Chapter 281 - 280: A Different Scenery
Not only was Yiyi blushing, but even Gu Tingyu’s face turned bright red, and at the same time, his heartbeat wouldn’t stop racing.
Yiyi was initially a bit nervous and shy, but when she suddenly heard the other’s rapid heartbeat in the quiet room, she wasn’t nervous anymore and instead let out a ’pfft...’ laugh.
"Gu Tingyu, are you nervous?"
Hearing the teasing words of the little girl, Gu Tingyu suddenly calmed down. He had been facing away from Yiyi, but now he slowly turned around, looking at Yiyi with bright eyes and asked, "Are you laughing at me?"
"No, no."
Yiyi couldn’t admit it.
Seeing the mischievous look on the little girl’s face, Gu Tingyu naturally didn’t believe her words. Seeing her lively expression, he couldn’t help but reach out to touch her hair, but when he saw her rosy, tender face, he quickly withdrew his hand in restraint and said, "Alright, hurry up and sleep, we have to get up early tomorrow to see the plum forest."
"Okay."
Yiyi, although blushing, felt very warm inside. She originally thought it would be hard to fall asleep, but she unexpectedly did so very quickly.
Listening to the steady breathing next to him, Gu Tingyu slowly fell asleep as well.
Early the next morning, Gu Tingyu woke up first. Seeing Yiyi still asleep, he didn’t wake her, went to wash up quietly, and then tiptoed out to buy breakfast.
By the time Yiyi got up, Gu Tingyu had already prepared breakfast.
"You’re up early, why didn’t you wake me?"
Gu Tingyu turned back and smiled at Yiyi, saying, "I saw it was still early, so I didn’t wake you. Hurry and wash your face and brush your teeth, then come and have breakfast. We’ll set off to admire the plum blossoms once we’re done."
"Okay."
Yiyi quickly got herself ready, and then she and Gu Tingyu had breakfast and set off.
"Are you going to see the plum blossoms? Just turn right out the door and keep climbing the mountain. When you reach halfway up, you’ll see the plum forest. This season is when the plum blossoms are at their best. If you’re not afraid of the cold, you can go a bit further."
Hearing this, Yiyi smiled and said, "Thank you, ma’am."
"You’re welcome, you two lovebirds hurry on now. Some people have already set off, and if you wait until the sun is fully out, the frost will melt, and you won’t see those proud frost-kissed plum blossoms."
Yiyi thanked her again and went mountain climbing with Gu Tingyu.
Both of them were in good shape, so they climbed to the halfway point without breaking a sweat.
"Wow... the plum blossoms here are really beautiful."
Seeing the vast sea of flowers in shades of red and pink in front of her, Yiyi couldn’t help but exclaim.
Even Gu Tingyu felt the scenery was splendid.
"Yeah, I never expected such a plum forest was hidden deep in the mountains, it’s really beautiful." While speaking, Gu Tingyu looked at Yiyi and said, "Let’s go forward a bit more."
"Okay."
Yiyi nodded and naturally took Gu Tingyu’s hand.
Feeling the warmth in the palm of his hand, Gu Tingyu’s eyes were full of bright tenderness; it seemed the little girl was growing more fond of him.
The two walked slowly and encountered many others along the way.
"I didn’t expect there would be quite a few visitors here."
Yiyi couldn’t help but remark, considering that nowadays, most people weren’t even aware of traveling, yet this plum forest attracted so many.
Hearing this, Gu Tingyu nodded and said, "Yes, there really are a lot of people. Let’s go that way."
"Okay."
After that, the two of them wandered down a peaceful little path, gradually drifting further away.
Gu Tingyu only hoped that he and Yiyi could walk like this forever, not realizing how time flew by.
Finally, Yiyi noticed the time and turned to Gu Tingyu, saying, "We seem to have gone quite far, maybe we should head back soon."
Hearing this, Gu Tingyu finally realized how far they’d ventured from where they started. Just as he was about to turn around, he spotted something different at the corner of his eye.
"Yiyi, look over there, is that wintersweet?"
Upon hearing this, Yiyi quickly looked over and her eyes filled with surprise, "It really is wintersweet, let’s go take a closer look."
When the two of them got there, they indeed found a small patch of wintersweet. However, the plum forest was so vast, it was mostly red plum blossoms, making it difficult to notice this small section of wintersweet amidst them.
"This pale yellow color is really beautiful."
Spotting a flower branch that had just fallen from a wintersweet tree, Gu Tingyu picked it up and placed it in Yiyi’s hair.
"So pretty, the flower is beautiful, and the girl is even more beautiful."
Hearing this, Yiyi glanced at Gu Tingyu, then gently touched the fresh flower in her hair and asked, "Does it really look good?"
"Yes, really good, very good."
Hearing this and seeing the gentle affection in Gu Tingyu’s eyes, a sweet smile graced Yiyi’s lips, "Gu Tingyu, let’s go over there and see, maybe we’ll find more wintersweet trees."
Gu Tingyu naturally nodded in agreement.
They continued forward, and while they didn’t see more wintersweet, they did find a green calyx plum tree. There was only one of them, and after admiring it for a bit, they headed back.
"This trip was definitely worthwhile; I never imagined Meiling would have such a plum forest, with not only red plum blossoms but also wintersweet and even one green calyx. I wonder how many people have seen this green calyx, and yet it grows so well here."
Gu Tingyu also felt the trip was well worth it.
"Yes, I never expected to see such beautiful scenery either. It’d be perfect if it snowed."
Hearing this, Yiyi couldn’t help but laugh.
"Such things are by chance, not by request. Alright, let’s hurry back; it’s getting late."
Hearing this, Gu Tingyu quickly took Yiyi’s hand and started back.
When the two of them got back to their accommodation, the landlady gave them a slightly surprised look and said, "You two are just getting back now? You were gone quite a while, everyone else who went to see the plum blossoms came back long ago."
Hearing this, Yiyi laughed and said, "We young couple took a more secluded path and just got to the edge of the plum forest before heading back."
"Then you went quite far; even I, born and raised here, haven’t gone that far. All the plum blossoms look the same, why go that far."
Hearing this, Yiyi laughed and said, "Next time, you should explore more; you might see different landscapes."
The landlady didn’t take this to heart and just laughed and said to them, "Now that you’re back, hurry and have lunch. Who knows what’s left at the restaurant in the village entrance."
Seeing the landlady’s indifferent look, Yiyi didn’t say more, understanding that the little patch of wintersweet and the green calyx were surprises of this plum forest, discovered only by those with the right chance.