Chapter 40
Wearing a short-sleeved shirt, Xu Haocheng placed the flowerpots in the positions Tang Yao had designated.
After they were all moved, Xu Haocheng wiped the sweat from his forehead and quietly rubbed his aching arms.
"You've worked hard. Go take a shower and change. In a bit, come up to eat."
While Xu Haocheng was changing, Tang Yao heard someone call her name.
She walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked down. Lu Bei was standing below, carrying something and giving her a slight smile.
"I brought a gift. Can I come over for a meal?"
"Just come up the stairs. No need to bring a gift," Tang Yao said with a smile.
Lu Bei went into the stairwell leading to the rooftop, while Tang Yao took out her phone and called Xiao Li, asking her to add a couple more dishes.
Xiao Li readily agreed.
Just after hanging up, Lu Bei came up to the rooftop and placed the things he was carrying on the table.
"I brought you some pastries from Daocun. I heard they're quite famous. There’s also gifts from Cheng An and my elder brother that they asked me to bring."
"Thank you. You're too polite," Tang Yao said helplessly.
Cheng An had been quite busy lately. Her stunning appearance at the recent fashion show had brought her renewed attention, and now numerous domestic trendy luxury clothing brands and jewelers were approaching her.
TV drama and film scripts were being sent to her.
Cheng An was quite career-driven. Before, she worked to reach a higher position and be worthy of that person, but now she was truly starting to enjoy her profession.
However, even when she was busy, she still made time to chat with Tang Yao.
The elegant and aloof actress on screen was more like a vibrant girl in Tang Yao's presence, complaining about being overworked and criticizing her co-stars for their lack of professionalism.
Tang Yao almost always replies to her messages. Although they haven't seen each other for a long time, their feelings haven't faded.
Before Lu Bei's visit, Cheng An said she'd come to the guesthouse next time she had a break.
However, they both know that "next time" might not be that long.
Xu Haocheng changed his clothes and went upstairs. Xiao Li had already brought up their food. Seeing the sudden appearance of another person, Xu Haocheng wasn't overly surprised, though his gaze towards Lu Bei was unfriendly.
Xiao Li had stewed a large pot of mutton stew, which was still steaming hot when she brought it out.
The mutton was stewed until incredibly tender, easily separated with chopsticks, and with absolutely no gamey smell. The lamb ribs were falling off the bone, and the tendons were practically melting in your mouth.
Paired with Xiao Li's homemade sauce, the taste was excellent.
Even Lu Bei, who wasn't usually picky about food, showed a satisfied expression.
As dusk settled, lights came on on the rooftop. The three sat together enjoying their meal.
Lu Bei and Xu Haocheng seemed to be in a competitive struggle, constantly piling food into Tang Yao's bowl.
Tang Yao, at the center of the storm, seemed oblivious, focused solely on eating.
After dinner, urged by Lu Bei, Tang Yao opened the Daocun pastry box. Various exquisitely crafted pastries were arranged inside and in the center was a peach blossom hairpin.
Tang Yao picked up the hairpin: "This box also includes a hairpin. The workmanship is quite rough."
Tang Yao noticed that although the workmanship was rough, the wood was actually a very good type, more expensive than gold or silver.
The hairpin was carved with a blooming rose, with openwork details. It looked like a beginner's work and couldn't be examined closely.
"If you don't like it, just throw it away. I didn't even notice. It was probably a free gift from a promotion," Lu Bei said from the side.
Xu Haocheng suddenly chuckled.
"What?" Tang Yao raised an eyebrow at him.
Xu Haocheng waved his hand: "Nothing, Elder Sister."
Lu Bei glanced at him sideways, his gaze somewhat cold.
Although the workmanship was rough, Tang Yao still accepted the hairpin.
This gesture instantly improved Lu Bei's mood. Xu Haocheng pouted, turned around, and grabbed a pastry, stuffing it into his mouth.
"A bit dry, Elder Sister," Xu Haocheng deliberately remarked.
"Go drink some water if it’s dry. Who told you to eat my pastry?" Tang Yao glared at him. Though she put everything away, she still slipped another pastry into Xu Haocheng's hand.
After finishing their meal, Lu Bei said goodbye.
Tang Yao gave him a bag of healthy snacks she had made herself, so he could eat them when he had free time.
Lu Bei thanked her and leisurely left with the snacks.
Lu Nan gifted a piece of raw jade, a small amount of polished outer layer revealed a full-green interior. Cheng An gave her a bottle of perfume. The logo on it was unfamiliar, and it smelled of fresh herbs and trees, with a very pleasant base note.
Tang Yao thanked Lu Nan and Cheng An on her phone.
Lu Nan was working and it took him a long time to reply to the message, which was very simple: "This is a return gift of peach blossom wine."
Lu Nan hadn't expected that the peach blossom wine he'd casually brought back from the guesthouse would actually help him close a deal.
He'd originally planned to have a small drink during his office break, but just as he poured the wine, an unexpected customer came to visit. The company had been interacting with this customer for a long time, and upon smelling the crisp aroma of the wine, the customer immediately became interested.
