Chapter 172

Yeseleina nodded.

Zhong Ning smiled and patted her on the shoulder, reminding her, “Be careful on your way home.”

She only turned back toward the inn after watching Yeseleina walk around the street corner with the packed meal box in hand.

“She’s a good kid,” said the innkeeper.

“Huh?” Zhong Ning turned her head to look at the middle-aged woman fanning herself behind the front desk.

“Her mother died young—pure accident. Left behind three kids. It was just their mom raising them all by herself. All these years, she never remarried. That girl’s the oldest, and she was really good at her studies. But then her mom got diagnosed with some illness. The meds cost a fortune every year. So she dropped out of school and started working everywhere she could,” the innkeeper said, clearly moved. “But the past couple of years have been rough for everyone. It’s hard to even find temp work these days. Jobs aren’t exactly growing on trees.”

“I see.” Zhong Ning looked thoughtful.

“You’re a pretty good person,” the innkeeper added.

“Hahaha, I’m really nothing special,” Zhong Ning replied with a wave of her hand. “I just really feel like I got my money’s worth.”

That evening, she transferred the footage from her camera, deleted the useless parts, and uploaded the video to her account.

It quickly racked up a massive number of likes.

The situation in Country S had become a hot topic online recently. A lot of travel bloggers and political commentators were saying the people there had finally escaped the horrors of war and successfully defended their homeland.

Zhong Ning hadn’t come here to chase the trending topics, though. She had seen some artifacts from this country in a museum in the last city she visited—found them beautiful—and then learned how stunning the scenery here was. She had come to travel, plain and simple.

You could tell from the way she stayed in this obscure little town.

But the internet had seen enough big cities. People wanted to see the small places now, the “real situation.”

Zhong Ning already had a huge follower count, and it didn’t take long before her video shot up the trending charts.

Naturally, Yeseleina’s appearance in the video drew a lot of attention as well.

Then the comment section started to get ugly.

Yeseleina’s poverty and hardship were plain to see. It was all very visual—her clothes were patched up all over, and her mannerisms showed a clear unease.

So people started accusing her of putting on a show. If Zhong Ning really wanted to help, why not just donate money? What good would that small amount do? She had money to travel all over the world but was stingy when it came to giving to others. How selfish.

It wasn’t the first time Zhong Ning’s account had received malicious comments. Some had accused her of acting all high and mighty, of being arrogant—thinking that just because she had some money, she could ignore everyone. Even the founder of Blue Dove wasn’t this full of herself.

But Zhong Ning never read the comments, and she ignored all private messages. The haters were just shouting into the void. Her followers were the ones who stepped in to reply.

They argued, “She’s someone who’s willing to work hard and earn an honest living. If you don’t respect her dignity and just throw money at her, what does that even mean? And besides, this is the blogger’s own money. She can spend it however she wants. Why are you so mad? Don’t act like you get to dictate how other people use their money.”

A storm of clapbacks, and the haters were driven away.

Zhong Ning usually donated money too, but compared to donations, she preferred this kind of face-to-face interaction—seeing someone striving to live their life.

It wasn’t a one-sided act of charity. It was about guiding them to earn through their own labor, helping them understand that hard work leads to rewards.

She also chose her words carefully, always considerate of the other person’s dignity.

Once the video went viral, it was quickly reposted back in China, re-uploaded with Chinese translations of the comments, some music added, a bit of editing done—and just like that, it became a marketing account’s own video.

Foreign clips like this, especially ones touching on international hot topics, always attracted a lot of viewers.

It was while someone was playing the video on speaker that Xie Shiqing happened to hear it.

That familiar voice—the one that had haunted her dreams—calm and tinged with a smile, like a fluffy dandelion carried gently by the spring breeze, scattering across the fields.

“What are you watching?!” She lunged forward, not caring at all who the person was, her expression slightly manic as she demanded, “What are you listening to? Who’s speaking?!”

The employees at Zhong Corporation had already come to know their new boss, but none of them expected their first real encounter with her would be… at the elevator.

With her coworkers casting subtle glances her way, the employee nervously swallowed and replied, “It’s a video on Bilibili, about a foreign blogger traveling in Country S.”

Assistant Fang, well-versed in his boss’s temperament, spoke up right away. “Would you mind letting me see your phone? I just want to check the name of the blogger. Don’t worry, I won’t touch anything else.”

After a moment’s hesitation, the employee handed the phone over.

Assistant Fang noted down the uploader’s name and handed the phone back.

Xie Shiqing quickly regained her composure after that brief moment of losing control—mostly because Assistant Fang was already handling it. All she had to do now… was wait.

Soon, she received the name of that “foreign blogger’s” account—blue sheep.

Assistant Fang helped her bypass the firewall and follow the account, then opened the homepage to play the videos.

The first thing Xie Shiqing heard was the sound of footsteps—several people walking. The sound was slightly muffled, not like on concrete, but on a dirt path scattered with leaves. There were bird calls, chirping insects, the rustling of leaves in the wind—all blending into one harmonious melody composed by nature.

Then, she heard Zhong Ning’s voice.

“It’s so cool today.”

Tears suddenly dripped onto the screen as Xie Shiqing held the phone. The video paused unexpectedly, and she hurried to wipe it off with her sleeve.

Though the words were in English, she could tell—without a doubt—that this was Zhong Ning. The person she thought about day and night.

Another unfamiliar voice responded to her, “The weather report said it might rain.”

To which Zhong Ning replied, “Really? Then we’d better get going before we get soaked and need medicine.”

Such a leisurely tone, such a relaxed atmosphere.

Her voice sounded like sparkling water poured over ice—the kind that instantly made you think of happiness.

No sorrow.

No pain.

No longing.