Chapter 48: The Far North

Chen Feng did not explicitly refuse Sun Xiaorui; instead, he gave her hope.

As expected, hearing his answer, Sun Xiaorui was visibly pleased.

If Chen Feng had readily agreed to let her become a permanent employee in a few years, she wouldn't have believed him; she would have thought he was just humoring her. But now that he said he didn't know himself, it actually implied a leaning toward the possibility.

Even though she didn't know what the future held, or even how the two of them would be a year from now, at least for the moment, she felt very happy and blessed following him.

So, why not strive for it? At the very least, the benefits after becoming a permanent employee would certainly not be worse than they were now—they might even be better.

Of course, there was no rush regarding the permanent position, as they had only known each other for a few days.

Following this, their conversation became even more harmonious and fluid.

After finalizing their specific travel itinerary and the guides for the first few scenic spots, the next step was to pack and set off the following day.

They slept soundly through the night.

With a flight scheduled for after ten in the morning, the two set off after having breakfast around seven.

They arrived at the airport, boarded the plane, and everything went smoothly until they reached Mo County Airport.

Beiji Village is under the jurisdiction of Mo County, and it takes about two hours by car to get there.

Chen Feng and Sun Xiaorui were in no hurry to reach Beiji Village; instead, they planned to stay in Mo County town first to sightsee. There were other attractions around the county town, and since they were already there, they certainly wanted to explore them all.

The two first went to the hotel they had booked online to drop off their luggage, then followed their guide to find a local specialty restaurant for a meal. The taste was merely passable—not as delicious as the online reviews had claimed.

This was the nature of tourism; many restaurants on a single street specialize in catering to tourists and don't care about repeat customers—they just want to make a profit from every single transaction. As long as they guaranteed basic hygiene and taste without overcharging, they were already considered conscientious.

Therefore, as tourists, if one wanted to eat truly authentic local food, one had to find restaurants frequently visited by locals rather than those packed with tourists.

Chen Feng shared his thoughts with Sun Xiaorui, and she wholeheartedly agreed. To find real local delicacies, it was simple: just find a reliable local to ask.

After leaving the mediocre restaurant, the two began walking through the streets.

The street was quite lively, lined with shops and stalls, mostly mobile vendors from all over the country and various shops selling local specialties. These were often sold in gift boxes—small quantities at high prices. They were fine as gifts, but not very cost-effective to buy for oneself.

After wandering through the street for more than half the time, they grabbed two shared bikes by the roadside and began leisurely cycling through the county town, chatting, laughing, and taking in the scenery, occasionally stopping to take photos.

Sun Xiaorui had Chen Feng take several photos of her. Beauty filters were a must, and once the photos were taken, she had to pick and choose carefully before posting them to her Moments.

According to Sun Xiaorui, using beauty filters without heavy retouching already made her a "breath of fresh air" on social media. Some of her female colleagues and friends posted photos so heavily edited that even their own parents wouldn't recognize them. She would never do that, of course, primarily due to her confidence in her own looks.

The county town was small; after cycling for less than two hours, with frequent stops, they had practically explored the whole place.

Finally, they arrived at a relatively bustling street and entered a medium-sized supermarket to buy various snacks and supplies. While checking out, Chen Feng asked the middle-aged woman at the register if there were any restaurants nearby that locals frequently visited.

The woman, who might have been the owner, was very enthusiastic because Chen Feng had made a purchase of over four hundred yuan at once. She told him about a restaurant and even wrote it down on a slip of paper.

Her character seemed reliable. The two followed the mobile navigation on their phones and cycled to the restaurant. It wasn't located on a main street but tucked away in an alley. The decor was ordinary, but it was clean and tidy.

Upon entering, they ordered local specialties similar to what they had at lunch—Guobaorou (sweet and sour pork), braised chicken with mushrooms, roe meat, and a few other dishes. As it turned out, the taste was much better. Even Sun Xiaorui, who was afraid of gaining weight, couldn't help but eat quite a bit.

When it came time to pay, it was actually much cheaper than the lunch place.

It really was!

The next day, the two changed their plans on a whim and headed to Beiji Village first. Instead of hiring a private car, they took a regular bus.

After about a two-hour journey, the bus traveled along a highway flanked by dense forests.

As they arrived at this village at the northernmost edge of the country, a light snow began to fall from the sky. For these two, born in the south, it was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise. One of the reasons they chose to travel here at this time was specifically to see snow. With global climate change, it was becoming increasingly difficult for Southerners to see snow.

"Come, quick, take a few photos of me!"

Excitedly, Sun Xiaorui hurriedly handed her phone to Chen Feng and ran to stand in front of a wooden sign.

Chen Feng smiled as he took the phone and opened the beauty camera. This wasn't his first time doing this; during his relationship with Shen Lin, he had frequently acted as her personal photographer.

The past was gone with the wind. Seeing himself now holding a phone to take photos of Sun Xiaorui, a sigh lingered in his heart.

"Hurry, pull the lens back a bit. Turn on the beauty filter," Sun Xiaorui urged.

"Okay."

After a few adjustments, Chen Feng took several shots for her.

As they were about to walk away after putting the phone away, they saw two women walking toward them. Their eyes met, and both parties froze in place.

At that moment, Sun Xiaorui was holding Chen Feng's arm. Seeing him suddenly stop, she looked curiously in his direction at the two women opposite them.

Both women were very beautiful. One was around her age, heavily made up, with a great figure and slightly taller than her. She was currently holding a selfie stick and talking to the phone attached to it, appearing to be livestreaming.

The other was slightly younger, looking somewhat quiet and pure. She was following the female streamer and was currently staring wide-eyed at Chen Feng and his companion.

They knew each other. Was one of them his ex-wife?

That was Sun Xiaorui's immediate suspicion, and her grip on Chen Feng's arm tightened instinctively.

These two women did indeed know Chen Feng; they were Wu Mengting and her best friend, Lin Wan.

Lin Wan might not have much of an impression of Chen Feng left, and since she was livestreaming, she didn't notice him as a passerby, but Wu Mengting was quite familiar with him. Not much time had passed since they last parted.

To encounter each other here unexpectedly, she was initially somewhat surprised, but she quickly noticed Sun Xiaorui beside him—especially the way she was clinging to his arm with an intimate demeanor. Her expression darkened slightly.

Chen Feng felt awkward and inexplicably guilty. He instinctively wanted to pull his arm away from Sun Xiaorui, but he couldn't quite break free with a slight tug. Then he realized the impropriety of the movement.

Wu Mengting wasn't his girlfriend; why was he acting like this? Should they pretend not to know each other and just pass by?

That seemed quite impolite. He didn't want to pursue anything further with her, but he didn't want to be heartless by pretending not to recognize her when they met face-to-face.

While he was hesitating, a smile appeared on Wu Mengting's face. She jogged over first and called out to him, "Brother Feng, we meet again! And ten thousand miles apart, too. Don't you think it's just too coincidental?"