The man, upon hearing that more than two n stayed at the farm stay, realized that he might have made a mistake, that it was another man who was coughing outside the door last night.
Lu Tinglou also realized it was a misunderstanding and took the opportunity to ask, "Do you still need my cooperation to clarify the situation?"
The man originally just wanted to have a private chat with Lu Tinglou, as they were both n, they could understand each other sowhat. Who knew the matter would beco public knowledge so quickly.
Face was still important in the end, so he couldn’t let it go, and he said, "Maybe I made a mistake, sorry."
"It’s nothing." Lu Tinglou, graceful and unperturbed, didn’t mind.
After the couple left, Gu Yuan ca over and handed the fried dough sticks to Lu Tinglou. He took them, pleasantly surprised, "Thank you."
"You’re welco." She replied, then turned and went back to the kitchen.
Lu Tinglou wanted to eat sothing light in the morning. He was planning to have a bowl of clear broth noodles later when Gu Yuan brought him fried dough sticks, which would do just fine.
He bit into the fried dough stick and walked towards the kitchen.
When Gu Yuan returned to the kitchen, she asked Yao Tao, "The room at the corner outside my room, is it occupied by a man or a woman?"
Yao Tao took a mont from her busy schedule to reply, "It’s a young man, very handso. I’ve never seen such a good-looking person, even better looking than those stars on TV."
The hand holding the fried dough stick paused, and she thought of what the girl had just said...
It wasn’t a lack of calmness, but rather that Gu Yuan always had a vague feeling that Chi Yu was nearby, and she comforted herself by thinking it was her excessive longing for him. Usually busy with work, her busyness reduced her longing, making ti feel ample.
Now, in the countryside, without being busy with work, only leisure surrounded her, which was why she consoled herself that her longing had expanded, creating such an illusion.
The letter ignited a prairie fire of hope in her heart, filled with intense anticipation.
But there was nothing in the envelope. Even if Chi Yu had left a letter for her, as he disappeared, the words on that letter would have disappeared too...
This person might just be a stranger. The world is not short of good-looking shells, but to be praised by Yao Tao this much, one can imagine how exceptionally good-looking this person must be.
Gu Yuan suppressed her fantasy and asked casually, "How tall is that guy?"
Yao Tao just finished washing a pot, added water, and covered it.
Hearing the boss lady ask about the guy, Yao Tao thought maybe the boss lady was interested in him. If so, she would be very happy to play matchmaker.
She shuffled over, whispering next to Gu Yuan, "Very tall, very handso, has a pure boyish look, oh, and he sounds nice too. Overall, he’s perfect from head to toe."
Gu Yuan asked again, "What’s his na?"
Yao Tao rembered the na very well, "His na is Wang Zaogen."
Gu Yuan: "..."
"The na is quite unique," Gu Yuan said.
"It’s very unique, that’s why I rember it so clearly. Nowadays, it’s hard for young people with this na to get by." After saying that, Yao Tao sneakily asked, "Boss lady, do you want his contact? I can get his WeChat for you guys to chat, or I can ask if he’d like to have dinner together tonight?"
Gu Yuan: "..."
"What are you chatting about?" Lu Tinglou, having listened to so of the conversation outside, stepped in.
Seeing Lu Tinglou co in, Yao Tao said with a grin, "Not much, just discussing life’s important matters with the boss lady."
Lu Tinglou: "Sister Yao, your life’s big matters?"
Yao Tao was taken aback for a mont, then smoothly responded, "Mine, mine, it’s my life’s big matter."
"These fried dough sticks are pretty good, are there more?" Lu Tinglou asked, his eyes already searching in the kitchen.
Yao Tao pointed, "Over there, fried by the boss lady herself. Of course, they’re good."
"Yuanyuan personally fried them? No wonder they’re so good," Lu Tinglou wasn’t flattering; they really were tasty, thinking it was Yao Tao who made them, only now did he know Gu Yuan fried them herself.
That made him want to eat more.
The fried dough sticks were on Gu Yuan’s right side, while Lu Tinglou approached from her left. As he moved closer, he only needed to reach out to grab the fried dough sticks, watching as Gu Yuan remained silent, lowering her eyes to wash beans in the basin. He leaned in slightly closer.
The mont Lu Tinglou leaned in, Gu Yuan noticed. She wasn’t distracted, just thinking about sothing.
The strong scent of hormones invaded aggressively. Lu Tinglou deliberately leaned very close, so close that Gu Yuan couldn’t avoid it. Gu Yuan raised her eyes and glanced at him. It didn’t seem intentional as he reached over her to grab the fried dough sticks, but his posture seed domineering enough to envelop her.
Gu Yuan didn’t dodge. After he took the fried dough sticks, she said, "Eat less, it’s hard to digest."
"Alright, as you say." He grinned, taking a step back.
Gu Yuan used a bamboo sieve to filter the water from the washed beans.
Wiping her hands on her apron, she prepared to go upstairs to check that room.
As Gu Yuan left, only Lu Tinglou and Yao Tao were left in the kitchen. Yao Tao humd a tune while busying herself. Lu Tinglou tore at the fried dough sticks, eating slowly. He didn’t rush out, calling to the busy person, "Sister Yao."
