Upon hearing this, the old woman turned red and raised her hand to slap him.

"Trafficking me? Are you going to kidnap an old woman like me, with one foot in her grave, to go to the mountains to be a young man's wife?"

Hua Zi yelled, still unconvinced, "What if she takes a fancy to our girl?"

The old woman suddenly stopped chasing, and a touch of gentleness appeared on her deeply lined face.

“Hua Zi, Nannan has contracted a strange disease and even her parents abandoned her. If someone really went to such lengths just for her, I would accept being abducted.”

Besides, I'm quite certain the fairy wouldn't.

Don't ask her why. When she first met the girl buying fried dough sticks, the way she looked at her seemed to tell a story, and the old woman just inexplicably believed her!

...

After finishing their fried dough balls, Ruan Xianxian led Gong Ye on a stroll. Standing in front of a time-honored pan-fried dumpling shop, she clicked her tongue in regret.

"It's too late, we're closing now!"

Miyano gestured to the soup dumpling stall in front of her, which was still open, and asked, "Want some?"

"No, I'll save the soup dumplings for tomorrow morning. Did you bring the camera I asked you to take with you?"

Miyano gestured to the crossbody bag he was carrying, which belonged to Ruan Xianxian, and said, "Don't worry, everything's inside!"

The two went to the riverbank and took a bunch of pictures, taking pictures of each other, and then asked passersby to take a group photo of them.

Ruan Xianxian had Gong Ye sit on a rock with his legs bent and his arms resting on his knees.

"Look at the camera, look at the camera! Do you understand the feeling of pressure? Where's that look you usually give people? Did you eat it like a dog?"

Ruan Xianxian, holding a camera, squatted on the ground, shifting his feet to find the right angle. He posed Gong Ye in various ways, and everyone who passed by had to take a look.

Nowadays, the most common poses for taking photos are either smiling happily at the camera or bending one leg back and stepping on the door frame, raising one hand to reach the top of the door, and grinning like an idiot.

Miyano's appearance and posed photos attracted a lot of attention by the river.

She darted around like a mole, either crouching or squatting on the ground, and slowly, a small crowd of onlookers gathered behind her.

As the round ended, Ruan Xianxian was resting, swinging her hands. An elderly couple who had been watching her for a long time came forward, supporting each other, and smiled broadly.

"Miss, are you studying photography? Could you take a picture for us?"

“Okay!” Ruan Xianxian did not refuse. Judging from their clothes and their mixed accents similar to hers, she knew they were overseas Chinese who had returned to China to do business.

The old man was very tall, wearing a top hat and a long black trench coat that reached his knees, while the old woman had a fashionable short perm.

Ruan Xianxian found a good angle and said, "Come on, Grandma, look at the camera when Grandpa is clumsy and makes you complain."

Grandpa turned his head to look at Grandma, recalling how much his wife loved her when she was young. "I counted 1, 2, 3..."

Click!

The shutter is pressed, and the image is frozen!

With the surging river behind them, an elderly couple stood in front of the camera, their hearts filled with each other. Even before the photo was developed, Ruan Xianxian could already imagine how beautiful it would be.

The elderly man came forward to express his gratitude, and they exchanged addresses. Ruan Xianxian promised to send him a copy of the photo once it was developed, and the elderly man said he would send her a gift as a token of his appreciation.

Before parting, the old man took his wife's hand, took two steps, and then turned back.

"Young lady, I am very grateful to you, but there is still something I need to say."

"I love her, not the way I remember her when she was young and most beautiful, but every single moment, every next moment."

"Beautiful girl, may we meet again someday!"

Even as the two figures, leaning on each other, walked further and further away, the onlookers could still hear them muttering curses: "Shameless! What lovey-dovey talk? They have no shame!"

She stood there, silent for a long time.

Miyano walked over unnoticed and asked with concern, "How are you?"

Ruan Xianxian's eyes showed a blank expression.

"My experience growing up in the Ruan family taught me that a woman's most beautiful bloom is at eighteen, and that you should always be a useful person so that you won't be abandoned."

With so many people around, Miyano didn't make any intimate gestures. He simply pressed her down onto the stone stool, leaned over, looked into her eyes, and spoke to her.

"Someone once told me that she loved me more in the next minute than she does now."

"Now I want to tell you this too: I love you, and the future will always be more so than the present."

That person said that love is like fine wine, the longer it lasts, the more intoxicating it becomes.

"If you drink a glass of spoiled wine, then either the ingredients or the proportions are wrong, it has nothing to do with time, don't you think?"

Ruan Xianxian's eyes slowly focused, looking at the man in front of her who was trying to give her a sense of security with a complicated expression.

This sounds exactly like her usual rhetoric when she's trying to fool people.

Oh well, as long as he's happy.

"You're absolutely right!"

"Ahem!" A soft cough sounded from behind, breaking the ambiguous atmosphere between the two, which could hardly be described as intimate.

"Did I disturb you?"

Turning around, I saw two figures, one old and one young, walking side by side towards me from the restaurant that afternoon.

The young man surnamed Sun asked with a smile.

Ruan Xianxian feigned surprise, "What a coincidence, we meet here again!"

Sun Chao laughed, "It's not a coincidence at all. Didn't you invite me here?"

To eliminate any possibility of the two parties bypassing Haicheng and reaching a private cooperation agreement, the reception hall even has its own restroom.

Ruan Xianxian unintentionally made a wave-shaped horizontal push with her left hand and a gesture of making an "eight" with her right hand.

It meant to be met by the river at 8 PM, and unexpectedly, Sun Chao actually understood it!

Ruan Xianxian walked side by side with Sun Chao deeper into the area. Gong Ye took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, put one to his lips, and handed one to the man surnamed Li.

They were positioned at a distance that was neither too close nor too far from each other, ensuring that no one could approach them by any means.

Ruan Xianxian and Sun Chao faced the river. Sun Chao spoke first, "Do you like that villa?"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!