After the trip to New York came Los Angeles; Shi Man insisted on this destination purely because she wanted to have a blast at Disneyland. She sat in her seat, practically vibrating with excitement, wiggling in her seat, "I grew up watching Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Once I knew a park like this existed, I always dreamed of coming here." Shi Man recounted, her face alight with nostalgia.

Wang Qiqi looked at the face that was clearly that of an ice queen and wondered how such childish enthusiasm could emerge. Thank goodness she was speaking Chinese; if any of the foreigners nearby had heard, they would truly find the words coming out of this girl utterly mismatched with her visage. But truthfully, Mickey and Donald had accompanied Wang Qiqi’s generation as they grew up. "When I was little, I was so envious of Doraemon. I always wished I had a robot cat." While the former was fine, Wang Qiqi had a profound obsession with Doraemon in her childhood. Yet here she was, having traveled back in time without a robot cat. Wang Qiqi couldn't help but wonder if her longing had simply become too deep—so deep that even heaven couldn't stand it, forcing her to return to the past, complete with all her memories intact.

"I know, right? I wished for a robot cat too when I was little..." Shi Man grabbed Wang Qiqi's arm, unloading all the grievances from her childhood. "When I was young, I desperately wanted to grow up, always thinking adulthood would bring all sorts of wonderful things. But now I feel childhood was better." Pressures mounted everywhere. Even though outsiders might see her life as quite good, so many matters and people made Shi Man deeply feel that childhood was better—no stress, with her parents shouldering everything, whereas now, everything relied on her own efforts.

Wang Qiqi recalled how, just at the airport, Shi Man had lamented leaving New York, complaining how rushed the trip was and how many places she hadn't properly seen. Yet, in the span of a moment, she was already excited about the next stop. One couldn't deny that women were fickle creatures. "Let's rest up. We’ll arrive in L.A. late at night. We’ll just stay at the airport overnight then." To save money, the two decided not to bother finding lodging; since the airport had a direct bus to Disneyland, there was no point in hailing a cab in the dead of night to find a place to sleep.

The main thing was that there would certainly be plenty of people spending the night at the airport. As long as they found a well-populated area, they could manage. They could just be slightly more alert, with one sleeping while the other watched the luggage—that should suffice.

Shi Man had been so animated before, even planning to take tons of photos. But Wang Qiqi’s sudden killjoy mood dampened her spirits. "You! You’re such a buzzkill. We were having such a great chat."

Wang Qiqi offered no rebuttal; she simply gestured toward the surrounding passengers. "Everyone else is sleeping. What more do you expect?" Although it wasn't a midnight flight, many passengers had already settled down to sleep soon after takeoff. Anyone with a good sleep schedule could manage at least four hours of rest.

Seeing that most people around her had drifted off, Shi Man quieted down. Sleeping on the plane was definitely preferable to being stuck dozing in the airport. Wang Qiqi flagged down a passing flight attendant and requested two blankets. While Wang Qiqi harbored concerns about the cleanliness of the blankets, the risk of catching a cold from sleeping without one seemed more immediate than the hygiene factor.

Wang Qiqi felt like she hadn't slept long before shaking Shi Man awake. Shi Man turned to Wang Qiqi, bubbling with excitement, "We’re almost in Los Angeles! I just remembered Hollywood is here. Do you think we might run into any celebrities?"

.... Wang Qiqi didn't know what to say. Had this girl only just remembered Hollywood was in L.A.? Since the plane was already in its descent path, the brilliantly lit cityscape below was visible. Of course, Wang Qiqi truly had no heart to admire the dazzling night view right then; she was suddenly overwhelmed by the pressing need to use the restroom. "Is the lavatory closed yet?"

"It closed ten minutes ago," Shi Man replied, her gaze glued to the window. "You need to go?"

Hearing this terrible news, Wang Qiqi could only utter a soft groan and resign herself to enduring it. Thankfully, it would only be another fifteen minutes until landing, which offered some small comfort. For the remaining time, Wang Qiqi focused intently on the scenery outside the window, lest the urge completely overwhelm her focus.

On the bus, Shi Man kept looking behind her, marveling inwardly, "I can’t believe the day will come when I take pictures with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Snow White." Shi Man’s eyes kept drifting toward the camera in Wang Qiqi's hands. "Qiqi, you absolutely must keep an eye on your camera; it holds so many of my precious shots." Shi Man imagined bringing these photos home and how they would completely stun all the older and younger relatives—especially her cousins. No matter how well they were doing at their jobs, what good was money if they lacked the time to travel? And even when they did travel, it was only within China. But she was going to the US!

