Chapter 76 My Mind Is in Turmoil: The Two Heads in the Photo Are So Close Together...

The wetland park was ablaze with autumn colors, and the atmosphere at the music festival was as vibrant as the vast expanse of fiery red maple trees behind Zhu Liushuang. Directly in front of her, on a brightly lit stage, an unknown band was performing energetically. A large group of trendy young people had gathered in front of the stage, jumping and singing along with the singers.

The setting sun quietly retreated amidst screams, leaving only a wisp of crimson clouds and birds returning to their nests as companions.

"If we had known, we would have brought a megaphone too! Who would have thought that the competition for a stall would be so fierce!" Tian Xingyu sighed as she looked at the refrigerated display case where not much food had been sold.

Zhu Liushuang gripped the empty paper cup tightly, staring blankly at the half-full bucket of lemonade remaining. The bubbles popped with a soft "pop, pop," their delicate sounds drowned out by the loudspeaker of the auntie at the sausage stand next door. She counted the lemon slices soaking in the sparkling water, her long-awaited shout stuck in her throat.

"Brown sugar ginger milk tea - autumn is the time to drink brown sugar ginger milk tea with your loved ones!" The young couple at the milk tea stall across the street were busy as a chorus of their sales pitches, which were being played on a loop by a tape recorder.

"Look, take a look. Delicious and beautiful tiramisu, sandwiches—" Zhu Liushuang raised her voice an octave higher, shouting at the top of her lungs, clearly unconvinced.

Unfortunately, her volume wasn't enough to withstand the powerful loudspeaker; after only a few shouts, her throat couldn't take it anymore.

"Save your energy, let's just sell it as it comes." Tian Xingyu tugged at her sleeve and pulled her back onto the stool. "Why don't you ask around in your customer group, see if anyone was at the music festival?"

"I sent my location a long time ago. Except for one young girl who is still on her way, everyone else who could come has already been here." Zhu Liushuang puffed out her cheeks and looked enviously at the milk tea stall across the street with its endless stream of customers. She couldn't help but think to herself: Their prices aren't cheap either, so how come their business is so good?

"Alright, it's not lunchtime yet. Maybe the audience will come and buy our sandwiches when they're tired and hungry!" Tian Xingyu comforted them softly. Then she looked around and said, "Hey, why did Dr. Yue take so long to go to the restroom? Did he sneak away because we're not getting any business?"

Zhu Liushuang didn't care at all whether Yue Lin would come back to help. Bored and discouraged, she fiddled with the small shovel on the counter and said in a flat tone, "He came to see the show, so it's only natural that he left. Just pretend he was never here!"

"I just sneezed several times in a row, and I was wondering if someone was talking about me behind my back." The man with the megaphone strode up to the stall, deliberately putting on a stern face. But his smiling, almond-shaped eyes betrayed his cheerful mood.

Tian Xingyu shrugged and spread her hands: "We didn't say anything bad about you, we were just worried about your safety, Dr. Yue!"

Yue Lin let out an "Oh—" and didn't argue with them. He smiled and raised the megaphone in his hand, saying, "Look, with this, we shouldn't have to worry about attracting customers."

Looking at the large white megaphone, Zhu Liushuang's eyes lit up. She felt apologetic for her previous nonchalant attitude and said "thank you" to Yue Lin sheepishly.

Yue Lin walked into the stall with a sly grin, suddenly approaching Zhu Liushuang and asking, "So, Boss Zhu, have you thought of a slogan yet?"

"Hmm—" Zhu Liushuang was shy, and her face flushed slightly when she heard the words "Boss Zhu." She awkwardly snatched the megaphone from his hand and nodded with a restrained smile.

People of all kinds strolled across the large lawn, their voices, drumbeats, and shouts mingling together.

She took a deep breath, raised the megaphone and shouted, "Look, look, delicious and beautiful tiramisu, sandwiches..." Her face flushed as she repeated the advertising slogan ten times verbatim.

“Boss Zhu, this won’t do! It’s not original…and you’re shouting so hard.” Yue Lin snatched the megaphone, looking smug. “Watch this.”

