Wandering around Jinling

The food could only be called so-so; nothing particularly wowed him. The soup dumplings were ordinary too, though he had read online that only a handful of places in Jinling were famous for their soup dumplings, and the duck blood vermicelli place wasn't among them.

Having barely eaten his fill halfway, Ye Huan searched online for the nearest attractions. One was Qixia Temple, and the other was Yanziji Park. At this time of year, the maple leaves on Qixia Mountain hadn't turned red yet, and he personally rather disliked monks whose greed was so ugly, so he chose to wander around Yanziji Park.

It was only a few kilometers away anyway, not far at all.

Only when he reached the park did Ye Huan discover that there really wasn't much to see: one pavilion and one stone monument. Rather disappointed, he went down the hill, then unexpectedly found a broad road beside the river. Many parents had brought their children there to play, and quite a few cars were parked along the roadside.

The atmosphere was pretty nice, though Ye Huan didn't feel much about it. He got out and watched the river for a while. Some people were casting their rods, and others were fishing. He walked a stretch along the riverbank; the air was decent.

"Someone, help! Someone fell in the water!" Ye Huan had walked back and was sitting on the curb by the riverbank, watching a few fishing fanatics fish, when he suddenly heard cries for help nearby.

Not just him-almost everyone nearby ran toward the spot. Several men stripped off their clothes as they ran, then jumped into the Yangtze River when they arrived.

Seeing that quite a few people had already jumped in, Ye Huan didn't add to the confusion. He stood there listening to the people beside him recount what had happened.

It turned out that a young couple had started arguing for some unknown reason. The boy had walked away in a huff, and the girl had jumped straight in. Ye Huan was utterly speechless. Such an extreme little fairy? Good thing he hadn't jumped in to save her.

He shook his head and was about to head back when he saw several people working together to drag the girl ashore. Someone had called the boy back too. Seeing the terrified look in his eyes at the sight of the girl, Ye Huan felt rather sorry for him.

Sure enough, when the girl saw the crowd, she started crying and making a scene, demanding that the boy sell the apartment his mother had bought him and buy her younger brother a home back in their hometown so he could get married. The two of them could just rent a place.

When the police arrived, Ye Huan became one of the melon-eating spectators. As the police questioned them, the situation became clear, but once it was clear, everyone stared speechlessly at the girl.

It turned out that the two weren't even married yet and had only just met each other's parents. The boy's parents opposed the marriage because the girl's parents had demanded a bride price of 388,000 yuan, as well as having the girl's name added to the marital apartment that the boy's parents had already bought outright for him. On top of that, the girl's younger brother was also dating someone back in their hometown.

So the 380,000-yuan bride price wouldn't be returned to the couple; it would be kept for the girl's younger brother to pay his girlfriend's family as a bride price. The girl's family had very "generously" said they could provide a few extra quilts as her dowry.

Before they had even finished discussing everything, the girl's younger brother said his girlfriend was pregnant. Even with a bride price of 380,000 yuan, she would have an abortion unless he bought a home. This got the girl's parents so worked up that they called her.

After the boy's parents returned home, they told him all of this. He began to waver and thought of breaking up. There really was no need to find a girl and family like this. After the girl received her parents' call, the two came here today to talk.

The boy wanted to talk about breaking up; the girl wanted to talk him into selling their marital apartment to buy her younger brother a home in their hometown first so he could get married. They could use the leftover money to rent a place for the time being.

Hearing this, the boy thought again about what his parents had told him, then looked at the girl before him, her face full of calculation. His heart turned completely to cold ashes, and his words grew harsh. He said, "Your whole family just wants to sell you for a good price, and you're even helping them count the money? Let's break up."

Then, as the boy was leaving, the girl felt she had suffered the greatest injustice under heaven and jumped straight into the river. After taking their statements, not only the onlookers but even the police were speechless.

They told the boy to coax her a little, but he stood firm. "Breaking up isn't illegal, is it? During our relationship, she never let me touch her, and she never spent any money on me or bought me anything. The money I spent on her, the clothes and bags I bought her-I'll just count myself unlucky. I don't want them back."

The melon-eating spectators nodded. Nothing wrong with that.

The girl refused, crying and making a huge scene. The boy had made up his mind to break up, so naturally he wasn't going to indulge her anymore. He left with one last remark. "Now that I think about it, I really was a world-class sucker. You never let me kiss you or even touch you, but you and those male besties of yours were always staying out all night at bars and playing mahjong. I even saw you coming out of a bar holding hands. Heh. Go find your male besties."

Never mind Ye Huan-everyone was stunned, staring at the girl in disbelief. Humiliation turned to rage, and she turned to jump into the Yangtze River again, but the police stopped her. They were at a loss too. Breaking up really wasn't illegal, and with a girl like this, wouldn't he be a fucking idiot not to break up?

The boy left all the same. Ye Huan nodded. It seemed he had grown up, or perhaps he had seen things clearly. People were stupid when they were in love. Ye Huan had been through it before too, so he understood the feeling, though he'd had it a little better. After graduation, the girl had told him outright that they weren't right for each other and that she liked rich men.

So at least they had parted on good terms. If he'd met a girl like this, Ye Huan figured he could have puked himself to death.

By the time the spectacle was over, it was already three or four in the afternoon. Ye Huan looked at the other attractions. Forget it. He would head home.

He wandered around the nearest MixC One, had some dinner, bought gifts for Jingjing and Little Tangyuan, then went downstairs to drive home.

As for those outrageously expensive toilets or Niushou Mountain, he had no interest whatsoever.

He wasn't in the mood for a road trip anymore, either, and no longer looked at the scenery along the way. Though the car was playing, "I once dreamed of roaming the ends of the earth with a sword, to see the splendor of the world..."

He had none of that desire left. He didn't know why; he just wanted to go home. He missed Grandpa, Jingjing, and Saihu and Xiaobai too.

What he missed most of all was his now-completed safe house in the mountain woods. He couldn't wait to move in, to feel the wind in the forest and the rain in the mountains.

A tiny bedroom only three meters wide and four meters long, with a bed, a desk, a chair, an air conditioner, and a fireplace, and nothing else. Next door was a miniature bathroom. Construction had finished quickly, and the protective cage of thick steel rebar outside had been installed too.

The ceiling was made from the toughest glass, paired with a roof that could open and close automatically. This one room alone had cost 200,000 yuan. Ye Huan certainly hadn't begrudged the expense.

The most expensive parts were the glass and the automatically retracting roof, both entirely custom-made. Next was the earthquake-resistant foundation, which used a great deal of material.

Once again, he slept at a service area along the way. Before dinner, Ye Huan finally arrived home, travel-worn, with the large bag containing five million yuan in cash tossed onto the back seat too.

"Uncle, you're back~" Hearing the car, Jingjing ran out on her short little legs. Saihu and Xiaobai came out behind her too.

"Oh my, Jingjing, did you miss your uncle?" Ye Huan scooped her up and lifted her high, making her giggle.

"Yes~" Jingjing said, wrapping her arms around her uncle's neck.