After arriving at the resort, Xia Wan took the shuttle vehicle arranged by the resort to the hotel.
The entire resort was exceptionally quiet.
Just during this short ride, Xia Wan found herself captivated by the scenery here.
It felt like being immersed in a poetic ink-wash landscape painting, with surrounding mountains embracing the area, bamboo groves swaying gently, and streams murmuring softly.
There were both magnificent landscapes and tropical greenery reminiscent of Southeast Asia.
Natural features like streams, waterfalls, and rock formations were exposed without artificial construction, maintaining their primitive natural state.
Led by the staff, Xia Wan reached her room and had to admit she loved every part of this resort.
The room’s architecture extensively utilized the natural color of stone, blending with natural materials like tiles, bricks, and rattan weaving.
Featuring a large balcony, private courtyard, and soaking pool, it was both secluded and comfortable.
Opening the window revealed a full view of mountains, forests, and canyon scenery. Gazing at the distant canyon and breathing in the oxygen-rich air brought an immediate sense of blissful escape from worldly hustle and bustle.
With each breath, she forgot the noise of the mundane world, immersed herself in nature, washed away all complexities and fatigue, and savored the solitary joy of summer mountain solitude.
Here, she didn’t need to wear hats or masks, nor worry about being secretly photographed.
Free and at ease.
Xia Wan decided she would come stay here whenever she had free time in the future, doing nothing but sitting in the courtyard enjoying the view, which she found deeply relaxing.
Xia Wan changed into a green backless spaghetti strap maxi dress, condensing the vibrant essence of summer into the image of a girl wading through water in the forest.
Over the basic green hue, a slight gray tone was added, giving the whole outfit a cool, serene ambiance.
The shoulder straps on both sides could be crossed and tied at the back, creating a draped neckline at the front. The dress hugged her body curves, elegant yet not lacking sensuality.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Xia Wan was extremely satisfied. She grabbed her phone and headed out.
She couldn’t wait to explore everywhere.
While summer heat lingered heavily at the mountain’s base, the days felt long and sluggish, but here it was unexpectedly cool.
By the time the sky began to darken, Xia Wan still hadn’t managed to see the entire resort.
But she discovered there were truly numerous recreational facilities here: mountain climbing, camping, archery, fishing, tea picking, stream trekking, yoga, SPA…
There were tea gardens, orchards, and vegetable gardens where one could personally pick produce, allowing visitors to taste green, pollution-free fruits, vegetables, and authentic farmhouse dishes.
In the evenings, there was also outdoor barbecue…
“I haven’t seen any other guests here though,” Xia Wan thought to herself.
After wandering around for so long, apart from staff, she hadn’t seen a single outsider.
This gave her the feeling that she had booked the entire resort for herself.
Xia Wan walked to the restaurant and ordered one vegetarian dish, one meat dish, and one vegetable dish, specifically instructing the server to make the portions smaller as she couldn’t finish them alone.
This was one downside of traveling alone – not daring to order too much food.
If there were more people, she would definitely order all the dishes here to try them.
At that moment.
Five luxury cars parked outside the resort, radiating a powerful, sharp presence.
Five men emerged, dressed in sharp suits, with top-tier appearances and natural authority.
“This place is definitely more comfortable than in the city,” said one wearing a gray suit.
The man on his right looked at the night-lit natural scenery, “Worth all the time we spent.”
These five were the investors who had developed the resort, with the main purpose of having a place to relax during their holidays.Of course, they also wanted to make money. After all, they were all businessmen who never did unprofitable deals.
A man with raspberry-red hair spoke up, “Let’s go eat first. I’m starving.”
“Like a starving ghost reincarnated,” one of the men in the group retorted.
Although they teased him, the remaining four still followed him toward the restaurant.
The food here was more delicious than what they usually ate in the city.
Before the five of them even entered the restaurant, they saw through the glass a woman wearing a green long dress with a backless design that faintly revealed her delicate butterfly bones. Just from her silhouette, it was clear she had a graceful and slender figure.
Ji Heng found the figure somewhat familiar but couldn’t recall who it was.
The man with raspberry-red hair wondered, “Why is someone eating here? I thought we said it wasn’t open to the public.”
“I think I know who it is—an artist from Wanxia Entertainment.”
“Last night, the CEO of Wanxia Entertainment called me, saying one of his artists wanted to come to the resort for a few days and asked if I could make an exception.”
“I agreed but forgot to tell you,” the man in the dark blue suit finished.
He was met with murderous glares from the other four.
“I’ll go say hello to her,” the man said, not daring to look at their expressions as he quickly walked inside.
“Hello,” he said, and upon seeing her face clearly, exclaimed, “Xia Wan!”
He hadn’t expected the celebrity coming here to be the most popular singer, Xia Wan.
Xia Wan paused her meal and looked at the unfamiliar man in front of her, replying politely, “Hello, who are you?”
“I’m Chen Yubai. Your boss called me last night,” the man introduced himself.
With that explanation, Xia Wan understood. Just as she was about to speak, she saw four men walking toward them.
It wasn’t hard to guess that these men had come together. Among them, the one with the best looks and demeanor was someone Xia Wan recognized.
It was Ji Heng, the man she had secretly watched at the airport and who had caught her staring.
However, she pretended not to know him.
“Xia Wan! I’m Gu Chi. I really like you. Can I have your autograph?” the man with raspberry-red hair asked excitedly.
This was his idol! If he had known Chen Yubai had agreed to let Xia Wan come, he definitely wouldn’t have treated him that way earlier.
Xia Wan was a bit flustered by his enthusiasm. It was the first time she had encountered such an excited male fan.
“Sure, but I don’t have paper or a pen.”
“That’s no problem,” Gu Chi said, waving over a waiter to bring him paper and a pen. “Here you go.”
Xia Wan took them and quickly signed her name.
Afterward, the others also asked for her autograph. Everyone except Ji Heng requested one.
“Ji Heng, don’t you want an autograph?” Su Yi asked.
Xu Haonan chimed in, “Yeah, we all got one. You should get one too.”
Ji Heng replied calmly, “No, I don’t follow celebrities.”
If he hadn’t seen this scene, he wouldn’t have known that his four good friends were all fans of celebrities—and of Xia Wan, the artist his company had tried and failed to recruit multiple times.
Hearing this, Xia Wan wasn’t surprised. After all, not everyone followed celebrities, and not everyone liked her.
What surprised her was that the other four had asked for her autograph. She had thought that successful people like them might not even recognize her.