Zhu Liushuang touched her cheek and exchanged a glance with Tian Xingyu, intending to silently watch the man beside her perform.

"When the guitar strings fall between the teriyaki chicken thigh and lettuce leaves, and the sandwich paper bag is opened... when the sunset falls between the orange and lemon slices, the sweet and sour taste is how I feel about you..."

A rich, gentle voice drifted on the evening breeze, gently entering her ears. Zhu Liushuang's eyes widened in surprise. A hawking spree could be sung? These lyrics must have been made up on the spot, right?

Equally shocked, Tian Xingyu covered her mouth with one hand and gave Yue Lin a thumbs-up with the other.

Encouraged, Yue Lin pressed on, using his voice to charm people: "Buy tiramisu and get a free handwritten creative postcard. The stall owner can also improvise lyrics and write love letters for you!"

Where did these creative postcards come from?

Zhu Liushuang was completely confused. She winked at Yue Lin, her expression showing even greater bewilderment.

Yue Lin, having turned off the recording button, put down the speaker and gave Zhu Liushuang a mysterious smile. Suddenly, he pulled a handful of colorful postcards from his shirt pocket and said, "On the way back, I came across a cultural and creative stall and bought a few bags of them because I thought they were pretty. They'll come in handy."

"No wonder Dr. Yue took so long to go to the restroom." Tian Xingyu gave her friend a knowing look. "So he was out looking for a solution for both of us. But... such exquisite postcards must have cost a lot of money, right?"

"It's not much money." Yue Lin casually took out a pen from his pocket, picked out a postcard and started writing impromptu lyrics, humming as he wrote.

This person... really doesn't treat them like outsiders. Zhu Liushuang thought awkwardly.

Tian Xingyu rested her chin on her hand and looked at him curiously: "Dr. Yue is so talented! Not only can he sing well, but he can also improvise."

"It's just a hobby, I just write whatever comes to mind." After finishing one postcard, Yue Lin casually placed it in front of Zhu Liushuang, "See if this is okay."

He didn't specify the subject, but the astute Tian Xingyu naturally knew who Yue Lin was asking about, so she urged her friend, "Boss Zhu, Dr. Yue is urging you to taste it! Hurry up and take a look..."

Embarrassed, Zhu Liushuang had no choice but to pick up the postcards from the counter and give them a cursory glance.

The shimmer in your eyes is like the bubbles in lemonade. My sudden, pounding heart is a signal that I was caught off guard.

"It rhymes quite well." She lowered her eyes and said softly, "Dr. Yue, you can continue writing. I'll go turn on the loudspeaker."

As if fleeing in panic, Zhu Liushuang hurriedly pulled Tian Xingyu's hand and walked aside. Taking advantage of the opportunity to turn on the loudspeaker, she warned her friend with her eyes: "Ayu, you're not allowed to make a fuss anymore, it's not good."

Tian Xingyu moved her lips, stared at Zhu Liushuang with a look of disappointment for a while, and then leisurely agreed: "Okay."

The two whispered amongst themselves for a while, and when they returned to the stall, Yue Lin had already written about ten postcards.

Play is turned on, and the man's voice, as gentle as spring water, blends into the autumn evening breeze.

Among the many ordinary hawking calls, Yue Lin's method was the most unique, thus attracting a large number of customers.

In no time, the once deserted stalls became eye-catching hot commodities in the market area.

A dozen meters away from the stall, Gu Xuting angrily grabbed Gu Xufeng's sleeve and ran forward, shouting, "Brother, hurry up! It's all your fault! Why did you sleep in so late in the afternoon? I missed my favorite band..."

"Why are you running? Can't you see how many people are queuing up ahead?" Gu Xufeng said lazily, yawning.

Gu Xuting peered ahead and stopped.

"Sister Xiaoshuang's business is so good, there's a long queue. Brother, why don't you take some photos for me first? I'm just waiting anyway."

