(1)
Outside the Ye Ancestral Temple, rain poured down heavily.
The deep blue tiles were struck repeatedly, ringing with a ‘ding ding dang dang’ sound.
An Jing and Zhu Ying stood at the doorway, watching the rain outside, reluctant to move their feet.
“Going back?”
An Jing scratched her head.
“We’ve been sitting in the car for so long to get here, and now you want to turn around already?”
“But we’ve finished sightseeing.”
An Jing cleared her throat.
“Or maybe we could go grab something to eat?”
“Not really hungry, Jing.”
“Probably because of the car ride, I don’t feel very hungry either.”
An Jing lifted her chin and yawned.
When an elderly man, completely bald, walked past her, she couldn’t help but let out a curious ‘hmm’.
“What’s up?”
“That old man looks familiar… Ah, I think he’s the traditional Chinese medicine doctor who prescribed my medicine last time.”
“Want to go say hi?”
“No need, he probably doesn’t remember me.” An Jing quickly shook her head and asked again, “So, are we going back?”
“How about going to the seaside?”
“In this heavy rain, going to the seaside?”
“Rain makes it more interesting! Oh, and we can stop by the nearby convenience store to buy some snacks so we don’t get hungry later.”
“But we’ll need to find a ‘Yellow Fish Car’ too. I wonder if anyone’s willing to go…”
“Yeah, no way we can ride a motorcycle today.”
“That’s for sure. At best, we can take those three-wheeled motorcycles—wait, there are quite a few ‘Yellow Fish Cars’ parked over there. Let’s ask about prices later.”
“Alright, let’s get the snacks first!” Zhu Ying opened her umbrella and put her arm around An Jing’s shoulders, pulling her close.
The two of them carefully stepped down the slippery stairs, then bought some compact snacks from the convenience store next to Ye Ancestral Temple, stuffing everything into the backpack Zhu Ying had brought.
“Why buy instant noodles? There’s no boiling water here.”
“Of course there is.”
Zhu Ying patted her backpack.
“You think it’s heavy for no reason? There’s a big thermos of hot water inside.”
“You didn’t bring boiling water just to make instant noodles, did you?”
“No way. I only planned to drink it, but today’s weather is too damp, and we haven’t moved much, so I don’t feel thirsty at all.”
“I drink hot water at home every day. I still prefer cola.” An Jing muttered as she twisted open a cola bottle and gulped down a big mouthful.
“Jing, give me some~”
“Hmm—”
An Jing handed over the bottle.
“No, I want the cola from your mouth.”
“Pft, cough, cough cough…!!!”
***
(2)
The so-called Yellow Fish Cars are basically unlicensed passenger vehicles.
They’re mostly minivans and three-wheeled motorcycles, with a few old Santanas thrown in.
The price isn’t necessarily cheaper than a taxi; if you don’t speak the local dialect, sometimes they deliberately quote higher fares to overcharge.
The reason these cars survive in rural towns is that most taxis don’t want to run these routes.
At best, they’ll drop someone off and only pick up passengers on the return trip.
“Boss, do you go to the forest by the seaside?”
“Where?”
“The forest behind Shangwang Village, just stop at the entrance.”
“Can’t go.”
“Boss, do you go to Shangwang Village?”
“No.”
“Boss, do you go to Shangwang Village?”
“Twenty yuan per person.”
“Too expensive!”
“Then find someone else. Who’d run over there in this weather?”
Whether it was minivans, three-wheeled motorcycles, or old Santanas, no one was willing to take them there today.
Zhu Ying puffed out her cheeks in frustration.
“What’s with their attitude?”
“Do you understand what they’re saying?”
An Jing tugged at the corner of her mouth.
“Not really, but it doesn’t sound nice.”
Zhu Ying pouted.
“Making money but with that tone, seriously.”
“It’s because they know we’re not locals.”
“But didn’t you speak the dialect?”
“City dialect and rural dialect are quite different.”
An Jing shrugged helplessly.
“This is the countryside—if you’re not local, people don’t treat you well.”
“If it really doesn’t work out, we can just go back. This is ruining our mood.”
Just as Zhu Ying was about to give up, a clear female voice sounded from behind them. “What are you planning to do over there?”
An Jing turned around in surprise and saw a young woman dressed in a gray cardigan and white dress, looking at them with curiosity.
“Ah, we wanted to go to the seaside. It’s usually less crowded over there…”
“It’s raining today, even the seaside in the city should be empty, right?”
She smirked playfully.
“Or are you going to the deserted seaside to do something naughty?”
An Jing blinked blankly, while Zhu Ying’s face flushed slightly.
“So you’re a couple, huh?”
“Huh?”
An Jing was a little stunned.
“You can tell? Ah, actually I’m—”
“You don’t mean you’re a boy, do you?”
“Eek!! How did you know?”
“That’s nothing unusual.”
She chuckled softly.
“I’m just heading back. Want a ride?”
“Going back?”
