Following Lu Shouyue to the restaurant he mentioned, there were a few tourists sitting outdoors, mostly hotel guests.
As exquisitely cooked seafood dishes were brought out one by one, Lin Wanwan remarked in surprise, "These seafood are pretty fresh."
Lu Shouyue nodded, "Of course, if a restaurant right by the sea can’t deliver fresh seafood, it might as well not exist. Wanwan, have you been to Yeyu City before?"
Lin Wanwan shook her head, "This is actually my first time out of the province."
Lu Shouyue asked curiously, "Really, didn’t you go on a graduation trip after high school?"
Lin Wanwan sighed, "What graduation trip? That’s not something my family could even think about."
Lu Shouyue raised an eyebrow slightly, "Your family? With a Cai Bojie-crafted ancient zither in one hand and a Gu Yewang painting in the other, all family heirlooms, is that the kind of family you mean?"
Lin Wanwan evaded the question and laughed, "You’re still thinking about my ancient zither! Speaking of which, I recently saw a well-preserved zither at an elderly person’s house. It’s probably quite old, maybe even from the Tang Dynasty. If I manage to get it, you’ll be the first to know; how about that?"
Lu Shouyue was moved, "A Tang Dynasty ancient zither? Are you sure?"
Lin Wanwan smiled lightly, "I can’t be sure, even if it’s not from the Tang Dynasty, it’s a reproduction of one."
Lu Shouyue sighed, "Thank you for remembering my love for ancient zithers. I’ll wait for your good news."
With that, he raised his icy cola and clinked glasses with Lin Wanwan, sealing the deal.
After finishing the seafood supper, it was almost eleven o’clock without them realizing it. After bidding farewell to Lu Shouyue, Lin Wanwan returned to her hotel room. After freshening up and sitting at the head of the bed, she found she couldn’t fall asleep.
Calculating the time, if she were to travel through time now, it would be noon in the Great Tang, the hottest time of the day with no air conditioning or fan, just thinking about it sounded uncomfortable, so it was better to sleep first. Besides, she wasn’t sure if that little elephant had left. Discover more novels at novel⸺fire.net
"Ugh, this jet lag has got me wide awake." Lin Wanwan opened her phone album, found the video she stealthily recorded of Xiao Chong playing "High Mountain and Flowing Water", and played it while also turning on the TV to cast the screen.
To record this piece, Lin Wanwan had wrecked a newly bought HD camcorder. After going back and forth through the Space-Time Gate twice, the camcorder was completely broken, but luckily, the content on the memory card remained intact. Otherwise, she would have been furious.
Relaxing comfortably against the headboard, she watched the footage on the LCD TV of Xiao Chong playing without any defense, and somehow felt her spirits lifted.
Good tunes really never get old.
"This will be my lullaby." Lin Wanwan set it on loop and adjusted the volume to the most comfortable level before lying down, clearing her mind, and letting herself be immersed in the elegant melody, gradually closing her eyes and drifting into sleep.
When Lin Wanwan was suddenly awakened by a knocking sound, she was a bit confused. She pulled down the blanket that had unknowingly covered her face and stared at the ceiling for a while before realizing she was on a hotel bed.
The knocking stopped, and then Chen Jinyu’s voice came through, "Wanwan, are you asleep?"
Lin Wanwan grabbed her phone from the nightstand and saw that it was 1:30 in the morning. She smiled wryly as she got up to open the door for Chen Jinyu, "What are you doing? Why aren’t you sleeping and coming here to disturb me so late?"
Chen Jinyu was holding a selfie stick with a phone attached and said to Lin Wanwan, "It’s New Year’s Eve tonight, how can you sleep? Aren’t you going to stay up and have some fun? It’s lively downstairs."
Lin Wanwan yawned, made space for Chen Jinyu to come in, and said, "I don’t have your energy. I was asleep already, and you woke me up."
Chen Jinyu apologetically giggled, "Oh, I’m sorry, Wanwan, let me make it up to you. How about I take you down for a seafood feast from the hotel? It’s really great here!"
Lin Wanwan flopped back onto the bed, laying flat as she said, "Thanks, but I already had some at night."
Standing by the foyer, Chen Jinyu, still not inside, said with a smile, "Hey, Wanwan, I’m streaming now, is there anything in your room that shouldn’t be on camera? If not, I’m coming in."
"Streaming?" Lin Wanwan shot up, just about to speak when Chen Jinyu suddenly let out a scream, interrupting her.
"Oh my God, Wanwan, what music is this? It’s so beautiful! I don’t even understand it, but I’m so moved. I had no idea the ancient zither sounded this amazing! And what kind of TV is this? Who’s this man? Is he a newcomer? How can there be a man this handsome in the world? My God, the world’s most handsome historical beauty!"
At this point, Chen Jinyu’s live stream chat was filled with frantic messages.
"Who is this handsome guy? What’s his height? Weight? Measurements?"
"Is he a newcomer in showbiz? What’s his name, tell us now."
"Streamer, ask your friend what show she was watching, I’m curious!"
Lin Wanwan hurriedly grabbed her phone and quickly exited, with a slightly blaming tone she said, "Jinyu, you should’ve told me in advance if you were streaming."
Still caught up in the shock of seeing Xiao Chong, Chen Jinyu didn’t hear Lin Wanwan and instead pursued her with questions, "Who was that just now? What were you watching?"
Lin Wanwan, unable to come up with a quick story, pondered a moment and replied, "A master of the ancient zither, a non-celebrity, please forget what you just saw."
Seeing the look on Lin Wanwan’s face, Chen Jinyu refrained from asking further, but with a playful gesture, she tickled Lin Wanwan’s side and apologetically whined, "I’m sorry, Wanwan, I’m just too happy about New Year’s Eve, so I wanted to play a joke on you. It’s my fault for not giving you a heads-up, don’t be mad."
Lin Wanwan moved out of the view of the phone camera and half-joked, "You should just focus on your streaming, why make jokes with me? I don’t find it funny."
Chen Jinyu addressed her live audience, "See, you guys got me in trouble. I shouldn’t have listened to you and played the surprise attack on a friend game."
This was both interaction with her live audience and a kind of explanation to Lin Wanwan.
Even though Lin Wanwan was not too happy about exposing the video of Xiao Chong, it wasn’t right to say anything in the live stream. Moreover, it had been over a month since she’d last seen Chen Jinyu, and given the pitiful state she was in after inexplicably getting into a fight last time, she decided to forgive her friend this once.
Sigh, sometimes Lin Wanwan really didn’t understand Chen Jinyu’s thinking. Perhaps only someone with her personality could navigate the entertainment industry.