Chapter 337
At dawn, many tourists and residents had already arrived at Huashang Park, standing beneath the plum trees, gazing out at the sight. The normally bustling atmosphere had, however, become unusually quiet.
Zhou Xiao was lucky enough to have the best spot under the most crowded tree. As time passed, the plum blossoms on this branch finally budded and blossomed, in anticipation of everyone's arrival.
The reason why she came here early today was that a few days ago, she heard the elderly people practicing Tai Chi in the square talking vividly about the plum blossoms in the park that were blooming one after another, and she kept it in mind.
After sending the edited videos and photos to Tong Yin yesterday, Zhou Xiao almost immediately planned her trip to the park. After receiving Tong Yin's positive response last night, she was even more excited to see the plum blossoms.
"Mom, look!" a child, carried on his father's shoulders, said in a clear voice amidst the quiet atmosphere. Pointing at the white, unfolding plum blossoms just a few feet away, he exclaimed in amazement, "It's blooming..."
Before the child could finish his words, his mother put her index finger on her lips, signaling him to be quiet, and hurriedly apologized to the people around her.
Zhou Xiao was standing next to the family of three. When he saw the child shut his mouth obediently, his black grape-like eyes rolling around, he thought he looked obedient and cute.
And just because the parents were able to discipline their children well, everyone around them, including her, looked at them with understanding. Who knows how comforting it is to encounter a reasonable parent in public?
After this brief incident, the surroundings quickly fell silent, and everyone's attention became more focused. A delicate fragrance wafted through the air, and as the buds on the trees opened one after another, the park began to regain its former bustle.
Because the plum blossoms at Huashang Park are quite large, as they began to bloom, the crowd dispersed, searching for remaining buds. Zhou Xiao, who had been surrounded by the crowd from the beginning, finally had some "freedom."
Just as she was about to step back, she felt a shadow looming over her head. Zhou Xiao turned around and looked up, only to see two blond, blue-eyed foreigners standing behind her.
"Oh! This is simply spectacular! So beautiful! I swear, this is the most beautiful place I have seen on this trip so far! Guys, although I have only been in China for a few days, you know, this is really beyond my imagination!" A man about 2 meters tall held a sports camera, moved the lens away from his face, and took in the plum forest in Huashang Park.
"We've arrived at the perfect time," said a tall woman with her long blond hair braided into thick plaits, looking very pleased. She, too, was holding an action camera and expressing her feelings to the camera. "People here are very quiet when they're watching, and they subconsciously try not to disturb others."
When the two realized that there was a "little thing" in front of them, the man who held the camera above Zhou Xiao's head quickly said sorry to her several times, and then put the camera back to his chest.
"It's okay, welcome to Shanghai!" When Zhou Xiao saw the two people's equipment, he realized that these two should be foreign bloggers who came to China for a "special forces-style" tour.
Thanks to the 144-hour visa-free policy and the growing popularity of Shanghai's "Newbie Village" online, the city has seen a surge in foreign tourists lately. Many of these tourists are bringing action cameras to record their experiences. Zhou Xiao had just finished admiring the scenery and, taking advantage of the situation, vacated his seat to make way for the other person.
"Thank you!" "Thank you!" Although her Chinese wasn't entirely standard, it was clear enough for everyone to understand. Zhou Xiao raised her hand, said goodbye to the two of them, and then left. She felt that if she didn't leave now, the place would probably get very busy.
Sure enough, not long after she left, the elderly people who were leisurely exercising in the park began to look at the two tall foreigners with curiosity.
This was the ultimate communication between the local language and a foreign language. When the translation software expressed its helplessness, Ian Toland and his wife June Kate could only smile at each other. Even though they couldn't understand what the other was saying, this cross-national enthusiasm was enough for them.
Although they were both a little concerned about the ubiquitous cameras on China's streets, the sense of security that followed was very real. If they had been a little wary on their first day, they were now beginning to enjoy it.
After walking around the park, the two were already starving. They quickly followed the directions on their phones and headed to the bustling local shopping street in search of food. As usual, they opted for dumplings for lunch and, after some more wandering, came across a popular spot filled with people checking in and taking photos.
The check-in line was long, seemingly filled with young people. Among the crowd, the two spotted traditional Chinese cheongsams and cosplays of anime characters. The more they saw this mix and match, the more vibrant the atmosphere felt.
"Ian," Joan said, pointing to the sign in the square, "Should we take a photo here? It looks like a popular photoshoot spot for influencers."
Following the direction of Joan's finger, Ian looked at the dark blue sign, "There are words on it, let me see..."
He took out his phone and scanned it, looking at the translator word by word. "I missed you in Shanghai? Oh, this looks cool, of course we have to try it!"
…
After lunch at Huashang Times Square, Zhou Xiao walked from her hotel to the square, ready to stroll around and help digest her food. Then, she spotted two familiar foreign friends checking in at the iron gate, which has now become a landmark of the square.
