Chapter 7
"Aunt Li, this is braised bamboo shoots and pork ribs with black bean sauce made by my family Xiao Li. Please try some." Tang Yao placed the bowl on the table next to the cashier.
"Oh dear, I told you not to bring me anything." Although she said that, Aunt Li smiled brightly.
"It's alright. The guesthouse isn't busy right now. You eat first, I'll go back." Tang Yao said, waving to Aunt Li and turning to leave.
The young girl had overheard the whole conversation and was somewhat surprised that there was such a beautiful girl in this small town.
As she reached the cashier, a rich aroma wafted over. The girl's already hungry stomach rumbled loudly.
"Hungry? The girl who brought me food earlier lives in that guesthouse across the street. It has a really pretty restaurant and a brilliant cook. The whole restaurant is made of glass and it's open to the public. You should try it!" Aunt Li enthusiastically promoted Tang Yao's place.
"Okay, thank you, Auntie," the young girl replied with a smile.
Actually, she would have gone even without Aunt Li's advertisement.
When standing at the entrance of the small shop, she looked out. The entire guesthouse seemed enveloped in green grass and red flowers. The paintings at the entrance blended seamlessly with the background—it looked quite nice.
Whether it was genuinely delicious food or just a deliberate advertisement, a glass-enclosed restaurant was a good gimmick. If used properly, this video might gain her more followers.
That was right. The girl was a travel and food blogger named Youyou Loves Travel, with a few hundred thousand followers. Her job was to eat, drink, and travel. She sought out lesser-known, niche attractions and her videos were very authentic, which made her content very popular with her fans.
She saw Wanhua Town and its guesthouse on Xiaomei's Weibo and thought it was beautiful.
Jiang You pointed her camera at the guesthouse sign. The words "The Garden Within The Memories" appeared in the frame.
"The auntie at the convenience store said the food here is delicious. It's a restaurant in a glass house. Let's go check it out," After saying this, Jiang You stepped into the guesthouse.
The camera captured the entire scene inside the gate. Every frame was so beautiful it could be used as a photograph.
The glass house stood quietly, sparkling like a large, luminous crystal under the sunlight.
The greenery and flowers everywhere were perfectly arranged. The sounds of insects, birds, and flowing water filled the air, making it feel like stepping into a small garden. Surrounded by such beauty, Jiang You slowed her pace and lowered her voice, as if afraid of disturbing anything.
"Hello?" A pleasant female voice sounded beside her. Jiang You turned around and saw the pretty girl she had seen at the convenience store walking out of the nearby building.
"Meal or lodging?" Tang Yao inquired.
Jiang You, who had originally only intended to have a meal, changed her mind: "Both lodging and meals."
"Okay, please let me register your ID." Tang Yao's slender, white fingers brushed against Jiang You's palm, leaving a slightly cool touch.
Combined with her beautiful, earnest profile and the fresh scent of herbs emanating from her, Jiang You secretly blushed.
"Let me bring you in to put your bag down first. Then you can go to the restaurant for a meal?"
Jiang You nodded: "Okay."
"By the way, Miss, I'm a travel blogger, currently filming a video. Would you mind if I posted you and the guesthouse online?" Jiang You asked.
"I'll pass. Just film the guesthouse," Tang Yao said. After all, she had just left the Xu Family. If it were posted online, the Xu Family might see it. She didn't want the sanctuary her parents had left her to be trampled upon by them.
"Okay," Jiang You said with a hint of regret, "You're so beautiful and will definitely go viral online if posted."
Tang Yao smiled, but didn't change her mind.
Jiang You had booked a 188 yuan single room. After putting her bag in the room, she eagerly went to the glass-enclosed restaurant.
Upon entering, she found it even more beautiful. The restaurant was decorated with many plants and flowers, while vines climbed the walls. Sunlight was filtering through the gaps.
Jiang You could imagine how beautiful the photos would be if taken here.
The tables and chairs were all made of solid wood. Although Jiang You didn't recognize the type of wood, she instinctively felt it looked beautiful and matched the style of the place.
The menu had many dishes and the prices were a bit high, but not unacceptable.
Jiang You ordered a few dishes and then started taking many photos with her phone.
"Your food is here, please enjoy." Xiao Li placed the dishes in front of Jiang You. The aroma immediately filled the entire restaurant.
Jiang You subconsciously thought the restaurants in the scenic area were all mediocre, and only offered an ambiance.
But when she put a piece of food in her mouth, she realized how absurd her assumption was.
The food here was absolutely fantastic. It was no way inferior to the restaurants she had eaten at before.
The camera showed her constantly giving a thumbs-up, her mouth stuffed full, and barely having time to speak.
Jiang You finished the entire table of food, yet her face still showed a look of being unfulfilled.
