Chapter 126: Misunderstandings and Awkwardness, Choices of Growth

By the time they returned to the guesthouse, it was already noon.

Lin Shenlu gently knocked on An Muxi’s door.

“I brought you something…” Lin Shenlu gave An Muxi a knowing look.

An Muxi was a little surprised. That morning, before leaving, Lin Shenlu had said he would bring back ice cream, but she had said she didn’t eat it.

Curious, she reached into her pocket and the first thing she saw was a bag of brown sugar.

“Here, boil some hot water later and mix this in. Brown sugar is good for replenishing blood,” Lin Shenlu said, feeling quite thoughtful.

An Muxi blinked in confusion and rummaged through the rest of the bag.

There were also two packs of Seven Degrees Space sanitary pads.

One of the packs was already opened… and several pieces were missing.

“Well… I was worried you weren’t prepared enough, so I bought both day and night ones…” Lin Shenlu said awkwardly.

“Uh… I think you’ve misunderstood something,” An Muxi said, feeling a bit flustered.

Lin Shenlu gasped inwardly. What was going on? Didn’t she say she couldn’t eat cold things this morning?

“You said…” Lin Shenlu hesitated to speak.

“I just simply don’t like eating cold things. It’s not like… that, ah!” An Muxi’s cheeks flushed with shyness.

“Stop, I get it…” Lin Shenlu quickly cut off the conversation to avoid further embarrassment.

Just then, Su Bao’er was passing by, stooped over slightly.

Lin Shenlu quickly called out to her.

“Bao’er, come here!” Lin Shenlu waved her over.

He grabbed the bag from An Muxi’s hand.

“You don’t like candy? Here, take it,” Lin Shenlu handed the bag to Su Bao’er.

“I’m off now. I’ll wait for you downstairs for lunch,” Lin Shenlu said hurriedly before leaving.

Su Bao’er curiously peeked inside the bag.

“Hmm… brown sugar counts as candy? Lin Shenlu really is clueless…”

***

Lin Shenlu decided to go order the food first; it would be too awkward to linger upstairs.

Today was their last day on Dongji Island. Yesterday, after listening to the guesthouse owner, they learned that Huangxing Island and Qingbang Island were even more pure and rustic compared to their current location on Dongfushan Island.

The transportation was quite inconvenient.

Most tourists chose to leave after visiting Miaozi Lake Island and Dongfushan Island.

After all, the surrounding scenery was similar and the food was the same.

Dongji Island was a place suitable for only two or three days of leisure.

Unless one wanted solitude, there was no need to stay long.

Lin Shenlu shared this view. His main purpose for coming here was to find Su Bao’er’s home. Now that he had found it and walked around a few times, it was time to leave.

But first, the most important thing was to eat lunch.

This area was in the East China Sea, within Zhoushan’s bathing area, so seafood was the signature dish.

Lin Shenlu looked over the menu and ordered tigerhead fish tofu soup, wild mussels, steamed large yellow croaker, and spicy snail sauce among other delicacies.

Seafood was seasonal, so it was relatively expensive. The owner also recommended their seafood noodles, claiming they were very authentic, which prompted Lin Shenlu to order a large bowl.

Before long, An Muxi and Su Bao’er came downstairs.

Su Bao’er was wearing a sweatshirt, hands tucked into her pockets, and walked over dazedly in Lin Shenlu’s direction.

“Lin Shenlu… how do you use this?” Su Bao’er stood next to Lin Shenlu and pulled out a Seven Degrees Space sanitary pad from her pocket, slapping it on the table.

Curious diners nearby peeked over to see.

“Uh…” An Muxi turned her face away, quietly amused.

“This… it’s an insole!” Lin Shenlu had a sudden inspiration, took off his shoe, and showed it to Su Bao’er.

“Super comfortable…”

“Uh… got it!” Su Bao’er nodded repeatedly.

An Muxi was finally convinced. Now she knew where the missing pads had gone—they were being used as shoe insoles by Lin Shenlu.

Soon, a large bowl of seafood noodles was served first.

The noodles were unique—extremely thin “dragon beard” noodles.

In the bowl were seven or eight large shrimp, two mantis shrimps, several pieces of squid, garnished with bok choy hearts. The entire bowl cost only thirty yuan but was packed with ingredients.

The most important thing was the rich, fresh aroma that wafted up as soon as it was served.

Seafood noodles made with fresh ingredients truly delighted the palate.

A sip of the broth flooded the taste buds with savory freshness.

***

Lishui.

Whale Deer Inn.

Hai Lan Jing had finally selected all fifty paintings needed for the inn.

Besides the initial dozen or so particularly striking pieces, Hai Lan Jing had spent quite some time choosing the rest, ensuring every painting found the best place.

Of course, the promised donation money was fully paid.

All that remained was to hang the artworks in the rooms.

Many artists, upon leaving, chose not to leave any contact information.

In their view, they had gifted their works without sullying the reputation of the Lishui art exhibition.

Whether they were paid or stayed at the inn was irrelevant.

The pieces were eclectic, spanning all styles.

Hai Lan Jing was busy for a long time before wrapping up with Lu Zhaoxi.

Two of the first batch of artist guests had already left Lishui.

One was the free-spirited traveler Chen Fan, who left immediately after spending a night following his painting of the Black Mandala.

The other was the brother and sister Chen Qinghan and Chen Muyun, who hurriedly left after hearing about a photography competition in another city on their second day.

Unexpectedly, there was the girl named Su Youzhi.

She had somehow brought a male companion from who knows where and hadn’t stayed at the inn in recent days, choosing to stay elsewhere but without checking out.

Hai Lan Jing found it inappropriate to pry into the details.

Lastly, there was Qina.

She was the only artist Hai Lan Jing knew personally, having shared a few meals with her during their stay in the small courtyard.

Hai Lan Jing had always had a good impression of Qina.

Though the girl had initially come for the author Xiao Shou, the complex mix of love and resentment shouldn’t have been her current state.

Since the exhibition ended, Qina hadn’t returned to the courtyard.

As Lu Zhaoxi said, every girl grows up in an instant.

Meanwhile, business at the Whale Deer Inn had been booming these past days.

Since the exhibition’s conclusion, hundreds of people climbed the mountain from the ancient dam painting village daily just to visit the inn.

All to admire the array of artworks.

Several others who hadn’t been able to come in time later checked in and also gifted paintings to Hai Lan Jing.

Everything was unfolding just as Lin Shenlu had predicted.

This place was becoming not just a simple guesthouse but a sanctuary of art.

At least on Douyin, Hai Lan Jing could see videos about her inn popping up every day nearby.

Lin Shenlu had triumphed once again, creating another miracle for himself.

A newly opened guesthouse gaining such popularity in Lishui was truly something both laughable and marvelous.

The inn flourished, but the people had gone.

Hai Lan Jing now asked herself:

Should she still follow her heart?