The No. 69 bus went on, stopping here and there, leaving the bustling city center and reaching the suburban terminal.
The rain had cleared, and the heat was gone.
The summer breeze swept across the vast rice fields, blowing to the yellow fruit tree by the roadside. A modest butterfly quietly emerged from its cocoon, unfolded its gorgeous wings, and soared high into the sky.
The boy got off the bus, stretched lazily, and looked towards the opposite side of the rice fields. Beneath the rainbow after the rain, wisps of smoke from cooking rose in the sunny village.
At the end of the rice field on the left, by the fish pond, was a small cottage surrounded by rose vines. This was Lin Can's home.
The cicadas chirped from the trees, frogs croaked from the fields, uncles worked in the fields, and a group of aunts at the edge of the field were cracking melon seeds and gossiping about others. With a crisp sound, it was as if they had crushed someone's life in the process.
When the boy approached the embankment, slapping the mosquitoes on his legs, the aunts immediately stopped talking.
"Ah Can's back!"
"Hey, Aunt Zhang, Aunt Li, Aunt Liu, how are you…"
Lin Can greeted them with understanding and quickly walked home, feeling uneasy. The worst part of going out or coming back home was encountering this group of aunts. As soon as they met, they would immediately stop the current topic and turn to discuss you instead.
"Ah Can got into a good university, is handsome, and well-behaved. The Guo family in heaven must be so happy, knowing their son is so accomplished."
"Ah Can was such a handful when he was little. The whole sky was filled with footprints."
"I still remember when Ah Can was a little boy, naked, catching fish in the lotus pond. Then, little Niu Niu got pinched by a crab, and I personally took the crab off him. He cried so loudly, and I had to blow on him a few times before he stopped crying, hehe…"
"Blow?"
"What are you thinking?"
...
Squeak—
He opened the door and walked into the yard.
Under the grape trellis, the small pond, the rose vines on the garden walls, and a wall full of photos taken by Lin Can.
In recent years, Lin Can had been living off the savings left by his parents.
Under the grape trellis, Lin Can drank his homemade ice-cold Sprite and passion fruit juice, occasionally picking a grape to eat while lying on a lounge chair playing games.
Until the sun began to set, the heat subsided. Lin Can, wearing beach shorts and barefoot, grabbed a bucket and headed out to gather some local delicacies.
Sunshine Village was located on the outskirts of the city, only a few bus stops away from the city center, making transportation very convenient. Most of the young people in the village worked in the city and came back after work.
This area was well-vegetated, and on weekends, many city dwellers came to relax here.
Living here was truly wonderful, much more comfortable than living in a cramped apartment of just a few dozen square meters in the city.
After catching many snails and a few big yellow eels, Lin Can made his way home, passing by the lotus pond outside the yard. Suddenly remembering something, he pulled up the fishing nets he had set earlier in the morning and was pleasantly surprised to find a large carp had been caught.
[Current Status: A pleasant surprise that brings you the true joy of life.]
[Reward: 10 Healing Points, freely distributable.]
"Add all of them to my endurance!"
[Sorry, endurance cannot be further increased at the moment.]
"Alright, then add it to my looks."
Lin Can was a novice in experience but had plenty of theoretical and preparatory knowledge.
He had been preparing for this day for eighteen years, just waiting for the right moment.
...
The setting sun cast a golden glow.
Lin Can was cooking in the yard on a clay stove.
"Sizzle—"
The sound of the local food frying in the oil.
Thin smoke rose from the rose-covered cottage by the lotus pond.
A gust of wind blew, carrying the fragrance outside the yard. As Old Qin passed by, he caught the scent of chili, which stimulated his taste buds. He couldn't help but swallow.
"Are you eating yellow eels?"
"Hey, there are also crayfish. Come eat later, Old Qin," Lin Can said while stir-frying, his eyes squinting from the smoke.
"Thanks, but I can't eat spicy food lately. You enjoy it," Old Qin said, carrying a hoe and walking off.
As dusk fell, stars and the moon appeared in the sky, and the incandescent light on the grape trellis lit up, shining like a little star in the dark village.
The little goldfish in the fish pond popped up from the water, blowing bubbles, while the night-blooming jasmine by the wall silently bloomed.
