Chu Lulin hesitated. "Are you sure? You worked hard on this."
Jian Ran smiled and pressed it into his hand. "It's fine. I have plenty of these."
Chu Lulin looked down at the handkerchief in his hand and was silent for a few seconds. "I'll wash it and return it to you."
Jian Ran was about to say no need, it's just a handkerchief, but her eyes inadvertently fell on the 'fish playing among lotus' pattern on it. She swallowed her words.
"Okay," she said. "But no rush. Just wash it when you can."
Chu Lulin paused in his movements of wiping his face, softly hummed in acknowledgment, then continued casually wiping.
The rain grew heavier. Raindrops hit the stone slabs in front of the house, splashing everywhere.
The distant mountains became increasingly blurred, as if covered by a hazy mist.
Jian Ran turned her head, her gaze landing on Chu Lulin. His T-shirt was soaked through, clinging to his body, outlining his silhouette.
Her eyes lit up. Usually, she only felt that Chu Lulin was tall and thin; she didn't expect him to have such a good physique.
Her gaze traveled upward, landing on his flawless face.
His skin was really fair. Upon closer inspection, she could see fine fuzz, with tiny water droplets hanging on it, like morning dew on the edge of a petal, crystal clear.
It carried a purity untouched by dust.
Just like the impression Chu Lulin gave her.
Chu Lulin noticed her somewhat intense gaze and turned his head in confusion. "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
Caught sneaking a look, Jian Ran didn't dodge. Instead, she smiled at him openly.
"No, you're just too pleasing to the eye."
Chu Lulin was taken aback. Under her purely appreciative gaze, he replied gracefully, "Thank you."
Their eyes met for a moment, then they exchanged a smile and tacitly looked away.
But in the corner Jian Ran didn't notice, Chu Lulin's ears were tinged with red.
*
The rain continued all night. The next morning, it still showed no signs of stopping, so their outing plans had to be canceled.
Jian Ran, with nothing to do, lay in bed looking at the photos Chu Lulin had sent her.
Besides the ones from the horse ranch, Chu Lulin had been carrying his camera these days, capturing moments at the farm, in the ancient town, and many candid shots at the Embroidery Workshop.
Not bad at all—they all came out great.
Jian Ran picked nine of them, arranged them in a nine-grid and posted them on her Moments. She didn't add any caption, only a happy emoji from WeChat.
She wasn't the type to post on Moments often, especially selfies. So this rare post of a nine-grid with her in every picture made her Moments lively. Many people liked and commented.
Jian Ran was about to reply to a few comments when Lu Chuchu's video call popped up.
"You actually went out? What a rare sight! I thought you'd stay holed up in the hotel the whole time."
Lu Chuchu appeared on the screen in ancient costume, with filming equipment behind her. She must have called during a break.
Jian Ran sighed inwardly. As expected, her bestie knew her too well.
"Spill it! Why did you suddenly decide to go out? And who took those photos? They're quite good. Wait, don't tell me you had a romantic encounter there." Lu Chuchu said excitedly.
Jian Ran massaged her forehead in exasperation. "What romantic encounter? Have you forgotten why I came here?"
Lu Chuchu shrugged. "What's the big deal? Mending a broken heart and having a romantic encounter aren't mutually exclusive. Besides, they say the fastest way to get over a breakup is to start a new relationship."
Jian Ran: "..."
"That might be the fastest, but it's not necessarily the best."
Lu Chuchu was silent for a few seconds. "True. Men are too troublesome. Let's just stay single and beautiful."
"By the way, you still haven't told me what made you change your mind and go out."
"Well... since I'm already here."
"Hmph! That's an indisputable reason."
Jian Ran nodded in agreement. See? She wasn't the only one who felt that way.
"And the pictures in your Moments? Who took them? They're really good."
"Who else? The butler."
"What butler?" Lu Chuchu looked confused.
Jian Ran was taken aback. She hadn't expected this question. "The butler arranged by the villa—one-on-one service during the stay, including outing planning and accompaniment."
Lu Chuchu said, "Oh, that's nice. I guess you get what you pay for."
"Wait, didn't you read the details when you booked the hotel?"
"Not really. I was in a hurry at the time and didn't pay much attention. I just saw the brochure raving about the place, and the scenery looked good, so I booked it for you."
Jian Ran laughed. "You really are a rich lady."
The room rates were expensive, much higher than a regular five-star hotel, yet she hadn't found it strange and had directly paid for a month plus a hefty deposit.