By linking my account to the check-in system, I became a leisurely traveler.

Chapter 13 Fate
A few days later, Li Younan drove his little cool car and officially embarked on his journey to Jinling City.

He deliberately chose to set off at night. Contrary to many people's intuition, driving at night is actually safer. On the one hand, there is less traffic; on the other hand, it is easier to spot other vehicles because of the lights.

In the darkness, Li Younan's little cool car sped along the elevated road, with bright lights on both sides.

Li Younan leisurely glanced at the lights flashing by on both sides, feeling as if he were in a dream. Not long ago, he was working like a beast of burden at the company, but now, he had become a tiny dot in the stream of light, heading towards a future where the exit was unknown.

He adapted to this kind of life very quickly, feeling that this was the kind of life he was meant to live.

Following the navigation, the car slowed down, and finally arrived at the toll station in Jinling City. Even now, Li Younan still felt a little unreal.

He stared at the huge sign at the tollbooth, wanting to exclaim in admiration, but when he opened his mouth, all he could manage to utter, a phrase he'd never been good at, was, "Awesome!"

Li Younan found a place to stay nearby.

Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window of the hotel and looking out, the city of Nanjing, shrouded in night, is ablaze with traffic like bright sparks, pedestrians hurry by, and neon lights gleam.

Unlike Binhai City, Jinling City only has one must-see attraction, the Jinling City Museum, but Li Younan doesn't plan to just visit it and leave.

Checking in at various spots is his goal, but he cares more about the process. He wants to stay here for a few days and fully experience the atmosphere of this city.

He planned to check in again on the day he left.

Speaking of atmosphere, Li Younan suddenly remembered the girl he met at Duoyun Academy that day.

Lying in bed, he chuckled to himself, wondering if he might run into that girl again. Then he smiled wryly. This country is so big, with such a large population, the probability of two complete strangers meeting again is practically zero.

But if I could really meet that girl again here, then I would...

At once……

Ask her what her name is.

Silent all night.

The next day, Li Younan parked his car at the hotel, packed his bag, and set off.

During the day, he didn't set a specific destination for himself, nor did he check any travel guides; he just wandered around aimlessly, going wherever the road took him. He visited several important museums, including somber places like the Memorial Hall for the Victims of the Victims, which he felt was also part of the journey.

After finishing his daytime activities and having dinner, Li Younan planned to stroll around the Confucius Temple pedestrian street, which was quite popular online.

He knew, of course, that these heavily commercialized places were pretty much the same all over the country, but as he said before, it was all part of the trip.

I must say, it's really lively here.

Shops lined both sides of the bluestone road, their signs lit up. The windows of the salted duck shop gleamed with oil. Young people queuing at the milk tea shop took photos of the lanterns under the eaves with their phones. Under the sign at the entrance of Wuyi Lane, a tour guide waved a small flag and shouted, "Scan the code here to enter the former residence of Wang and Xie." Tricycle drivers pedaled through the crowd, their bells mingling with shouts of "Osmanthus cake!" before quickly turning around and riding away when they saw the city management officers.

Li Younan watched the crowd with interest, silently soaking in the atmosphere. He bought a hand-pulled pancake from a roadside vendor; although it wasn't a specialty of Nanjing, he ate it with relish. As he strolled along, music suddenly started playing ahead, and a crowd gathered around a singer.

Li Younan moved closer and stood in the crowd.

A male college student, who looked somewhat inexperienced, played the electric piano and sang a heartfelt song.

His voice was quite good, and the surrounding tourists all took out their phones to take pictures.

Li Younan nodded gently, tapping his fingers to the beat. Since he acquired piano skills, music seemed to have taken shape in his ears. Chords, textures, rhythms, and timbre became the focus of his attention when listening.

Just as everyone was captivated by the singer's voice, Li Younan suddenly heard a soft chuckle. The voice sounded somewhat familiar, which startled him.

He looked in the direction from which the sound came, and just a dozen meters away, a girl slowly squatted down and opened the violin case she was carrying.

Upon seeing the girl's face, Li Younan's expression froze—it was the same humanities traveler girl he had met once at Duoyun Academy.

However, Li Younan then turned his gaze strangely to the instrument in the case; it wasn't a violin, but an erhu.

Then, the girl's next move stunned him. She lifted the erhu and rested the soundbox on her shoulder. What was she doing? Was she playing the erhu like a violin?

As it turns out, the erhu has unlimited potential.

While everyone was focused on the singer playing the piano, a clear, crisp note rang out on a certain beat, perfectly blending into the music. Everyone paused, then looked in the direction of the sound to see a girl smiling and playing the erhu in her own unique posture, the melody seamlessly integrated into the chords.

The singer naturally noticed the girl as well.

Soon, the performers' unique chemistry became apparent, and the two played a duet, concluding the performance amidst applause from the audience.

The atmosphere is so wonderful, it's hard not to be infected by it.

The girl seemed unsatisfied and picked up the erhu again to try playing a few notes.

This time, however, the singer's expression became somewhat unnatural.

His specialty is singing, and his piano skills are only at the level of basic chord accompaniment. It was quite difficult for him to improvise a duet with others. At this moment, the audience did not understand and cheered and jeered, making the singer's expression increasingly awkward.

The girl also noticed the problem. She tried playing a few notes but couldn't get them right. She blinked and stopped regretfully.

The commotion continued, with many people taking photos and videos of the singer and the girl with their phones, but the music never started.

At this awkward moment, a tall figure walked towards the singer.

The girl, who was about to put down her erhu, froze when she saw who it was. She blinked, then gently rubbed her eyes, seemingly unable to believe it.

The noise came from all directions: the footsteps of pedestrians, all sorts of chaotic conversations, and the surrounding lights overlapping.

The girl looked at Li Younan quietly.

Are there really such rare coincidences in this world?
Li Younan whispered a few words to the singer, who nodded happily and stepped aside.

……

In fact, Li Younan is tone-deaf. The last time he stepped onto a music-related stage was when he participated in a choir competition in junior high school.

It was a painful memory, so bad that it's almost a blur.

At that time, there were only five boys in their class. In order to unify the tone, the music teacher asked the boys to hum the song quietly. Li Younan did as instructed and won the championship with the girls.

The school leaders slapped their foreheads and said, "This program is good," and recommended them to compete in the county, where they won the championship again.

During the New Year's Day holiday, each county is required to present a program for the city's New Year's Eve gala, and the county once again recommended their chorus.

It can be said that he brought glory to his ancestors and was under the spotlight.

Because Li Younan is good-looking, as soon as they arrived in the city, during rehearsals, the director slapped his forehead and said, "Him, him, put me in the first row!"

On the night of the party, Li Younan was in the front row, with the microphone almost shoved into his mouth.

After that, her memories were fragmented. All Li Younan remembered was that after she finished singing that day, everyone in the audience was stunned.

Later, of course, he found out that in front of the entire city, representing his fellow villagers, he took a big dump in the center position.

Because of the microphone, the girls couldn't even save him.

But the situation is different now.

What I've lost, I will definitely get back!
Piano playing and singing can be considered equally important.

At this moment, Li Younan gently touched the piano, and the melody began again.

Instead of playing complex and elegant pieces, Li Younan played the prelude to "Canon".

This song, which people have heard countless times, still makes people unconsciously quiet down and listen whenever the intro starts.

The girl picked up the erhu, closed her eyes slightly, and gently plucked the strings when the melody flowed to the right point.

Beautiful music flowed out, and some college students watching looked enviously at Li Younan and the girl in the middle, and couldn't help but exclaim: "Damn, that's so cool, I'm so envious!"

(End of this chapter)