Chapter 1

Ice chips clinked against the glass wall; moonlight hung drying on the tree branches.

Lazing on the sofa, Yun Huizhi brought her iced sparkling water to her lips and clicked into her private messages with her left hand. She saw a query from a user named “Swimming in the Void”:

[What is your standard for pretty?]

The seriously posed question made Yun Huizhi unable to hold back a laugh. The taste of mint leaf, carried by the bubbles, choked its way into her throat.

Someone actually came to ask.

She clicked into the other party’s profile to verify their identity, just in case it was some tactless guy pretending to be clueless and flirting randomly.

The content shared on the homepage wasn’t much, but it wasn’t an empty throwaway account.

There were often photos of a corner of a room: fresh flowers, books, cups and utensils. Most had no captions and very few comments.

Occasionally, there were posts about accessories and skincare products, either recommendations or complaints, always concise and to the point.

Although there were no selfies, the initial judgment was that this was a woman, not short on money, with decent taste.

—

Yun Huizhi had come to stay in the town at the beginning of summer, at a homestay inn run by a relative.

She wandered around every day, and since she liked taking random photos, she spontaneously became a promotional ambassador.

Taking photos, writing copy, attracting tourists from surrounding cities to visit the small town, and incidentally helping the inn recruit guests.

She always hoped the guests who came would be interesting, maybe even make a friend, or better yet, a girlfriend.

But so far, she had met plenty of good people, but it always stopped at “you’re a good person.”

The weather the past couple of days was nice, sunny but not scorching, so she took a series of photos capturing the local customs and atmosphere.

The photos were edited, but she hadn’t written the copy yet.

She’d already posted artsy, homey, and funny versions, so on a whim, she thought up an unhinged version.

[Summer resort, Jianjia Town.

I’m an amateur tour guide. If you want to travel and are looking for a short-term girlfriend, consider me. Prices negotiable (Pretty women only).]

The comments section had never been this lively. Netizens ignored the pictures; some teased her about her orientation, others doubted her intentions.

Netizen A: “Suggest a strict investigation.”

She had to reply: [Not really, just joking around. Just look at the pictures. Whether you come to visit or not, no need to contact me.]

But she still received this private message.

At eleven o’clock at night.

Yun Huizhi yawned, wanting to sleep, but still gave a cheeky reply.

Zhi ZZ: [Let’s see a no-makeup photo.]

As soon as the impolite request was made, she figured the conversation would end there.

Who knew “Swimming in the Void” was no ordinary person? In less than half a minute, she directly sent a close-up selfie.

It looked like it was taken on the spot. The lighting from the bedside lamp wasn’t even adjusted properly; the lighting was somewhat harsh.

Yet “Swimming in the Void” looked into the camera with calm confidence.

Yun Huizhi felt like she was standing on stone steps in the mountains, and after a misstep, her foot plunged into a mountain stream.

The stream water was ice-cold, flooding over her face, choking her into a state of dazed alertness.

[From now on, the meaning of my life is waiting for you to come, Older Sister.]

She instantly became worthless.

It wasn’t that she’d never seen a great beauty, but having one deliver herself to her door was an opportunity that came once in a blue moon. Missing it would practically bring divine retribution.

[Price?]

The other party asked coldly.

50…

Yun Huizhi’s typing hand paused. She suddenly reflected that she couldn’t be this worthless.

Besides, if her asking price was too low, the other party would probably suspect her ulterior motives and maybe wouldn’t dare to come.

First, stabilize the person, trick her into coming.

[800 a day, including room and board. If Older Sister thinks it’s too expensive, I can give you a little discount later.]

[Acceptable. But I’m not sure how many days I’ll stay. Money paid daily, is that okay?]

[Okay, okay.]

After the negotiation, Yun Huizhi still felt a bit surreal. She’d actually found a “client.”

Oh well, it’s not like she had anything else to do.

Summer was still long; she might as well find someone to pass the time with.

But she felt this Client had too much money and was too carefree, not even asking more. Such an important transaction, and she didn’t even ask to see the Contractor’s photo.

A strange one, indeed.

—

After confirming the meeting date with the strange Miss “Swimming in the Void,” Yun Huizhi tidied herself up the night before, specifically digging out a face mask she hadn’t bothered using in eight hundred years.

She woke up early the next morning, showered, brushed her teeth, dried her hair, and put on a little floral dress.

After admiring herself in the full-length mirror, she felt it wasn’t quite natural, too ingratiating. Not worth it for eight hundred bucks.

So she changed the dress for a simple white t-shirt and long pants.

She braided her hair into two low pigtails. She looked innocent and harmless, like a delicate little white flower. Who wouldn’t feel affection?

