Chapter 43
Since they got together, Tang Yao received calls from Cheng An almost every day. Today he'd taken her to a romantic restaurant, created a little surprise, and the next day he'd bought all the bags and clothes she'd been eyeing.
On the other end of the phone, Cheng An was bubbling with happiness, and Tang Yao was happy for her.
Lu Bei, staying at a guesthouse, received a call from elder brother, seemingly concerned but actually boastful.
"Xiao Bei, you'd better hurry up! Why haven't you brought Boss Tang home yet?"
After saying this, Lu Bei hung up the phone with satisfaction.
Lu Bei: "..."
After summer arrived, Xiao Li started researching homemade popsicles and it became very popular with tourists.
Icy cool and sweet, made with all-natural ingredients.
Tang Yao had sown watermelon seeds in the field and now they had grown into heavy fruits.
Today, Xiao Li made ice cream using watermelon as the main ingredient. The resulting ice cream was pink and delicate, a perfect color for summer.
"Boss Tang, I'd like another drink!" Zhou Tao licked her lips.
"You've already had two drinks, I'm not selling any more," Tang Yao said.
Zhou Tao arrived at the guesthouse a week ago. She booked a month's stay online, choosing the best family room.
After getting acquainted, she told Tang Yao she had run away from home.
She couldn't stand her stepmother and stepdaughter behaving like tyrants at home, so she ran away.
Zhou Tao had a lovely, slightly naive personality and got along with everyone. Soon, she became friends with everyone in the guesthouse.
She learned Lu Bei's true colors. She almost jumped up in shock at first, but after seeing how Lu Bei and Tang Yao interacted, she completely became their CP fan and would cheer for Lu Bei.
This often left Tang Yao both amused and exasperated.
Hearing Tang Yao say she wouldn't be getting any more, Zhou Tao immediately pouted and started acting with a soft, sweet voice.
Tang Yao resolutely refused again and prepared to leave.
"Where are we going? I want to go too!" Zhou Tao, no longer bothered with the ice cream, jumped up and wanted to follow Tang Yao out.
"I'm going to pick up my younger brother," Tang Yao said, getting into the car parked outside.
The car was bought a month ago. She got her driver's license when she graduated from university and quickly learned to drive it.
Zhou Tao sat in the passenger seat, obediently fastening her seatbelt.
Xu Haocheng called yesterday, saying the school had a month-long break and that he brought Tang Yao a gift.
He had already returned to the country yesterday, but first headed to the capital. He was packing to come over today and planned to stay until the start of the semester.
After months of struggling, Xu Anguo finally gave up and found a stable job, working nine to five every day.
Sun Yulan didn't work. She got hooked on playing mahjong with her neighbors, almost always losing money.
The two always argued whenever they met at home.
Xu Haocheng really disliked this atmosphere. Plus, every time he got home, Sun Yulan and Xu Anguo would nag him, urging him to be ambitious and try to take back the Xu Family business.
But Xu Haocheng wanted to be a photographer and had no interest in business.
So, he couldn't wait to escape that house the very next day.
Although Tang Yao grumbled, she still drove to the station to pick him up when she heard he had a lot of things.
Not long after arriving at the station, she saw a tanned young man get out of a car and wave vigorously at her.
Tang Yao almost turned and left.
"Boss Tang, did your younger brother go to Africa?" Zhou Tao covered her mouth, almost bursting out laughing.
Xu Haocheng, completely oblivious to his elder sister's disapproval, happily ran over.
"Elder Sister, you really came to pick me up!" Xu Haocheng grinned widely, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth that made him look even darker. Then, Xu Haocheng's gaze fell on Zhou Tao beside Tang Yao.
"Elder Sister, this is…"
"A customer at the guesthouse. Her name is Zhou Tao," Tang Yao said.
Zhou Tao extended her hand: "Hello, I'm Zhou Tao."
Xu Haocheng extended his hand and shook hers.
After putting the luggage away, the three of them started walking back.
Xu Haocheng naturally stayed in Tang Yao's small building again. However, today, after putting away his suitcase, he didn't immediately go to help at the guesthouse. Instead, he went to Lu Bei's room mysteriously and the two seemed to be discussing something.
Tang Yao, of course, was unaware of their little secret. It was summer vacation and more and more guests were visiting the guesthouse.
Tang Yao took out a plant from her spatial storage that emitted a cooling fragrance and hung it in each room.
The hot air passing through the plant did indeed feel cooler.
Although it wasn't as good as air conditioning, it was definitely all-natural.
