117. Rainbow Village

Page (1/3)

Chen Ruowen was a woman who always meant what she said.

If she said she was going to help, then help she would—no matter that, after Chen Liwan learned his daughter had insisted on going to the countryside merely to find Bai Jinyan, he had been so furious that he smashed an entire set of antique teaware. The following morning, Chen Ruowen still boarded a plane bound for Xicheng, then changed vehicles and made her way to Rainbow Village, the location Bai Jinyan had sent her.

Only then did she learn that some places had no roads.

Qiancheng was a mountainous region, and Rainbow Village was surrounded on all four sides by mountains. The off-road vehicle specially prepared for crossing the rugged terrain lost all trace of a road twenty kilometers from their destination.

They managed to follow a narrow path hacked out by a tractor from the nearby mountain village for several more kilometers, but even Old Cui, whose driving skills were exceptional, could go no farther.

“Miss, the car can’t get through.”

Through the window, Chen Ruowen stared blankly at the unfamiliar world outside.

The place seemed as though it rarely rained. The ground on every side—or rather, what passed for ground—was little more than accumulated dust.

Old Cui had already been driving as carefully as possible, yet in the mere half minute since he stopped, clouds of dust still hung in the air. The once-polished black shell of the off-road vehicle had taken on a matte, sandblasted finish.

Ordinarily, June was a season of flourishing greenery and vigorous growth. In South City, plane trees lined the streets, their branches thick with leaves and their massive trunks too broad for one person to embrace. Walking beneath them, one hardly needed an umbrella; every step fell into the cool shade.

But here, everything was withered yellow.

Yellow earth, yellow earthen houses, yellow clods of dust piled layer upon layer, a few yellow weeds robbed of all vitality, and slender branches stripped bare of leaves—it looked as though late autumn had already arrived.

The only difference from autumn was that this place was so miserly it did not even have fallen leaves.

“How did that fellow Bai Jinyan get through?” Chen Ruowen asked, puzzled.

Old Cui surveyed their surroundings and suggested, “Miss, I’m afraid we’ll have to walk the rest of the way.”

“How far is it?”

“About fifteen kilometers.”

Chen Ruowen said nothing.

Fifteen kilometers meant four hours on foot, and in these wretched surroundings… Chen Ruowen knew her own limits. There was no way she could endure that sort of hardship.

The signal in this mountain village was poor as well. What if she abandoned the car and got lost in the mountains?

“Can’t we take a detour?”

“We already took a detour to get this far…”

Chen Ruowen took out her phone and sent Bai Jinyan her location.

“The car can’t get through. Come pick me up.”

She had originally planned to walk straight into the village and surprise him. It seemed there would be no surprise after all.

Bai Jinyan did not reply until half an hour later, with a single word: All right.

Fifteen kilometers in the suburbs would have taken only a little over ten minutes, but this time Chen Ruowen waited for more than an hour. By the time her back and waist ached so badly that she could no longer sit comfortably in the car, Bai Jinyan finally appeared.

Page (2/3)

Bai Jinyan had not come alone.

He had also… ridden a donkey.

The moment Chen Ruowen got out of the car, the windblown sand choked her into coughing. Seeing this, Bai Jinyan immediately produced an incredibly ugly square scarf he had prepared in advance and, with a worried expression, wrapped it around her head.

Chen Ruowen poked her head out and was just about to protest when another mouthful of sand made her clamp her lips shut.

Bai Jinyan instantly drew her into his arms, using his own body to shield her from the wind and sand blowing straight at them.

“The climate in Qiancheng is dry, and the winds carry a lot of sand. We’ll talk when we get back.”

Old Cui saw the scene as soon as he got out of the car and promptly covered his eyes.

Fortunately, Chairman Chen had not come along. Otherwise, he would have lost his temper again.

Chen Ruowen nodded sullenly, her face buried against Bai Jinyan’s chest. “How are we getting back?”

“On the donkey.”

