At first, Zhou Paihuai just watched her eat, but later he couldn't help but join in, saying as he ate, "Eat less, we'll have noodles for dinner!"
"Eat it at night?" Ji Anxi didn't understand. Longevity noodles and cake could be eaten at lunch or dinner tomorrow. Why wait until the early hours of the morning?
"Who told you to be born in the early morning!" Zhou Huaihuai spread her hands. In her hometown, there is a custom that eating longevity noodles at the time of birth will bring the greatest blessings.
She didn't really believe in ghosts and gods, but she wanted to send all the best wishes in the world to her haters. She was just going to stay up all night and eat a bowl of noodles, of course she would stick to it until that moment.
Ji Anxi assumed that Zhou Paihuai's mention of eating noodles meant ordering takeout or making arrangements with the restaurant chef beforehand so they could just come and eat. She never expected that Zhou Paihuai had actually borrowed the hotel's kitchen and cooked the noodles herself.
“The important thing about longevity noodles is that they’re long. I specifically learned online how to make a bowl of noodles from a single noodle!” Zhou Paihuai said to Ji Anxi while kneading the dough.
"How long do you want me to live, to become an old monster?" Ji Anxi replied with a smile, but tears welled up in her eyes.
She did something very ordinary for me, but she thought of even such a small thing for me. How could I not be moved?
"I'd love it even if you turned into an old monster!" She could string together sweet nothings with ease.
"Pfft—" Ji Anxi burst into laughter through her tears, saying, "I'm not a monster, if anyone should transform, it's you!"
Chapter 104 Marriage Cannot Be Forced
"Young Master, Li Rui is here!"
This so-called young master was none other than Zhou Chengli. He sat on the sofa looking quite respectable, a cigar between his middle and index fingers: "Call someone in!"
Li Rui was the paparazzi Zhou Paihuai had encountered. He came in looking disheveled, with his prized camera hanging around his neck.
“Young Master Zhou, I have already tested her as you instructed, and she knows nothing.”
"How did you test me?" Zhou Chengli didn't even lift his eyelids.
Li Rui briefly recounted what he had said to Zhou Huaihuai. Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Chengli suddenly jumped up and smashed a square ashtray next to him.
"What the hell did you say? You said you filmed me doing drugs?"
The ashtray, with its sharp edges, sliced Li Rui's cheek. He stammered, "I was just testing him exactly as you instructed. Besides, I already deleted the evidence..."
Because he filmed something he shouldn't have, he was not only beaten severely and nearly lost his life, but was also threatened by this young master and forced to become his lackey.
"Can't you say something to test me?" Zhou Chengli was afraid that Zhou Huaihuai would find out, so he sent Li Rui to test him. He didn't expect that Li Rui would actually dare to use this to test him.
"Don't worry, Young Master Zhou. Zhou Paihuai doesn't seem like the type to meddle in other people's business, and she doesn't intend to get involved in these matters."
"Forget it, as long as she didn't get any pictures, that's fine. You better be more careful in the future, or I'll kill you if you ruin my plans!"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
......
Zhou Paihuai didn't know what she dreamed about while she was sleeping, but the intense feeling of weightlessness woke her up instantly.
Turning her head, she saw that Ji Anxi was still asleep. This was understandable; she had eaten longevity noodles at midnight last night, and her stomach was so full that she couldn't sleep. She didn't fall asleep until two or three in the morning.
Feeling someone staring intently at her in her drowsy state, Ji Anxi gradually woke up and finally opened her eyes: "You woke up so early?"
"The sun's already high in the sky, you lazy pig!" Zhou Huaihuai burst out laughing. "Get up! It's a rare trip, you should at least go out and see the sea."
"You yearn for the sea?" Ji Anxi sensed the longing for the ocean in her words.
"Don't you like it?" Zhou Paihuai did not deny it. She liked the feeling of being all-encompassing.
Ji Anxi shook her head: "Of course I like it. But Sister Cheng should have told you that we can't be photographed, right?"
It's understandable to be bundled up a bit when you're not long from the airport to the hotel, but to be all bundled up when going to the beach in June? People will probably think you're crazy!
