Chapter 239

"Darling, I think you should check this private message."

At home, Su Huan suddenly walked over with her phone.

Qin Yun took the phone in confusion, glanced at it, his expression subtly shifted, then he looked closely.

"Brother Qin Yun, hello."

"My name is Lan Duo, from Jiaping Village, Baxu Yao Township, Nandan County, Hechi, Guangxi."

"Our village is hidden deep in the mountains; the roads are hard to travel, signal is spotty, and almost no outsiders ever come in. We are a Bai Ku Yao village, generation after generation upholding the old customs and traditional crafts of the mountains."

"A few elders still remain in the village, spending their lives preserving the ancestral methods: the unique Bai Ku Yao dye paste, the ancestral bronze drums passed down through generations, and the hand-carved traditional spinning tops made by mountain artisans. These crafts are the culture etched into our people's bones."

"Over the years, the village's youth have gradually left the mountains to find work, and fewer and fewer are willing to stay and learn these crafts. The older generation grows older each year, with no one to take over—those ancient embroidery patterns, dye recipes, bronze drum ritual ceremonies, and top-forging techniques are slowly fading away, unseen and forgotten."

"We have no scenic attractions, no commercial packaging—we only hope that outsiders will know that deep in the mountains, there are still people holding onto traditions on the verge of vanishing."

"I thought long and hard before gathering the courage to message you. I humbly beg, Brother Qin Yun—could you find time to visit Jiaping Village and help us promote the ancient culture of the Bai Ku Yao? Let these nearly lost crafts be seen by more people."

"Thank you so much, Brother Qin Yun."

Behind this message was a photo: a self-portrait, clearly taken on a hospital bed, the girl's head shaved, a cute but emaciated child with no vitality whatsoever.

The blanket over the girl bore the words: "Hechi City People's Hospital."

Qin Yun checked the message's timestamp—it was a month ago, when he and Su Huan had still been in Zhoushan. He never checked private messages; there were too many, impossible to keep up with, so he left them to Su Huan to occasionally browse.

Occasionally, a few messages had some value, and he'd have Su Huan reply to them.

"What do you say?"

Su Huan had originally planned to ignore it—partly because the authenticity was uncertain, but more importantly, if every private message required a response, Qin Yun would have no time to do anything else.

Yet seeing the emaciated girl in the photo, her withered appearance, softened her heart.

"Aren't we going to Guilin anyway? Let's just make a detour."

Qin Yun didn't care either way; in his view, this message was almost certainly a mass send. No normal person would specifically invite just one person to promote their village. Put yourself in their shoes—he'd try inviting several people too.

Might as well swing the stick—maybe someone replies.

"Then I'll reply and contact her."

"Mm!"

That evening, Mother Hu Fen returned with good news.

"Son, Xiao Huan, the Future Community apartment is almost fully installed—tomorrow, you two should go over and warm it up, spend the night."

Qin Yun had no objection, nodding: "Alright, but Mom, you could just warm it up yourself—we won't live there often."

"Who lets the elderly warm a new house? It's got to be the young—you've got more yang energy."

Hu Fen gave him a reproachful look.

Qin Yun was speechless—was there a ghost in the house that needed his yang energy to counterbalance it?

But he dared not say it aloud.

Su Huan smiled: "Mom, leave it to us."

"Xiao Huan is still the obedient one—you're becoming harder and harder to manage," Hu Fen scolded him, then turned and walked into the kitchen.

Qin Yun pointed at himself, utterly bewildered.

"What did I say that's not manageable?"

"Hehe," Su Huan chuckled, shaking her phone. "No response yet from that side, but I'll keep an eye on it."

"Alright, when do we go to Guilin?"

"You decide."

Qin Yun thought for a moment: "Then June 10th."

The next night, the two arrived at the Future Community. The apartment was beautifully decorated—a 150-square-meter space where one room had been knocked down and merged with the living room, creating a spacious, grand layout.

"How's it look? Pretty good, right?" Su Huan walked around, smiling. "All the soft furnishings were chosen by me and Mom… Auntie."

Qin Yun burst out laughing: "Hahahaha, someone's practically eager to call Mom already."

"Qin Yun!"

Su Huan flushed with indignation, stomped her foot, and lunged at him.

After a bit of playfighting, they entered the master bedroom. The bedding and linens were all prepared by Hu Fen and Su Huan—subtle, clean, and instantly soothing.

"Darling, let's rest," Qin Yun said, looking at Su Huan with a mischievous, half-smiling expression that clearly signaled ulterior motives.

Su Huan shot him a reproachful glance, her cheeks slightly flushed. No matter how familiar they were, she always felt shy and embarrassed before this—only after fully letting go could she truly release herself.

So Qin Yun never failed.

Under the lamp, a beauty grows more radiant the longer you look. Right now was exactly that—when desire rose, and there was no need to suppress it, Qin Yun's gaze toward Su Huan was unmasked, brimming with aggression, as if he meant to devour her whole.

"Won't it… be a bit too much?"

Seeing Su Huan's hesitation, Qin Yun could no longer hold back—he pounced, pulling her into his arms, making her go limp with warmth.

That night, the new home was undeniably full of yang energy.

…

June 10th, clear weather.

At Guilin Liangjiang International Airport, Qin Yun and Su Huan stepped off the plane and immediately felt Guilin's welcome.

The weather alternated between sun and rain—moments ago it was bright and sunny, now a sudden downpour cooled the sweltering heat.

"Still no response from that side?"

Su Huan shook her head: "No reaction at all. Don't know why."

"Then let's spend a few days sightseeing in Guilin before heading to the hospital. If the hospital can't find anything either, we'll drop it."

"Mm, let's do that first."

They had planned three days of sightseeing in Guilin, then meeting their high school classmate Han Chong, and discussing something with Guilin's cultural tourism department—though there was really nothing to discuss; Qin Yun would never agree to such commercial behavior. As he himself said, it'd be better to just endorse Zhoushan's cultural tourism directly.

Just after arriving at the hotel and putting down his luggage, the system's voice sounded.

【Publishing check-in task: Starting from Yang Di Wharf, ending at Xingping Wharf, illuminate six scenic spots and freeze their images to complete the check-in.】

Oh, seeing this system task, Qin Yun was overjoyed.

The system hadn't issued such a relaxed and pleasant task in a long time; since its activation, similar tasks had been few and far between.

Especially recently, this was even more true!

This kind of task was like a free gift from the system—how could Qin Yun not be delighted?

Below the system panel, the names of the six scenic spots popped up one by one: Carp Hanging on the Cliff, Boy Paying Homage to Guanyin, Langshi Fairyland, Eight Immortals Crossing the River, Nine Horses Painting Mountain, Huangbu Reflection.

……

Hechi City People's Hospital, inpatient ward.

Nurse Song Ying changed into her uniform, preparing for her shift—today was her night shift.

She patted her pocket, and since she had no immediate duties, she pulled out her phone and glanced at it twice.

"By the way, Xiao Ying, how's Lan Duo doing now?"

Song Ying immediately pictured the frail figure and shook her head: "I don't know. There's no signal over there; not a single person in the whole village owns a phone. But the head nurse said, at most two months—already over a month has passed… Sigh…"

The nurse who asked shook her head, her eyes filled with regret.

Then Song Ying suddenly remembered something, opened TikTok, tapped on her private messages, and her eyes lit up—the interface that had never replied had changed.

"Lan Duo, hello, I'm Qin Yun. I've received your message. Big brother will come over in a few days. If you see this message, please reply as soon as possible."

Song Ying was overjoyed: "Zhou Jie, Zhou Jie, there's a reply! There's a reply!"