“…Are you joking?”

“I’m serious…”

While protecting Chen Ruowen with one arm, Bai Jinyan reached out and took hold of the reins attached to the donkey’s bridle.

“The roads to Rainbow Village are impassable to cars. If you don’t want to walk, riding a donkey is the only way to get around.”

“What about a horse?”

“You could ride one, but there aren’t any in the village. They couldn’t afford to keep one alive.”

“So poor…” Chen Ruowen muttered under her breath. “Fine, a donkey it is. Can this little donkey carry two people?”

“It only needs to carry you.”

Bai Jinyan placed the reins in Chen Ruowen’s hand, then nodded toward Old Cui, who was peering at them through the gaps between his fingers.

“We’ll have to carry Miss Ruowen’s luggage together. I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you, Master Cui.”

Old Cui hurriedly waved his hands. “Not at all, not at all. It’s my duty. The trouble is that Young Master Bai had to come all this way especially to pick Miss up.”

Chen Ruowen shot the two men a dangerous look as they continued politely refusing to take credit.

“Are you saying I’m a trouble?”

Old Cui’s spine stiffened.

He had said the wrong thing again…

Why was the young lady always so good at identifying the one point he least wanted to discuss?

“All right. Little Red will carry you back, while Master Cui and I take the luggage. It’s getting late, so we need to hurry.”

Page (3/3)

“Little Red?” Chen Ruowen turned in complete bewilderment toward the donkey whose reins she was holding. “It has a name?”

Bai Jinyan: “…”

Old Cui: “…”

Could she please focus on the important things for once?

Chen Ruowen continued, “There are three of us and only one donkey. How are we supposed to ride it? Why didn’t you bring more?”

Bai Jinyan silently helped Chen Ruowen onto the horse… that is, the donkey.

“There’s only one donkey among the three neighboring villages.”

Chen Ruowen was silent for a moment. Then she grabbed Bai Jinyan by the collar and shook her head at Old Cui.

“Drive the car back to town, Old Cui. Leave the luggage behind. We’ll have it flown in by helicopter tomorrow.”

“Then what will you do tonight?” Bai Jinyan asked anxiously. “Conditions in the village are extremely poor. You certainly won’t be able to adjust. If you don’t have…”

“I’ll freeload off you.”

Chen Ruowen cut him off without hesitation and waved at Old Cui with effortless elegance.

“Weren’t we in a hurry? Mount up… No, get on the donkey. Let’s go.”

“Little Red can’t carry two people…”

“…Bai Jinyan, you’re really annoying!”

In the end, Bai Jinyan took on the role of a caravan guide, leading the donkey at the front with Chen Ruowen riding behind him.

The mountain path was extraordinarily difficult to navigate. In some places, even the donkey, burdened with a rider, struggled to move forward. Chen Ruowen had no choice but to climb down and follow Bai Jinyan as they made an exceedingly arduous journey over the mountains.

By the time they reached the village, night had already fallen. There were no lights outside the village, only an expanse of impenetrable darkness in which nothing could be seen. Bai Jinyan tethered the donkey inside a thatched hut, then led Chen Ruowen back to his room.

The moment she entered, Chen Ruowen hurried toward the bed, eager to crawl beneath the covers and rest properly.

But halfway there, she came to an abrupt stop.

There was no bed in the room. Only a thin, old quilt had been spread neatly across the floor. Up close, one could smell the dry odor of dust rising from it—the exact same scent as the clouds of yellow dust fifteen kilometers away.

She then surveyed the room, which Bai Jinyan had just illuminated with the candle in his hand.

The house was not made from piled straw. Its four walls were built of irregular chunks of stone, plastered over on the outside with yellow mud. Several large holes gaped along the top of the walls. Some had been covered with paper; others still let in the light, offering an unobstructed view of the stars overhead.

Chen Ruowen’s expression grew complicated.

“You’ve been living in a place like this these past few days?”