Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 182

Huilan Pavilion¹

Su Ruixi had never felt that there was anything wrong with liking money. She liked money too, and she liked it very much. After graduating from university, she started her own company. On one hand, it was because she wanted to achieve something to show her family, to let everyone know that she could live very well even without relying on them. On the other hand, it was still because she loved money.

The key point was, it had to be money that she earned herself, not a single bit of which would be controlled by others.

She could get a lot of help from her parents, but her economic lifeline could not be controlled by their hands.

Su Ruixi could not imagine living like Hip-hop Mei, where just for being a little naughty, her card would be suspended by someone like her own older sister who held the financial power. She was already an adult, yet she would still have a guardian or something; Su Ruixi could not accept that.

She herself loved money quite a bit, otherwise she would not work so desperately. Therefore, regarding Sun Miao’s emotional sigh, Su Ruixi was also quite calm. She would never have thoughts like, “So you were with me just because you liked my money, you’re actually so materialistic!” Please, it would be great if Sun Miao liked her money.

At least that way it would be very easy to satisfy Sun Miao; she would just have to give her half of the little money she earned. Giving it all to her… seemed not impossible either.

Besides, Su Ruixi also knew that Sun Miao was not the kind of person who was completely focused on money. She would take the compensation from Yuanfu Lou and donate it right away, and she would also run out to set up her stall every day, ei

“…” The moment she thought of Sun Miao’s little stall, Su Ruixi became a little angry again.

Having to push that little stall of hers out to sell every day, how much money did she even make in a day? Was it even 2000 kuai? Just for that little bit of money, when Su Ruixi woke up in the morning, Sun Miao had long since run off without a trace. It was only because she occasionally left a little note for her to cheer her up that Su Ruixi’s sour feelings toward the little stall were suppressed.

Speaking of which, the iron box Su Ruixi used to store Sun Miao’s little notes already had quite a few inside.

The moment Su Ruixi thought of the little iron box, her mood improved a bit. Then, thinking that they were now in Qin Island, far away from those old customers, Su Ruixi was in what you would call a cheerful mood.

After they arrived at the hotel and put down their luggage, they did not go out first. Su Ruixi opened her suitcase, took out the dress she had secretly stuffed inside, and handed it to Sun Miao. “Miaomiao, change into this one.”

When Sun Miao saw it, she was still a little surprised. “Susu-jie, when did you pack my dress in here?”

“Hmph.” Su Ruixi let out a light, aojiao snort. While Sun Miao was being pushed by her to change her clothes, she took the opportunity to rummage out the other accessories as well. This included a hat for sun protection. The last time she wore it, Sun Miao had taken off the sun hat and replaced it with a safety helmet. Now that they were here, there was no need to wear a safety helmet, right?

After Sun Miao came out, Su Ruixi pulled her over, first did her skincare and sun protection, then put on the full set of equipment. She herself changed her shoes again before pulling Sun Miao out the door. The guide had been prepared long ago; not a moment could be wasted.

Before they set out in the morning, it had been continuously overcast and rainy, the heavy water vapor so oppressive it made it hard to breathe. But when they went out again, the sun was shining brightly everywhere. This contrast made Sun Miao feel a bit dazed. However, Su Ruixi beside her was smiling very happily, without her usual cold face.

She called for a private car, directly pulled Sun Miao into it, and then they drove to the first stop—the Hundred-Year Pier² and Huilan Pavilion.

Sun Miao loved the ocean. Walking across the pier with Su Ruixi, arriving at Huilan Pavilion, and seeing the distant sea and sky merge into one color, the uncultured her could only be struck with shock. But the cultured Su Ruixi beside her could instantly recite a line of poetry about Huilan Pavilion: “Qinyu’s³ floating lanterns reflect on Zhanqiao, on Fenghuang Island⁴ the crape myrtle is delicate. A long rainbow lying on the sea startles the wind and rain, in the flying pavilion returning waves listen to the evening tide.”

Sun Miao did not know the specific meaning, but just listening to it, she felt it was very beautiful.

It was just that, beyond the beauty, she also felt that this version of Su Ruixi was too far away from her. They stood in Huilan Pavilion, went up to the second floor, and leaned against the pavilion’s railing, looking at the distant sea. The waves rushed in from afar, crashing against the rocks on the shore and making the sound of surging billows. The sunlight was wonderful; the surface of the sea outside was sparkling, and it also cast a layer of soft light on Su Ruixi.

She wore a wide-brimmed sun hat, yet her face was bathed in sunlight. Su Ruixi was very fair to begin with, and when the sunlight hit her, she seemed to be glowing white. Her voice was gentle and slow; although her tone was calm and unruffled when she recited the poetry, it naturally carried a kind of charm.

When Su Ruixi looked over at Sun Miao, she truly felt that Su Ruixi was so beautiful, so beautiful that she did not dare to look at her directly.

In fact, for this half of the day, Sun Miao had been excited and nervous. Because it was her first time on an airplane, her first time traveling to such a faraway place, everything was unknown to her. But at the same time, she also discovered: Su Ruixi was so far away from her, so far that they were originally two parallel straight lines, with no moment of intersection.

This feeling was exceptionally obvious, making Sun Miao feel a bit intimidated deep in her heart, she could not help it. She would not go so far as to distance herself from Su Ruixi because of this, but it was unavoidable to feel: Ah, so the person before my eyes is really not from the same world as me.

And she felt that as time went on, this thought in her heart would become firmly rooted deep inside her, spreading to her four limbs and hundred bones.

