Passing through the lobby hung with a few strings of wind chimes and turning down a narrow wooden corridor, Li Yunsheng walked ahead of Meng Wange and gently pushed open the inn’s back door.
In the next instant, a sea breeze carrying the scent of sand and a faint saltiness rushed toward them, lifting a few stray strands of hair from Meng Wange’s forehead.
—This was the beach of Yunsheng County.
The sand was of an extremely fine texture. It was currently noon, and even through her shoes, Meng Wange could feel a soft, warm sensation underfoot. The sun, high in the sky, coated every grain of sand with a flowing, golden hue.
The seawater was a nearly transparent light blue. Layer upon layer of white waves tirelessly surged toward the shore, making a rhythmic swooshing sound. Occasionally, a few white seabirds would skim the surface, let out crisp cries, and then quickly disappear into the distant horizon.
Looking at the scene before her, Meng Wange’s breath hitched slightly before she shook her head helplessly.
‘…Darn it. I clearly promised Miss Su that I’d save the best scenery for last, to see it with her.’
At this point, she could only pretend it was her first time seeing it when Su Wanli arrived, and exclaim exaggeratedly over the view together…
“How about it, the scenery’s not bad, right?”
Seeming quite satisfied with her reaction, Li Yunsheng smiled slightly and deftly pulled a cigarette from her pocket.
“Once guests see this view, no matter how difficult they were before, they always book a room with me without hesitation.”
She pointed toward the viewing platform and a few chairs on the beach.
“After all, the organizer of this fireworks show is standing right in front of you.”
Following her finger, Meng Wange saw a sign next to the viewing platform with somewhat crooked characters carved into it—
“Yunsheng Fireworks Show.”
“I see.”
Meng Wange took out the travel guide from her pocket, compared it with the introduction, and nodded in understanding.
“I was wondering earlier if the ‘Yun’ in ‘Yunsheng Fireworks Show’ was taken from your name.”
“That’s right. You should worship me.”
Li Yunsheng shrugged, her tone light.
“Just a young, single woman, yet both an innkeeper and the organizer of this fireworks show.”
Despite her words, there wasn’t a hint of pride on her face. Instead, she sighed softly, took two steps forward, and patted the large tree standing somewhat abruptly beside the viewing platform.
“…Excuse me, what is this tree?”
“This? It’s the kind written in your guide—a matchmaking tree, a fate-binding tree, a union tree. Call it whatever you like.”
She looked at the branches stretching in all directions, intertwining with each other, and smiled faintly.
“See those wooden plaques up there? Some have wishes, some have two people’s names, and some have blessings. It’s quite popular among you young people, right?”
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, winding around the dense foliage and the wooden plaques hanging from the branches, casting a dappled pattern of light and shadow on the sand.
The pattern swayed gently with the sea breeze and the rustling leaves, reflecting on Meng Wange’s face.
“Do you like it?”
Li Yunsheng spoke while reaching out to gently stroke the rough tree trunk, her fingertips tracing its fine grain.
“Theoretically, someone your age should be getting all spring-heart-fluttery, right? If you want to bind your fate with someone here, just pay me twenty yuan.”
Her tone was teasing, but a fleeting trace of loneliness flashed in her eyes.
“Of course, if you want to curse someone, that’s fine too. I can find you a black wooden plaque.”
Hearing this, Meng Wange scratched her cheek helplessly.
“Don’t tell me this tree is also you…”
“Correct. I even planted this tree with my own hands.”
Li Yunsheng leaned against the trunk, took a drag of her cigarette, and exhaled the white smoke away from Meng Wange.
“It wasn’t easy to grow such a large tree on the beach. I went to great lengths to squeeze a bit more money out of tourists.”
She chuckled lightly, but her voice carried a hint of weariness.
“Sometimes, people have to go to such lengths to truly be considered grown up.”
“…Grown up.”
Meng Wange repeated softly while quickly jotting notes in her guide.
“Speaking of which, today is clearly a weekend, but there are almost no tourists here. From a tourism perspective, has this place already…”
“Hey, kid.”
Li Yunsheng shot her a slightly displeased look and sighed softly.
“Suddenly bringing up such realistic topics won’t make you grow up instantly.”
She waved her hand and continued:
“But you’re not wrong. From Friday until now, I’ve only had two guests.”
“…Two?”
Meng Wange’s heart stirred slightly.
If she counted herself, then the other one was…
She silently noted this information but wore a puzzled expression.
“But the scenery here is clearly wonderful. Given the scale of your inn, it must have had its glorious days in the past, right?”
“Hmph, you seem pretty clever.”
Li Yunsheng raised an eyebrow and turned to walk back toward the inn door.
“Didn’t you notice when you came down that alley? This place is about to be demolished.”
She waved her hand without looking back.
“If it’s for your homework, just write something like—’Yunsheng County Bathing Beach is remote, with inconvenient access, and slated for demolition,’ or something like that.”
“In short, it’s just a broken little alley about to be completely torn down. What tourism value is there left?”
She paused, then added:
“Maybe once the Su family transforms this into a commercial street, there might actually be more tourists.”
After a few steps, she suddenly seemed to remember something and glanced back at Meng Wange.
“Heh, come to think of it, maybe you and your friend who hasn’t arrived yet will be the witnesses to the very last fireworks show.”
Her expression still held that merchant-like, cunning smile.
“When the time comes, remember to come find me to hang a plaque on the tree. Maybe it really does have some magical power—at the very least, it might bless your wishes to come true.”
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