Rebirth to Save Myself

There's no high-speed rail yet, so to get to the capital you either have to take a plane or a train, but it takes several days to travel from a southern provincial capital to the capital. However, planes aren't a standard mode of transport for everyone, so Su Xia, thanks to Chen Jianguo, was flying for the first time in both her lives. Chen Yuan was also happy; it was her first time flying too. She pulled Su Xia along, curiously looking around, and Chen Jianguo let them be.

"Xiaxia, how do airplanes fly?" Chen Yuan asked curiously.

"I'm not entirely sure either. We can look it up later."

"Sure, I'm quite curious."

The plane was much faster than the train, and they arrived that same day. Since their teachers were still on their way, Chen Jianguo took Su Xia to check into the hotel he had booked. That evening, he took his two daughters out for Peking duck and some local specialties.

"Shall we get up early tomorrow to watch the flag-raising ceremony?" Chen Yuan suggested during dinner, feeling that since they had come to the capital, it wouldn't be complete without seeing the flag-raising ceremony.

"Can you get up in the morning?" Chen's mother asked Chen Yuan.

“If you can get up, then there’s Xiaxia.” Chen Yuan pulled Su Xia over and said to her, “You’ll definitely wake me up, right? Not watching the flag-raising ceremony is like not having been to the capital.”

Su Xia smiled and then said, "It's not just the flag-raising ceremony, there are also many other attractions such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Old Summer Palace, and the Temple of Heaven."

"We'll go together after your competition. One attraction a day is enough," Chen Yuan said confidently, indicating that she was young and energetic and could easily visit one attraction a day.

"Okay, just don't make me look bad later." Su Xia nodded and then said.

The next day, Su Xia set an alarm for 4 a.m., glanced at Chen Yuan who was fast asleep beside her, completely undisturbed, and patted her. Chen Yuan naturally turned over and continued sleeping.

"Yuanyuan, wake up." Su Xia called softly, but Chen Yuan still didn't wake up. Su Xia saw that there was still enough time, so she got out of bed to go to the bathroom to wash up first, and then put her hands, which had been touched with cold water, on Chen Yuan's skin.

"Ah!" Chen Yuan jumped up from under the covers with a start.

"You're awake! Go wash up." Su Xia smiled at Chen Yuan, then picked up the bread she bought yesterday and started eating.

"Xiaxia, the way you call people is a bit too special." Chen Yuan was completely awakened by this. She was too excited yesterday and went to bed very late, so she didn't hear the alarm clock that Su Xia set at all.

"Go wash up quickly, or Mom and Dad will be here soon," Su Xia said.

Sure enough, as soon as Chen Yuan came out of the bathroom, there was a knock on the door, followed by Chen's mother's voice from outside: "Yuanyuan, Xiaxia, are you awake?"

Su Xia quickly stepped forward, opened the door, and said, "You're awake. I've already had breakfast."

"I haven't yet," Chen Yuan said.

"Then take it with you to eat on the road, there's no time to spare." Mr. Chen urged them. Fortunately, they had packed their things yesterday, so they could just grab their bags and set off.

The four of them went out onto the street, where there were hardly any people. They hailed a taxi through the hotel, and the driver, upon hearing that they were going to watch the flag-raising ceremony, struck up a conversation with them.

"What's so interesting about raising the national flag? We see it every day here in the capital."

"Oh, this isn't from out of town, I've never seen it before."

"That's true. Many people from other places like to come and watch the flag-raising ceremony. It's all about faith."

"Of course! This is a perfect opportunity to bring the kids out to broaden their horizons and let them see the beautiful landscapes of our motherland. The capital city is the best example of our country's prosperity."

"We're here, we're here. I'll give you a discount. Have a great time!"

"No, no, no, we're all small businesses, we can't just offer discounts like that."

"Take it if I give it to you, don't be polite with me. If you don't accept it, you're disrespecting me."

Chen Jianguo had no choice but to accept the driver's kindness. At this time, there weren't as many people watching the flag-raising ceremony as later, and people weren't queuing overnight, so they went straight through the security checkpoint as soon as they arrived, quickly walked to the square, and found a spot near the front.

As the sky gradually brightened, the honor guard slowly approached the square, solemnly marching towards the flagpole. As the national anthem played and the national flag slowly rose, a surge of patriotism ignited within them. After the flag-raising ceremony, Mr. Chen asked someone to take a picture of his family of four.

Afterwards, the group went to the city gate tower, visited the exterior of the Great Hall of the People, and then ate the capital's specialty breakfast, douzhi (fermented mung bean juice).

"Ugh, ugh, ugh." Chen Yuan took a sip and spat it out, then said, "What is this taste? It's spoiled."

Seeing this, Su Xia also took a small bite. Although she didn't spit it out as dramatically as Chen Yuan, her expression still showed that it tasted terrible.

"Luckily, the four of us only ordered one bowl, otherwise it would have been a waste to order so much if it tasted so bad." Chen Yuan really couldn't eat anymore, so she started eating other breakfast items.

After lunch, they went directly to the National Museum next door. They spent the entire morning there, only taking a cursory look around. In the afternoon, Chen Yuan couldn't take it anymore and said she wanted to go back to the hotel to sleep. Chen's parents were also quite tired, having gotten up so early, so everyone unanimously decided to go back and plan their trip properly later.

When Chen Yuan woke up from her afternoon nap, she found Su Xia doing math problems. Because Su Xia had flown in, the teacher had given her some problems so she could continue practicing before the rest of the group arrived.

"Xiaxia, didn't you take a nap?"

"I'm asleep, I just woke up earlier than you."

"You're really pushing yourself too hard! You got up so early this morning to wander around, and now you're still doing math problems."

"It's okay, I'll rest if I feel tired."

"Don't ruin your health that you've built up over the years, or Mom will give you a good scolding."

"Okay, just don't tell her."

The two had originally planned to go sightseeing, but the main group had already arrived. In order to maintain unity, Su Xia had to rejoin the group, which made it difficult for her to visit the attractions, so she could only bury herself in her studies.

"It's alright, we can still play slowly after your competition is over," Mr. Chen said.

"Yes, Xiaxia, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Whether you win a prize or not, we'll go have fun after the competition," Chen's mother said from the side.

"Don't worry about the competition, I'll take care of the plan. When you come back, you can start playing right away!" Chen Yuan patted her chest to show that she believed in her and would definitely handle it well.

"Okay, I understand. You guys have fun for the next few days, I'll come find you as soon as I'm done." Su Xia happily chatted with them before heading back.

In the hotel lobby, everyone gathered around Su Xia and said, "Are those your parents? That's so kind of them to come all the way to the capital to cheer you on!"

"Yes, they can have some fun while they're here."

Wow, I'm so envious!

"Yeah, yeah, even my parents might not come."

"Of course, it's the capital, everything is expensive."