"Finally arrived..."
Xue Qiang casually pushed up her sunglasses and slowly stepped off the slightly old bus.
Song Ting'an stood behind her, carrying large and small bags, looking travel-worn and panting heavily, almost as if he were about to collapse from exhaustion.
"Damn it, this Miss Xue is bringing way too much stuff. Is she here to lay low or for a vacation?" He mentally grumbled, extremely annoyed, but his face remained impassive. After all, he was currently pursuing Xue Qiang with all his might. He was just Xue Qiang's backup plan, and becoming her official boyfriend was a long and arduous journey.
"This place looks quite ordinary." Xue Qiang shielded her eyes from the sunlight and gazed at the surrounding scenery. She was wearing a white coat, carrying a designer bag, and her makeup was exquisite and glamorous. She was very high-profile and showed no sign of trying to avoid the limelight.
In her early twenties, she was young and beautiful, with many suitors. Song Ting'an was her colleague, and both of them were... reporters.
"There's nothing we can do; this is just a small place, naturally it can't compare to the famous tourist attractions in big cities..."
Song Ting'an knew that Xue Qiang came from a well-off family and had been beautiful since childhood, so she had high standards. He tried to ingratiate himself by saying, "Although it's a small place, it has some local attractions. Would you like to go check them out later?"
"I'm not interested. Go see for yourself," Xue Qiang said casually, frowning slightly.
Song Ting'an looked embarrassed, realizing he had made a fool of himself.
Xue Qiang noticed Song Ting'an's expression, but she didn't care. She knew very well that he was interested in pursuing her, but she looked down on this simp who was only average in every way and only saw him as a gofer.
More importantly, Xue Qiang is very career-oriented, and romance is not even a diversion for her. She is not content to be just an unknown reporter; she wants to be famous!
Not long ago, she caught the tail end of a big news story: ghosts and monsters might actually exist in this world! But the higher-ups suppressed the news, forbidding her from continuing the investigation, and even forcibly demanding that she delete all related information.
Not only that, her workplace claimed that what they had previously dealt with had caused a lot of trouble, so they put her on leave and sent her and Song Ting'an out to lay low for a while.
Xue Qiang was naturally extremely annoyed by this. She was a newcomer who had always had a smooth life, fearless and full of a sense of justice. She was extremely enthusiastic about her work and only wanted to go straight to the heart of the matter and reveal the unknown side of this world to the public!
"Citizens have the right to know the truth!" Xue Qiang scoffed at her employer's decision to "exile her to the frontier."
Thinking of this, Xue Qiang gripped her phone tightly. Actually, she had a backup plan. After all, she wasn't stupid. She was afraid that such a bombshell would be stolen by someone else, so she specially kept a backup copy of the data. She planned to expose it online using a secondary account, and when public opinion was in an uproar, the newspapers should no longer suppress her.
Xue Qiang has plenty of ways to make herself famous by using this incident for publicity!
Song Ting'an carried his luggage, letting the sweat drip down his face. The two of them had already booked a local guesthouse and would be staying here for a while.
A moment later, a black sedan pulled up in front of the two. The driver, a well-dressed middle-aged man, smiled and said, "I just received the news and came to pick you up immediately. You two didn't have to wait too long, did you?"
"It's alright, we just arrived too." Song Ting'an put his luggage in the trunk and politely asked, "Are you Lao Liu, the driver sent by the owner of 'Yizhuang'?"
Xue Qiang stood to the side, aloof and fiddling with her phone.
"I'm Lao Liu. Please get in the car. It gets dark quickly in the mountains, unlike in the city. It'll be evening soon." Lao Liu urged, "You've come at the perfect time, just around dinnertime. Our barbecue here is absolutely amazing, and all the ingredients are all-natural and pollution-free."
"That's really something to look forward to. Xue Qiang, get in the car." Song Ting'an helped the reluctant Xue Qiang into the car.
I couldn't help but think to myself that this young lady was too demanding and naive, still believing that the decision made above was wrong.
Song Ting'an is no naive newcomer. Things about ghosts and monsters are not so simple; they probably involve far-reaching issues. How could small fry like them possibly know about them? The company has been very kind to let them take leave to avoid trouble.
The car, carrying the two people, drove towards the road leading into the mountains.
After crossing the wide highway, the vehicle turned onto a narrow, winding road. Xue Qiang put away her phone, and Song Ting'an frowned slightly. As the road became increasingly remote, both of them became wary.
"Lao Liu, which way are we going? Why are we getting further and further off course?" Song Ting'an asked tentatively.
"Oh, they're doing roadwork over there, so it's blocked. I have to take a detour, I'll be there in a bit," Lao Liu replied casually, seemingly oblivious to Song Ting'an and Xue Qiang's nervousness.
The abduction and other heinous incidents they feared did not occur. They soon arrived at the door of a guesthouse. At the same time, the sky darkened considerably. Night seemed to fall faster in the mountains than outside. The undulating mountains appeared in the distance. There was no urban hustle and bustle. It was as if they had escaped the civilized world and returned to the purest natural wilderness.
Lao Liu drove the car away. Song Ting'an admired the scenery for a while, while Xue Qiang walked up the steps. Two red lanterns hung at the entrance, and the words "Yizhuang" were written on the wooden plaque hanging high above.
"This name doesn't sound very auspicious," Song Ting'an thought to himself. When the two arrived at the door, the owner greeted them warmly.
"You two have finally arrived. I've had your luggage brought to your room. It's just the right time for dinner, would you like to join us for dinner?"
"Alright, to be honest, I am a little hungry." Song Ting'an rubbed his stomach. He had been carrying Xue Qiang's luggage for most of the day, which had exhausted him, and his stomach had been rumbling for a while.
The luggage was delivered to the designated room by the waiter. Song Ting'an and Xue Qiang went to the restaurant. Yizhuang's restaurant was in an open-air setting, next to a grape trellis and a bamboo forest. Koi fish swam by in the pond not far away from there. The withered lotus flowers trembled slightly in the gentle night breeze. Song Ting'an liked the environment very much. Just one look at it made him feel much less restless.
Xue Qiang also thought the place was alright. Finding a suitable vacation spot in such a remote rural area made her long journey worthwhile. With her discerning eye, this guesthouse, which marketed itself as a farm stay, wasn't luxurious, but its layout was ingenious and maximized the local characteristics, offering a different kind of cultural experience.
Among the diners at this open-air restaurant were not only Xue Qiang and Song Ting'an, but also other tourists...