Longgu Mountain Forest Park, Eastern Suburbs of Rong City.
As one of the most famous scenic spots in Rong City, Longgu Mountain is very lively during holidays, with many tourists gathering at the park entrance early.
There are hikers preparing for a trek and joyful picnickers and self-drivers.
No matter who it is, everyone can enjoy the leisure of the holiday in this forest park and feel the spiritual cleansing brought by the lush greenery.
Although Su Tianqing herself didn't particularly like the feeling of the mountains and wilderness, she didn't dislike it either.
At least the air here was much better than in the concrete jungle of the city.
“Hiss… exhale…”
Su Tianqing stood at the entrance of the forest park, leaning close to a blooming wintersweet, gently sniffing its pervasive fragrance.
“Hmm—~ What a fragrant flower!”
“There are even plum blossoms here; the ecological environment is better than I imagined.”
Nan Jiayu moved closer to the Fox Girl, her cat ears curiously twitching twice as she carefully observed the plum blossom swaying in the cold morning wind.
“Right, right~ Jia Yu, if you like it here, we can buy a small house nearby in the future and come to the mountain to play every day!”
“That’s a bit too soon, and the housing prices around the scenic area seem to be…”
“It’s okay, we can just take care of Rong City Bank’s business, can’t we?”
Although she knew the Fox Girl was joking, Nan Jiayu still felt a considerable degree of worry.
After admiring the wintersweet in the wind, the two turned around and looked at the bustling parking lot behind them.
It was 8:30 AM, and the park entrance was already very lively.
The first batch of hikers had already set off half an hour ago; if they wanted to reach the mountain top observation deck before lunch, now was the perfect time to depart.
“Speaking of which, Tianqing, did you arrange a time with them?”
“I did mention it; originally, it was for the afternoon, but then I called them and suggested we just come in the morning to play all day, didn’t I?”
“It’s already 8:30; are they not going to arrive until nine o’clock—?”
Before she finished speaking, Nan Jiayu’s keen eyes spotted a small electric scooter leisurely floating over from not far away.
It was a small electric scooter adorned with many cheap, mass-produced Magic Girl stickers, driven by a girl wearing a helmet, from which pink hair and fluffy Rabbit ears emerged.
Another girl was on the back seat of the scooter, also wearing a helmet, but it clearly didn't fit her size—
For a wolf beastkin, a human-sized helmet was simply too difficult for her.
The road on the way here was uphill, and the small electric scooter seemed underpowered with two people. The Cat Girl and Fox Girl calmly watched it leisurely approach at a high speed of 10 yards, then brake to a stop.
“…………”
“G-Good morning?”
Xia Taotao took off her helmet, saw Su Tianqing’s subtle gaze, and greeted her somewhat timidly.
“Oh, good morning.” The Fox Girl responded politely, but her expression towards the small electric scooter still showed considerable surprise.
“Rabbit, you… drove this from the school apartment?”
“It’s all because of her!”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Xia Taotao pointed at Fei Yelan, who was behind her, taking off her helmet and tidying her ear fur.
“This person has strange things in her bag that can’t pass subway security, so we could only drive here!”
“How was I supposed to know that wouldn’t pass security!”
The gray wolf shrank her neck, her ears drooping on top of her head, and said, with her tail tucked.
This made Nan Jiayu and Su Tianqing even more curious. Taking advantage of the Rabbit Girl looking for a parking spot for the electric scooter, they both leaned close to the gray wolf and looked at the items in her hiking backpack.
“...I say, Doggy.”
“I’m a wolf.”
“Doggy, why did you bring solid alcohol? And why is there a bag of charcoal?”
“Didn’t we say we were going to hike today and have a barbecue? So I brought some fuel myself.” The gray wolf blinked, her wolf tail wagging a few times.
