In the business seat, Li Jing tilted his head to admire the scenery outside the window.
Originally, the window seat was Zhang Xinxin's, but before Li Jing sat down, Zhang Xinxin proactively offered the window seat to him.
Looking at the endless rice fields outside the train and the faintly visible stacked hills in the distance, Li Jing felt his chest broaden, and every pore of his body seemed to open up.
The beauty of nature truly has the power to cleanse the souls of those struggling and weary in the city.
Before, every high-speed train ride felt rushed, mostly during holidays, crowded with people, stepping on feet, filled with noise and incessant phone calls.
During those times, Li Jing only felt that the entire world was busy, murky, with not a single breath of space.
But now, sitting in this spacious and comfortable business seat, leisurely watching the scenery outside the window, with Zhang Xinxin occasionally reaching over to feed him fruit, he finally felt…
Damn, this is what life should be.
...
After getting off the high-speed train, Zhang Xinxin eagerly volunteered to be Li Jing's personal guide.
Although he didn't know why she was so familiar with the place, Li Jing didn't think much of it and let her handle the luggage, plan routes, call for cars... all sorts of trivial matters.
To Li Jing's surprise, Zhang Xinxin handled everything quite skillfully, allowing them to smoothly reach the guesthouse Li Jing had booked online in advance.
As it was personally reserved by Li Jing, it was naturally the most expensive guesthouse available locally, costing eight thousand yuan a night.
Even Zhang Xinxin, who considered herself a local expert, became a bit reserved after arriving at this guesthouse.
As she put it, although she had visited here many times, she had never entered this guesthouse because she knew it was a place only the rich could afford.
This guesthouse was called the Castle Guesthouse, which from the outside looked like an ancient local house that had been renovated.
Due to its overall brick-concrete structure and some architectural design details, the house had a certain castle-like quality, hence the name Castle Guesthouse.
Walking on the gray stone slabs, along the creek path, and passing through patches of lush aquatic plants, Li Jing and Zhang Xinxin officially entered the guesthouse.
Though called a guesthouse, it was more like a high-end hotel with an ancient house style.
As soon as Li Jing stepped into the lobby, a hostess immediately came forward with a smile to welcome them. After Li Jing confirmed his reservation, the front desk promptly provided service.
Zhang Xinxin followed behind Li Jing, enjoying the various services of the guesthouse, feeling as if she had become a rich person herself, inexplicably happy and satisfied in her heart.
For her, experiencing the lifestyle of the wealthy was her biggest goal in life.
The guesthouse was booked for a total of five days, costing forty thousand yuan in total.
As soon as Li Jing transferred out forty thousand from his bank card, the system instantly returned four hundred thousand.
This feeling of spending more and more money really made Li Jing feel very gratified. Even though he had experienced this many times, it still brought him immense joy.
Indeed, earning big money effortlessly is the most satisfying thing in the world.
Seeing Li Jing spend four thousand yuan with a blink of an eye once again, Zhang Xinxin was increasingly amazed by his financial strength.
After only a few days together, she had already seen Li Jing spend hundreds of thousands, which was several years' worth of her salary.
Thinking about this, she increasingly felt that pursuing Li Jing was the right decision, holding onto his arm even tighter, so much that her plump chest was squished flat.
Feeling the softening sensation against his arm, Li Jing looked satisfied, enjoying this experience, especially with someone like Zhang Xinxin, a naturally gifted individual, making him sigh, a big chest truly is justice!
Once Zhang Xinxin finished tidying everything up, Li Jing took her to the guesthouse restaurant for dinner.
The biggest convenience of this guesthouse was that the room fee included three meals a day for the guests.
Although the food tasted good, under Zhang Xinxin's persuasion, Li Jing only ate until he was half full.
According to her, the rest of the stomach must be saved for local snacks.
Since Li Jing and Zhang Xinxin arrived late, it was completely dark when they left the guesthouse.
Fortunately, the entire ancient town was brightly lit, and the deep black night did not affect the tourists' evening walks.
The Castle Guesthouse was located at the best spot in the ancient town, near the main entrance of the town.
Upon leaving the guesthouse, Li Jing and Zhang Xinxin walked directly into the ancient town.
The ancient town at night was like a serene painting.
Dim yellow lights cast amber halos on the ancient bluestone paths, appearing warm and comfortable.
Small groups of people strolled along the winding and twisting paths, occasionally breaking into playful laughter from couples.
