On Chen Ying's last day in Brussels, there was a drizzle in the sky. At the last gathering in the morning, the canvas canopy propped up outside the window edge dripped, tinkling and knocking on the mottled stone steps, adding some traces of vicissitudes to the centuries-old stones. As usual, Chen Ying surfed the Internet and answered emails in the café on the first floor of the hotel every day, but unsurprisingly found nothing. She guessed that he was still angry with her, or that he hadn't recovered from his illness yet, so he couldn't reply. At breakfast, the students happily talked about the upcoming holiday, and everyone was looking forward to the trip.

"I'll go to Eastern Europe and see — you know, Warsaw, Budapest or something. I've wanted to go there since I was a kid, and I won't let it go this time. An American girl said. She wore a long orange sweater with a hem that fell to the edge of her knees.

"I'm going to Greece for a vacation. It's definitely especially warm to go over there during this season. An Argentine girl said.

After eating breakfast, Chen Ying took a group photo with her classmates, received the homework questions issued by the team leader, and then picked up her umbrella and walked towards the nearest post office alone. When she arrived, she saw several classmates lining up to mail chocolates. Post office staff are patiently packing the expensive food carefully as required to prevent it from getting wet and spoiling during transit.

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

They saw Chen Ying greet each other, and then continued to busy themselves. Chen Ying picked out a few from the rotating postcard shelf, paid for them, found a window sill where no one was around, and began to write. She occasionally looked up at the window, and the rain on the glass was running down in rows, and the scenery outside seemed to cry.

She wrote them all for Liang Jing, Qin Hong and Ye Feng, and she also wrote one for her mother. She had been away from home for so long, and she didn't want her family to worry about her. In the end, she also wrote one to Wang Yi, with only a few sentences, and it is estimated that she will receive this blessing on his birthday. She bought the stamps, licked the back, and placed them squarely in the empty squares on each postcard indicating the location of the stamps. She waited by the red mailbox and watched as the postman opened the lock and took away the first letters. It was a white-haired postman in a brown raincoat who nodded to Chen Ying as he took her postcard.

She's going to the Netherlands by international bus and researched the bus schedule before going to bed last night. The students dispersed one after another and headed for the airport or train station that they had arranged. She dragged a suitcase and an umbrella and asked all the way to the bus station. With half an hour to go, she stood in the empty waiting room, watching the drizzle of clouds drift by outside the glass door. When it was almost time, there were more people waiting for the bus, and the sky became brighter.

"The weather is getting better, huh?" The ticket inspector said to her while checking the ticket.

"Indeed." She took the ticket stub and sat down near the window. Before driving, the seat next to her was occupied by a girl with extremely short blonde hair. She winked at Chen Ying, and in an instant she stuffed her belongings into the shelf above her head.

"Japanese?" She asked.

"No, Chinese." Chen Ying replied.

The vehicle started up, departed from the coach station, and quickly turned onto the nearby highway. The spired Gothic buildings are left behind, and the Singer-style houses are about to come into view, and there is a long wait in between. On both sides of the road are endless fields, and the time has entered the middle of winter, and the harvested wheat fields are ploughed into neat ridges by tractors. White seagulls fly from one wall to another in search of food. The scarecrow was lonely in his shabby clothes and holding a rocking fan, and two crows landed on its shoulders. When the wind blows, the fan swings mechanically back and forth, as if to greet passers-by. The car drove smoothly on the asphalt road and did not feel the bumps. Chen Ying took out "Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism" from her school bag, opened it by following the page between the bookmarks, and continued to read.

"What books are you reading?" The girl next door asked, chewing gum.

Chen Ying flipped to the first page and pointed out the English title of the book to her.

"Coming for a trip?" She then asked.

Chen Ying nodded.

"Why do you read such a tome?"

"I only brought this one."

"Chinese are like this?"

"Do you mean just a book or read a tome?"

"Both."

"I'm probably the only one among young people like that." Chen Ying smiled wryly.

"I'll just say it. In Australia, almost no one reads this kind of book on a tour bus. ”

"You're Australian?"

"Yes." Her green eyes spun around as she spoke, "You're going to Holland alone?" ”

Chen Ying looked at her and did not answer.

"I mean, if you want, you can come to our restaurant. I'm a chef. She said and took out a business card and handed it to Chen Ying, "I just got a job in Amsterdam, so I'll take a look around." ”

"Okay, I'll be looking for you when I'm free." Chen Ying took the business card and sandwiched it between the pages.

Two and a half hours later, the vehicle drove into the Dutch capital. Passengers get off the bus in turn, waiting to pick up their luggage from the bottom of the bus. Chen Ying also lined up in the line.

"I'll go over there and buy a burger first, and I'll see you at the station gate later." The Australian girl shouted at her with a tall travel backpack on her back.