Chapter Twenty-Five: Who Says We're Not Family?

  Something came up today, so I'll only update one chapter for now. Sorry about that... it's my fault... If you don't vote for recommendations because of this, I won't blame you guys...

  Hearing this voice, Hao Ren was stunned for half a second, then hastily threw down his phone and jumped directly from the upper bunk to the balcony.

  All he saw was a black Chevrolet parked quietly in front of his dormitory building.

  Hao Ren didn't dare think more, and hurriedly returned to the room from the balcony, quickly put on his clothes, wore his shoes, picked up his phone, and rushed downstairs.

  Zhao Guang sat in the driver's seat, Zhao Hongyu sat in the front passenger seat, and Zhao Yanzi pouted her small mouth as she sat in the back row.

  "How...how did you get here?" Hao Ren asked in surprise.

  "Let's go for a weekend outing and I'll take you along," said Zhao Guang. His tone was not to be questioned, as if Hao Ren would not be allowed in unless he sat down.

  Hao Ren wanted to shirk, "I today..."

  "If something happens at school, I'll go and inform Lu Qing." Zhao Guang said.

  "Alright... Hao Ren struggled for two seconds before finally giving in, "Fine, it's not a big deal at school either, no need to tell the principal."

  "Hmm." Zhao Guang nodded.

  "Get on the bus." Zhao Hongyu said with a smile to Hao Ren.

  Hao Ren awkwardly opened the car door and got in. Of course, he could only sit in the back row, sitting shoulder to shoulder with Zhao Yanzi.

  "Mom! Didn't we agree that only our family would go out and have fun? Why did you bring him along too?" Zhao Yanzi called out in dissatisfaction.

  "Isn't Hao Ren also a member of our family?" Zhao Hongyu said gently.

  Zhao Yanzi was speechless, thought for a moment, and wanted to argue again when Zhao Guang spoke up, "If you keep nagging, we won't go. You can just go home and do your homework."

  This sentence really suppressed Zhao Yanzi's temper, she suddenly stopped talking, but her mouth was pouted even higher.

  "Has Ah Ren had breakfast yet?" Zhao Hongyu asked gently as she turned her head back.

  "It's nothing, I'm not hungry." Hao Ren replied.

  "A Zi, open your bag and give Ah Ren a bun." Zhao Hongyu said.

  Zhao Yanzi held back a breath of anger and opened her school bag, pulling out a bread roll and tossing it to Hao Ren.

  "Thank you!" Hao Ren said to Zhao Hongyu.

  Zhao Guang drove steadily and silently.

  Zhao Yanzi shrank into the corner of the back seat, keeping some distance from Hao Ren. She did this not because she disliked Hao Ren, but to show her parents an attitude.

  The car left the city and drove onto a wider road. The four people in the car all remained silent.

  The endless journey and the similar roadside scenery gradually began to make people feel some fatigue. Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi both had a drowsy feeling.

  Hao Ren didn't get enough sleep because he stayed up too late last night and got up too early today. Zhao Yanzi, on the other hand, was so excited about going on an outing today that she didn't sleep well last night, and the car was especially comfortable, making her unable to resist falling asleep.

  The two of them bumped into each other and fell backwards towards the middle of the back seat...

  "We're here!" A crisp voice woke both of them up.

  Hao Ren and Zhao Yan slowly came to, only to find their heads touching.

  "Ugh!" Zhao Yanzi pushed Hao Ren away, frowning in dissatisfaction. She quickly jumped out of the car and saw the green mountains and clear waters around her, and couldn't help but smile again.

  Hao Ren wiped away a thread of saliva from the corner of his mouth and followed him down the bus, only to find that they had already entered the mountains.

  "Where is this?" Hao Ren asked.

  "Qingyan Mountain." Zhao Hongyu replied to him.

  "What?" Hao Ren was somewhat surprised.

  Qingyan Mountain is a relatively famous natural scenic area on the outskirts of Donghai City, but it is more than 100 kilometers away from the city center. Unbeknownst to him, he had been traveling for almost two hours.

  "Let's go play on the mountain and then stay at a hotel at the foot of the mountain tonight." Zhao Hongyu continued.

  "Ah?" Hearing this sentence, Hao Ren was even more surprised.

  He originally thought that a day trip was just a round-trip for the day, so he reluctantly followed Zhao Yanzi and his family to play. Who knew their travel plan was two days and one night?

