The sun sets in the west, and the distant mountains are outlined with a golden edge as the sun sets.
The trees on the mountain are also bathed in a layer of pale yellow glow, appearing warm and tranquil.
In the golden light, the two figures on the mountain platform finally separated.
Zhang Xinxin's face was flushed, her hair disheveled, and several buttons on her collar were undone. Her heart was still pounding inside her chest, unable to calm down.
On the other side, Li Jing was reminiscing about the scene just now, still somewhat wanting more.
He could sense that, urged by this atmosphere, Zhang Xinxin's inner defense was at its lowest, and he could easily have made a spectacular outdoor action film just now with a little assertiveness.
However, he also felt a subconscious resistance and restraint in her regarding the final step, so Li Jing ultimately chose not to push it further.
Li Jing is not someone who enjoys forcing things; letting nature take its course aligns more with his current philosophy of enjoying life.
If he were to use force, he would find it meaningless.
If he were truly that desperate, with over seven million in cash, what woman couldn't be swayed with money?
Even in those high-end places, with Li Jing's current financial power, he could easily sweep through until his resources ran out.
But women, like life...
Only by truly conquering the other from the heart can one enjoy the best experience; any trace of coercion makes Li Jing feel it's not perfect enough.
But Li Jing believes that since Zhang Xinxin has come this far with him, he has a strong premonition that they are just a layer of window paper away from the final union.
Compared to breaking it forcefully now, Li Jing prefers to let that layer of paper dissolve on its own.
After buttoning up and tidying her skirt, Zhang Xinxin saw Li Jing looking at her slyly, causing her to blush and coquettishly say:
"You've touched everything you needed to touch, kissed what you needed to kiss, why are you still looking at me like that?"
"You're so beautiful, of course, I can't get enough of looking at you."
What Li Jing said was the truth; compared to her previous lively and cheerful image, the blush and dazed look on Zhang Xinxin's face now had a unique allure.
Just seeing the slight rise and fall of her chest could make an ordinary man's blood run hot.
Fortunately, after being desensitized by An Tong, Wei Jia, and others these days, Li Jing barely managed to control himself and maintain his personal image.
Upon hearing Li Jing's words, Zhang Xinxin gave a light hum, but her face was full of joy from the praise. Then she took Li Jing's arm and said, "Let's go down the mountain. It will be too late to catch the cable car if we don't leave now."
...
Their luck was fairly good; under the unusual glances from the staff, they managed to catch the last cable car down the mountain.
At the foot of the mountain, as Zhang Xinxin stepped off the cable car and prepared to take Li Jing's arm again, her expression suddenly changed slightly, and she instinctively took half a step back, keeping a certain distance from Li Jing.
Seeing this, Li Jing raised his eyebrow slightly, noticing Zhang Xinxin's unusual manner. He looked around and saw a group of local people carrying loads coming down from the mountain.
This group consisted of old and young, dressed in simple and rough clothes, carrying baskets full of water bottles, snacks, or some local specialty foods on their shoulder poles, obviously hawkers specifically selling to tourists on the mountain.
The commercial development of Hu Jun Mountain is not high; there are no dedicated shops or gathering points on the mountain. Tourists feeling thirsty or hungry can only buy things from these hawkers.
On the way up the mountain earlier, Li Jing had encountered several of them, but he hadn't realized there were so many of them. There must be more paths up the mountain, with other hawkers selling on different paths, which is why he didn't see more on his way up.
At this moment, Li Jing glanced surreptitiously at Zhang Xinxin behind him, only to see that she was deliberately keeping half a body away from him, turning her face sideways, seeming afraid of being discovered by someone.
Curious, Li Jing thought:
Could it be that there's someone she knows among those hawkers?
Thinking this, Li Jing didn't expose anything but pretended not to notice, and walked straight toward the direction of the guesthouse.
"Well... Brother Jing..."
Sure enough, just as they were about to leave the gates of Hu Jun Mountain, Zhang Xinxin couldn't help but speak up: "I still have some things to deal with... Could you go back alone first?"