After lunch, she took some photos in the glass room before returning to her room to rest.
While resting, she edited the videos from that morning, with the guesthouse making up the majority of the content.
However, she found every part interesting and didn't want to cut a single section.
After editing the video, Jiang You posted it on Weibo.
After posting, she didn't check the follow-up but instead planned to take a nap in her flower-scented bed.
There were calming plants in the room, so Jiang You slept soundly and woke up at 3 PM.
She groggily reached under her pillow for her phone and checked it. A message popped up, notifying her that she was trending. Jiang You began to wonder if she was still half asleep.
She rubbed her eyes and looked again—it really was trending.
She had been a travel blogger for so many years and had never been trending before.
She instantly woke up, sat up, and opened Weibo to see what was going on.
She discovered that her video had been reposted by the Capital Daily, which commented that the beautiful scenery in her video truly had a healing effect.
The comments section had reached tens of thousands—a level of popularity Jiang You had never experienced before.
"So beautiful! Is this place real?"
"That glass house is so gorgeous! I definitely have to go take pictures with my girlfriends."
"The owner's voice is so nice too. It's a pity I didn't see her face."
Of course, there were also some discordant voices.
"It's probably just hype. Usually, if the photos look good, the actual place is probably terrible."
"I've been to Wanhua Town and I've never seen anything like this."
"This place is newly opened, right? New places definitely need hype for their openings."
Besides these, there were some strange comments mixed in.
"That table looks familiar."
"Could that potted plant be a golden tea? The camera shot too fast, I didn't see it clearly. Still, if it is such a precious flower as golden tea, it wouldn't be so blatantly placed at the entrance."
The skeptical comments were in the minority. Most praised the beauty of the guesthouse and the glass house.
...
Far away in the capital, at Orange Entertainment, Huang Yong, a director of the variety show that escapes the city, was worrying about the script for his show. The first season of the show was recorded and aired last year, but the response was lukewarm.
The show's main theme was escaping the hustle and bustle of the city and finding a secluded paradise.
However, the location they chose for the first season was the countryside, which netizens felt didn't resemble a paradise at all and didn't fit the theme.
Furthermore, the show wasn't well-known. So, popular celebrities were unwilling to participate. The cast consisted mostly of former popular or fourth- or fifth-tier stars, which further impacted the ratings.
The show had a significant budget and the management had already stated that if it wasn't filmed well, the director would be fired.
But was finding a paradise so easy?
Huang Yong was so worried that he had a cold sore on his lips.
"Director Huang, do you think this location will work? It's a rural area in Q City and the scenery seems quite nice," his assistant said, also helping to find a filming location.
Huang Yong glanced at it and waved his hand: "No, isn't this similar to last year's?"
Huang Yong irritably ruffled his hair and turned on his phone.
A trending topic popped up.
Seeing the trending topic, Huang Yong's eyes lit up and he quickly clicked on the link.
"I just saw this too! It seems to match our theme!" The assistant, with dark circles under his eyes from staying up all night, excitedly told Huang Yong.
"Don't get too excited yet. It’s unknown if the real thing is different from the photos and videos. Here's what you'll do: book me the next flight right now. I need to go see it for myself." Huang Yong said, grabbing his coat and backpack from the back of his chair and heading out.
...
As night fell, the guesthouse lit its lanterns. Returning from outside, Jiang You was momentarily speechless with amazement at the beauty.
After taking a few photos, Jiang You asked Xiao Yue where Tang Yao was. Xiao Yue pointed her in the right direction.
Jiang You stood downstairs at Tang Yao's building and called out twice. Tang Yao poked her head out from the rooftop and greeted her with a smile.
"May I come up?" Jiang You waved to Tang Yao.
Tang Yao nodded, gesturing for her to come up the stairs.
The staircase was a separate door, not connected to the rooms, so Tang Yao wasn't worried.
After Jiang You went upstairs, she found the place surprisingly beautiful. Plants and flowers formed a small world of their own. Sitting there drinking tea, Tang Yao looked like a celestial fairy.
"Would you like some tea?" Tang Yao took another teacup from the table and poured one for Jiang You.
"Thank you, boss. What kind of tea is this? It smells so good."
"Flower tea." Tang Yao blew away the steam from the teacup.
It was indeed flower tea, but it had undergone more than a dozen complex processes and incorporated various precious flowers and herbs. It was specially supplied to the royal family. At that time, she was the most favored princess and her share of this tea presented to the palace was undoubtedly the largest.
Because she loved this tea, she had stockpiled some in her spatial storage, saving it to enjoy slowly in her spare time.
"Where did you buy it? It's so delicious! It has such a fragrant aroma. I've never had this kind of flower tea before." Jiang You looked curiously at the tea leaves that had sunk to the bottom of the cup.
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