Whether Chu Ge had good intentions was unknown, but this man clearly forgot he also needed to book a hotel tonight, his true intentions completely exposed. The girl stormed off, and it was anyone's guess how long it would take to win her back.
Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji watched the tragic man's face, secretly laughing like monkeys as they continued eating their seafood.
What could Chu Ge possibly have up his sleeve? They were just staying together, weren't they? They stayed together every day, weren't they? Qiu Wuji remained calm.
What could he possibly do? He'd kick him to death.
Qiu Wuji not only remained calm but also urged, "We've almost finished eating, shall we go check out the hotel?" A waiter passed by, glanced at them, and then ran away in tears.
Chu Ge asked curiously, "You didn't seem to eat much. Why not eat more?"
"Too much of a good thing," Qiu Wuji said leisurely, wiping his mouth and swaying as he stood up. "It's the desire to eat more that makes us look forward to the next time. If you eat too much, there's no anticipation for the next time..."
"Hmm... I unexpectedly heard some of Master's wisdom," Chu Ge chuckled. "Putting aside the wisdom, this woman is definitely quite frugal."
Qiu Wuji glared at him. *So you know I'm frugal?*
*Waaah, those crabs are so expensive! My heart is bleeding from eating them.*
*I might as well go out into the sea tonight and catch a few to take home and cook.*
"You talk too much?" Qiu Wuji said resentfully. "I'll pay the bill when I die, let's see if you feel the pinch!"
Chu Ge really didn't feel the pinch. It wasn't that he was now rich and didn't care about the cost of seafood, but rather that he had planned to splurge, and now, thanks to her frugality, the cost was much lower than expected...
*Looks like we can book a better hotel tonight?* He pulled out his phone and checked the ride-hailing app; there was a hot spring resort nearby, and the star rating was decent…
He didn't know if every place had a so-called hot spring resort, but Chu Ge knew that there were real hot springs in the Nanjiang area, so he could soak in one. He'd been a little disappointed not to have a bath at the beach before, so soaking in a real hot spring would be nice…
Unfortunately, he couldn't soak with Qiu Wuji. Sigh, what was he thinking!
It wasn't a holiday, so hotels were easy to book; there were plenty of rooms available on the app. Chu Ge wasn't in a rush to book, thinking he'd check it out first.
"Hey, Chu Ge! Chu Ge!" Qiu Wuji suddenly tugged at his clothes and called out, "Why are there candied hawthorns here?"
Chu Ge looked in the direction of the trolley and saw an old man standing on a pole by the roadside, covered with thatch or something, with a row of candied hawthorns stuck on it—it looked quite cute.
"This is a county town, so there are quite a few little things here. Actually, Nanjiang has them too, but you have to go to the old alleys in the old town. For the local fish balls and meat dumplings, you have to go through those alleys to get the real thing." Qiu Wuji didn't care about fish balls at all, and enthusiastically pulled him towards the candied hawthorns: "I never thought there were candied hawthorns in this world!" Chu Ge paused, remembering the little girl in her autobiography sitting on the edge of a field, swinging her dirty little feet, eagerly waiting for the peddler to come and sell candy.
So she had candied hawthorns back then too.
The only difference between candied hawthorns now and before is that you can pay by scanning a QR code.
Qiu Wuji took out her phone, scanned the code, bought a skewer, tilted her head, thought for a moment, then scanned again and got a second skewer.
Just when Chu Ge thought she was going to eat two skewers, Qiu Wuji sweetly reached out and handed him a skewer: "Here, one for each of us."
Chu Ge really wanted to pat her head.
His hand was already raised, but he hesitated, then awkwardly accepted the candied hawthorn.
Qiu Wuji seemed to understand his meaning, pursed his lips, tossed his ponytail, and walked away licking the candied hawthorn.
Chu Ge silently followed beside him, each with a candied hawthorn, neither speaking. Qiu Wuji seemed to be reminiscing about his childhood, while Chu Ge was reminiscing about Qiu Wuji.
In the nighttime town, the streetlights illuminated their movements and expressions, indistinct yet seemingly identical.
They remained silent until they reached the entrance of the hot spring hotel. At the door, they stopped abruptly, waited for the automatic doors to open, and then stepped inside in unison.
Their movements were so synchronized that the receptionist skipped the question about room availability: "Would you like a double room or a standard room?"