For many families with children, this level of coolness was sufficient. They no longer needed to worry about their kids catching a cold from the air conditioning.
Tang Yao didn't know the exact principle behind it. She had found it in a small cultivation world. This kind of herb was very rare in the mortal realm, but in the cultivation world, almost every mountain had many of them.
She had used up all of her senior brother's stockpile and stuffed it all into her spatial storage.
That evening, the siblings ate and chatted on the rooftop.
Xu Haocheng mentioned Xu Wan, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
"I heard she was mistaken for a mistress and beaten up in the street. Her reputation is completely ruined. Now she seems to be with a man in his fifties." Xu Haocheng still felt a pang of sadness when talking about his former sister.
Tang Yao nodded, feeling a little emotional. The events of her past life seemed to have truly faded away with time.
No matter how their family was doing, it didn't concern her much anymore.
The weather was getting hotter and hotter. The news said it was the hottest year in many years.
In many other places, the heat and drought have resulted in a complete crop failure.
Watching the news reports of farmers weeping in the parched earth, Tang Yao’s emotion deeply fluctuated.
She remembered a time in an ancient world when she encountered a drought.
Regardless of age or gender, people were starving and almost all were reduced to skin and bones. On the journey of refugees, even cannibalism occurred.
At that time, Tang Yao was just one of the refugees, utterly powerless.
Just as netizens were deeply concerned about the disaster, they discovered that an anonymous netizen had donated millions of dollars worth of food and water to various disaster-stricken areas.
While marveling at the netizen's generosity, people began to discuss who this person was.
Several prominent figures known for their philanthropy were brought in for discussion, but none of them matched up.
While the netizens' discussions yielded no results, the people in the various disaster-stricken areas were able to return to a normal life thanks to this donation.
"Elder Sister, don't worry. After I graduate, I'll give you all the money I earn."
Xu Haocheng had gone to donate supplies with Tang Yao. When he saw his elder sister take out so much money to buy supplies, his first reaction was surprise. Then it was followed by a promise.
In his mind, elder sister would definitely have nothing left after donating this much.
On the side, Lu Bei, who had come to help, glanced at him and said, "I'll give you my money from now on."
Tang Yao replied helplessly, "No need, I still have money."
After Xu Haocheng returned to school after his holiday, Tang Yao was discovered by netizens.
It all started when a netizen, who was donating supplies, happened to see Tang Yao receiving praise and awards.
The netizen swiftly and secretly took a picture of this scene.
She was already a fan of the variety show and the guesthouse and immediately shared her observations online.
The guesthouse's Weibo account instantly gained hundreds of thousands of followers, with everyone praising Tang Yao.
Even the official Weibo account reposted this, saying that society needs people like her.
Not long after, Lu Bei announced his official retirement from the entertainment industry on his account.
Lu Bei's news immediately caused a surge in trending topics, crashing the servers for a while. The behind the scenes company had to urgently repair the servers to restore normal operation.
Some fans cried and begged him not to leave, while others, more rational, expressed understanding, acknowledging that Lu Bei had previously stated acting was merely a hobby and that he would return to family life when he reached a certain age.
Following this news, a photo surfaced showing Lu Bei standing with a woman. Lu Bei's head was slightly lowered, a smile playing on his lips, and his eyes showing a rare tenderness.
The news of Lu Bei's relationship sparked another wave of discussion after his retirement from the entertainment industry.
Netizens speculated about which lucky girl was involved.
Some crazed fans began making baseless attacks on actresses who had worked with Lu Bei.
"Does anyone else think this person looks like Boss Tang from the guesthouse?"
"I think so too. I saw Boss Tang wearing this outfit on a variety show livestream."
"Everyone, don't wildly speculate. The gap between them is too big. How can God Lu possibly be interested in a guesthouse owner?"
"So what if she's a guesthouse owner? Boss Tang isn't bad either, okay? She just donated so much to the disaster area, and the country publicly praised him, okay?"
"That’s right, the flowers, plants, tables, and chairs in the guesthouse are worth a lot of money. Maybe our Boss Tang's assets aren't less than Lu Bei's."
"We're making such a fuss, but neither of the parties involved has responded. Maybe it's fake. Let's wait for God Lu and Boss Tang to respond."
The netizens didn't get an explanation from Tang Yao, but they did get one from Lu Bei.
Lu Bei posted a message saying, "Still pursuing her. She's not in this circle. I hope everyone will respect and give blessings, and not disturb her."
These few words directly acknowledged the netizens' speculation about his relationship, but didn't reveal who his partner was.
