Oh? Was he finally getting it?
Yu Ning looked surprised. She gave him a once-over, then couldn’t help teasing him again. “Then this little bit of compensation isn’t enough. My heart’s still pounding from how badly you scared me.”
Chen Chuan quickly scooped out the dishwater and dumped it, then added fresh water to rinse. His voice was steady. “If it stopped pounding, I’d have to call 120.”
Yu Ning clicked her tongue. “Fine, I’ll pay for the late-night snack, but I want a different compensation.”
Chen Chuan turned his head to look at her. “Are you trying to scam me now?”
“What do you mean, scam?” Yu Ning said unreasonably. “This is called a reasonable request.”
Chen Chuan ignored her. After quickly washing the pot, bowls, and chopsticks, he turned off the kitchen light and prepared to leave.
As he passed Yu Ning, she grabbed the hem of his shirt. “Where are you going?”
“To sleep.”
“What about my compensation?”
“You already ate it.”
“…”
Getting it?
Getting it, his ass!
Yu Ning crossed her arms, rolled her eyes, and tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Oh, yeah, I’m pretty stuffed. I’ll go upstairs and digest.”
With that, she leisurely headed upstairs.
Chen Chuan watched her back. His brows unconsciously relaxed, and the corners of his lips curved into a faint arc.
She had indeed eaten her fill last night. She only fell asleep again around four, but when she woke up the next day, it was still at her biological clock’s usual time.
Seven-thirty.
The morning light was faint, dawn just breaking. Along the eastern horizon, a streak of orange-yellow light slowly rose, wrapped almost imperceptibly in a layer of blue-gray gauze.
After washing up, Yu Ning changed into a beige-apricot casual outfit and put on a pair of chunky sneakers. She still didn’t put on makeup, only sprayed on some sunscreen, picked up a half-arc sun hat, and went downstairs.
At the breakfast table today, there were only her and Mother Chen.
“Auntie Chen, where’s Chen Chuan?”
She looked around but didn’t see that familiar figure, so she sat down and asked.
Mother Chen brought out two cups of soy milk. “Yesterday afternoon, a local tour guide came over and paid a deposit. More than half an hour ago, he took seven tourists to the orchard for an experience activity. Didn’t he tell you?”
Yu Ning was a little dumbfounded. “He did, but I didn’t expect it to be… this early.”
More than half an hour ago—it hadn’t even been seven-thirty yet.
Mother Chen glanced at the hat beside her and smiled. “The sun rises fast in the mountains. If they don’t go early, it gets terribly hot. It’s fine. Eat now, and after you’re done, just head over. It isn’t very far.”
“Okay.”
Yu Ning ate until she was about seventy percent full, then followed the route Mother Chen had told her and turned right.
This way led out of the town. After walking for about seven or eight minutes, she saw a clear stream winding down from the mountain.
On both sides of the stream was lush green grass, and in the middle stood a stone arch bridge.
Two young girls dressed in a Mori-style aesthetic were on the bridge, striking all sorts of cute and silly poses for photos.
Yu Ning smiled and walked past them, heading up the mountain.
After climbing for about twelve or thirteen minutes, she finally saw a signpost on the left that read “Chen Family Orchard.”
Chen Family Orchard.
Beside it was also a layout map.
The orchard covered a large area, taking up more than half the mountain, with a total of twelve kinds of fruit.
They really were a major fruit-growing household.
“Here to experience fruit picking? Where’s your entry pass?” Just as she was looking at it intently, a man’s voice suddenly sounded.
Yu Ning turned around and saw a man in his fifties or sixties.
She froze for a moment.
Entry pass?
Something you only got after paying?
Then what was she supposed to do if she didn’t have one?
She blinked and smiled. “Uncle, I’m here to look for Chen Chuan. Is he in the orchard? I called him, but he didn’t pick up.”
“He’s inside. Who are you?”
Without blushing or missing a beat, Yu Ning said, “I’m his girlfriend.”
