She went back to the room and washed her face.
Shu Yuwei glanced toward the door. Boss still hadn’t come back.
He probably hadn’t realized she was the one who’d done it.
Shu Yuwei relaxed, tucked the bubble machine into her suitcase, and pulled out her phone.
The first thing she did was check for a signal and try to make a call.
Still no signal. The call wouldn’t go through, let alone connect to the internet.
She used to say she’d cut off the internet to focus on studying, and kick her short-video and internet habits.
Well, now she really was cut off from the online world.
But somehow… it didn’t feel so bad.
Shu Yuwei smiled, picked up her phone, and played a few rounds of Match-Three.
The rain started pouring outside again.
The typhoon had brought rain every day.
She didn’t know how much time passed.
Fu Rongzheng came back with lunch.
“Food’s ready.”
“Why is there only one portion? Boss, what about yours?”
“I’ve already eaten.”
“Really? Did you have instant noodles?”
Shu Yuwei looked at him.
Fu Rongzheng folded up his umbrella. “No. I ate before I brought this back for you. Hurry up and eat, or it’ll get cold.”
“Oh.”
Shu Yuwei opened the lunchbox. It held spicy dried fish, cured pork ribs, and two pan-fried eggs.
The top layer of the lunchbox was piled high with meat, so much that it was almost spilling over.
Was the owner of that restaurant really so generous? Giving her this much meat?
She glanced at Fu Rongzheng suspiciously, opened her mouth, then couldn’t figure out how to ask.
As she had the day before, she took out a bowl and chopsticks and transferred some of the food into the bowl.
“Boss, why don’t you have a little more?”
“The portion’s too big. I can’t finish it.”
Shu Yuwei wasn’t lying. She loved meat, but her stomach could only hold so much. How could she possibly eat all that?
Fu Rongzheng glanced at her. “I’ve already eaten. Do your best.”
Then he picked up his pen and paper and continued drawing beneath the window.
Seeing how intently he was working, Shu Yuwei didn’t want to bother him again.
She ate quietly.
In the end, she still couldn’t finish it. Fu Rongzheng ate what she had left.
The rain came and went.
After waking from an hour-long nap, Shu Yuwei remembered that she still had dirty clothes in her suitcase.
She’d thought they’d only be staying here for one night, so she’d planned to take the clothes back to her rental apartment and wash them there.
She hadn’t expected they wouldn’t be able to leave.
She couldn’t put off washing the dirty clothes any longer.
Shu Yuwei opened the washing machine, only to remember that the power was out. She’d have to wash the clothes by hand.
Luckily, it was summer. If hand-washing was what it took, so be it.
Shu Yuwei made another circuit of the room.
Well, there was no washbasin, and they didn’t have enough hangers either.
“Boss! Boss!”
Shu Yuwei ran out into the courtyard and caught Fu Rongzheng while he was reading.
“Want to go browse the little supermarket with me?”
Fu Rongzheng looked over at her.
Seeing him in his white shirt and sharp suit, Shu Yuwei hesitated again.
“While we’re there, Boss… how about I buy you a few more things to wear?”
Fu Rongzheng: “?”
Shu Yuwei rubbed her fingers together and pressed on despite her embarrassment. “Boss, it’s fine. I have money.”
“We’re living in a village right now, after all. I could buy you a few sturdy, hard-wearing clothes. What do you think?”
During their two days in the little fishing village, Fu Rongzheng had repaired the roof and the car, and carried cement and sandbags to keep the rain out…
The white shirts and slacks he wore were already filthy beyond recognition.
His clothes were all expensive, custom-tailored, with handmade cuts and fabrics. A single outfit cost tens of thousands of yuan.
And they couldn’t just be tossed into the wash; afterward, they needed special care and pressing.
There was obviously no way to get that done in the village.
So whenever Fu Rongzheng changed out of his clothes, they were simply thrown away.
The issue wasn’t just how much money he’d already wasted.
Fu Rongzheng hadn’t brought many clothes for this trip to begin with, and they had no idea how long they’d be stuck here.
If he kept throwing his clothes away every day, what would he wear if he ran out?
That was why Shu Yuwei had suggested buying him some clothes.
After all, Boss was a decent person, and he’d looked after her quite a bit these past two days.
She hadn’t expected Fu Rongzheng to refuse so coolly.
“No need.”
“Why not, Boss?”
Fu Rongzheng turned a page in his book, then paused.
There was no reason to let a woman spend money buying clothes for him.
He thought so, but didn’t say it.
“No need. I have clothes to wear.”
“Really?”
Shu Yuwei could tell he was uncomfortable with the idea. “Come on, Boss. Let’s go buy some?”
“Clothes in the village are really cheap. It won’t cost me much.”
“When we get back to the company, you can reimburse me. Easy, right?”
“Besides, Boss, you look so much like a city executive dressed like this. You’ll stand out. Anyone can tell you’re rich. What if we attract trouble?”
At that, Fu Rongzheng finally seemed to relent.
Half an hour later, the rain had eased a little.
They headed out with their umbrellas.