Shi Man recalled the expressions on her relatives' faces when her mother mentioned her trip to the US. Hmph, so what if they are civil servants? What’s so great about that? If it weren't for family connections, would they be doing so well? In contrast, look at Feng Xuanxiang—if he had a strong backer, he might have achieved infinitely more than them. Yet those relatives kept criticizing Feng Xuanxiang, implying that because Shi Man wasn't capable enough, the man she chose was equally lacking.

Wang Qiqi had no desire to respond to Shi Man's tirade. Heaven knew how many photos Shi Man had taken since they left New York. Wang Qiqi, preferring landscape shots over portraits, always felt that cramming a person into such beautiful scenery ruined the composition. Shi Man often teased Wang Qiqi, suggesting she took few photos because she was self-aware enough to know she would ruin the frame.

Shi Man didn't actually expect a reaction from Wang Qiqi; she just hoped these words would reassure her. "Oh, Qiqi, when we have the chance, let’s go to the Disneyland in Japan too, okay? I heard they have an adult version and a children’s version there." Rumor had it that it was far more fun than the one in America.

"Sure." After spending two days at Disneyland, Wang Qiqi felt that beyond reliving a bit of childhood memory, the park held little interest for her. Yet, the seemingly much older Shi Man seemed endlessly fascinated by such things. Regarding Japan, Wang Qiqi thought more about soaking in hot springs, especially outdoor ones in winter, with snow falling from the sky—and Han Tao absolutely had to be beside her. Thinking of that scene, Wang Qiqi realized she couldn't dwell on it any longer, or she’d end up with a nosebleed. As for Shi Man beside her? Apologies, but Wang Qiqi genuinely couldn't picture her in such a romantic setting. That kind of scene was meant for a lover; best friends simply couldn't be included.

Only when Disneyland was completely out of sight did Shi Man turn back to sit properly. It was then she noticed Qiqi hadn't spoken in a while. But that wasn't the main point; the main point was that someone was smiling—well, how to put it—with a rather blissful, hazy look. She nudged Wang Qiqi and murmured, "Stop grinning so vaguely; it looks weird. What are you thinking about? Your man, perhaps?" It was normal to miss one's boyfriend after being away so long; Shi Man herself was thinking of Feng Xuanxiang. But she knew she would eventually adapt to seeing him only a few times a year, as round-trip airfare was exorbitant, and even if Feng Xuanxiang had time, the funds wouldn't stretch. "And you're drooling a little."

Drooling? Wang Qiqi started to raise a hand to wipe, but catching her reflection in the window, she saw that besides a healthier flush in her cheeks, everything else looked normal. Wang Qiqi knew the other girl was trying to tease her. She smoothed her expression. "I was just thinking that there’s also a Disneyland in France. Didn't you keep talking about never getting the chance to go the last time we were near there...?"

"That's definitely on the list too," Shi Man interjected. "My ultimate goal is to visit every single Disneyland." She envisioned taking countless pictures, making everyone jealous and envious, then setting her nieces and nephews upon their parents to pester them. Thinking of this, Shi Man felt life was utterly beautiful, the sky so blue—truly, other people’s misery was her source of happiness.

Wang Qiqi couldn’t bring herself to criticize Shi Man’s childish ambition and simply closed her eyes, preparing to sleep. "I’m sleeping now. We’ll be busy once we land in L.A." There were likely many items on the shopping list for purchasing abroad. It wasn't that Feng Xuanxiang wouldn't help with the procurement; it was that Shi Man had brought most of her remaining U.S. dollars with her, and she couldn't liquidate assets from the stock market right now. The market returns were currently soaring. After chatting online with Feng Xuanxiang every night, Shi Man would lie in bed excitedly telling Wang Qiqi how much money they had earned that day. Especially after converting the dollars to yuan, Shi Man would regret not having asked a scalper to exchange more U.S. currency for her. Although dealing with a scalper was more of a rip-off than using a bank, the profits from the stock market made it worthwhile. This meant they absolutely couldn't cash out from the golden goose that was the stock market, leaving only Han Tao's card as an option. Fortunately, perhaps because Han Tao had worked extra hard this week and received a raise, the dollars on the card were relatively sufficient; otherwise, the two would have been genuinely frustrated.

In the past, shopping would have been Shi Man’s favorite activity. But after playing at Disneyland for a day and a half, Shi Man felt her legs were no longer her own. Hearing talk of going shopping in this state, she only wanted to feign death. "Can't we do that tomorrow?" Shi Man asked weakly. "Maybe we'll get more orders tonight."

"We have tasks tomorrow," Wang Qiqi placated Shi Man. It was true that even foreign malls closed relatively early in the evening, so shopping would have to wait until daytime. Ah, that was one downside.

Seeing Wang Qiqi’s resolve, Shi Man decided not to press the issue, closing her eyes to rest.