Chapter 6 Metamorphosis_2

Looking at Yang Yi getting into the car and suddenly changing his demeanor as if he became a different person, no longer gabbing or smiling, gripping the steering wheel with continuous sighs and moans, Xiao Ran couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's wrong? You look like you're parting from life itself."

Xiao Ran had a sharp eye, Yang Yi let out a wry smile and said, "Yeah, it's a farewell. I've put a lot of effort into this car, and now that I have to sell it, I really can't bear to let it go."

"Why do you have to sell it? Oh, you're going abroad, but you don't necessarily have to sell it. Keep it, it's not like you won't drive when you come back. Just let your family take care of it and drive it occasionally, that should be fine."

Yang Yi answered as if possessed, "I don't have any family, and I won't be able to come back either."

As soon as he said it, Yang Yi immediately snapped back to awareness.

What was he doing, rambling to a beautiful woman who he was destined to never see again very soon, trying to see if something could happen before leaving, but how could he not control his emotions and blurt out such harsh truths?

Xiao Ran seemed very shocked, then she spoke with caution, "No... family?"

"Yes, my parents are dead, and I have no relatives, I'm alone."

"Sorry, I apologize."

"It's okay."

Xiao Ran said carefully, "So, you're trying to immigrate? Or maybe you have foreign citizenship and are going back?"

Yang Yi was startled for a moment, as he originally held Huaxia citizenship, but before he turned one, he obtained British citizenship. After his parents died, he returned to his country and his Huaxia citizenship was restored, but it was uncertain what his nationality would be after he left this time.

It was possible that Yang Yi would have no nationality in the future, or he might have multiple nationalities. However, even if he had a nationality, it was most likely a forged one.

"I have Huaxia citizenship, immigration... yeah, it might happen."

Yang Yi answered Xiao Ran's question vaguely, and Xiao Ran, unconcerned, said, "Do you want to immigrate to the United Kingdom? I have United States citizenship. Actually, I didn't want to immigrate, but it doesn't really matter now, it's just a citizenship."

"Just a citizenship," Xiao Ran said it as if it were both simple and easy because for her, it really was just a matter of a passport.

But for Yang Yi, citizenship wasn't just a passport, it was a sense of belonging and something even more important.

Yang Yi hadn't left the country yet, but he felt as though he had already lost his roots.

Therefore, his sense of sorrow intensified, and at that moment, he saw a restaurant.

It was a small noodle shop, one he often frequented. The sight of the familiar restaurant inadvertently complicated his emotions.

Why did everything seem so hard to part with?

Even a restaurant whose taste he didn't particularly enjoy, frequenting only for convenience, now felt dear and difficult to leave.

Yang Yi was angry and disgusted with his own feelings because in the life he was surely going to lead in the future, these strong feelings of reluctance and attachment were emotions he absolutely could not afford.

He cursed himself for seemingly not being as strong and resolute as he thought, but Yang Yi still pressed the brake and said with an unmistakable tone, "Let's eat noodles here!"

"Okay, is there a parking spot?"

What Xiao Ran cared about clearly wasn't in sync with Yang Yi's thoughts.

Yang Yi ordered two bowls of noodles even though he knew he couldn't finish them, wanting to taste both flavors. Although he still had a month, he felt an incredibly strong sense of urgency.

As if after today, he would never be able to have them again.

Because his emotions were unstable, Yang Yi lost most of his attention for the beautiful woman across from him, while Xiao Ran, casually eating her noodles, suddenly said, "I'm leaving too, tomorrow."

"Hmm."

"I had planned to stay after coming back this time, at least for a very long time, but..."

Xiao Ran suddenly couldn't continue, as she choked up and murmured, "My first love... to think my first love was an online relationship, even a long-distance one at that, but the man I loved ended up being involved in an extramarital affair."

Yang Yi responded somewhat absently, "Be content, you didn't end up in his bed, which is already good enough, uh, did you just mention first love?"

Xiao Ran glared at Yang Yi angrily and said, "Did you even listen to what I said? What's with my first love?"