There were still plenty of puddles along the road.
Shu Yuwei watched her step carefully, while Fu Rongzheng stayed close behind her.
The little supermarket was some distance away. The weather was bad, and there was hardly anyone outside.
Shu Yuwei walked for half an hour, looking around as she went.
Though people called it a little fishing village, it was really as big as a town.
It was on an island, connected to the outside world by a distant bridge.
Shu Yuwei could see the sea stretching into the distance.
She could also hear the wind and waves.
“Boss, the scenery really is beautiful here.”
“Xiaoyunduo said there are often these incredibly romantic, dreamlike blue tears by the sea. I wonder if we’ll get to see them.”
“But it’s already so beautiful as it is. It would be perfect for a resort.”
“Other than the inconvenient transportation, everything’s great. No wonder an investor came here to develop it.”
“Too bad the investor ran out of money and went bankrupt. They never got to develop the place fully.”
Shu Yuwei looked up and saw the abandoned resort-hotel project. Its foundations had been laid, but construction had stalled.
Because of the typhoon and heavy rain, the site was covered in deep water.
They could only cross by stepping on irregularly spaced stone blocks.
Afraid of falling, Shu Yuwei lifted her foot cautiously.
Fu Rongzheng held out his hand. “Hold on to me.”
Shu Yuwei hesitated for a moment, then rested her hand on his arm.
Fu Rongzheng closed his hand around her wrist and held her firmly.
He guided her across, and she landed safely on the other side.
“Thank you, Boss.”
Shu Yuwei withdrew her hand, and they put some distance between them.
She fell quiet for a while, looking around.
Then Fu Rongzheng suddenly asked her, “Do you like it here?”
Shu Yuwei nodded. “Of course. I grew up in a central province, and I’ve longed to see the sea ever since I was little.”
“Once I get back, I’ll come visit again whenever I have time.”
The road ahead was flat, with no puddles or stones.
Shu Yuwei turned around and walked backward at an unhurried pace, holding her umbrella.
“Boss, you must have been to lots of places and seen plenty of beautiful scenery.”
“I guess there’s nothing particularly special about this place to you, is there?”
She walked backward, watching him as she asked casually.
Fu Rongzheng met her gaze and fell silent for a moment.
“It’s different.”
He answered suddenly.
“What’s different about it?”
At some point, the rain had stopped. Shu Yuwei closed her umbrella and turned back around to walk normally.
Their gazes shifted away from each other.
Shu Yuwei didn’t press him. She’d spotted a splash of color out at sea, and it caught her attention.
“Boss! A rainbow!”
“Wow! We’re so lucky today!”
Shu Yuwei hurriedly pulled out her phone to take a picture.
Fu Rongzheng gave a quiet response and glanced at Shu Yuwei, but said nothing more.
After taking a picture of the rainbow, Shu Yuwei murmured “May I get rich” several times as she walked up to a clothing store.
“Cuicui Clothing Store? ‘Men’s and women’s clothes, all under one roof’?”
“Boss, shall we go in and look?”
Shu Yuwei went inside, then suddenly noticed Fu Rongzheng still hesitating at the entrance.
She ran back, tugged at his sleeve, and pulled him in.
The clothing store wasn’t very big, but it was crammed full of clothes, with the walls completely covered in them too.
They did have separate sections for men’s and women’s clothing, but there wasn’t much variety in either style or selection.
It was much like the village and town clothing stores Shu Yuwei remembered.
But why was there no one in the shop?
Shu Yuwei was about to call out when she heard a stir from the back. A middle-aged woman in a qipao and heavy makeup came out.
“Coming, coming!”
“Feel free to browse!”
“What kind of clothes are you looking for? I’ve got everything here! The trendiest styles from the city, all at wholesale prices! You’ll be getting a bargain…”
The woman came over in low heels, her voice pitched high as she greeted them enthusiastically.
When she got closer and saw Fu Rongzheng in his white shirt and tie, she suddenly widened her eyes and fell silent, staring fixedly at him.
Seeing this, Shu Yuwei quickly stepped in front of Fu Rongzheng, shielding him.
“Hello, shopkeeper. We’re here to look at some clothes!”
Shu Yuwei put on a serious expression.
Zhou Cuicui came to her senses. “Ahem…”
“Good, good! I have plenty of clothes!”
“Young lady, what are you looking for? You two look like you’ve come from the city for a visit. How about I recommend a few fashionable, stylish things?”
Shu Yuwei shook her head and glanced at Fu Rongzheng. “I’m not buying for myself. I’m buying for him.”
“So you’re buying for your man! All right, I’ll pick something out for him!”
As she spoke, Zhou Cuicui used a pole to hook down several patterned men’s shirts.
“Take a look. How about these? They’re some of the bestsellers in my shop!”
“The fabric’s light and breathable, so they’re nice and cool in summer!”
Fu Rongzheng took one look and turned to make a run for it.
But there was no escape.
Shu Yuwei caught hold of him. “Wait! Don’t go yet!”
“I’m not buying you any of those tacky old-man shirts. Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid!”
Fu Rongzheng: “…”