Because we stayed out late yesterday, I slept in this morning. By the time I got up and got ready, it was almost 11 o’clock. Big Huang fried some eggs for us, and I ate a big, hearty bowl. Fully prepared, we headed to IKEA—this was my first time visiting IKEA with Little Huanhuan. We ended up with quite a haul; a cozy room doesn’t actually need to be all that complicated or troublesome. ...
Today, Huanhuan took annual leave to come to Kunming for a follow-up check-up. I rode a shared e-scooter to the hospital to pick her up, timing it to arrive shortly before her train. After meeting her, we took a taxi back to our place to drop off our bags. On our way out, we noticed many unusually large carp and goldfish in the river by the entrance, so we grabbed the net we used for catching crayfish and decided to try our luck at fishing. After having rice noodles with Fangfang, we returned to the river only to find the water had suddenly turned murky, and the fish seemed to have been washed away. We walked along the riverbank and, sure enough, spotted the fish being carried along by the current not too far away. ...
I woke up quite early today, rummaged through the cabinets, and simply cooked a bowl of noodles to eat. Then, I set out on foot to forage for mushrooms in the mountains. At first, I found an entrance to a wooded area, but after just a few steps, I was chased back by a pack of dogs. Undeterred, I continued searching and followed the navigation until I finally reached a pine forest, where I managed to pick a few small red mushrooms. Unfortunately, I realized I was too late—most had already been picked by others, leaving only poisonous ones or those I wasn’t sure about. ...
Got up early in the morning because I had to go for visa fingerprinting. Rode my little e-bike and arrived there by 8:30 a.m., even though my appointment was at 9:15. It seemed like arriving early wasn’t exactly appreciated, but they still let me in to queue up. Then they briefed me, checked my documents, and directed me to a counter. After verifying my details, the staff told me to wait for my number to be called and instructed me to silence my phone and knock before entering when my turn came. ...
I did the laundry during the day and then played some games with Fei Ge. Took the bus back to Kunming to prepare for my visa application. After getting off the subway, Da Huang picked me up on his bike. Then we went to a barbecue stall and had fried rice, oysters, and small yellow croakers.
Today was a particularly fun day. I slept in this morning, and when I got up, Huanhuan’s mom had cooked congee. I had three bowls and ended up stuffed. At noon, Huanhuan’s mom prepared a delicious lunch for us, and everything was very tasty. After eating, I played a few rounds of games with Fei Ge, then pulled out my laptop to prepare some materials. Around 1 PM, Huanhuan’s dad went out for a walk, and we rested for a while. ...
Perhaps it was because I had been drinking, but I had trouble falling asleep last night. Combined with the sound of people drinking outside, I barely slept at all. I woke up early in the morning, took a shower, put on my suit and dress shoes, and went downstairs with Huanhuan to have breakfast before heading to the exam site. I had thought wearing a suit might make me stand out, but when I arrived, I noticed everyone else was also dressed formally, which put me at ease. I also ran into many younger classmates, who clearly had a fresh, student-like vibe. One junior was struggling to button the top button of his shirt—it was obviously too tight. I reassured him, “It’s fine, you don’t have to button it. It might affect your performance, and the examiners won’t mind. You’ll feel better if you’re more comfortable.” ...