Qiu Wuji didn't understand the difference between a double room and a standard room, so he reverted to his excellent tradition of silently letting Chu Ge negotiate, as he had done when he first arrived in this place, and waited for Chu Ge to speak.
Chu Ge was conflicted.
"Of course I want a king-size bed!" she thought, but the likely outcome was being kicked out and forced to sleep on the floor. She figured she might as well just ask for a standard room; at least they'd made progress by sharing a room, right?
Thinking this, she suppressed her heartache and declared righteously, "Do you think I'm that kind of person? Of course, a standard room!" Qiu Wuji nodded in agreement. A standard room sounded more respectable than a king-size bed… wait, does that mean they're sharing a room?
"Wait, wait!" Qiu Wuji peeked over the counter; Chu Ge had already taken out his ID and registered it.
Qiu Wuji said angrily, "I have an ID too, I need one too…"
Before she could finish, she saw the price: 688.
Qiu Wuji shut her mouth.
More expensive than the crab from before.
The receptionist looked up at her: "Your ID is supposed to be registered… these days, there aren't many people this proactive." They entered together, munching on candied hawthorns. What did she mean by sharing a room? It couldn't be like that, could it?
Qiu Wuji silently handed over her ID.
Using an ID card for the first time in this world, why does it feel so awkward? Thinking back to all the bad things I've done before, it was always because I didn't have an identity. So, is this thing actually designed for doing bad things?
Chu Ge, standing beside him, didn't know whether he should regret it.
He originally planned to check out the hot springs before deciding whether to stay, but after being asked that, his mind was already racing between a double room and a standard room. This is ridiculous…
Oh well, having a room is more important than soaking in the hot springs!
Then the receptionist added, "If you two want to soak in the hot springs, you can call the front desk, and we'll send a wooden tub of hot spring water up…"
Well, Chu Ge never believed that a wooden tub contained real hot spring water, but it seemed better than nothing…
Chu Ge silently took the room key, and he and Qiu Wuji, each with their own secrets… no, their own thoughts, walked towards the elevator.
Then they both finished eating the last candied hawthorn, threw the bamboo skewer into the trash can in front of the elevator, and looked up together to watch the elevator numbers change.
"Why did you do the same thing as me!" Qiu Wuji finally gritted his teeth.
Chu Ge: "…I was about to ask you that too." The other passengers waiting for the elevator on either side looked at the couple with strange smiles, each one with an expression like a kind aunt. The two of them became embarrassed, simultaneously turning their heads to the other side and falling silent.
Upon entering the room, Chu Ge silently inserted the room card, and the room quickly brightened.
Qiu Wuji slammed the door shut, grabbing Chu Ge by the collar and pinning him against the wall: "It's all your fault! Now I can't even taste the candied hawthorn!"
Chu Ge pursed his lips, then suddenly laughed: "I can taste it, though. Want to hear it?"
Qiu Wuji was taken aback: "What?"
"Sweet and sour," Chu Ge said, "Just like my feelings."
Qiu Wuji was stunned for a moment, then let go of his collar, snorted, and walked into the room.
Looking at the two beds side by side, Qiu Wuji's face was full of disgust: "I'm going to the sea tonight. You can lie here and try to go!"
Is this why you finally accepted a room together?
Chu Ge chuckled, "If that's the case, then this room is wasted... because I'm going with you."
Qiu Wuji scoffed, "What can you do?"
"Even if I'm just a cheerleader, I can't just stay home waiting for you to go to dangerous places." Chu Ge stepped forward, instinctively reaching out to touch her head, but then stopped himself, realizing his mistake.
Qiu Wuji glared at him, "You wanted to touch my head, didn't you? Just now, and now, you did."
Chu Ge gritted his teeth, "Yes." He then reached out and ruffled her hair, saying, "Even if you hit me, I have to say, you're cuter than I ever imagined Qiu Wuji to be..." Finally, he got to rub her head! He'd been holding it in all the way; it felt like finally getting a bowel movement after constipation. He'd be willing to be beaten to death.
Qiu Wuji's hair was a mess from the ruffled hair. She looked up at him angrily.
She wanted to hit him, but his words changed her mind.
Is that so?
I'm cute? Is this word used to describe me?
No, I've already surpassed the character in the book he imagined.