To make rice wine, Du Yunyan soaked glutinous rice in a large water jar overnight, then steamed the rice early the next morning.

Gu Wenxi opened the kitchen door curtain and smelled a faintly sweet aroma of glutinous rice.

“What are you doing?”

“Making rice wine.” Du Yunyan wore disposable gloves and sprinkled the sweet wine koji he bought earlier into it, stirring it evenly.

“Do you often make wine yourself?” Gu Wenxi remembered the glass of bayberry wine he drank when he first arrived here.

Lately, he had helped with kitchen chores and had seen glass bottles filled with red wine in the refrigerator, though not many. The taste of this wine was memorable, and he was thinking about asking Du Yunyan for a few more glasses.

“Not too often, like the kind you drank last time is made when the bayberries are ripe.”

“Then why is there still some left?” When bayberries are ripe, it’s the peak season, so if there are many tourists, they should finish it quickly.

“In the summer, I bring in some wine to sell,” Du Yunyan dug a hole in the middle of the glutinous rice and then covered it with a lid, “I keep the fruit wine I make for myself.”

“Drink or give I you wish.”

“As you wish?” Gu Wenxi was quite surprised to hear this peculiar term from Du Yunyan’s mouth. “So, on the first day you gave me… was it because you felt destined?”

“It was quite destined,” Du Yunyan said calmly, “If I hadn’t helped you change the tire, you probably wouldn’t have found a place to stay until midnight.”

Gu Wenxi fell silent. He shouldn’t have expected Du Yunyan to say anything flattering.

In the afternoon, the guest who was traveling alone arrived first. She arrived at the entrance of the inn by motorcycle, a young woman with short hair and a pair of thin red-framed glasses. Besides the backpack on her back, she only had a relatively large camera as her luggage. Gu Wenxi felt like he had seen this person somewhere before.

The girl didn’t go out in the afternoon but also didn’t stay in her room. She went to the courtyard to take photos with her camera. She seemed very interested in this place. In Gu Wenxi’s opinion, the angles she took photos from were too comprehensive, covering every nook and cranny. If someone didn’t know better, they might have thought she was shooting a documentary.

Later, she took the initiative to chat with Du Yunyan, and Gu Wenxi saw it as soon as he returned to his room. They were in the backyard, facing the spot below his window.

After finishing his work, Du Yunyan washed his hands by the sink, and the female guest approached him. He saw her graceful smile and constantly moving lips. Du Yunyan nodded politely from time to time, not showing much expression, but also not indicating an intention to end the conversation.

That’s how this person was, three parts genuine and seven parts indifferent. Even if there was sincerity inside, it always seemed like he was wearing a mask.

Gu Wenxi suddenly realized that Du Yunyan might not have much difference in his attitude towards other guests compared to himself.

He was just a passerby. If he bid farewell to the other party, he wouldn’t get any retention. Maybe that person would even give him a few hundred yuan and wish him a safe journey.

Thinking of that scene, he felt somewhat uncomfortable and quickly closed the curtains, leaning against the wall.

The other five companions arrived at the inn in the evening, three men and two women, each riding a mountain bike to get here. Although the bikes were not particularly high-end, they should be priced at several thousand each, neatly lined up in front of the building. They were also dressed in outdoor sports attire, not very old, like students or recent graduates.

Gu Wenxi went to the backyard to find Du Yunyan and told him that the guests had arrived. The girl apologized embarrassingly and said, “Sorry to disturb you,” before temporarily leaving.

When those people registered, two of the male students chattered non-stop, instantly causing a commotion in the previously quiet inn. Gu Wenxi inadvertently overheard them mentioning “S University.”

“You guys are from S University?” He was surprised to meet alumni in this place.

“Yeah,” the boy with the melon-shaped hairstyle said, “We’ll graduate next year.”

“Is this your graduation trip?” Gu Wenxi’s eyes widened, “You didn’t ride here from S City, did you?”

“Yes,” Melon-head said somewhat proudly, “We often ride out for fun.”

A girl told Gu Wenxi that their planned travel time wasn’t too long. They would spend two days on the road, stay here for four or five days, and then would return to school.

“I also graduated from S University,” Gu Wenxi told them.

“Really?” the yellow-haired boy who had been arguing with Melon-head asked, “Which college are you from, Senior?”

“Foreign Languages College, what about you guys?”

“We’re from different majors,” Yellow-hair gestured with his finger in a circle, “She’s Chinese, and then there’s economics, computer science, design; we all met in the outdoor sports club.”

