Chapter 369

Xiao Qi didn't tell her Parents when she would arrive home, thinking it would be too much trouble for them to pick her up at the station.

She also wanted to surprise them.

She heard from Zhou Teacher that her Parents had opened a store near the city museum.

Xiao Qi's Parents also mentioned that she had been very busy with her studies recently, and it seemed like they were very busy too.

When she called, they often only exchanged a sentence or two before hanging up.

Xiao Qi had sent her Parents a million dollars, so they should not be too short on money. Even if they were being frugal, at least their mental state would be good.

As for herself, she felt she had changed a great deal. Looking at her old photos, her face was still the same but her overall demeanor had completely transformed.

Xiao Qi used to see herself as very timid and shy, always keeping her head down. But now she wouldn't keep her head down all the time. When looking at people, she was open and direct, her gaze unwavering, not dodging. When walking, she held her head high with confidence.

She had corrected this bit by bit. At first, she forced herself to walk with her head held high and chest out, not hunched over and looking timid.

Initially when walking with her head held high, she still didn't have the spirit for it. Her gaze was a bit flustered as she forced herself to look straight ahead and be open.

Through repeated self-correction, she slowly got rid of her bad habits.

At 18 years old, the prime age for looking beautiful like a flower, Xiao Qi didn't know why she had been so self-abasing and ashamed before. Looking back, she felt so sorry for her former self.

Fortunately, she corrected herself in time without wasting more time.

She liked her current self.

Coming out of the high-speed rail station, she saw her reflection in the station window looking very pretty.

Wearing a blue athletic top, white athletic pants, carrying a backpack and dragging a small suitcase, she looked vigorous and fresh.

Her hair was a bit messy, giving her a cute look. And the wind in Lvshan City was a bit cool without the usual fishy ocean smell - the mountain breeze felt fresh and familiar.

Lvshan City didn't have Shenzhou Express cabs, only Didi, since the city was so small.

At this moment, Xiao Qi took a Didi straight to the museum. The whole city was very small, so the cab fare was only around ten dollars, unlike in Meng City where any cab ride would cost dozens of dollars.

In the car, Xiao Qi excitedly looked out the window. It didn't seem like much had changed.

But there were some changes. In her memory, Lvshan City was so big, beautiful and developed. But looking at it now, the old streets and buildings seemed rundown. The buildings weren't tall, the streets weren't clean, and the pedestrians didn't dress nicely. She never expected the huge city in her mind to actually be such an old, dilapidated place. One really has to go out and see the world.

Although dilapidated, it still felt familiar.

Even the unfamiliar tax office building emanated a sense of familiarity.

"Little girl, are you here for sightseeing?" the Driver Uncle asked nosily.

"No, I'm from around here, just back for the holiday," Xiao Qi replied.

"Oh, you're a local? You look surprisingly pretty, I thought you were from the Capital City or Hai City," the driver said in his strong local accent.

Xiao Qi smiled. The local dialect here didn't use "very pretty" but instead "strangely pretty" - "strangely delicious" meant very delicious, omitting the "very" and using "strangely" instead.

It felt very familiar and endearing.

The Driver Uncle asked a few more curious questions, but Xiao Qi didn't say much more. Ever since the experience with Bao Butler on that car ride, Xiao Qi was now cautious and wouldn't reveal too much personal information to strangers.

On the high-speed rail too, she overheard a young girl across from her telling a middle-aged man all about her family members, what her Parents did for work, where they lived - she even exchanged WeChat contacts with the man. It was so easy to be scammed, just like her past self.

Xiao Qi didn't say much, only giving a few responses here and there. But then she would ask a question, and the Driver Uncle enthusiastically chatted the whole way.

Although it felt like he chatted the whole way, Xiao Qi had only responded agreeably while occasionally asking questions to keep the Driver Uncle eagerly rambling about himself being from Minnhou, living in Lvshan City for 12 years, renting a place, planning to buy a house outright without a mortgage since the pressure was too high, having two kids with one in high school, and so on.