Lu Bei's series of actions caused a stir on social media for days, and he himself received a lot of criticism from fans.
Finally, everyone accepted reality.
Lu Bei was doing well at the guesthouse, undisturbed by any stimulated fans, but his manager suffered, barely getting a night's sleep for days trying to quell the situation.
He complained on the phone:
"...If it weren't for the high salary your studio pays me, I would have quit long ago. You, on the other hand, are happily chasing after someone, leaving me here to take the fall for you."
"Alright, I'll give you triple pay, consider it overtime."
Upon hearing Lu Bei's words, his assistant immediately fell silent.
"Look, this marketing account is talking about you and the rising star Guan Tongtong, saying you two might be dating behind everyone's back. But speaking of which, her back view really does look quite similar to the one in the photos." Tang Yao, always eager for drama, made Lu Bei feel quite helpless.
He ruffled Tang Yao's hair: "You know perfectly well who I like, Boss Tang. When are you planning to give me a title?"
Sunlight streamed through the glass-enclosed dining room, bathing them in a golden glow.
The man opposite her had striking features and a gentle smile. Perhaps overwhelmed by his beauty, Tang Yao blurted out, almost unconsciously, "I'll give you a title right now."
Lu Bei paused for a moment before abruptly standing up and bracing himself on the table. He leaned down and asked in a deep, magnetic voice, "Really?"
Tang Yao looked at his ears, slightly flushed with nervousness, and instantly smiled: "It's true."
The next second, she was pulled into a cool embrace filled with the faint scent of pine.
Far away abroad, Xu Haocheng protested about Lu Bei becoming his brother-in-law, but was quickly won over by Lu Bei's several pairs of limited-edition sneakers.
After they got together, Lu Bei became even more clingy to Tang Yao, constantly staying by her side, except when going to the bathroom.
Therefore, he didn't care at all about being photographed.
However, netizens had become quite accepting. Knowing that the other person was Tang Yao, not some internet celebrity or minor star, they all thought the two looked very well-matched.
A few insults were personally refuted by Lu Bei.
Lu Nan would occasionally tease his younger brother with the trending photos, but he wasn't much better off himself.
Three years later.
Today's entertainment news was dominated by a dreamlike wedding of the century.
Lu Bei and Tang Yao's three-year dating came to an end today.
Tang Yao sat in the dressing room, letting the makeup artist apply her makeup and put on her elaborate and heavy wedding dress.
The train of the wedding dress was studded with small diamonds, looking magnificent and unique in the world, but only Tang Yao knew how heavy this wedding dress was.
Xu Haocheng had finished his courses and was currently interning at Guo Jia Magazine. He had taken a day off to come back today.
He brought his girlfriend, Zhou Tao, who had stayed at the guesthouse for a month three years ago.
Zhou Tao had spent two years reclaiming what was rightfully hers and kicking her scumbag father and stepmother's family out of the villa she and her mother owned.
It was unclear when the two had reconnected, but suddenly Xu Haocheng brought her back, claiming she was his girlfriend.
"Elder Sister, you look so beautiful today," Zhou Tao flattered him with a grin.
"This dress was specially ordered by Lu Bei from Country F," Cheng An added from the side.
Cheng An and Lu Nan had held their wedding a year ago. Now, Cheng An was five months pregnant and was being treated like a precious treasure by the entire family.
Seeing the crowd, Lu Nan had Cheng An stay in the dressing room to avoid being bumped into.
Completely suited up, Lu Bei walked in. His eyes lit up when he saw Tang Yao: "You're so beautiful, wife."
However, Tang Yao didn't give him a friendly look: "Look, is it pretty? Why don't you try it on? It feels like I’m carrying a ton of stones."
Lu Bei quickly put his arm around her and coaxed, "It'll be quick, just a short walk down the aisle and you can change. Don't be angry."
"I told you to keep it simple, a destination wedding would be fine too. It's all your fault!"
"Okay, okay, it's all my fault." Even after being scolded, Lu Bei was in an incredibly good mood.
Cheng An and Zhou Tao exchanged a glance and secretly smiled.
The wedding soon began. When Tang Yao stepped onto the red carpet and saw the handsome man in a white suit walking towards her step by step, the resentment from the heavy dress vanished instantly.
After wandering in the worlds for so many years, she was finally going to have a home of her own.
Listening to the pastor's vows, she smiled gently and said to the person before her, "I do."
The sun shone brightly and a gentle breeze blew. The weather will be beautiful from now on.