Already Some Different Thoughts

Dali's various attractions were all clustered around Erhai Lake—a ring of mountains, water, forests, and the distinctive local flavor of ethnic minorities. The essence of the region was basically all here.

They had decided from the start to spend their time having fun first. After the rain came clear skies, and Wang Yan and Xu Hongdou continued their aimless travels around Dali. Photos, good food, idle chatter—Xu Hongdou wore a smile all day long.

They had already shared their feelings, and they spent every day eating, drinking, and having fun together. Their relationship could hardly have gone wrong. Everything happened so naturally.

Because of Wang Yan's presence, Xie Zhiyao had been pushed to the sidelines. In the original story, he had practically been glued to Xu Hongdou's side. But now, aside from joining everyone for another lively meal in the middle of it all, he had not appeared again. Xie Zhiyao was genuinely busy, with plenty of things to handle. Without a woman drawing him in, he naturally had far less idle time.

Barley was absorbing what Wang Yan had written for her. From her daily updates, it was clear that she was trying to change some of her ingrained writing habits and ways of thinking. The results were not immediate, but sometimes, when it came to writing, the use of just one verb could make people slap the table in admiration. Wang Yan read Barley's novel every day and offered detailed suggestions every day.

Because of that, Barley now looked at Wang Yan as if he were practically a god. It was not as though she did not understand, nor had she never tried it herself. Everything Wang Yan taught her made her feel as if she had improved by leaps and bounds lately. If Wang Yan wrote something