Wu Mengting said weakly, "I didn’t say she was your girlfriend."
"But you definitely didn’t deny it, did you? Otherwise, why would those aunties think you’re my girlfriend?"
Wu Mengting suddenly fell silent. The truth was exactly that; previously, when an aunty asked her if she was Chen Feng’s girlfriend, she just blushed and smiled, without denying it.
"Spit it out. What did you come here for?" Chen Feng glared at her, clearly annoyed.
Wu Mengting immediately responded with conviction, "To hang out with you. Don’t forget you promised me, remember? At the end of the year, you said you’d invite me over to your place. You haven’t forgotten, have you?"
Chen Feng thought for a moment and realized there indeed was such an agreement. Although it was more of a brush-off and an excuse at the time, now that she had come all this way, he couldn’t go back on his word.
"Alright, that’s true. Then you can stay here for a couple of days. But later, you have to explain everything to my mom. Just say you’re a friend I met in Xiu Zhou, not my girlfriend."
"How should I put that?" Wu Mengting flatly refused, "You should say it yourself."
Chen Feng found it reasonable and, scratching his head, changed the subject, "Did you book a hotel? If not, I can take you to book one."
As soon as Wu Mengting heard this, she replied unhappily, "Your mom and your brother both said I should stay at your house."
"At my house?" Chen Feng frowned at the thought.
Wu Mengting pouted discontentedly, "You said I’m like a little sister to you. When your little sister comes to visit, you want her to sleep in a hotel? It’s not like your house doesn’t have space."
Chen Feng, feeling a toothache coming on, went along with her, "I have no objections to you sleeping at my place, so you can stay here. Everything’s new."
"And where will you be?" Wu Mengting asked, her face blushing.
Chen Feng, holding back an eye roll, muttered, "I’ll sleep in the old room on the second floor."
"Oh... Okay then, I’ll just sleep here. My luggage is still at the front; could you help me bring it over?"
Chen Feng hastily replied, "Let’s wait a bit to go there. Those aunties haven’t left yet."
"Hee hee, the neighborhood relations here are really good, everyone talking and laughing together. It’s so lively."
Chen Feng grimaced and said, "What’s good about that? They’re overly nosy, begrudging others’ happiness, nice to your face but backstabbing behind your back, always gossiping. I’d rather be in the city, where neighbors maintain some distance, and at least on the surface, everyone is polite."
"Never mind that, where do you plan to take me this afternoon? You don’t need to take me to places we’ve already been."
Wu Mengting looked expectantly at him.
Chen Feng shrugged helplessly, "Last time, you’ve already visited several of the more famous sites around here. Other places you haven’t seen aren’t really tourist spots."
"We’ve also been to Beilu Island. Why don’t we go there?"
Beilu Island was a well-known tourist and vacation island in Lin Nan County and even Lu City, but it was far from where Chen Feng lived.
Chen Feng immediately shook his head, rejecting the idea, "What’s so fun about going to the island in the dead of winter? The sea breeze will freeze you to death. Besides, it’s a hassle to get there, and the boat ride is more than an hour. If you’ve never been on a sea boat before, you’ll likely get seasick. Plus, there isn’t much seafood to eat there in winter."
"Then where shall we go?" Wu Mengting pouted.
After some thought, Chen Feng said, "How about going to Bay Town? It’s not far from here, and coincidentally, I have a friend whose hometown is there. I’ll bring her along tomorrow. She can be our guide."
Wu Mengting didn’t like the sound of adding another person, and quickly said, "There’s no need to trouble your friend. It’s not far, we can go just the two of us. Besides, I don’t know this friend of yours. It would feel weird to have them join us."
Chen Feng, not wanting to be alone with her, insisted, "I’m not familiar with that area either, and besides, the terrain is somewhat complex with winding mountain roads. Plus, being by the sea, without a guide, we wouldn’t even know where to find fun things."
Wu Mengting frowned slightly and asked, "Is this friend of yours male or female?"
"Female," Chen Feng said naturally, "She has a store on our street. Now that it’s the end of the year and she’s not busy, it’s perfect to have her join us for some fun."
"Female?" Wu Mengting’s internal alarms went off.
"Yes, and she’s quite pretty too," Chen Feng said with a smile, "Someone I met on a blind date before."
Wu Mengting’s face suddenly darkened.