As they walked, they saw a hotel by the roadside and went inside.

There was a small building on the outside, and the inside was quite bright, although it looked rather old.

Mu Wenxi: "Boss lady, I'd like two single rooms."

The proprietress glanced at the two of them and said, "That's all."

Wen Xi was speechless: "It's not even peak season, and there aren't even two single rooms left?"

Hotel owner: "That's all, that's all."

Wen Xi: "Really, that's all?"

The hotel owner said, "Oh dear, why would I lie to you, young lady? All the people who come here to work stay in single rooms. There's only one single room left. You can't stay in two double rooms, that's not cost-effective. Listen to me, it's okay to squeeze into one double room or one single room."

Mu Wenxi and Song Xici exchanged a glance: "Okay, then let's have a double room with two beds."

"That's for sure. A double room has two beds. Please show me your ID."

The two took out their ID cards, and the shopkeeper looked at them for a few moments. Mu Wenxi glanced at Song Xici's ID card with some confusion and then found it amusing.

Song Xici said with some helplessness, "This photo was taken in high school."

Mu Wenxi covered her mouth: "Has anyone doubted that this person isn't you?"

Song Xici: "Often, but you can still recognize it if you look closely."

The landlady handed over a room number: "Okay, room 606."

Mu Wenxi took the room number. Some of the dilapidated little hotels didn't even have elevators, so you had to walk up by yourself.

I huffed and puffed my way up to the sixth floor, opened the door, and found the room to be very small. There were two double beds placed against the left and right walls, with only a narrow passageway in the middle.

There was a bedside table in the hallway with two pairs of slippers underneath, and a TV directly opposite the bedside table.

The toilet was next to the door; there was no bathtub, only a toilet and a shower head—it was very basic.

Mu Wenxi thought that the hotels in small towns couldn't compare to those in big cities, but it would do.

The two put their things down and decided to go to town for a stroll and have dinner there.

The biggest difference between here and big cities may lie in the architectural style. Big cities are full of high-rise buildings, while here there are mostly red brick houses. There are no upscale shopping malls, milk tea shops, or trendy shops, only some rustic snack shops and farmhouse restaurants.

Song Xici thought for a moment and then suggested, "Would you like to visit my high school? There's a really good restaurant near our school."

Mu Wenxi: "Okay."

The two walked along the path and could see a school with its gates closed in the distance. There seemed to be few people inside, except for the old man in the security guard's room watching TV.

Song Xici said with some annoyance, "The security measures have been upgraded now. We never used to lock the small door."

There was a row of shops next to the school, including a small shop that sold the same things Mu Wenxi remembered from her elementary school days, such as Ramen King, Sour Girl, and Bibabu bubble gum. For a moment, she seemed to remember herself during her school days.

"Looking back now, high school was probably the hardest time. My parents had both started new families and no one was taking care of me. I had to worry about my studies, life, and mental state on my own. Fortunately, my teachers were quite responsible."

Through the iron fence, you can see students in school uniforms running around on the playground.

The two entered a farmhouse restaurant next to the school. The restaurant had wooden tables and chairs, a dimly lit environment, and white cement walls with many chalk drawings by students.

Song Xici took the simple menu from the table and handed it to Mu Wenxi: "Let's see what we want to eat?"

Mu Wenxi: "You order, order whatever you used to like to eat. I'll eat whatever you eat."

Song Xici ordered several dishes that he often ate in his memory.

When the owner served the dishes, he seemed to recognize Song Xici: "You're back?"

"Hello."

"Is this your girlfriend?"

"Yes."

"They're a strangely well-matched couple."

Mu Wenxi: "Do you think we would have met if you hadn't gone to the city?"

Song Xici thought for a moment: "We will meet."

Mu Wenxi: "Why?"

Song Xici: "No matter where you are, I will find you."

The night sky in the countryside is particularly dark; even though it's only seven or eight o'clock, you can't see your hand in front of your face.

Fortunately, many streetlights have been installed in the town, but some remote alleys are still pitch black.

Song Xici: "In the past, we had to carry flashlights when we went to and from school because it was too dark, and there weren't many streetlights back then."

The two returned to the hotel, where the owner asked them to bring a pot of hot water upstairs. The soundproofing was terrible; they could almost hear cars passing by outside through the window.

Exhausted from a long day, the two fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, they hitched a ride with a fellow villager to Grandpa Song's house, where Grandpa Song specially cooked a delicious meal to entertain them.

"Grandpa, there's no need to go to so much trouble, just burn some firewood."

Grandpa Song grinned widely: "Yes, yes!"

Three people sat on a long bench around a wooden table, eating a dish that, while not luxurious, was exceptionally delicious.

Grandpa Song: "Come and eat more."

"Thank you, Grandpa."

Watching this scene, Song Xici felt that this was exactly what she had been seeking all along.

Mu Wenxi said to her grandfather in a spoiled manner, "Grandpa, I want to see photos of Xi Ci when he was a child."

Grandpa Song grinned, revealing his white teeth: "Okay, I'll get it for you."

Grandpa took out a few photos from the room: "There aren't many photos. I didn't take many when I was a child. We had to go to town to take them. Now I only have a few left."

Song Xici suddenly recalled his past. When he was a child, he was very poor. His grandfather would only take him to town to take a picture on his birthday, so he cherished each one.

Mu Wenxi touched the photo of Song Xici. Song Xici was especially cute when she was a child, with a round face that looked very festive.

Grandpa Song pointed to a photo: "This photo was taken when he was three years old. Back then, he was so unruly and mischievous that we couldn't control him."

While the two were looking at the photos, Song Xici secretly went out for a while.

Mu Wenxi put Song Xici's photo away, but didn't see him, so he walked outside.

"Auntie, have you seen Song Xici?"

“Oh, Songwazi, which way did you go?”

Mu Wenxi followed the direction and found a man squatting on a low hillside, fiddling with something.

Mu Wenxi: "Xi Ci?"

Song Xici quickly stood up, putting his hands behind his back: "You've come?"

Mu Wenxi: "What are you doing?"

Song Xici stretched out his hands from behind his back, holding a bunch of brightly colored wildflowers. He confessed his love to Mu Wenxi with the wildflowers that carried all the happy memories of his childhood.

Mu Wenxi was very happy. Although it was a wildflower, it was a flower she liked. Perhaps the person opposite her was not wealthy or had a good family background, but she was willing to move towards him just because it was him.