After saying this, Zhang Xinxin looked anxious, fearing that Li Jing might be unhappy or ask questions.
But Li Jing agreed without any hesitation and then turned away.
Watching Li Jing's figure fade into the distance, Zhang Xinxin's expression wavered, biting her lip slightly, hesitating for a moment before quickly turning and hurrying in the direction the hawkers had gone.
"Dad, aren't you supposed to be working at Uncle Wang's factory? Why are you doing this at Hu Jun Mountain?"
Catching up quickly with the hawkers, Zhang Xinxin grabbed the slowest-moving middle-aged man with a slightly hunched back among them and directly questioned.
"Xinxin! Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?"
Seeing Zhang Xinxin, Zhang Jian Country's eyes first lit up with joy, then evaded as he said: "Well... something happened at the factory, your Uncle Wang ran away, and I had nothing to do, so I came to do this with Old Li. They say it pays well."
Seeing the sweat-drenched clothes on the other person, Zhang Xinxin was a bit angry: "Why didn't you tell me about such a big thing? When did you stop going to the factory?"
"Just last month, the factory had trouble just last month."
On Zhang Jian Country's dark, wrinkled face, he forced a smile: "I didn't want to delay your work in the big city. It's not a big deal anyway; working with Old Li and the others here at Hu Jun Mountain, I can still earn money..."
"I don't want you earning money this hard!"
In her anxiety, Zhang Xinxin raised her voice, her eyes slightly reddening, drawing curious looks from the hawkers ahead.
Seeing this, Zhang Jian Country's face changed slightly, and he quickly whispered in dissatisfaction: "Silly girl, what are you shouting for, letting Old Li and the others see."
"Forget about that. First, tell me what's wrong with your leg?"
From the first glance earlier, Zhang Xinxin noticed her father's strange walk and pointing at his somewhat lame right leg, she was both pained and angry.
"This..." Zhang Jian Country's expression changed, hesitating for a moment before saying: "I didn't do this work before, just took a tumble, it's nothing serious, it'll be fine in a few days."
"It takes a hundred days for a broken bone to heal, and you're not treating it, yet still doing this!"
Clenching her teeth, Zhang Xinxin snatched Zhang Jian Country's pole and threw it on the ground, then grabbed his hand to drag him back: "Don't do this anymore, I'll take you to Dr. Wang to have your foot looked at..."
"Why are you flipping out and throwing my stuff!"
Seeing his unsold goods scattered all over, Zhang Jian Country suddenly became temperamental, shoving her hand away angrily: "Without doing this, where do we get money from? Your Uncle Wang's factory hasn't paid salaries in half a year..."
"What?!" Hearing this, Zhang Xinxin widened her eyes, filled with shock.
Zhang Jian Country realized he had let something slip, his expression changed, and he hastily waved his hand: "Ah, just go back to your company for work, don't worry about family affairs. I'm fine on my own, just take good care of yourself."
Seeing him pick up the pole to leave, Zhang Xinxin's eyes reddened, and she grabbed his rough hand, choking and gritting her teeth: "Dad, you mean you haven't had an income for six months? You said you were doing well with Uncle Wang..."
"I, I... I was doing well, but who knew that unreliable Uncle Wang would run after not paying for even a month. Yes, yes, go back, you don't find it embarrassing, but I do, just go back; there's no need to worry about me!"
Zhang Jian Country pushed his daughter away again; he didn't want to stand with his daughter like this.
He wasn't afraid of being laughed at, but seeing all the people on the street starting to whisper about his daughter, he grew increasingly anxious, wanting to shake her off and not bring her shame.
"Not care about you?! How could I not care about you!"
Zhang Xinxin, also reaching her breaking point, angrily shouted: "Do you want me to be like that vile woman and abandon..."
Slap!
The clear sound of a slap instantly echoed throughout the square.
Looking at the wide-eyed and dazed Zhang Xinxin, Zhang Jian Country's eyes flashed with a hint of regret, but he still gritted his teeth and said solemnly:
"Although your mother wronged me, I told you, she's the one who gave birth to you, no matter what you shouldn't curse your mother!"