But as they got closer, Zhou Xiao realized he'd misunderstood. They weren't there to check in at the "Star 101" gate; their goal was the internet-famous sign casually placed nearby.
The two foreigners didn't know that the fans who lined up here to check in were all heading for the iron gate. Although they chose the wrong direction, the camera still captured the iron gate on the side. How can this not be considered another successful check-in?
Qiong frowned as she pondered the photo in the camera lens. This photo was really terrible. They wanted a full-body photo to commemorate their arrival at their first popular tourist attraction in Shanghai.
Just as she was considering whether to ask someone to take the photo, Qiong spotted a familiar face. After a moment's hesitation, she reached out her hand and greeted Zhou Xiao, "Hi! Hello!"
Zhou Xiao glanced around and found that there was no one else around, so she pointed at herself. After confirming that the other person was the one greeting her, she thought for a moment and asked, "Do you need any help?"
"Thank you so much! We need help. Could you take a photo of us? It's right here!" Qiong pointed at the internet-famous road sign and said to Zhou Xiao excitedly.
Although the two were wary of China at the beginning, after staying in Shanghai for two days, they had already spontaneously awakened to the awareness of asking passers-by for help, even if it meant handing their cameras to strangers and asking them to take pictures of them.
Zhou Xiao looked at the camera in his hand, then looked at the internet celebrity brand, and finally took several photos with the two of them looking excited.
As for this part, if they edit it out later, it could probably become an Easter egg exclusively for Chinese people, right?
"Thank you so much!" Qiong's face was full of smiles. "Thank you, we have encountered a lot of help and kindness in China these two days!"
She took the camera, hugged Zhou Xiao, and then happily returned to her husband. But as Qiong walked and looked at the photos inside, her expression soon became particularly exaggerated.
"Oh! OMG! I mean, this is simply amazing!" Qiong paused where she was, as if she couldn't believe how the effect could be so good when someone else took the photo with the same camera! But when she turned around to thank Zhou Xiao again, she saw that the other person had disappeared after going around a wall.
"Ian, come here!" Joan put down the camera and called to Ian, who was still wondering what was so magical about the street sign. "Honey, you look so good in the picture!"
Ian, who was stopped by his wife, raised his eyebrows, touched his face subconsciously, and then moved closer to see what he looked like in the photo that could surprise the other party so much.
"This... isn't this what I look like in the mirror?" Ian, narcissistically touching his beard which he hadn't shaved today because he was lazy, looked very puzzled as he spoke to the sports camera.
But in fact, he was very happy. If he hadn't seen new Chinese people coming to check in, Ian felt that he would not be able to help but let out a few roars of joy.
Should I put this photo on the cover? No, it seems another one will do... Wait, there's another one! While Ian was struggling, Joan had already made a decision.
"I think I've figured out a title for this vlog today." Joan ignored her husband's narcissism and reached out to take the camera from him. "Let's call it - The Magical Chinese Photographer!"
…
Inside the Huashang Times Hotel, Zhou Xiao was sitting on the sofa, looking at the latest task issued by the system. This task was triggered by a pop-up that appeared spontaneously when she checked her work account every week.
[Ding! DL business photo shoot invitation detected, activating the system's additional photo shoot task. If the host accepts the task, they will receive a system fund reward.]
DL? Zhou Xiao propped her chin up in thought. But soon, she realized the key information in this task. She had a feeling the system wouldn't pop up this kind of prompt for no reason. The last time they rewarded extra system funds was when Ji Shao became the global spokesperson for WP.
Thinking of this, Zhou Xiao lowered her head and began to open the friend request page of the communication software. Soon, she saw requests from several accounts.
The messages sent were all marked with a message: Hello, Teacher Zhou Xiao, I am a DL staff member.
As for whether or not to accept the invitation? Zhou Xiao didn't think that was a problem. It would be a waste not to accept the tasks assigned by the system. After all, it had been a long time since it had given her a new task.
If the system hadn't been issuing tickets from time to time, Zhou Xiao would have thought it was already a failure. Of course, perhaps it was already a failure. After all, for Ji Shao at this stage, his fame value was in a delicate state.
Thinking of this, she casually added a friend request. She originally planned to wait and see when the other party would contact her and then discuss the details of the cooperation.
Unexpectedly, less than two minutes after Zhou Xiao successfully added the friend, the staff from DL sent a long string of messages.
For Zhou Xiao, the most eye-catching piece of information was an invitation to film a commercial for DL's global spokesperson, Ji Shao!
really!
When Zhou Xiao received the system task, she had a vague suspicion about Ji Shao's title. Looking at the title, she couldn't help but admire DL's generosity!
In other words, this collaboration allowed Ji Shao to jump from ambassador to global general agent in one step! Even the gossip-mongers online wouldn't dare elevate the title to this level. At the very least, he's just a brand spokesperson.
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