The four had lunch at the village chief's house, stayed for another half hour, and then took a boat to leave the island.
When they left, Cao Lu and Zhang Kailun were still wandering aimlessly in the forest.
Today is the annual prayer festival in Hushi City. The evening is very lively, and citizens will go to the riverbank to release lotus lanterns to make wishes and pray for blessings.
At 7:30 p.m., Luo Shimiao, sitting in the driver's seat, said, "Let's go release the lotus lanterns."
Gu Nian, sitting in the passenger seat, glanced at Luo Shimiao with a smile, then continued to look at his phone.
Luo Shimiao hummed a song, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel to the beat. The pink car stood out among the mostly black and white sedans.
He glanced at the navigation and said, "Gu Nian, just cross this bridge and turn the corner, and you'll be there. Have you taken care of your business?"
"Almost there." The man's clear, pleasant voice rang out in the carriage.
With many vehicles on the bridge, Luo Shimiao slowed down and maintained a safe distance.
"Bang! Bang!" Two consecutive impacts shook the camera clipped to the ground inside the car.
Luo Shimiao glanced in the rearview mirror: "Damn it! What's going on in the back? Gu Nian, you keep doing your thing."
After unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car, she was about to ask the white car behind her when she saw the driver of the black car in front, a portly man, angrily walking over and pointing his finger at Luo Shimiao's nose, saying, "How do you drive? Do you know what kind of car this is? Can you afford to pay for it?"
The photographer leaned out of the sunroof, saw that it was Luo Shimiao, picked up the camera and got out of the car. They had been following behind Luo Shimiao, but they were cut off at a traffic light and were now several cars behind.
The driver of the black car saw Luo Shimiao's stunning appearance, a knowing glint in his eyes, and sneered, "So you're a member of the hit-and-run gang."
"What car bumper gang?" Luo Shimiao asked, frowning.
"Stop pretending. You pretty women deliberately cause rear-end collisions when you see luxury cars on the road, and then use your beauty to get close to the drivers."
"I've seen plenty of women like you. You rely on your looks to pretend to be socialites, frequenting all sorts of high-class places to hook up with eligible bachelors. You've got good taste in me."
“I am a married man.” He paused, looking at Luo Shimiao’s face with a greedy glint in his eyes, and continued, “However… I can give you a chance to be my third lover.”
Luo Shimiao rolled her eyes, speechless as she looked at the man who was constantly imagining things.
He caught sight of the photographer running towards him out of the corner of his eye, raised an eyebrow, and put on a smiling face, saying, "May I ask how I should address you, sir?"
Seeing Luo Shimiao's reaction, the man assumed that things were as he had described. He puffed out his chest and said arrogantly, "Miss, you're not very professional. You're new to the industry, aren't you? You don't even recognize me. Listen carefully, I am Luo Minghao, the president of xxx listed company in Hushi."
Luo Shimiao smiled with narrowed eyes, then stopped smiling a second later and said to the photographer, "Don't take pictures of his face."
The photographer understood Luo Shimiao's intention and pointed the lens at the man's body below the neck.
Luo Shimiao said, "Come, come, let me introduce you. This is Luo Minghao, the president of xxx listed company in Hushi. I don't know if President Luo's wife watches our program. Your husband has two mistresses. Now he says he wants to give me a chance to be his third mistress. Please be aware!"
Luo Minghao roared, "What are you filming? Delete it!"
Luo Shimiao glanced at Luo Minghao's appearance and said disdainfully, "He looks like he's from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, driving a beat-up car and spouting nonsense here. He's like a toad yawning, what a big mouth he has!"
"Miaomiao." At this moment, Gu Nian got out of the car.
Luo Shimiao linked arms with Gu Nian: "Even if I were to fish, I'd fish for high-quality ones. Someone like you, a dung beetle wearing a mask, shameless and disgusting, makes me feel nauseous just looking at you."
Luo Minghao was furious at Luo Shimiao's words. He looked at Gu Nian, and the curse he was about to utter turned into: "President Gu?"
"You know him?" Luo Shimiao looked at the aloof and dignified man.
Gu Nian coldly replied, "I don't know him."
Luo Minghao put on a fawning expression: "How could the famous richest man know a nobody like me?"
"I'm sorry, Miss. I didn't know you were Mr. Gu's woman. I hope you'll be magnanimous and not take my words to heart. They were just jokes. You don't need to pay for the car."
"What do you mean I don't have to pay? It wasn't even my responsibility in the first place!"
The white car owner, who had been standing by, finally got a chance to speak: "It's my fault. I accidentally stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake, which caused this rear-end collision."
Luo Shimiao looked at the man who was covered in sweat and said, "Why don't you just drink the pesticide like it's a beverage!"
The white car owner lowered his head in shame, too embarrassed to speak after making such a basic mistake.
Luo Minghao extended his right hand to Gu Nian: "Hello, President Gu, my name is Luo Minghao. It's a pleasure to meet you. It's fate that we met in this vast world. Are you free tonight, President Gu? Let me do my best to be your host."
Gu Nian glanced at it coldly, his hands in his pockets, showing no intention of taking it out.
Luo Shimiao looked at Luo Minghao with disdain. His attitude changed so quickly: "What bullshit fate? Open your rat eyes and look at the long line behind you. Hurry up and drive your beat-up car away!"
"Yes, yes, we'll open it now."
The owner of the white car called the police. Luo Shimiao didn't want to see the sycophantic Luo Minghao, so she asked the staff to stay and handle the situation, and then left with Gu Nian.
After crossing the bridge, she turned into a road lined with vendors selling lotus lanterns. Luo Shimiao walked into one of the stalls, picked up two lotus lanterns, and was about to pay when a large hand covered her camera.
"I'll pay." With a beep, Gu Nian quickly paid the money.
Luo Shimiao grinned and said, "The richest man is indeed the richest man, so generous! How about the richest man who's the most handsome in the world...?"
Her slender fingers pointed to the candied hawthorns not far away.
Gu Nian took Luo Shimiao's small hand and walked over, saying, "I'll take them both. How much?"
"Huh?" The vendor selling candied hawthorns had never encountered a customer like this before and didn't react for a moment.
Luo Shimiao quickly said, "One skewer will be fine with me."
"Oh, 5 yuan a skewer."
Another "beep" sounded.
Luo Shimiao tore open the outer wrapping paper, opened her small mouth and took a bite. The sweet taste spread in her mouth, and her bright eyes curved into a smile.
"Gu Nian, you should have one too."
"I'll eat if you feed me."
"So pretentious!" she said, but still put the candied hawthorn to the man's lips.
The riverbank was crowded with people, each holding a lotus lantern.
The two's outstanding appearances attracted a lot of attention, and Luo Shimiao pulled Gu Nian to a less crowded place.
"Oh dear, Gu Nian, we forgot to buy a lighter, but that won't stop me, the smartest person in the world."
Luo Shimiao squatted down, holding onto Gu Nian's trouser leg with one hand and reaching for the lotus lanterns floating down from upstream on the river with the other.
He picked up the lotus lantern and said, "Hey, can I borrow a light? You don't mind, do you?"
Gu Nian: "........……."
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