Yang Yi shook his head, "It's nothing serious, I was just curious why someone as beautiful as you would experience that kind of situation."

"There are plenty who like me, it's just that none of them meet my standards, hmph, I hate those guys who think they're handsome but are actually sissies the most."

"Then I must say something, you ended up liking that kind of guy? That means there's a serious flaw in your judgment, you should be more careful when it comes to evaluating people in the future."

"Do you know how to have a conversation or not? Can't you see that I'm upset?"

Xiao Ran looked very annoyed, and Yang Yi sighed, "Don't be upset, you should think about it this way: You had a good time chatting with that guy for a year, right? Even though you couldn't see each other, you felt happy, right? You haven't really lost anything, and besides, you punched his nose and made him... In short, it was pretty tragic. Mm, in any case, I think you don't need to be angry, you should be happy and relieved instead."

Xiao Ran tilted her head, stirring her chopsticks in her bowl as she pondered for a long while before suddenly smiling, "You do have a point."

Even though Yang Yi was filled with sorrow, seeing Xiao Ran smile still felt like a breath of spring air.

Xiao Ran exhaled, wiped her eyes, and said softly, "Let's change the subject, what are you going to do in the United Kingdom? Are you going there to study?"

"Work, I'm going to look for a job."

"You're not attending school?"

"I've graduated."

"That's early, how old are you?"

"22."

"You graduated at 22? Which university? Sorry, I'm not interrogating you, I'm just a bit curious, you don't have to answer."

"Qingbei University, with a major in International Relations, I graduated a bit early."

Yang Yi thought to himself that he actually had dual bachelor's degrees in International Relations and History of International Relations, even though the two majors weren't much different.

Xiao Ran looked at him admiringly, "I'm 21, in my second year of university, I told you I'm at Trinity College, Cambridge, right? When you're in the UK, you can come to see me, believe me, my driving is actually pretty good, I've gone up to 280 on a racetrack."

"Racetracks and public roads are two different things."

Xiao Ran pouted, "That was just an accident, I'm just not used to driving here after getting familiar with the UK."

Yang Yi thought he couldn't finish two bowls of noodles, but he ended up eating them all. He took a napkin to wipe his mouth, then without picking up on Xiao Ran's cue, he smiled, "I'm worn out today, let's head back early, I can take you home."

Xiao Ran glanced at Yang Yi, and with the distinctive pouty tone of a young girl, said, "I thought you were going to invite me to do something fun."

"Better not, aren't you going to the United States tomorrow? Flying is tiring."

"Hmm, I thought about it, and I could choose not to go, after all, I came back this holiday just for... I can stick to the original plan and go back, since the flight is already booked."

Yang Yi smiled, then with an apologetic face, he said, "But I have to leave tomorrow, I need to rest up tonight, so I'm really sorry."

Xiao Ran sighed, her expression fading, then she said softly, "That's alright, take me home, I'll give you the money. Whether you want it or not, I have to give it to you. I don't like owing people."

"Let's talk about it later, we have phone numbers now."

Yang Yi could certainly tell that Xiao Ran had a good impression of him, and if they continued to interact, something might really develop, but it was doomed not to last, with at most a month to spend together, so perhaps it was better not to continue any further.

If you're unaware of your future, you can act recklessly, but if you know what you're going to do next and still end up hurting someone as well as yourself, then that's just despicable, and Yang Yi was not a despicable person.

It was just the time it took to eat a bowl of noodles.

No, it was the time it took to eat two bowls of noodles, Yang Yi had completed his metamorphosis.

In the afternoon, Yang Yi was just a recent graduate, at an age where he only thought about having fun, but by evening, he was ready to face a future that might not be rosy but was sure to be thrilling.

In just the time it took to eat two bowls of noodles, affection, reluctance, regrets, and many other emotions had already been pressed into the deepest part of Yang Yi's heart.

Many emotions won't simply disappear, that's impossible, but they are unlikely to resurface easily.

This might be difficult for a normal person, but for Yang Yi, who had spent a despairingly lonely childhood, he had already accumulated all the elements necessary to complete the transformation, making the process seem effortless.