“It’s great that you can gather together,” Gu Wenxi said with a slight sigh. He also loved traveling, but he had never ridden such a long distance. He usually chose more relaxed and less strenuous means of transportation.

“Senior, are you also here for fun?”

“Are you comfortable staying here?”

…

The juniors were very active, without any restraint after discovering he was an alumni, asking one question after another.

“Hey,” Gu Wenxi interrupted them, “It’s rare to have such fate. How about I treat you to barbecue tomorrow?” Tomorrow was Sunday. He turned his face towards Du Yunyan behind the bar counter, “Boss, I saw you have a grill here last time. Tomorrow, I’ll go to town to buy some meat—” He stopped halfway through, his expression stiffening. He didn’t have the money to treat so many people to barbecue.

“Let me treat,” Du Yunyan said, shaking his head as he looked at him, “You can be the driver.”

“No problem, thanks, boss!” Gu Wenxi readily agreed.

Recently, when going shopping in town, it was Gu Wenxi’s SUV that was used. This morning, Du Yunyan played the role of a driver, giving Gu Wenxi a break.

Recently, Gu Wenxi had become familiar with the yellow dog, Yangyang. Whenever he stood near the entrance, the dog followed him. He squatted down, stroking the dog’s back, unaware that someone had stood behind him for a while.

“Hello,” the girl who had talked with Du Yunyan for a long time yesterday spoke up after Gu Wenxi raised his head, “Can I take a picture of you and it?” She still held the high-end camera in her hand, “Don’t worry, I won’t post it anywhere.”

“Sure.” Gu Wenxi replied cheerfully, continuing to pet the dog, waiting for her to finish before standing up, “Are you here to take photos?”

“Oh, you might find it a bit strange,” the girl explained, “It could be considered my professional habit. I’m a journalist for a magazine.”

“A journalist?” Gu Wenxi hadn’t considered this possibility. It seemed that his conversation with Du Yunyan yesterday might have had another purpose.

“I saw an introduction to this place and this inn from a blogger on Weibo and decided to come and see for myself.”

“I did the same,” Gu Wenxi chuckled, thinking of himself a month ago. He glanced outside the fence, “Wanna take a stroll?”

The girl nodded, and they walked out of the front yard, moving at a very slow pace along the village road.

“How long have you been staying here?” she asked.

“For a month.”

“So long?” After a slight surprise, she nodded, “How does it feel?”

“It’s pretty good,” Gu Wenxi replied with his hands behind his back, matching her pace and slowing down, “But how it feels varies from person to person. You know?”

“Yeah,” she said, “Actually, I’m more interested in the inn than the mountain village. After all, I grew up in the countryside in the south, used to the rural scenery. But I fell in love with this place at first sight.”

“So that’s how it is.” No wonder she wasn’t in a hurry to go out yesterday, just wandering around the yard.

“I originally wanted to do a special report, maybe even write it into my book…” her voice trailed off.

Gu Wenxi guessed the reason behind it, “Did you talk to Mr. Du about it?”

“Yeah,” the female journalist said, “He didn’t agree.”

Gu Wenxi didn’t find it strange at all after hearing this. It would be abnormal for Du Yunyan’s personality to agree. But for this journalist, it was still a disappointment. He tried to comfort her, “Mr. Du is that kind of person—”

“Actually, I was mentally prepared,” she probably knew what Gu Wenxi was going to say, “This trip isn’t entirely for practical purposes. I like to meet people with stories. Even if I’m not qualified to tell their stories, it’s still a kind of gain.”

“People with stories?” Gu Wenxi caught the implication in her words, “Are you talking about Mr. Du?”

“Yes, Mr. Du is a man with a story, although he hasn’t told me much,” the female journalist added with a smile, “I think you’re a person with a story too.”

“Hahaha… are you planning to interview me?” Gu Wenxi joked along.

“Who knows,” the female journalist said, “I’ll send you the photos later, okay? Do you have an email?”

Gu Wenxi gave her a commonly used email address, glanced at the time on his phone, and remembered that Du Yunyan was still waiting for him to help with lunch. “I have to go back now.”

“I’ll walk around a bit more then.” She bid farewell, leaving a business card with Gu Wenxi.

“Cen Fei…” Wasn’t this the journalist who became famous at a young age? No wonder she seemed familiar. Gu Wenxi put away the business card, looked at her receding figure, and sighed. Truly, Du Yunyan was someone who could throw away a huge opportunity as easily as trash.

He shook his head and walked back, with Yangyang welcoming him at the door.