She admired her own reflection with self-pity.

The cleaning auntie came in to tidy the room and helped her change the bedsheets. She spent some more time tidying up.

She locked away anything that didn’t match her persona or involved privacy into a cabinet.

Yun Huizhi usually didn’t like drinking water. As the novelty of life in the town faded, the days became too plain.

Tasteless, just like the plain boiled water she hated.

Fortunately, from now on, things were getting interesting.

From Xiacheng to this city, it was a one-and-a-half-hour high-speed train ride, plus a fifty-minute bus ride to get to the small town.

The other party would depart in the afternoon and arrive in the evening.

Knowing “Swimming in the Void” was on the bus, Yun Huizhi washed her face, applied a thick layer of sunscreen, put on sun-protective clothing, and borrowed an electric scooter to drive to the bus station.

The July heat was unbearable. The hot wind carried away the moisture from her body.

She bought a bottle of ice water and sat down in the waiting room to drink. The air conditioner was blowing right at her, and the heat from being sun-exposed slowly subsided.

She pulled up the photo saved in her album and was amazed again. She secretly hoped it wasn’t a catfish.

Even if it was, hopefully, it wasn’t by much.

She concentrated on two rounds of a game. The bus arrived.

Tourists were bustling about. Yun Huizhi watched the passengers—men, women, old, young—get off one by one, dismissing each one.

Just as she thought she’d been stood up, the target appeared.

Dressed elegantly and fittingly, wearing tinted sunglasses.

Slender, tall, and with a great figure.

Unlike the other tourists who rushed to find the exit as soon as they got off, she retrieved her luggage and looked around, seemingly searching for someone.

Although her whole face wasn’t visible, Yun Huizhi’s intuition told her it was her. It had to be her. So she raised her hand and waved.

Sure enough, the person saw her and walked over unhurriedly.

Yun Huizhi also walked towards her. When they met, she asked brightly: “Hello, are you Miss Swimming in the Void?”

The other party didn’t answer but coughed lightly, probably cringing.

No matter how unique or cultured an online username was, being called out loud made it sound just like “Blooming Rich Peony.”

Miss Swimming in the Void took off her sunglasses and formally introduced herself: “My surname is Chu.”

Splash.

Yun Huizhi stumbled and fell into the mountain stream again, her consciousness excited by the ice-cold water, wanting to leap up, yet choked by the overwhelming impact until her mind went hazy.

She felt her face burning. Normally, she wasn’t thin-skinned, so could it be heatstroke?

She could only blame this person for being even better-looking than her photo.

She had been prepared for the person’s real-life appearance to be two or three points lower than the photo. Most people consciously find angles and adjust facial expressions when facing a camera.

There were also people whose looks were a perfect ten, but their expressions and the aura they gave off when speaking detracted from it.

Yun Huizhi herself was often told she looked better when still than in motion.

That was a really mean thing to say, but impossible to refute.

But Miss Chu was different. She was even more dazzling in person; her posture and aura could shine in a crowd.

Unlike the no-makeup photo where even the faint spots around her eyes were visible, she had put on makeup today. It wasn’t heavy but very enhancing, giving her a gorgeousness that wasn’t alluring or coquettish.

When her eyes looked at people, they held a polite, kind-yet-distant courtesy and a calm, sharp scrutiny.

Yun Huizhi felt a bit at a loss under her gaze. She suppressed her nervousness as much as possible, met her eyes, and smiled.

The other woman looked at the bare-faced girl and asked: “You look a bit younger than I thought. Are you an adult?”

After asking, her expression was already somewhat cold and stern, not looking like someone easy to talk to.

“Of course!”

Because her questioning brooked no jest, Yun Huizhi answered quickly and seriously. It wasn’t that she was afraid of a misunderstanding, but rather felt compelled to answer immediately.

Like being called into the office for questioning by the homeroom teacher in middle school.

Yun Huizhi quickly regained her composure and began to feel pleased with herself. This pure little white flower of hers had accidentally been a bit too convincing.

“I’ve already graduated from university. If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you my ID back at the inn.”

Miss Chu seemed reassured and nodded, saying: “No need.”

Yun Huizhi took her dark green suitcase. As she did, her silver bracelet lightly clinked against the pull handle. She then headed for the parking area.

On the way, she didn’t forget to probe: “What made you think of coming here, and even looking for me as a travel companion?”

With looks and figure like that, it didn’t seem like she’d lack for company.

It was fine before she met her, but now that she had, Yun Huizhi actually felt intimidated.

“The air here is good, and the evening breeze is cool. I checked the weather; the daily temperature is several degrees lower than in the city.”

