion, she glanced around.

After a pause of half a second.

She seemed to realize something and panickedly said:

"You two talk, I, I'll go outside for a moment..."

"No need."

His voice froze her in place.

"......"

She stood there, somewhat unsure of what was happening, not knowing what to say.

He remained silent, turned his head back to look at Raina Nan.

"What did you want to say just now?"

"......"

An unexpected situation.

Raina Nan was stunned and couldn't speak.

After a brief silence,

"It's nothing..."

"Is it?"

There was not much expression on his face.

He turned around and looked at Jocelyn York.

Then he showed a faint smile:

"You should rest early~"

After saying that, he turned around and walked out.

......

......

"......"

Jocelyn York sat on the edge of the bed.

Quietly, she got into bed.

The bed was not big to begin with, they were lying on the bed with less than a person's distance between them, and they could even hear each other's breathing.

An inexplicable awkwardness...

"I... I seem to have come at the wrong time... Haha..."

She forced a smile and spoke softly.

Raina Nan ignored her, curled up and hugged the pillow in her arms, turning onto her side with her back towards her.

"......"

Jocelyn York swallowed her throat.

"Goodnight..."

After a while, she said softly and turned off the light.