An Jing was taken aback.
She didn’t remember anyone living there, except for that villa that seemed abandoned all year round.
“Yeah, you coming or not? If not, I’m leaving.”
“Okay, thanks, sister!”
Zhu Ying snapped out of it and smiled sweeter than usual. “What should we call you?”
“Ye Wen. Just call me ‘Sister Wen.’”
“Sister Wen! Are you from the Ye family?”
“Mm-hmm.”
She nodded confidently, jingling her car keys as she brushed past An Jing.
“Follow me! My car’s parked behind.”
***
(3)
A red sports car was parked right in front of An Jing.
To be honest, at first she thought it might not be the right one, until the sound of the door unlocking echoed…
Small cities do have wealthy people, but mostly just Mercedes and BMWs, and those usually only appear when people come home for the holidays.
“Is that a Porsche…?”
An Jing clicked her tongue.
“I think I saw online that a car like this costs at least two to three million yuan.”
“So expensive.”
Zhu Ying lowered her voice too.
“It only has two seats, so—”
Ye Wen lazily opened the car door, “Who’s sitting on whose lap? It’s only a short ride, almost there.”
“Then I’ll sit below…”
An Jing hurriedly said.
“Pretty considerate, huh?”
Ye Wen teased with a smile.
“A guy can’t sit on a girl’s lap…”
“Pft… alright, alright. Get in, stop staring. When we get there, you can look as much as you want.”
“This is my first time riding in such an expensive car.”
An Jing smiled sheepishly and carefully pulled the door open with two fingers, slowly sitting down—worried she’d scratch the paint if she used too much force.
“Thanks, Sister Wen.”
Zhu Ying squeezed in and sat on An Jing’s lap, who instinctively wrapped an arm around her before hastily moving it away.
“Is the seat spacious enough? If not, you can lean back more.”
“No, no… this is fine.”
Zhu Ying’s sweet scent drifted into An Jing’s nose, making her feel a little dizzy.
Zhu Ying gently touched the soft fabric of the car’s ceiling, asking without any nervousness, “Sister Wen, can this be folded down?”
“Of course. If it wasn’t raining, we’d roll the roof back and go for a drive—are you settled?”
“Y-yeah…”
“All set.”
Ye Wen pressed a button inside the car, and the passenger door slowly closed.
Then the engine roared to life, and both An Jing and Zhu Ying felt the powerful push as the sports car shot forward.
An Jing was nervous and excited for her first time in a sports car.
Since Zhu Ying was blocking her forward view, she turned her head to look outside.
The trees lining the road blurred into streaks as the car sped past.
The forest entrance that normally took over ten or twenty minutes to reach by three-wheeled motorcycle was reached in just ten minutes today.
On the asphalt road cutting through the forest, the car’s speed increased even more.
An Jing clenched her fists tightly, feeling like one wrong move would crash them into a tree—she never dared to drive that fast on such a road, even when playing games.
In just a few minutes, a pale golden beach appeared before them.
The young woman behind the wheel expertly flicked the car into a drift and slid into the open gate of the villa.
“We’re here!”
“Thanks, Sister Wen.”
“How was that? Thrilling, right?”
“Too fast…”
“I thought it was awesome.”
Zhu Ying nodded vigorously.
“Shall we get out?”
“No need. Wait till I drive into the garage.”
Whether it was Ye Wen pressing a switch or someone inside the villa controlling it, the electric shutter of the garage slowly lifted, and the sports car rolled in.
Several other cars were parked inside the garage.
While not as flashy as the red sports car, just looking at their emblems made it clear each one was worth a fortune.
“Wen Wen, you’re back?”
“Yeah, Shui Shui! Brought two little guests to play.”
“New friends?”
“Well, sort of!”
Zhu Ying jumped out and greeted the young woman dressed neatly and composed: “Hello, Sister!”
“Hi, I’m Shui Zhishi. I’m in charge of managing this villa.”
“Wow, so you’re the housekeeper?”
“Yeah, you could say that.” Shui Zhishi smiled warmly.
“Jing, why aren’t you coming out?”
“My legs… my legs are weak…”
“Pft… can’t handle that?”
“It’s mainly because you were sitting on me. My legs went numb…”
An Jing pressed her thigh and staggered out, walking like she had a limp.
“So you mean— I’m heavy?”
“I didn’t say that!”
“Want to have lunch here?”
Ye Wen stretched lazily, smiling in a very easygoing manner.
“N-no thanks… we’ll just go to the beach ourselves…”
“On a rainy day, to the beach?”
Shui Zhishi blinked in confusion.
“A little romantic moment for the couple.”
Ye Wen sounded like someone with experience.
“Go have fun. If you need anything, come to the villa and find me. Don’t be shy.”
“Ah, okay, thanks.”
An Jing took it as a polite gesture.
Even if it wasn’t, she couldn’t take it seriously.
In fact, dealing with these rich people often made her feel pressured.
So, it’s better not to rely on them if possible…