Having the chance to make amends, Gu Xufeng took out his phone without saying a word, stood firmly in a horse stance, and took a picture of his sister.

"Dude, lower your phone a bit, it makes your legs look longer..."

"Brother, remember to include Sister Xiaoshuang's stall in the photo too!"

"No! This photo makes my face look too big, delete it and start over..."

Gu Xufeng squatted until his legs were numb before he managed to take a few barely acceptable photos. Seeing Gu Xuting's droopy lips, he felt resentful but couldn't express it openly, so he vented his frustration in the work group chat.

Look at me, it's not easy for me! Even on vacation, I have to be Tingting's slave. Anyone at the Strawberry Music Festival? Come help me out! @Lin Hui @Jiang Shuting

The two lackeys replied quite quickly.

[Lin Hui: Brother Feng, you deserve a Best Brother Award!]

[Jiang Shuting: I'm definitely a doting older brother! I also want a brother who's hardworking and takes me to music festivals!]

Gu Xufeng complained, but he secretly enjoyed his colleague's flattery. A smirk played on his lips as he moved forward in the line, continuing his banter with Lin Hui and the others.

[Gu Xufeng: Stop flattering me! Aren't you all here for the music festival? It's incredibly lively! I even saw Zhu Liushuang; she was selling desserts at a stall...]

[Lin Hui: Miss Zhu? She can make desserts too?]

[Jiang Shuting: Teacher Gu, I'm traveling in Shanghai, so I can't help you.]

...

The three chatted in the audit team group for a long time, but He Ming was the only one who didn't speak up.

Gu Xufeng tagged He Ming in the input field, but couldn't bring himself to click send. Oh well, tagging him wouldn't make a difference.

"Brother, hurry up and move forward, it's almost our turn!" Gu Xuting urged anxiously.

"Oh." When he looked up again, Gu Xufeng's face showed a hint of helplessness and worry.

Meanwhile, the person he was worried about was sitting in the office of the "Zhejiang-Tongzhou-Anhui-Jiangsu Intercity Railway Co., Ltd." in Yunhe County, reviewing the land acquisition and resettlement agreement.

As dusk fell, a light drizzle began to fall outside the window. He Ming laid out copies of agreements across the conference table, bent down to scan them, and then printed copies.

The tedious and tedious work did not bore him; instead, it became an outlet for his emotions.

His phone kept beeping, but he paid no attention to it, focusing solely on his work.

He didn't stop what he was doing until it was completely dark and walked to the window.

Fine raindrops fell on the windowpane, leaving winding streaks. Under the dim light of the ceiling lamp, He Ming opened WeChat on his phone.

As usual, he only paid attention to work-related messages and skipped all other messages.

He opened the audit team's group chat, and a dozen messages popped up. He glanced at them quickly and was about to press the back button when his gaze drifted to the phone screen and caught sight of the message, "I also saw Zhu Liushuang; she's selling desserts at a stall."

His finger hovered in mid-air, and He Ming uncontrollably clicked on the photo that Gu Xufeng had posted in the group chat.

He recognized Zhu Liushuang's conspicuous and distinctive stall at a glance. Behind the stall stood three people: two women and one man. Zhu Liushuang was busy packing orders in the middle, and he recognized the woman standing to her left, handing paper bags to customers—it was Tian Xingyu, Ye Xingzhi's ex-girlfriend.

The man on the right… he couldn’t recognize him. The photo was blurry, so he had to open the original image and zoom in. As he swiped his finger across the screen, the two heads so close together in the photo inexplicably irritated him.

A wave of frustration washed over him, and He Ming abruptly released his grip.

Raindrops drifted in through the cracks in the window, hitting his face and suddenly snapping him out of his daze.

He coldly left the WeChat group and turned off his phone.

His heartbeat was calm and gentle in his chest, but the sudden feeling of suffocation from before still lingered in his mind, and he couldn't figure out what it was.

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Author's Note: Dr. Yue is a typical E-person [shrug][shrug] and also very cute [calico cat emoji]

We're both very determined; right now, we're only focused on this one tree. [Milk tea emoji]