In the fields, crickets, frogs, birds in the trees, and cicadas all sang their part in the summer symphony.
The firelight in the clay stove gradually faded, and the smoke thinned.
On the long table beneath the grape trellis were plates of dragon-shaped yellow eels, garlic crayfish, spicy snails, and crispy fried carp.
Eighteen-year-olds have big appetites, and these crayfish may look large, but the shrimp meat is quite scarce.
A solitary life can also be very fulfilling.
...
The next morning, early.
The sunlight, warm like neon paper, soothed the sleeping Lin Can.
Outside the window, the birds in the bamboo forest called: "Er jin kun, er jin kun."
Lin Can woke up to the noise.
He felt like rushing out and plucking that bird's feathers.
...
After breakfast, Lin Can sat under the eaves, thinking about where to go on a trip while trying to win a cash prize.
Lin Can honestly didn't know where to go on vacation. He felt that any destination would be fun.
He decided, in the simplest, most brutal way, to make the decision.
Throw darts.
Wherever it landed, that was where he would go.
So, he threw the dart at the map on the wall…
Upon closer inspection, it landed on Northern Myanmar.
"Forget it, forget it. Not even a super-rich person would dare to go there, let alone a god. It's a one-way trip."
Redo.
"One, two, three!"
He threw again.
Upon closer inspection.
"Western Regions sound good."
[Current Status: When you think of the Western Regions, you think of the beautiful women there. You wish to have an exotic, Western-style girlfriend, and your heart is filled with anticipation.]
[Reward: 10 Healing Points.]
These "Healing Points" can be seen as a way to "level up" through daily experiences, improving Lin Can's attributes and refining his inner and outer self.
The key is maintaining an optimistic attitude and enjoying every day of life.
It seems simple, but when it comes to execution, among the 7 billion people, how many can truly be happy every single day?
Lin Can wanted to live a happy life, face his life as a "single person" with optimism, and turn it into a process of healing.
...
Traveling to the Western Regions, the most beautiful part wasn't the flight, but the scenery along the Z69 railway.
The system didn't specify how many days the trip would take, as that would defeat the purpose—this was a vacation, not a rush.
The Z69 train would pass through Yang'an City.
The trip from Yang'an to the Western Regions took a full day and night.
Lin Can booked a train ticket online.
A soft sleeper with a private room, complete with upper and lower bunks, a sofa, and an independent bathroom.
Price: 1029 yuan.
The key part: It was only for two people.
Lin Can considered paying double the price to book the upper bunk as well, but with the summer holidays and many tourists heading to the Western Regions, he thought if he bought it, someone else might not get a ticket and regret not going.
After all, everyone's goal was to go to the Western Regions.
Currently, the upper bunk hadn't been sold. Lin Can hoped no one would book it because sharing a room with a stranger felt awkward.
No choice. No girlfriend. If he had a girlfriend going to the Western Regions with him, they could close the door and try some things with her.
Without saying more, he packed his toiletries and a few changes of clothes into his backpack, making sure to bring his camera for his "budget" trip.
...
At this point, the system activated a double-crit reward.
[Congratulations, host! You've received a 10x crit bonus.]
[10290 yuan + 1010 yuan = 11300 yuan.]
Although it was a small amount, as Lin Can stepped out of the yard, his wealth had broken the 10,000 yuan mark.
[Current Status: A modest fortune brings you joy.]
[Reward: 20 Healing Points.]
Enjoying life was the job of a super-rich person.
...
"Ah Can, where are you going?"
In the rice field, along the embankment, Lin Can turned and waved at the old man by the bamboo forest.
"Old Qin, I'm going on a trip for a few days. Can you look after the yard for me?"
"Alright, young man, you should get out and see the world more. Don't worry, I'll watch over the house."
"Thanks, I'll bring you a gift when I get back."
"Haha..."
Old Qin tapped his dry tobacco pipe and waved with a smile.
Lin Can turned back, put on his headphones, and pressed play on his phone.
"I once turned my youth into her,
I also strummed the summer with my fingertips.
Where the heart is moved, go with the flow.
Walking down this road, stop and go,
Following the traces of the drifting youth."
This was Lin Can's boldest decision in his life so far.
A trip, without any plans, just going wherever it takes him…