Chapter 1342: The Assembly Is About to Begin

The necklace was entirely silver-white; the original red cord had become a silver-white chain, and a delicate flower hung at its base.

This sudden change left Gu Yanqi stunned; she held the necklace in her hands, somewhat at a loss.

"This, I, what is going on?"

"It seems this necklace is truly a fine thing; it must have hidden its own value. The necklace concealed itself, and now that it has found its master, it reveals its true form."

Miss Hongxiu was well-traveled and knowledgeable; although she did not fully grasp the situation, she could guess most of it.

Since that was the case, there should be no major problem, and Ning Chen's tense heart gradually relaxed.

Gu Yanqi looked at the necklace in her hand; to be honest, the more she looked at it, the more she liked it. It was truly beautiful, and she felt a vague sense of familiarity with it, as if the necklace had always belonged to her.

"Knock, knock, knock"

The knocking sound rang out, and the shop waiter's voice came through.

"Boss, the late-night snacks have been served."

"Come in."

Three or four waiters each held a bowl in their hands; the bowls were filled with noodles and fragrant braised sauce.

"Everyone, have some late-night snacks. We've been out wandering all evening and experienced all those things; eating something will help us rest."

Had no one mentioned it, nothing would have seemed amiss, but with those words, everyone realized they were indeed somewhat hungry.

Lin Yi was the first to lift his bowl and eat heartily; a look of great enjoyment appeared on his face.

"Boss Hong, the chef's skills here are truly superb. Could we arrange for them to teach me?"

The First Tea House under Heaven was indeed famous not only for its tea and competitions; a major reason it attracted crowds for long stays and tourists to lodge there was that the food prepared by its cooks was simply unparalleled.

"Of course you can. If you wish, you may do so at any time."

Lin Yi, who had finished eating quickly, wiped his mouth, his eyes bright: "I'm done; I can go right now!"

The waiter waiting at the door was called into the room and instructed to take Lin Yi to the kitchen to learn from the chefs.

The suddenly overtime-working chef: You're so high and mighty, so impressive! You want to learn just to bother me and keep me from resting!

After eating and drinking their fill, everyone except Lin Yi, who was still dragging the chefs to teach him, returned to their rooms to rest.

Early the next morning, the entire First Tea House under Heaven was already noisy and bustling, and the outside was the same; today seemed very lively.

As the first ray of sunlight shone in, Ning Chen woke up, opened the floor-to-ceiling window, walked onto the balcony, and looked down, wanting to know what was happening.

Below, people came and went; many wore identical clothing, and the surrounding vendors greeted them enthusiastically.

Ning Chen glanced at the time; it was only six in the morning. What was going on?

Opening his door, Ning Chen wanted to find out what was happening; the door beside him, as if sensing something, opened as well.

Gu Yanqi and Little Yunyao stepped out from inside.

"Why are you up so early?" Ning Chen looked at Gu Yanqi; her eyes were bright, clearly not just having woken up.

"I don't know either; I just couldn't sleep for some reason. It looks so lively outside. What are we doing today?"

Ning Chen thought for a long while but still couldn't figure it out, so he shook his head.

"You're all awake? I was thinking of coming to wake you up."

Miss Hongxiu's voice sounded behind the two of them. Turning around, they saw that today's Miss Hongxiu seemed very capable; although her clothes were still red, they were clearly more suited for movement, and even her hair was tied up in a high ponytail.

"Sister Hongxiu, what's going on today? Why are there so many people?"

Miss Hongxiu smiled: "You forgot, didn't you? Isn't the Wu Lin Assembly about to begin?"

"Ah? It starts today?"

Ning Chen also looked at Miss Hongxiu with some surprise; were two major events happening together?

Miss Hongxiu thought for a moment; she seemed to have indeed forgotten to tell everyone the start time of the event.

Feeling slightly guilty, Miss Hongxiu touched her nose: "Um, could you two help call the others? I'll go prepare breakfast for everyone."

Without giving the two a chance to refuse, Miss Hongxiu turned and left directly.

Ning Chen exchanged a helpless glance with Gu Yanqi, who was equally helpless.

The two resignedly went to the doors of the others and knocked.

In fact, there was no need for them to call anyone; the noise outside was so loud that sleep was completely impossible. Except for Lin Yi, everyone was fully ready and stepped out at the first knock.

As for Lin Yi, because he had stayed up very late last night asking about cooking, he showed no sign of being awake at all.

Miss Hongxiu, who had prepared breakfast in the tea room, came to the group. Seeing everyone gathered at the door, she asked with some confusion: "What are you doing?"

Gu Yanqi pointed at the closed door: "Brother Lin Yi hasn't gotten up yet; he must have slept too late last night."

Miss Hongxiu raised an eyebrow, a hint of cunning flashing in her eyes: "That won't do. There are many people today. After dinner, we must hurry to secure seats, and the opening ceremony will begin very soon."

Gu Yanqi looked pitifully at that closed door; even if Lin Yi didn't want to get up, he would have to.