"Eh?"
Yao Tao looked over.
Lu Tinglou maintained a calm expression. When he was serious, he appeared a bit daunting, creating a noticeable sense of distance. Yao Tao saw through it too and suddenly felt that the capitalist façade he presented was quite intimidating.
"What’s the matter?" she asked.
"There’s a little sothing..." Lu Tinglou’s stern face didn’t last long before he returned to a friendly smile, saying to Yao Tao, "Sister Yao, you must have gotten used to rural life, catching the matchmaking bug."
Yao Tao was taken aback: "..."
"Sister Yao," Lu Tinglou called earnestly, then said, "Gu Yuan’s doing quite well now. Sister Yao, no need to worry."
Yao Tao understood.
Although she was a non-marriage advocate who yearned for freedom, she had experienced love. There was no way Lu Tinglou’s little affections could escape her keen eyes.
She nodded and said, "Okay, okay, Sister Yao knows."
Only then did Lu Tinglou smile satisfactorily.
Upstairs.
Gu Yuan walked to the outside of that room and stood by the door for a while. Normally fearless and acting on her whims, Gu Yuan hesitated at this mont whether to knock.
After so thought, she raised her hand and knocked on the door.
’Knock knock—’
Gu Yuan waited quietly, but when no one answered the door, she knocked a few more tis.
Still, no one ca to open the door.
"Is anyone in there?" Gu Yuan called out.
There was no response to her voice.
Could it be that they went out?!
Not wanting to run back downstairs, she called Yao Tao. When Yao Tao received Gu Yuan’s call from downstairs, she thought sothing had happened. She answered the call and headed upstairs: "Wait, Boss Lady, I’m coming."
Yao Tao quickly climbed up the stairs, a bit breathless from running too fast, and asked Gu Yuan, "What happened, Boss Lady?"
"..."
Gu Yuan felt a little helpless; it was mainly because Yao Tao was too easily startled. She said, "I just didn’t feel like coming down, so I called to ask if the guest in this room had gone out."
"Ah? ... Oh!!" Yao Tao let out a sigh of relief, "You scared ; I thought sothing had happened. The guest in this room should have gone out. I didn’t see his shadow this morning; it was the sa yesterday."
"When does he usually co back?"
"Well, yesterday he was gone all day, didn’t co back until ten at night. Today, I’m not sure when he’ll return." Speaking of this, Yao Tao continued, "This Ancient Water Village is small, the sights should all be seen by now. Guessing he might return by noon, but not sure."
"Got it," Gu Yuan said. "You go ahead and do your thing."
"Alright, Boss Lady, if you need anything, just call , I an, call my phone." After concluding, Yao Tao went back downstairs.
Actually, when Gu Yuan heard Yao Tao say that the guest in this room had gone out, she was quite tempted to go inside and have a look. But her sense of principle pulled her rational mind back—it was really not good to intrude into a custor’s room; it would be hard to explain later.
She must be missing Chi Yu too much, which is why she kept having these illusions.
If Chi Yu had really returned, there would definitely be news of him in this world.
If Chi Yu had really returned, he would definitely have co to find her.
So, she was really just overthinking it.
The couple checked out and left Ancient Water Village.
The two female college students hadn’t checked out yet; it seed they planned to stay another night.
Gu Yuan picked quite a few vegetables to take to the village chief, with Lu Tinglou acting as her porter all the way. Gu Yuan was quite unceremonious about it, letting Lu Tinglou carry everything if he wanted to.
They had lunch at the village chief’s house.
The village chief’s son and daughter-in-law were there, making it particularly lively. When Tutu’s mom asked if Lu Tinglou was Gu Yuan’s boyfriend, Lu Tinglou knew he had co to the right place.
...
The weather on New Year’s Day was great, but only in the morning.
The weather forecast said there would be rain in the afternoon, albeit light rain. The agritainnt courtyard, drenched by the small rain last night, was entirely dry by noon the next day, but the air still retained so moist scent.
Chi Yu held an empty cup as he ca down from upstairs.
The courtyard was empty at that ti. He poured a glass of water and sat under the grape arbor.
Two tabby cats walked with graceful steps to beg for food. Hearing the owing, Yao Tao ca out with cat food: "Don’t cry, I’m coming."
When Yao Tao ca out and saw soone sitting under the grape arbor, at first she thought it was that capitalist and wondered why he ca back so soon. It wasn’t until she approached that she realized it was the young man with striking looks from last night.
Wang Zaogen.
The na sure is refreshingly unique.
He basked in the clear sunlight after last night’s rain, his skin so pale it was almost translucent. His dense eyelashes cast a thick shadow, and his features seed ticulously crafted, the kind that would attract anyone unwittingly.
Chi Yu opened his eyes to see a pair staring down at him.
He asked, "Do you need anything?"
His eyes were bright and clear, with a teardrop mole full of life. However, his voice sounded sowhat hoarse, a little tired, possibly because he didn’t rest well last night.
"Oh, nothing, just surprised to see you here," Yao Tao said and then asked, "Did you just get back?"
He remained silent, his thick eyelashes casting a heavy shadow, as if hiding many secrets he didn’t wish anyone to know.
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