In the end, as the customer was leaving, Lu Nan reluctantly gave him a small bottle and the deal was struck.
Lu Nan felt that Tang Yao might be their family's lucky charm. After meeting her, Lu Bei's illness had improved and the Lu family's business was booming.
An hour had passed before Cheng An replied to her message.
"Just finished a meeting with a director. I got a script and will start filming next month. Ah, social niceties are so annoying. You're welcome. This perfume is from my personal collection. It was custom-made by a French perfumer. Doesn't it smell wonderful?"
The two chatted like this, one sentence after another.
When Cheng An heard Tang Yao mention the ugly wooden hairpin in the Daocun pastry box, she couldn't help but send a voice message filled with "hahahahaha."
Tang Yao frowned and put her phone aside, only picking it up again after Cheng An finished laughing.
"Keep your voice down, or your 'actress' image will crumble," Tang Yao replied with a voice message.
"Hey, do you even know Lu Bei is pursuing you?"
The next second, Cheng An's direct question stunned Tang Yao.
She was still twirling the ugly hairpin in her hand, waiting a moment before answering, "I know."
This time it was Cheng An's turn to be stunned, not sending a message for a while.
"I thought you didn't know, but there's something you definitely don't know: this hairpin isn't a gift from some shop. Lu Bei personally learned to carve it from a master carver for a week." Cheng An's face instantly turned gossipy.
"Is he that free?" The question slipped out, eliciting another burst of laughter from Cheng An.
"He's incredibly busy. He's learning in his spare time. Lu Nan said he practices even at home every night," Cheng An added.
Tang Yao's gaze fell on the hairpin in front of her, a slight smile playing on her lips.
She had already guessed. After all, she wasn't really a girl in her early twenties. She was an ancient monster who had lived for who knows how long in the small worlds.
After their conversation ended, Tang Yao lay in bed, gazing at the night sky outside the window, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
The next morning, Tang Yao opened the window. Her long hair, not yet tied up, fluttered wildly in the wind. She gathered the stray strands behind her ears, took a deep breath—the morning air was always exceptionally refreshing.
Lu Bei stood on the balcony with a coffee in hand and saw this scene.
"Tang Yao." Someone called her from downstairs. Tang Yao looked down and saw it was Xiao Hua, the grandson of the old man who made bamboo baskets.
He had come to deliver the baskets. The fruit basket business had been booming lately, and Tang Yao had ordered another hundred.
"Got them delivered?" Tang Yao greeted him with a smile, skillfully tying her hair into a bun. "You haven't had breakfast yet? Xiao Yue, take Xiao Hua to get breakfast and pack some to bring back to Grandpa Dong."
"No, no, no," Xiao Hua said. His face flushed and he was quickly waving his hand in refusal.
Actually, he had just finished delivering the fruit baskets, got paid, and was about to leave when he unexpectedly saw Tang Yao when passing by the building. His voice was faster than his brain and had already uttered the name he had longed for day and night.
After calling out, he didn't know what to say. Now, being asked to stay for breakfast, Xiao Hua felt even more embarrassed.
Lu Bei stood there watching the whole scene, noticing Xiao Hua's blush and Tang Yao's openness.
A little coffee spilled uncontrollably from his hand, "How annoying!" Lu Bei thought.
Tang Yao finished getting ready and went downstairs with Xu Haocheng for breakfast. The restaurant wasn't open to the public during breakfast hours, so there were far fewer people than at lunchtime and dinnertime.
Tang Yao saw the middle-aged woman who had asked her to look after her daughter yesterday in the restaurant. The short-haired girl next to her must be her daughter.
Li Yuanyuan had insisted on going downstairs for breakfast with Zhang Ru today. After staying here for a day, she seemed to be in much better spirits than before.
A faint smile appeared on her lips, which made Zhang Ru very gratified.
Today's breakfast consisted of various kinds of steamed buns. Li Yuanyuan ate four fist-sized buns in one go and drank a cup of freshly squeezed, fragrant soy milk.
While eating breakfast, Li Yuanyuan's eyes were looking around, as if she was looking for someone.
However, she didn't find the person she was looking for in the end. She didn't know that Xiao Kui next door had stayed up too late editing videos yesterday and was still asleep.
After spending another day at the guesthouse, Xu Haocheng had to leave after a few phone calls from Xu Anguo and Sun Yulan.
"Elder Sister, I'll go abroad as soon as I get back and sort things out. I won't be coming back," Xu Haocheng had his head down as his eyes reddened.
"Go ahead, study well, and don't cause trouble," Tang Yao said.
Xu Haocheng's eyes reddened even more as he stared intently at Tang Yao: "Elder Sister, I was foolish and immature before. I'm sorry."
He turned and left, afraid that if he didn't go soon, he would miss her even more.
On the bus, Xu Haocheng found a bank card and a note under a large bag of snacks his elder sister had prepared for him.
"The password is your birthday. Be frugal with money abroad."
A tall man, over six feet, sitting on the bus, tears streaming down his face, attracted the attention of everyone.
Seeing her younger brother off again, Tang Yao felt a pang of sadness, but she quickly composed herself.
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