Playing Tourist

In the end, she decided to come a day earlier than planned.

The wind blew, carrying the scent of the salty air.

Gu Xin Ye took a deep breath as she walked around the bus station to find the direction to her next destination. The town was very close to the sea. From where she stood, Gu Xin Ye could already see the blue sea.

Due to Shen Yi Nian's so-called insider information, Gu Xin Ye rode a bus to Z Town.

According to Shen Yi Nian's investigation, Qin Zhan had refused to see anyone riding expensive cars or dressed smartly in their business attire. Therefore, Gu Xin Ye chose to dress up plainly in jeans and a t-shirt.

At first, Gu Xin Ye had argued that she could always drive over to Z Town and come over to Qin Zhan's noodle stall after she had changed her attire.

However, Shen Yi Nian had reminded her that Z Town was not that big. Everyone in this town knew each other, and the thing about people in small-town like this is that: they gossips.

Since Gu Xin Ye planned to visit Z Town incognito to observe the situation, it was much proper if she started to play as a tourist from the very beginning. Just like that, she agreed to Shen Yi Nian and Lin Qiao's makeover, allowing them to throw away her business attire and let her wear something more casual.

Adjusting the knapsack's straps on her shoulder, Gu Xin Ye began to walk over to Little Garden B&B, the only proper accommodation in Z Town. It took her over five minutes' walk to arrive at the B&B. Once she checked in, the owner began to show her around.

"Young Miss, why did you come over to Z Town?"

The owner, who introduced herself as Mrs. Li was someone in her early forty and was a very friendly woman.

Perhaps because she has been in the hospitality industry for years, Mrs. Li always wore a smile on her face, and the way she talked was very polite, despite being a little bit busybody.

"Don't get me wrong," Mrs. Li chuckled. "I don't mean to be a busybody, but it's rare for this town to receive tourists around this time. So I was a bit curious."

Gu Xin Ye was reminded of Shen Yi Nian's warning to be nice to the people in the town, in case someone might spread some not-so-nice rumors.

"I took a few days off to relax," Gu Xin Ye replied with a smile. "I heard that the view here is amazing. So I came to take a look."

"Right. Right." Mrs. Li nodded. "Living in the city can be stressful. It's good if you took a few days off to de-stress. Actually, coming over to this small time at a time like this is pretty good too. At least, there were not many people around. You can play around the sea without worrying too much about the crowd."

"Thank you, Mrs. Li."

"Young Miss, don't worry. Since we did not have many customers at this time, our B&B will surely give you the best service." Mrs. Li said with a smile. "Right. I forgot to remind you of one thing. It's better if you don't head over to the west side of the town."

Gu Xin Ye tilted her head. "The west side? What's in there?"

"There is a few rich people's vacation house on the west side. Although they did not live there at this season, it's best if you don't go over there, or else you might offend someone there. Most of those rich people did not like people like us wandering around their place."

"Well, thank you. I'll pay attention to it."

Mrs. Li turned around and grabbed a flyer on the shelf. "Here. Take this map in case you' might get lost."

Gu Xin Ye studied the map for a while. "Mrs. Li, could you recommend me a good place to eat? Since you're a local here, you must know a few good places, right?"

"There are a few spots for good seafood around the beach. If you're planning to eat there, be sure to go to the first shop. Mostly, tourists would not go to the first shop they saw, but let me tell you that the food there is better and cheaper than the other."

"Is there anything other than seafood?"

Mrs. Li thought about it for a while. "Well, if you like noodles, you can visit that noodle stands next to the jetty. Actually, that noodle stand belonged to Old Chen. But he said he will be going to stay with his son for a few months. So now, a young man is looking after Old Chen's noodle stand. Although the young man's noodle did not taste as good as Old Chen's, I think it's passable."

Gu Xin Ye spent her time chatting with Mrs. Li to get to know about the town for a few minutes before she went into her room. From her room, Gu Xin Ye could see the sea view. However, right now, she was not interested in such a beautiful view.

First. She needed to observe Qin Zhen and figure out a way to tempt him with an offer he could not reject.

After a quick rest, Gu Xin Ye walked out of the room and headed to the jetty. From a distance away, Gu Xin Ye could see a few cars lined up not far away from the jetty. A few old men were sitting at the noodle stand, enjoying their food and a young teenage girl was behind the noodle stand. However, there was no sign of Qin Zhan.

Gu Xin Ye walked casually towards the noodle stand and picked an empty table.

Just as she sat down, a young boy showed up and he walked over to the teenage girl.

"Sister! Where should I put this box?" the young boy shouted.

The teenage girl pointed at a corner. However, her attention was on preparing a bowl of noddles. "There are customers. Xiao Jun, you go and ask what they wanted to eat."

The young boy turned around and glanced at Gu Xin Ye. "Where's Little Uncle?"

"He's in the back. A few people from the city are coming to look for him again," the teenage girl sighed.

Just as the teenage girl finished her words, a loud voice roared from behind the stall. Suddenly, a group of men in suit and tie scattered out as if they were frightened of something. Or rather... someone.

"I'm telling you to get lost! I won't come back to the city and work for you no matter how much you offer!"

Gu Xin Ye turned to look at the man who emerged behind the stall. His eyes were staring at the men in suits in anger. Straight away, Gu Xin Ye recognized him as Qin Zhan.