Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 668 Visiting Rome

This year's Strega Literary Prize will be held in Benevento, the capital of the Campania region in southern Italy. There are no direct flights from the country.

Fang Minghua took an Air China flight from Yanjing to the Italian capital of Rome. It departed from the Capital Airport at noon and after a thirteen-hour flight, arrived at Rome’s Rome Rome Airport at five in the afternoon.

After queuing at customs and picking up luggage for nearly an hour, Fang Minghua finally arrived at the waiting hall with his luggage.

He planned to stay in Rome for one night and take the train to Benevento tomorrow morning.

Just as I was about to find a staff member to ask how to get to the train station and nearby hotels, I heard a familiar voice.

"Brother-in-law!"

Turning his head, he saw a girl in a white dress and short hair, carrying a travel bag, looking at him with a smile.

It's Li Li.

"Lili, you're not in Benevento?" Fang Minghua was a little surprised: "Didn't you arrive in Benevento yesterday when you called your cousin?"

"Yes, I did. But my cousin on the phone was worried that you wouldn't get lost in Rome because you don't speak Italian. So I said I would just come to Rome to pick you up."

Ah?
I don't understand Italian, but I understand English. How can such a small thing stump me?

However, since the two sisters cared so much, Fang Minghua didn't say much.

"When did you come here?"

"It was around four in the afternoon when I arrived in Rome by train and took a taxi straight to the airport, worried that I would miss your flight," said Li Li.

"Actually, there's no need to rush. Going through customs is very slow." The two said as they dragged their luggage out of the waiting hall.

"Let's stay in a hotel near the central railway station so that it will be convenient for us to take the train tomorrow," Li Li suggested.

"Okay, I'll do whatever you want."

The two took the airport bus and arrived at the central railway station an hour later. They walked into a nearby beehive hotel called The Hive Hotel.

Soon, a bartender greeted us with a smile in Italian: "Madam, sir, hello, would you like to stay in a couple's room? The environment is elegant and the price is affordable."

"No, no, please give us two single rooms." Li Li replied quickly.

The waiter looked at the two of them in surprise.

They are not a couple?!
It looks like this, no matter how you look at it?

However, out of professional ethics, she immediately put on a smile, took their passports, and started the check-in procedures.

"Lili, what did you say to the waiter just now?" Fang Minghua asked in a low voice.

Naturally, the language used is Chinese.

"Nothing, I just asked about the price." Li Li replied in a low voice.

Fang Minghua said "oh" and said nothing more.

After completing the check-in formalities, the two took the elevator to the sixth floor. The rooms they booked were adjacent to each other. After Fang Minghua entered, he took a shower and changed into a T-shirt and casual shorts. The fatigue from the long journey immediately disappeared.

Seeing that it was already past six o'clock, Fang Minghua was about to go out and call Li Li for dinner when there was a knock on the door. He opened it and took a look.

Li Li was already standing at the door.

Ah?
She was wearing a tight T-shirt on top, denim shorts and canvas shoes on the bottom, and her pair of slender white legs were particularly eye-catching.

Li Li likes to wear skirts in summer, especially one-piece dresses, which are dignified and elegant. Such cool outfits are rarely seen.

"Brother-in-law." Li Li felt a little embarrassed by Fang Minghua's gaze and whispered, "Is it inappropriate for me to dress like this?"

"Very good, whatever makes you feel comfortable." Fang Minghua quickly retracted his gaze: "Let's go downstairs to eat."

"Okay, brother-in-law, let's go east from the hotel. There is a pizza shop not far away. I heard the waiter say that the pizza there is very delicious. Let's go and try it?" The girl said as she walked. "Okay, I said, I will follow your arrangements when I come to Italy."

"Okay."

The two walked out of the hotel and headed east. As expected, after walking a few steps, they saw a pizza shop called Life Pizzeria. They went in and Fang Minghua discovered that it was a vegetarian pizza shop.

It is said that among the many flavors of pizza, vegetarian pizza occupies a large share. Vegetarian pizza is sprinkled with mozzarella cheese, zucchini, onions, etc., all of which are local seasonal vegetables as ingredients.

Finally, Li Li enthusiastically ordered Fang Minghua a pizza called salmone controcorrente, which was filled with salmon, mozzarella cheese, and ginger.

She had the Eros pizza, which had tomatoes, peppers, basil and dark chocolate powder.

The two sat face to face at a small dining table by the window and ordered two iced Cokes. After a while, the waiter brought two pizzas.

Li Li looked at the pizza on the plate with an embarrassed look on her face.

"Why, you can't finish it? Then give me some." Fang Minghua said with a smile.

"Okay." The girl picked up the knife, cut the pizza on her plate in half, put it on Fang Minghua's plate, and started eating happily.

Nowadays in China, foreign specialty foods like pizza are also appearing in big cities like Yanjing and Shencheng. Fang Minghua once took her children to eat at a Pizza Hut in Yanjing, but of course it was not as authentic as the one here.

In fact, that's it.

Fang Minghua ate this expensive pizza and felt that it was not as delicious as the pancakes in Tianjin.

It was obvious that Li Li had become accustomed to this Western diet and was enjoying it very much.

"Brother-in-law, don't you like eating?" Li Li noticed that Fang Minghua was eating slowly, so she looked up and asked.

Eating noodles at home is quite fast. A big bowl can be finished in no time.

"It's my first time eating it, so I'm a little uncomfortable with it, but it's quite delicious." Fang Minghua told the truth.

"I know you like noodles. When we get back to the hotel, I'll ask the waiter where there is a Chinese restaurant and we'll go there tomorrow," said Li Li.

"Don't bother, just eat whatever you want."

"No, that won't work. My cousin said she would take good care of you, so of course I will do my best." The girl was unwilling.

Me@#￥￥%
You really treat me like a child.

After eating pizza, seeing that it was still early, the two of them started walking on the street.

The streets are lined with European-style buildings, mainly in Romanesque style. They are tall, heavy and solid. There is a fountain and a church every few steps along the way.

Li Li was also very happy. Having lived abroad, she obviously knew more than Fang Minghua. She explained things to Fang Minghua as they walked.

The two walked to the side of a church, and Li Li suddenly stopped. It turned out that a couple was getting married.

They were a newlywed couple, black and white, and looked like a pair of black and white devils. The white groom wore a black suit, and the black bride wore a white wedding dress. Fang Minghua felt that it was particularly visually impactful.

The newlyweds looked at each other, their eyes filled with unconcealable happiness.

Li Li stared at all this in a daze.

Fang Minghua sighed slightly in his heart, stood quietly behind the girl, and did not say anything.

Li Li just watched until the newlyweds disappeared around the corner of the street. Then she came to her senses and turned to look at Fang Minghua.

"Brother-in-law, let's go."

"Um"

The two continued walking on the street, and Fang Minghua clearly felt that Li Li had become a little silent.

(End of this chapter)