Xiao Qi had an inexplicable feeling that she had unlocked some new skill. When interacting with Mrs. Su and Teacher Aizhen at school, she always had a strong desire to talk, admiring them. It seemed she had unconsciously picked up a new skill from them.

They finally arrived at the destination, the entrance to the museum area. The driver wouldn't go up, so he let Xiao Qi out and even got out of the car to help carry her luggage, seeming a bit reluctant to leave.

The city museum was located at the base of a mountain on the north side of the Lvshui River.

It was built in the style of ancient pavilions and towers, with several buildings winding up the mountainside.

Xiao Qi dragged her suitcase along the road leading up. She had mailed some things to her Parents here before, so she knew the address was Cultural Museum Building 1, Room 103.

She didn't know if her Parents would even recognize her. Xiao Qi felt excited, a bit proud, a bit homesick, and also a bit eager to show off.

It was like getting good grades and wanting to show her Parents her report card. Walking on the path, she felt her peacock tail slowly fanning out.

The place wasn't hard to find. After walking about 300 meters dragging her suitcase, Xiao Qi saw the museum sign and some small houses next to it. One of them had "Su's Bamboo Weaving Museum" written in large characters, with smaller text below indicating it was a "Representative of Lvshan City's Intangible Cultural Heritage".

Xiao Qi took a deep breath standing at the entrance.

Then she walked inside, pulling her suitcase.

Inside was very bright. One wall had a large cabinet with different sections displaying various bamboo weaving crafts.

There was also a tall counter, and behind it surprisingly sat a familiar advanced device Xiao Qi recognized - a ring light for taking selfies and livestreaming. And then there was a woman in a red dress standing there livestreaming?

Xiao Qi thought she might have gone to the wrong place.

Then she heard the woman say, "Thank you, brothers and sisters, for your attention. We're about to watch my husband make a bamboo weaving zodiac horse piece, as requested by Elder Brother 'Never Buy Life Insurance'. Thank you to Radiant Sunshine for sharing the livestream room. Come on in, brothers and sisters, give me some follows and likes..."

Xiao Qi found the woman's voice strangely familiar and unsettling.

She unconsciously walked over and exclaimed in surprise, "Mom? What are you guys doing?"

Then she saw her father dressed properly in traditional Chinese clothing, weaving away without pause, while her mother kept introducing the pieces as several bamboo baskets and trays were placed on the table...

"Xiao Qi, you're back? Why didn't you tell your mother?" Sheng Juanhua said, startled but delighted.

Meanwhile, the livestream room exploded.

The host's daughter was here?

The host rarely showed her face, with people saying she sounded like the character Xie Dajiao from the rural TV series, or exaggerating that she looked like Gong Li. Yet the livestream actually had over 3,000 viewers tuning in to watch the couple - the wife talking while the husband silently worked, neither showing their faces.

They livestreamed twice a week, supposedly for an intangible cultural heritage project. It was pretty interesting, with viewers even placing orders live.

No one expected the host's daughter to suddenly appear.

"I'm on vacation, didn't I tell you guys before?" Xiao Qi looked just as dumbfounded.

Were these really her Parents? The change was too, too, too huge.

Her Parents were actually livestreaming?

And people were actually watching?

At this moment, the livestream room went into an uproar.

A bunch of lurkers emerged:

"Wow, the host's daughter is so pretty!"

"The host's daughter is gorgeous, I believe the host really does look like Gong Li now, so beautiful."

"Oh my god, host I want to come to your store and buy in person."

"Sister Sheng, is it too late to start calling her 'Mom'? Mom, your daughter-in-law is so beautiful."

"She looks so good without using any beauty filters, poor girl."

"Didn't you notice the girl's magical expression? She must not recognize her own mother after finishing college."

"I also want to buy a bamboo woven bag, Miss Sheng, Miss Sheng."