Li Jing and Zhang Xinxin wandered through the ancient town, the air fresh and the night tranquil, bringing great peace to Li Jing's once restless heart in the big city.
He turned to glance at the equally quiet Zhang Xinxin beside him and was surprised to find her also appreciating the town's history and beauty, rare for her to remain silent, just following quietly behind.
Li Jing was taken aback, not expecting that a girl who craved a sophisticated, luxurious life could also recognize the beauty of this ancient town, which somewhat changed his view of her.
As the two walked into the depths of the ancient town, the atmosphere gradually became lively.
It turned out that ahead lay the commercial core area of the town, and suddenly the crowd increased.
The so-called commercial core was really just a small alley lined with night food stalls and numerous little shops.
Yet, it was bustling with people and lively voices, with vendors' calls adding a vibrant life to the town.
"There are lots of delicious things here! I'll take you over!"
Upon seeing the stalls ahead, Zhang Xinxin's eyes lit up, her lively soul awoke, and she dragged Li Jing, diving right into the bustling street.
"Stinky tofu, selling stinky tofu! Pretty lady, homemade stinky tofu, would you like to try some!"
"Candied haws, sweet and sour candied haws!"
"Pancakes, want pancakes? Handsome, pancakes, if they're not tasty, they're free!"
The various calls poured into their ears from all directions, and before Li Jing could make a broader selection, Zhang Xinxin already had several strings of snacks in her hand.
"Try these, they're all my favorites!"
Zhang Xinxin, with a sincere smile, showing her teeth, handed the snacks she loved to Li Jing, like a little girl sharing her favorites.
Seeing this, Li Jing also wasn't shy, taking two strings and beginning to eat.
"How is it?!" Zhang Xinxin was full of anticipation.
"Hmm, not bad." Li Jing nodded in agreement, "The craftsmanship is great, better than the stuff on TS City's commercial street."
Originally not expecting much from the snacks in the scenic area, Li Jing was surprised to find that what Zhang Xinxin bought tasted quite good.
For now, Zhang Xinxin certainly seemed like a good guide.
"As long as you like it! I'll go ahead and buy more delicious things for you!"
Encouraged by Li Jing's positive response, Zhang Xinxin became even more excited, brimming with boundless energy, she turned to squeeze into the crowd ahead.
Before long, Li Jing saw her standing on tiptoe in the distance, waving and shouting, "Li Jing, Brother Jing! The lemon tea here is really good, shall I get you a cup?"
Perhaps due to the uplifting mood of the trip, or maybe being infected by Zhang's enthusiasm, Li Jing called back loudly: "Sure, buy one for me, I'll come over!"
"Alright!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xinxin happily communicated with the vendor, continually reminding them about the sugar and ice level to ensure she could give Li Jing a cup of lemon tea she deemed perfect.
"Li Jing, Brother Jing, come over quickly, it's great for pictures here, I'll take them for you!"
"I'm not one for photos; let me take some for you."
"Li Jing, Brother Jing, there are some mini-games here, you can make a wish by breaking bowls, it's said to be effective!"
"Alright, we'll each make a wish."
"Li Jing, Brother Jing, there are handmade souvenirs for sale here, the craftsmanship by the old lady in this shop is amazing!"
"Come quickly! Li Jing, Brother Jing, I bought barbecue for you, this shop's taste is incredible!"
"Li Jing, Brother Jing, look up there, there are fireworks! Wow, so beautiful, quickly take pictures!"
During the ancient town's night, Zhang Xinxin and Li Jing—one in front continuously discovering fun, the other behind constantly enjoying— seemed to revert to childhood, like two kids frolicking in the ancient town, carefree and warm.
From ahead, Zhang Xinxin occasionally looked back, seeing Li Jing's embarrassed look as he struggled through the crowd, and couldn't help but giggle, joy blooming on her face like a flower.
Seeing Li Jing searching for her, she would intentionally hide then suddenly appear from behind, giving him a start and then bursting into happy laughter.
Maybe influenced by the town's atmosphere, the two seemed to open their hearts, unburdened, simply enjoying this fleeting happiness.
At this moment, Zhang Xinxin fell into an illusion, as if she and Li Jing were truly immersed in the river of love, the beauty of love wrapping her tightly, letting her indulge in it.
Even though she knew in her heart that it's impossible for Li Jing to really be with her...
But she treasured every beautiful moment of this night immensely.
For her, life is like a dream, fleeting, leaving behind a trace of happiness worth remembering, and that is already enough.