"Why would I choose H City out of so many coastal cities?"
Do you have a solution?
Zhou Paihuai took out his phone to show her. It was a picture of a comic convention at the beach in H City, which had started a couple of days ago and would last for seven days. During those seven days, no one would notice no matter how strangely they dressed.
"You know about these things?" Ji Anxi was pleasantly surprised. She used to be a fan of anime and manga and had been to several anime conventions, but she had never been to a seaside anime convention.
Zhou Huai smiled awkwardly. Actually, she was a long-time anime fan. If the original owner of this body hadn't been an actress, she would definitely have known these things much better after living in this world for so long.
"But I didn't bring any clothes!" Ji Anxi became conflicted again. These clothes all needed to be custom-made, and it might be too late to prepare them now.
Zhou Huaihuai looked at her in surprise: "You've never opened a suitcase before?"
“... ..."
Opening the heavy suitcase, Ji Anxi found that everything inside was in duplicate, and in the inner compartment, there were all sorts of strange clothes, and even two brightly colored wigs.
"How was it?" Zhou Huaihuai asked proudly, like a rooster.
Ji Anxi clasped her hands in a fist salute. She found it hard to believe that Zhou Paihuai had considered things so thoroughly. No wonder Sister Cheng felt comfortable letting the two of them come out together; the security and confidentiality were extremely high. "Impressive!"
Zhou Paihuai not only considered things very carefully, but she also practiced her makeup skills diligently during this time, and she could definitely make her disguise so convincing that others wouldn't recognize her.
After they both finished their makeup, Zhou Paihuai said, "How is it now? Are you relieved?"
"Don't worry!" Looking like this, no one would recognize me even if I wore regular clothes, let alone attend a comic convention.
... ...
Because there was a comic convention at the beach, it was extremely crowded.
However, the two of them didn't come here to attend a comic convention, so instead of going to crowded places, they went to a mobile convenience store to rent deck chairs and parasols.
"There are coconuts for sale over there!" Taking advantage of being the birthday girl today, Ji Anxi directed Ji Anxi to buy this and that without any pressure.
Zhou also doted on her, going wherever he pointed. Soon, a bunch of fun toys and entertainment items appeared around them.
"How many days are we staying here?" Since entering the entertainment industry, it's been hard to feel this relaxed and carefree. Ji Anxi is starting to not want to go back.
Even if she goes back soon, it's uncertain how much she'll be able to stay. It's not peak tourist season yet, so she can extend her hotel stay indefinitely. She hasn't even booked a plane ticket yet; how long she can stay depends mainly on Sister Cheng's patience.
Ji Anxi is currently very popular, and in order to help her advance further, Cheng Minxin wants to give her seven days of work a week.
"Then there are only a few days left?" Ji Anxi was very depressed. "Sister Cheng only gave me three days off. Yesterday doesn't count, and I wasted half a day today."
Zhou Paihuai handed her a piece of the cut fruit he had prepared, saying, "It's alright, I guess. If we make the most of our time, we can have a lot of fun. Tell me what you want to do, and I'll arrange it!"
Ji Anxi's eyes lit up: "I heard that there's a very effective matchmaking temple in H City. Shall we go check it out?"
"Does our relationship really require visiting a matchmaking temple?"
Even if they were already officially a couple, she wouldn't choose to pray for a good match at a temple for marriage. If she wanted the person she loved to fall in love with her, she had no choice but to become the person he/she liked; there was no other way, and it couldn't be forced.
"I want to go!"
Zhou's principles were shattered in one blow; she said, "Since you want to go, then let's go!"
Chapter 105 Don't Make Me Worry Anymore
The marriage temple in H city is very famous locally, but since the day the two of them came was neither a holiday nor a weekend, there were relatively few people.
The temple was built halfway up the mountain, and Zhou Huaihuai didn't know if there were any things for sale on the mountain. Just to be on the safe side, he said, "Wait here for me, I'll go buy something."