  It's over 100 kilometers away from the city, and even buses don't go back to the city. After all, people who come here to play are either driving their own private cars or taking a tour bus.

  "Let's go to the hotel and put our things down first." Zhao Hongyu suggested.

  Zhao Guang put away the car key, nodded, took over the large travel bag from Zhao Hongyu's hand, and walked towards the hotel not far in front.

  Although Zhao Guang was taciturn and rarely spoke, Hao Ren could sense that they were a very compatible couple with great feelings for each other.

  "Here!" Zhao Yanzi handed her backpack to Hao Ren and skipped away from the parking lot, following her dad.

  Hao Ren thought that he would have to play with them for two days, and felt a bit awkward. However, there was no turning back now, so he could only reluctantly carry Zhao Yanzi's small backpack and follow them to the hotel.

  The hotel is a four-star hotel located at the foot of the famous scenic area, and it's not cheap, with one room costing 1,200 yuan.

  Zhao Guang took two rooms and paid with a platinum card, without batting an eye at the price.

  Next was of course the allocation of rooms, Hao Ren thought to himself that he wouldn't be in the same room as Zhao Yanzi.

  "Let's go!" Seeing Hao Ren standing behind them hesitantly, Zhao Guang patted his shoulder.

  Hao Ren finally came to his senses and realized that he was in the same room as Zhao Yan Zi's father, while Zhao Yan Zi and her mother were in another room.

  What was I thinking... Hao Ren followed Zhao Guang towards the room, self-examining himself.

  The two guest rooms are opposite each other. Hao Ren followed Zhao Guang into the room and found that the area of this room is just ordinary, but the decoration is more exquisite.

  Pulling open the curtains, outside is the beautiful scenery of Qingyan Mountain, and fresh air rushes in, this is the fresh air that can't be breathed in the city.

  "Put your things down, go wash your face and brush your teeth. We'll head up the mountain in a bit." Zhao Guang said to Hao Ren.

  "Alright." Hao Ren put Zhao Yanzi's pink backpack on the chair and went into the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. He had rushed out so hastily today that he hadn't done these things, and thinking about it now made him feel quite disheveled.

  As soon as Hao Ren came out of the bathroom, the three of them were already waiting at the door.

  "Lazybones!" Zhao Yan muttered under his breath.

  Restricted by her parents, Hao Ren also didn't want to quarrel with her, so he coughed slightly and asked Zhao Guang, "Are we leaving?"

  "Bring up my school bag!" Zhao Yanzi shouted.

  Hao Ren turned around and carried her pink backpack on his back.

  "Ah Zi! Show some respect!" Zhao Guang finally couldn't help but scold Zhao Yanzi.

  Zhao Yanzi gritted her teeth, feeling very wronged. Originally a family outing with high spirits, who knew that suddenly Hua Ren would appear and make her feel awkward all of a sudden.

  "Let's go, now up the mountain." Zhao Hongyu said.

  "Oh, I'll give my grandma a call. I was supposed to go back this weekend anyway." Hao Ren thought of something and hastily pulled out his phone.

  He dialed the home phone and told his grandmother that he would be going out with "classmates" this weekend and wouldn't be able to come back. His grandmother didn't blame Hao Ren, telling him to have more fun instead.

  Zhao Hongyu looked at Hao Ren's tone and expression while making the phone call, and felt that Hao Ren was even more filial and sensible.

  "The air in Qingyan Mountain is very good, I'll bring your grandma here to play together next time. At the foot of this mountain, there are some farmhouse courtyards where elderly people from the city live with their children, on one hand to escape the heat, and on the other hand for the elderly to play cards, chat, and eat the fresher farmhouse dishes, it's very leisurely and lively." Zhao Hongyu said as she hung up the phone.

  "Hmm." Hao Ren replied vaguely. He even said he was going out to play with "classmates", and had never mentioned Zhao Yanzi's affairs to his grandmother, so how could he let his grandmother meet Zhao Yanzi's parents?

  If suddenly there was a granddaughter-in-law like Zhao Yanzi who is so disobedient and doesn't understand things, I don't know whether grandma would be shocked or delighted.

  "From now on, we're all family, no need to be formal. Let's go, let's head up the mountain." Zhao Hongyu smiled at Hao Ren, holding onto Zhao Guang's hand, and walked towards the hotel entrance.