I'll wait for you amidst the romance of nature.

I was very careful on the way to the hospital because Dali has been working hard to become a civilized city, so the management of motor vehicles on the road has been very strict recently, and Tie Nan's unlicensed motorcycle is a key target for crackdown.

I think this motorcycle can only follow us for as long as we can, because given how often we use it, it will eventually be dealt with by the traffic management department as an unlicensed vehicle.

When I arrived at the hospital in Xiaguan, I parked my car in the parking lot. As I was about to enter the hospital, I felt that the fireworks and firecrackers I had just bought were too conspicuous in broad daylight, so I simply carried the box and mingled with the crowd as I entered the gate.

After searching around, I finally found Ye Zhi's hospital room. I hid the box under her bed and then asked her, full of doubt, "Are you really just suffering from a headache and fever?"

"Otherwise what?"

I looked around and replied, "Does a headache and fever really require a separate ward? There are rows of patients like you sitting in the infusion hall downstairs!"

"I don't like crowded places."

I gave her a thumbs up in admiration, then exclaimed, "You really do live a life of luxury wherever you go... But then again, what's the point of making so much money if you can't even provide a VIP experience for medical treatment?"

"You're really being rude! Who wants to be a VIP at a hospital for no reason!"

I gave an awkward laugh and replied, "Then you should take care of yourself. Headaches and fevers may seem like minor illnesses, but if they get stuck, they can be quite uncomfortable."

Ye Zhi remained silent, then closed her eyes again; she looked very unwell. I then realized that I had rushed over so quickly that I had forgotten to buy her some fruit or something to show my concern.

I asked her softly, "What would you like to eat? I'll go buy it for you."

"I have no appetite. Just believe me, I'm not lying. Go and do your own thing."

I didn't leave. Instead, I moved a chair and sat down next to her. I said, "I'm not leaving. I came all the way from the ancient city to Xiaguan to see you. Can't you be a little more welcoming to me?"

"If you're not busy, please sit down. I'm going to take a nap."

While Ye Zhi was saying all this, she didn't open her eyes. So when she stopped talking, I couldn't tell if she was really asleep. So I just sat there blankly for a while...

……

A moment later, Yang Sisi called me. I gently closed the door and answered it from the corner of the corridor. She asked me anxiously, "Where are you? I haven't seen you since this morning."

"The inn just reopened, so I went to the old town to buy some firecrackers to liven up the atmosphere."

"Stop rambling on and hurry back to the inn to deal with the problem."

"What's wrong?"

"We received a call early this morning from a family who are coming to Dali for a week-long trip and want to book four rooms."

"This is a good thing, why are you so nervous?"

"People are asking us if we offer airport pickup service. Is that something you're responsible for?"

"Where would we get an airport pickup service?"

"You'll regret this; this is a list of four rooms for a week."

I mentally estimated the room fee to be around 14,000 yuan, and I immediately became nervous. I quickly said to Yang Sisi, "Don't rush to refuse. I'll think of a solution right now. Do you know how many of them there are?"

"Four elderly people, two adults, and two children, eight in total."

"Oh dear, this one van isn't enough; we'll need to find two!"

"Let me remind you, they're high-end clients who can spend over ten thousand yuan to stay at our inn. Don't send a beat-up car to pick them up. Not only will you miss out on the booking, but you'll also ruin our inn's image!"

"Do I need you to remind me? I know what I'm doing."

"You're so boring. All I wanted was for you to praise me for being thoughtful... You have no idea, it's only people like us who have no status who crave the boss's approval."

"Stop joking around. What time will the guests arrive at the airport? I'll go find a car now."

"Then you'd better hurry. Their plane lands at 2 PM, and it'll be an hour's drive to the airport once you find a car!"

……

After hanging up the phone, I checked the time. It was almost 10:30. Although there was still plenty of time, I couldn't let my guard down. After all, finding two luxury cars without an appointment wasn't an easy task.

Even so, I rushed outside the hospital to buy Ye Zhi some porridge and some simple desserts. I put them on her bedside table and said to her, who was either asleep or awake, "I bought you some food. Remember to eat it, especially this porridge. Drink it while it's hot... I have some things to take care of. I'll come back to see you later."

"Okay, you can go ahead and get busy."

"I know you're not asleep, you just don't want to talk to me."

"I don't want to delay your work; it's working hours now."

"Yes, it's working hours now, but why are you lying in bed?... I just asked the nurse, and she said your illness is due to neglecting your health and catching a cold! The temperature difference between day and night is large in Dali, so wear more clothes if you get cold, and don't just focus on work."

Ye Zhi turned her back to me, ignoring me and refusing to listen to my rambling.

But then I noticed her car keys next to her purse, and I touched my chin before saying to her, "You're so sick, you probably can't drive this car. Can I borrow it for a bit? I'll bring it back to you later."

"Um."

I picked up my car keys, and while putting on the coat I had just taken off, I said to her, "I hid a box of fireworks under your bed. Keep an eye on it for me, and make sure the nurses don't find it. If they confiscate it, I'll be at a huge loss—this box costs several hundred!"

Ye Zhi finally stopped turning her back to me, but she was glaring at me… I can’t really describe her temper, but at this moment she was definitely annoyed by me. Because when I came to visit her, I didn’t bring fruit or flowers, but instead brought a box of fireworks and firecrackers. How irresponsible of a person is it to do something like that!

I raised an eyebrow at her, then grabbed my car keys and dashed out of the ward...

Amidst the whistling wind in my ears, I felt we were more like friends now, because I seemed to have found a way to deal with her indifference, and she wasn't invincible; at least, when she got provoked, she would get angry, and it would show on her face...

……

After leaving the hospital, I drove Ye Zhi's G-Class to a nearby car rental company. With her car, I only needed to find another one. At that moment, Yang Sisi sent me the customer's information.

After looking at three or four car rental companies, I finally chose a BMW 525 to go with me to the airport; and the driver was the owner of the rental company, who told me to call him Xiao Song.

When we arrived at the airport, it was lunchtime, so I treated him to a simple meal at the airport restaurant. We chatted casually during the meal...

He asked me, "Brother, you run an inn, right?"

How did you know?

"In our line of work, besides tourists, we deal with guesthouses the most... and I feel that your guesthouse must be quite high-end."

I smiled and replied, "That's right, otherwise I wouldn't have come here to rent a BMW to pick up my guests."

"Your guesthouse must be doing pretty well. November is the slowest season in Dali. Guesthouses that are still getting guests at this time are the ones that are truly making money!"

I found chatting with Xiao Song quite enjoyable, so I asked him, "What are the peak season months in Dali?"

"You're running a newly opened inn, right?... That's a really unprofessional question!"

"It just opened... I know October and summer vacation are definitely peak seasons, but I've never been here before, so I don't know how popular it will be."

"You're wrong. The peak season isn't summer vacation or October... it's really peak during the Chinese New Year. You have no idea how much the tourism market in Dali expanded during last year's Spring Festival..."

I especially enjoy chatting with people who know their place in Dali, because they can give me a lot of useful information. So I pressed on, asking, "Tell me, just how inflated have you become?"

"Let me put it this way: on the night of the Spring Festival, a sofa in any guesthouse can sell for four or five hundred yuan; many guesthouse owners are even willing to live in their cars to sell their rooms to tourists in order to make more money that day... Just think about it, isn't this market insane!"