Miss Chu sidestepped the question. Her tone of voice carried a sense of self-possession, not like pleasant surprise, but more like a leader from the tourism bureau coming down for an inspection.

Yun Huizhi smiled like a real tour guide: “It’s even more comfortable at night. You’ll like it.”

The other woman paused and quietly glanced at her.

…!

Yun Huizhi was so frightened her eyes widened. “There are lots of mountains and water here. At night, the wind feels even better on your skin. That’s what I meant. Don’t look at me like that.”

Although she wasn’t a prim and proper person, it wouldn’t be good to make suggestive remarks to someone right after meeting them.

“Whatever you meant is fine. Relax.”

Swimming in the Void curved her lips up, then drew them back in. The implication was: there was no need to explain.

Yun Huizhi: “…”

Swimming in the Void sighed lightly. “Divorced. I wanted to find a place to clear my mind. I happened to come across your photos and fell in love with this town.”

She answered Yun Huizhi’s initial question.

That sigh made Yun Huizhi’s heart clench in sympathy. She reined in her previous casualness and apologized: “Sorry, I made you bring up sad memories.”

Divorced.

Yun Huizhi felt this was tricky. She mentally adjusted her strategy. She was here to heal, so if it wasn’t just a simple trip, she needed to handle it carefully.

“What about you? How did you get into this?”

From Chu Ruoyou’s tone, Yun Huizhi could tell she wasn’t just asking about “being a tour guide,” but why she was willing to be someone’s “temporary girlfriend.”

Yun Huizhi put on an act and also sighed, helplessly saying: “My family’s investment failed, so we’re in quite a bit of debt. I want to continue my studies, so I’m using the summer vacation to earn some tuition and living expenses.”

“Hm, very ambitious. It’s always good for girls to study more.”

The other woman seemed moved by her third-rate story and encouraged her like an elder.

The words made Yun Huizhi cringe inwardly.

Seeing Yun Huizhi’s electric scooter, Chu Ruoyou paused briefly, as if about to say there was no need to economize, that she’d pay for a taxi.

Yun Huizhi put the suitcase on the scooter and patted the hot seat. “Get on. The inn isn’t far, just a three-to-five-minute ride. You’ll only have to bear it for a little while.”

“Okay.” Chu Ruoyou wasn’t overly fussy and quickly agreed.

As she pressed close from behind, Yun Huizhi couldn’t help but glance sideways. She smelled a scent on Chu Ruoyou that clashed with the small town.

It was like walking down a street in a city of steel and concrete late at night, embracing a long shadow. There were no messy neon lights or noise around, just a kind of elegant, exquisite, and mysteriously noble aura.

If the sense of smell could conjure colors, then the scent of Swimming in the Void should be purple. A rich, lingering purple.

It held the deliberate artificial romance of the city, yet also a natural, inadvertently flowing indifference. It was exceptionally alluring.

“My name is Yun Huizhi.”

She said into the wind. The person behind her didn’t catch it clearly. “What?”

Yun Huizhi spelled it out word by word. “Yun as in cloud, Hui and Zhi as in ‘Going against the current to reach her.'”

Introducing herself like this felt super silly, but to avoid awkward silence during the few minutes on the road, she was willing to do a bit of silly things.

Although the distance was short, there was still a traffic light.

While stopped waiting for the green light, Chu Ruoyou looked at the lush, verdant woods on both sides of the road. Various small wildflowers grew under the tall trees.

They were not showy, but their vitality was unconcealable—a kind of posture impossible to grow on ordinary asphalt roads.

Her gaze then fell on the small-town girl’s braids. Strands of colorful thread were woven into the black hair, not tacky or rustic, fully displaying the local flavor, pure and lovely.

“Real name or stage name?”

“You ask that because it doesn’t sound like a real name?” Yun Huizhi asked back.

“Few people use the character ‘Hui’ in a child’s name. You’re the first I’ve met.”

“That’s true.”

Yun Huizhi played along: “Honest truth, my real name is Shufen. You?”

“Jiazhen.”

Miss Chu matched her rhyme. Yun Huizhi laughed so hard the scooter wobbled.

The person behind her, feeling insecure, grabbed the fabric at her waist and commanded: “Drive properly.”

The brief touch at her waist made Yun Huizhi suddenly quiet. Her carefree mood frayed, turning fuzzy. The evening swayed with charm in her eyes.

She said “Okay,” and drove more steadily.

The setting sun was like a hand-peeled orange bursting with juice. Racing towards it, even her white t-shirt was dyed with mottled, mixed colors. A sweet-and-sour scent assailed the senses.

The small town had no energy to appreciate the sunset. The night after dusk was destined to be extraordinary.

It waited restlessly for the first beam of moonlight.