Su Ruixi actually had not noticed this, but the look in Sun Miao’s eyes as she looked at her was too serious, making her unable to resist pressing down on her own wide-brimmed sun hat and leaning over. Her sun hat was very large with a soft brim. When it rested on Sun Miao’s shoulder, there was hardly any feeling. Sun Miao was also wearing a sun hat, and when their two sun hats came together, they looked like large sunflowers.

It also quietly concealed the two of them.

June was not the peak tourist season, but today was Saturday. Even at high noon, there were quite a few tourists coming and going in Huilan Pavilion.

Sun Miao thought that Su Ruixi had leaned over just to be close to her. Su Ruixi’s left hand clasped over Sun Miao’s right hand. She had been standing to Sun Miao’s right, and because she turned sideways, Sun Miao also turned her body a bit. Su Ruixi’s shoulder leaned over, and she extended her right hand to pull a bit on the left side of Sun Miao’s sun hat.

Then, just like that, she leaned forward and kissed Sun Miao’s lips.

Her movement was a bit sudden. For a moment, Sun Miao was a bit unsteady; her right hand, which was grabbing the railing, had to use a bit of force to barely steady the two of them. The two of them were right under the sun hats. In front of them was the great sea, where spring was warm and flowers were blooming; behind them were people coming and going. From time to time, tourists, just like them, would reach out to hold the railing and gaze into the distance.

Sun Miao was a little afraid of being discovered and receiving others’ surprised gazes. Even if they were not a same-sex couple, just an ordinary little couple of a man and a woman, doing such a thing in a place with so many people coming and going was quite embarrassing.

But after a little while, Sun Miao discovered that the people around them actually all had their own things to do; no one would pay attention to them. They were either looking at their family members or lovers beside them, or gazing at the beautiful scenery in the distance. No one here would be watching two strangers.

Only then were the two of them able to sneakily kiss in the crowd for quite a while. After a while, they separated, and Su Ruixi’s face still carried a bit of a mischievous smile.

Her voice was soft: “Miaomiao, you were looking at me like that just now. Did you want to kiss me?”

Actually, she did not.

She was thinking about very profound things, contemplating whether parallel lines like them could really last for a long time. The longer they were together, the more would be exposed. Would a person as talented as Su Ruixi like someone like herself, who did not have a drop of ink in her belly⁵? She could not recite such lines of poetry; even if she had done her homework beforehand, she would not have known that such beautiful poetry existed.

She also had little experience; it was even her first time on an airplane, and she was still scared of the ringing in her ears during takeoff.

But Su Ruixi was using her actions to tell her: she did not mind, she had not even noticed those things. When she saw Sun Miao staring at her, she would only think, “Does she want to kiss me.”

To ruin the atmosphere at a time like this would be a bit insensible. Sun Miao smiled and answered, “Yes.”

Su Ruixi’s gaze shifted. The moment Sun Miao saw that look, she understood that Su Ruixi wanted to fool around. But she still restrained her temperament and accompanied Sun Miao for 700 meters to first see the nearby St. Michael’s Cathedral⁶. On the way, they saw many little couples taking photos at the entrances of small shops by the roadside.

When they arrived at the entrance of the cathedral, there were even more couples in pairs.

Sun Miao pulled Su Ruixi to the cathedral entrance. Holding Su Ruixi’s hand, she took a selfie with her. Su Ruixi did not really like having her picture taken, but she still directed her gaze at the camera lens. She complained in a small voice, “Miaomiao’s phone is too bad, the picture will definitely not look good.”

“It’s not! I just got it not long ago. It cost quite a lot of money; it’s a flagship model.”

As the two of them spoke like this, even though Su Ruixi did not like taking pictures, she still cooperatively revealed a small smile. It was just that this smile looked a bit stiff. Sun Miao looked for a moment and only said, “Susu-jie in person is still more beautiful.”

The two of them checked in⁷ at St. Michael’s Cathedral. Su Ruixi still could not hold it in and pulled Sun Miao directly back to the hotel. After arriving at the hotel, Su Ruixi did not pause for a moment; she pulled Sun Miao and started to fool around.

Their sun hats were thrown on the floor, and gradually, all their clothes fell to the floor as well.

Originally, at Huilan Pavilion, they could only kiss sneakily, but in the hotel, they could be open and generous. No one would come to disturb them. This moment let Su Ruixi kiss to her heart’s content.

Sun Miao had originally planned to go out for some delicious food at night, but in reality, they could only order room service. When the food was delivered, it was Sun Miao, wearing a nightgown and wrapped up tightly, who went to get the meal. After the waiter placed the items on the dining table and left, Sun Miao returned and called Su Ruixi, who was so tired she could not even move her fingers, to come and eat.

Su Ruixi was a bit unconvinced. “Why is it always you putting in the effort, but in the end, the one who’s tired is me?”

Sun Miao answered righteously, “Because you didn’t eat lunch.”

“…” Although that was part of the reason, Su Ruixi still felt it was also related to Sun Miao’s own physical strength. Because it was not just like this today; it was like this every single time!

The exhausted-to-death Su Ruixi had no strength and could only extend her hand toward Sun Miao. “Can you carry me to the dining room?”

Sun Miao did not shirk her duty; carrying Su Ruixi was quite easy for her. Su Ruixi had been fed by her and had gotten a bit fatter, but she was still the slender type. Sun Miao could carry large buckets with ease, let alone Su Ruixi. She carried the person to the dining room, sat her on the seat, and then had to serve her food.

The great young miss was still not happy and was quite picky about the dinner. “Not tasty.”

“Susu-jie, bear with it for a bit. I see the kitchen here is all good. Tomorrow morning, we’ll go to the market, and I’ll buy a little something to come back and cook.”

Only then was Su Ruixi satisfied.

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