CHAPTER 220: CHAPTER 220 ORIGINAL SIN 29

The busy week finally came to an end, and with no need to socialize with friends or clients during the holiday, Liu Ying wanted to just laze around at home, ideally spending a day lounging in bed.

However, Liu Ying didn’t want to dampen Lu Jian’s enthusiasm. They were both white-collar workers at the company, usually quite busy, yet their relationship was exceptionally good. While many of their friends encountered various discord issues at home, Liu Ying and Lu Jian rarely argued.

Their relationship thrived due to mutual understanding and compromise, so even though Liu Ying wasn’t particularly interested, she mustered up the energy to eagerly plan the trip with Lu Jian. Together, they chose a picturesque small village near F City for their getaway.

At the time, the internet was just starting to show its power, with internet cafes popping up everywhere, but there were no ubiquitous travel guides yet. Liu Ying and Lu Jian learned about this beautiful village through a microblog post from a travel-loving blogger who frequently shared their travel itineraries online.

The travel blogger recounted that their car broke down during a road trip, forcing them to walk to a place where they could find people and shelter, inadvertently stumbling into a paradise on earth.

The microblog also featured many beautiful photos, clearly not taken by a professional, yet they highlighted the natural beauty of the scene even more. Remarkably, there were hardly any traces of human interference.

After looking at the scenic photos, Lu Jian was especially excited, and even Liu Ying, who was initially uninterested, showed less resistance. The blogger mentioned that the village had no tourist facilities; meals were limited to farm-style home-cooked food, which was described as ordinary but palatable.

Both Lu Jian and Liu Ying loved good food; they could compromise on anything but their meals. Thus, before setting off, they prepared plenty of food.

After getting ready, another week passed, and the weekend finally arrived. They turned down all social engagements, got in their car, and headed straight to their destination!

The journey was surprisingly smooth, as the village wasn’t too remote. The roads were well-maintained, and despite some dirt paths later, due to dry weather, they were easy to navigate. After about a two-hour drive, the couple reached the location from the microblog photos.

Standing amidst the scenery, Liu Ying and Lu Jian realized that the blogger’s photography skills were lacking; the photos didn’t capture even a tenth of the actual beauty! It was truly stunning!!

However, unlike in the photos, there was a man-made structure amidst the beauty, yet this building didn’t detract from the scene; it added a touch of classical charm. Liu Ying and Lu Jian couldn’t help but be drawn towards it.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear: this was a four-story ancient-style building. Liu Ying and Lu Jian weren’t sure if four-story buildings existed in ancient times, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was how beautifully it was constructed!

With swooping eaves and decorative cornices, white walls with colored paintings, and windows not of ordinary wooden grids but carved with intricate hollow patterns! There were designs of magpies on branches, moonlit lotus ponds, galloping horses, each different from the other. Liu Ying and Lu Jian were amazed by the building’s exterior!

The main door was wide open, revealing a setup with Eight Immortals tables and Taishi Chairs, along with a treasure shelf filled with beautiful porcelain. Above the entrance hung a large black plaque filled with classical charm, with flamboyant red characters spelling "Red Dust"!

"Is this a hotel, a guesthouse, or a tourist attraction? Red Dust, the name is quite interesting, and it fits well. Who in the world doesn’t long for the mortal world?"

Liu Ying looked at the "Red Dust" plaque and surveyed the surroundings, asking Lu Jian in confusion. It’s understandable that Liu Ying couldn’t make out what this place was, as it was deserted and had such a classical interior that they couldn’t determine the nature of the place.

"Whatever it is, let’s take a look inside. After all, we have money; if it’s a tourist spot, we can always pay the fee. If it’s a restaurant, we can try it out. There might be some wild herbs and plants, things we can’t usually find in the city."

Lu Jian said as he pulled Liu Ying inside. Liu Ying thought that made sense; they could make up for any tickets with money, and if it was a place to eat, they’d just try something new.

Once inside, they bypassed a treasure shelf and saw a beautiful girl wearing a long skirt with wide sleeves and an ornate classical hairdo complete with beautiful hairpins, holding a round fan and leaning casually against an equally classical counter.

On the other side of the counter stood a stylish, mature beauty in the same ancient attire, waving a folding fan. These two costume-clad beauties were chatting and occasionally giggling, fanning themselves casually!

In this environment, encountering two beauties dressed as if they had stepped out of a classical painting gave Liu Ying and Lu Jian a sudden illusion of having traveled through time!

The couple even had an impulse to turn around and check if they’d stepped through a doorway into another world, an ancient world!

"Are you here for a meal? Please have a seat! We offer barbecue and hotpot; what would you like to eat? The rooftop has a viewing platform where you can clearly see the distant waterfalls. Would you like to dine here or on the rooftop, enjoying the view while you eat?"

This modern-sounding invitation snapped Liu Ying and Lu Jian out of their time-travel trance, revealing that it was the young beauty with the round fan welcoming them.

The girl who welcomed them was, of course, Shuangshuang. Ever since Red Dust was built, having no guests and feeling bored, Shuangshuang had whimsically ordered several ancient costumes and bought classical hair accessories used in TV dramas to dress up with her mother, Feng Jinyan, often taking photos of each other.

Today, Shuangshuang and Feng Jinyan, seeing the nice weather, felt like taking photos. They spent two hours doing their hair, dressing up, applying makeup, and then went out for a picture-taking spree!

After satisfying their photo-taking urge, neither mother nor daughter wanted to remove their makeup, mainly because it was such a hassle to put on. After a bit of discussion, they decided not to remove it today; they might want to take more photos if the mood struck again later.

While the mother and daughter were chatting idly in the store, the first pair of guests since Red Dust opened arrived unexpectedly!