“...There’s a specialized self-service barbecue restaurant at the mountain top; Fox Fox already booked a spot yesterday.” Nan Jiayu’s tail lifted, forming a large question mark behind her, and she said calmly,
“And the mountain we’re climbing today is in a forest park, where open fires are prohibited in the wild.”
The gray wolf was silent for a long time, and the Cat Girl and Fox Girl also remained silent for a long time.
“Is that so? So I can’t barbecue myself in the wild?”
“Of course not! You’ll get fined too!”
Again, a long silence.
Su Tianqing saw the smile on the gray wolf’s face gradually become calm, her wolf ears began to tremble slightly, and her eyelids showed signs of twitching violently.
It seemed this gray wolf had absolutely no experience hiking in a forest park, Su Tianqing thought.
.
Fortunately, not too much fuel and charcoal were brought. After the gray wolf threw them all into her magic space in the restroom, her hiking backpack immediately became much lighter.
When the four gathered again at the entrance plaza, a message from the communication divine code stone caught Su Tianqing’s attention:
【Unknown Source: I’m in front of the first flowerbed north of the park】
“Oh? She’s already here.”
“Where is she?”
The three looked around. Su Tianqing walked along the location indicated on the divine code stone and met the eyes of a petite girl in front of that flowerbed.
Golden wavy hair, a thick plaid dress and cotton socks, plus a pair of comfortable hiking sneakers, made up the small figure hiding in the shadow of the flowerbed.
“Hello.”
After a brief eye contact, Su Tianqing felt she had found the person she was looking for and spoke to the girl in front of her.
“...Hello.”
The girl hesitated for a moment, also recognizing the Fox Girl in front of her, and nodded in a friendly greeting.
“My name is Su Tianqing; it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“...My name is Aurora; just call me Aurora.”
“That’s a very cute name.”
The Fox Girl said with a smile, and without waiting for Aurora to react, she took her hand and walked towards her companions not far away.
“Ah… Tianqing, big sister…”
“Let’s put the unpleasant things aside for now. Since we’ve agreed to come out and play together today, let’s have fun first!”
Aurora stared blankly at the four people happily discussing their hiking plan, feeling as if she were in a dream.
She had arrived early and waited, filled with a nervous feeling, expecting to be met with glares and accusations from the four.
But not only did they not think she had caused them trouble, they even so enthusiastically invited her to hike with them…
…It couldn’t help but remind her of her past.
“Aurora—, if you don’t hurry up and follow, we’ll go up the mountain and wait for you—”
The girl suddenly looked up at the four beastkin girls who had already entered the park entrance.
The Rabbit and Wolf were leading the way, the Cat Girl was walking beside the Fox Girl, looking back at her and waving a greeting.
The girl took a deep breath, took a step, and jogged to catch up with the four figures.
…
The hiking process was relaxed and pleasant.
Along the way, the five chatted and laughed. Aurora also gradually opened up from her initial silence and caution, discussing with the villainous foursome the reasons for her long journey from England.
When they reached halfway up the mountain and rested in a pavilion, drinking water, the conversation gradually deepened:
“My father is a diplomat; he was recently assigned to work at the Rong City embassy, so he brought me along, and I’m going to study abroad here.”
“Studying abroad? That’s amazing! And Aurora’s Chinese is excellent too.” Su Tianqing exclaimed from the bottom of her heart.
The girl’s cheeks flushed, a little shy from the compliment.
“Not really… I just learned it since I was little, so…”
“Being able to speak it so well is already very good; compared to my English, it’s super impressive.” Su Tianqing added with a smile.
“Then during your time in Rong City, what left the deepest impression on you?”
Nan Jiayu followed up with a question.
Aurora pinched her chin, looked at the evergreen shrubs by the roadside, and thought for a moment.
Then she said softly:
“Hmm…”
“The food in Rong City is very delicious.”
“That’s great! Let’s go to the barbecue restaurant at the mountain top together for a self-service barbecue later!”
The Fox Girl said with a smile,
“I’m sure you’ll be able to taste Rong City’s classic delicacies!”