The uncle was surprised, yet unconvinced. “You’re Chuanzi’s girlfriend? When did he get a girlfriend? I haven’t heard about it, and I’ve never seen you before.”
“We only made it official two days ago.” Yu Ning’s bright, watery eyes were full of sincerity. “Uncle, if you don’t believe me, you can take me to Chen Chuan and ask him in person.”
Hearing her say that, the uncle unconsciously believed her about fifty or sixty percent.
After all, she dared to let him take her to Chuanzi.
The uncle thought for a moment. “Then come with me. Chuanzi’s in the nectarine orchard.”
“Okay. Thank you, Uncle.” Yu Ning smiled brightly.
She followed the uncle through the apple orchard and the cherry orchard.
In early summer, the branches in the cherry orchard stretched out in all directions. The ripe fruit hung from them like little lanterns. A gentle breeze drifted by, bringing threads of coolness, and the entire orchard rustled softly.
The air was also filled with waves of fruity fragrance.
The corners of Yu Ning’s lips lifted, as if the haze lingering in her heart had been blown away a little by this wind, and the wound that had already festered and begun to rot was also receiving treatment.
After walking for about another ten minutes, she could no longer quite keep smiling.
She couldn’t help asking, “Uncle, how much farther?”
“Almost there.”
By “almost there,” the uncle meant another six or seven minutes later, after passing through an orange grove, before they finally reached the peach orchard.
As soon as they walked in, Yu Ning saw Chen Chuan from afar, standing beneath a fruit tree. Beside him was a young girl holding a phone, saying something to him.
She understood immediately.
This was a large-scale scene of someone trying to chat him up and ask for his contact information.
“Chuanzi.”
Before she could react, the uncle had already raised his high-decibel voice and shouted, “Your girlfriend’s here to find you.”
Chen Chuan turned his head at the sound. At a glance, he saw the woman behind Uncle Hong.
His gaze paused. Subconsciously, he took two steps to the side, putting a little more distance between himself and that girl.
“Thank you, Uncle. Sorry to trouble you to make the trip.” Yu Ning walked up to the uncle and thanked him with a smile.
The uncle was astonished and somewhat at a loss as he scratched his head. “It’s nothing, nothing. Didn’t expect you really were Chuanzi’s girlfriend. Chuanzi, you really are something. I’ll be going first. I’ll be waiting to drink at your wedding banquet.”
With that, he waved and left.
Yu Ning raised her brows. On her way over, she even picked a small nectarine. When she stopped in front of Chen Chuan, she tugged at the hem of his shirt and wiped the nectarine on it.
She looked up and asked, “Why didn’t you call me when you left?”
Chen Chuan looked at her utterly natural movement and didn’t move in the slightest, only saying in a low voice, “I sent you a message.”
Yu Ning shot him a look. “What use is sending a message? Would it have killed you to come upstairs and call me?”
“When did you wake up?”
“Seven-thirty. My biological clock.”
Yu Ning took a bite of the peach, and it was so sour her teeth nearly chattered. She spat several times and stuffed the peach into his hand. “Why is it so sour?”
Chen Chuan took the peach. Seeing her scrunched-up face, he couldn’t hold back and laughed. “The peaches aren’t ripe yet. They still need another half month.”
The girl beside them, who had failed to get his number, found their intimate interaction unbearably awkward. Especially when she saw that his girlfriend was so pretty, she became even more embarrassed.
She stamped her foot lightly, turned around, and quickly walked away.
Yu Ning rubbed the half of her face that was almost numb from the sourness, sucked in a breath, then tilted her head to look in the direction the girl had run off. She lightly bumped the man behind her in the waist and abdomen with her elbow.
In a teasing tone, she sighed, “Your romantic luck sure is blooming vigorously.”
Babies, happy May Day! Wishing all you fairies a fun holiday. There will probably be two to three updates tomorrow. Please give me votes and favorites, mwah mwah mwah.