Ji Anxi nodded, stopped in her tracks, and noticed that there were many vendors selling incense, candles, and red ribbons around her. She couldn't help but walk up and strike up a conversation with them.
When Zhou returned, she found that Ji Anxi was carrying many incense sticks and candles and had several red ribbons hanging on her body. She almost didn't recognize her.
"What are you buying these things for?" Zhou Huai laughed at her; her appearance was truly comical.
"I need it!" Ji Anxi had originally wanted to ask her to help with some of the work, but seeing that she had more or less stuff than she did, she didn't say anything.
The two of them started climbing the mountain, each carrying a bunch of things. Fortunately, the temple had made a lot of money in recent years, so the mountain path was well-maintained, making the climb relatively easy.
"Why are you buying incense and candles? We really don't need to pray for a marriage anymore," Zhou Paihuai said again as they approached the temple. "Buying so much at once, it's a hassle to carry it all."
Ji Anxi glanced at her and said, "The Temple of Marriage can not only pray for marriage, but also protect marriage."
"Um?"
Ji Anxi continued, "There is a 500-year-old tree inside. If two people who truly love each other come to the tree and make a wish, they will not only be happy together in this life, but also in the next life and for all eternity."
"..." To be honest, Zhou Paihuai didn't even dare to make up such a story when he was writing his novel.
Seeing that she didn't believe him, Ji Anxi emphasized, "I checked it a long time ago, and many people say it's incredibly effective."
"Do they all have memories of their past lives?"
Ji Anxi's face immediately turned cold: "What do you mean? So you don't want to be with me in the next life?"
"How could that be?" Zhou Paihuai quickly denied, picking up the red ribbon Ji Anxi handed him. "How do we use this? To tie it on our hands? A thread that binds us together across a thousand miles of marriage?"
“...Of course, hang it on the tree! Look over there!” Ji Anxi was speechless, but fortunately, they reached the ancient tree in less than two minutes.
Following the steps found online, Ji Anxi lit candles in front of the ancient tree, and together with Zhou Paihuai, they knelt before the tree and made a sincere wish.
"Now, turn your backs and throw the two ribbons backward with force. The ones that remain on the tree represent that the ancient tree has agreed to our request."
How could you possibly throw it up there? Red ribbons have almost no weight, let alone being thrown with your back to the ground.
"I think we should make our wishes sincerely. After we throw them, we should close our eyes and wait quietly for a while!" Zhou suggested before Ji Anxi threw the toss.
“Mmm!” Ji Anxi completely agreed with this statement.
But after the two threw the ribbons into the air, Zhou Paihuai secretly opened her eyes. She glanced back and, as she expected, neither of the two red ribbons had gotten stuck on the tree.
She glanced at Ji Anxi, whose eyes were tightly closed, then quietly retreated, picked up the red ribbon from the ground, hung it on the tree, and tiptoed back to her original spot, closing her eyes again.
"It's up!" Zhou Paihuai didn't open her eyes until Ji Anxi's surprised voice rang in her ears, as if she wasn't the one who had just done that little thing. "So amazing?"
Ji Anxi nodded and said, "Yes, it must be our piety that moved the ancient tree."
“Of course, we want to be together for all eternity.” Zhou Paihuai echoed her words, for this was also his own wish.
Just as Zhou Paihuai was about to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking he had successfully deceived everyone, he suddenly saw someone taking pictures with a camera not far away.
She suddenly felt a little guilty. She had just picked up the red ribbon from the ground and hung it on the tree. Could this person have taken a picture? But even if they had, they were complete strangers, so she probably wouldn't tell the hater.
Zhou's thoughts wandered, and she even thought about how she would coax the little hater if he got angry about it. As she thought about it, she suddenly remembered that unusual paparazzi.
Knowing that the paparazzi was lying, and that he didn't have any evidence of Zhou Chengli's drug use, he still spoke to himself. His words were all a test. Could it be that the things he was testing were true, but he just hadn't realized it?
"What's wrong?" Ji Anxi asked when she heard her talking to herself.
Zhou Paihuai whispered in her ear, "I think Zhou Chengli is really doing drugs!"