You were supposed to have a fake marriage with the diva, so how did you become her father?

Chapter 369, Stop 1: Zhejiang Province

At 7:30 the next morning, Lu Ran was woken up by Shen Yuege.

"Didn't you say we'd leave at eight? It's already seven-thirty, why aren't you up yet?"

Lu Ran opened his eyes and saw Shen Yuege standing by the bed, dressed and ready. She had her hair tied in a high ponytail, wearing dark blue jeans and a white sweatshirt, and sneakers. She looked several years younger than usual.

"Aren't you being a little too eager?" Lu Ran rubbed her eyes and sat up. "It's not like we're catching a flight. What's wrong with being an hour late?"

"If you're only an hour late on the first day, you might be a whole day late on the next one. Get up quickly."

Lu Ran was pulled out of bed by her, and he brushed his teeth, washed his face, and changed his clothes in a daze.

He wore a black windbreaker over a fleece jacket, cargo pants, and hiking boots. Before heading out, he looked in the mirror and thought he looked pretty much like a seasoned road trip enthusiast.

Shen Yuege glanced at him: "Why are you wearing so much? It's warmer in Zhejiang Province than in Shanghai."

"A windproof jacket protects against the wind, and it's windy on the road."

"You're sitting in the car, so even if the wind is strong, it won't blow on you."

Lu Ran was speechless after being rebuked by her, so he took off his windbreaker and put on a light jacket.

The two ate a simple breakfast in the kitchen. Lu Ran picked up the luggage bag he had prepared the night before and put the food from the refrigerator into the car refrigerator.

Shen Yuege checked the water, electricity, and gas to make sure they were all turned off before locking the door.

The moment the RV started, Lu Ran suddenly felt a little unreal.

After he transmigrated to this world, he worked, worked, worked every day and never went out to play properly.

The reason I suggested this road trip was partly to let Shen Yuege relax, and partly because I was really bored and restless.

"Is the navigation set?" Shen Yuege sat in the passenger seat, fastened her seatbelt, picked up her phone, and glanced at the route. "Where to first?"

"First stop, Linhai, Zhejiang Province. Take G228 south for about 400 kilometers, and you should arrive around noon."

What are some fun things to do in Linhai?

"The Taizhou City Wall is known locally as the Great Wall of Jiangnan. There's also the Ziyang Ancient Street, which is said to have many delicious foods."

Shen Yuege glanced at him: "When did you make this guide?"

"You did this after you fell asleep last night. You worked on it until 2 a.m.

Shen Yuege paused for a moment: "Your leg just healed and you're already staying up all night? Are you trying to kill yourself?"

"Staying up late once in a while is fine."

"You said last time that you'd stay up late once in a while, and then you had a headache all day the next day."

Feeling guilty after hearing her words, Lu Ran didn't reply and focused on driving.

The RV left the residential area, got on the elevated road, and headed south.

Traffic was heavy during Shanghai's morning rush hour, so Lu Ran drove very slowly, stopping and starting frequently, until the traffic became smoother once they left the city center.

After getting onto G228, the road conditions improved a lot.

This is a highway built along the coastline of the Dragon Kingdom. It has four lanes in both directions, and there is not much traffic. On both sides of the road are endless plains.

Occasionally, a few small hills can be seen in the distance, scattered among the fields.

Shen Yuege rolled down the car window a crack, and the wind blew in, carrying the scent of earth and grass.

"It feels so good." She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "I haven't smelled this scent in so long."

"What does it taste like?"

"The smell of nature. You can't smell it in Shanghai; it's all car exhaust and cooking fumes."

Lu Ran smiled and said, "Then you'll be able to smell it every day for the next month, until you get tired of it."

"I won't be bothered." Shen Yuege opened her eyes, turned her head to look at him, and said, "I like this smell."

After driving for two hours, Lu Ran stopped at a service area to refuel and buy two bottles of water.

Shen Yuege went to the restroom and came back with a bag of preserved plums in her hand.

"Why did you buy this?" Lu Ran asked, looking at the bag in her hand.

"Eat it on the road. Chew one when you're bored while driving to perk yourself up."

"I don't eat preserved plums."

"Who said it was bought for you? I'll eat it myself."

Lu Ran remained silent, got into the car, and continued driving.

Around noon, the two arrived in Ningbo.

Lu Ran didn't plan to stop in Ningbo. He drove straight through the city and continued south along G228.

Shen Yuege peeled and ate preserved plums in the passenger seat, one after another, until the bag was half empty.

"Don't eat so much, too much sour food will upset your stomach," Lu Ran said.

"My stomach's fine." Shen Yuege peeled another one and popped it into her mouth. "Want one?"

"don't want."

"Have one."

"don't want."

Without saying a word, Shen Yuege stuffed a preserved plum into his mouth.

Lu Ran's face scrunched up from the sourness, and he almost lost control of the steering wheel.

Shen Yuege laughed so hard she almost fell over, tears streaming down her face.

"Are you trying to murder your husband?" Lu Ran mumbled, her mouth bubbling with sourness.

"Who told you not to eat? I'll show you what a truly tangy experience is."

Lu Ran chewed and swallowed the preserved plum, her tongue still numb: "This isn't a preserved plum, it's clearly a lemon slice coated in salt."

"That's an exaggeration." Shen Yuege laughed and peeled another one, this time eating it herself. "I think it's quite delicious."

Around 2 PM, the two finally arrived in Linhai.

Lu Ran parked his RV in a parking lot near the Taizhou City Wall Scenic Area, paid thirty yuan for parking, and felt a pang of heartache.

Watching his expression as he scanned the code to pay, Shen Yuege couldn't help but say, "It's only thirty yuan, is it really that big of a deal?"

"It's not about the money. Parking in downtown Shanghai costs only 20 yuan a day, but here it costs 30 yuan for just a few hours. That's unreasonable."

"Don't worry about these things when you're out having fun."

Lu Ran put his phone away and walked towards the scenic area with Shen Yuege.

The Taizhou City Wall is built on the north side of Linhai City, built against the mountain, winding and undulating, and does indeed resemble the Great Wall of the north.

The city wall was built during the Ming Dynasty to defend against Japanese pirates, and it is still relatively well preserved.

Lu Ran and Shen Yuege bought tickets and went up the city wall through the Lansheng Gate.

In front of the Lansheng Gate is a steep staircase with 198 steps, which locals call "Hero's Slope".

Shen Yuege glanced at the steps, then turned to Lu Ran and asked, "Are your legs okay?"

"It's all set." Lu Ran said and started walking up. After walking about twenty steps, he looked back and saw Shen Yuege still standing there, hands on her hips, looking at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Slow down. I haven't climbed stairs in ages, I'm out of breath."

Lu Ran laughed and walked back to wait for her: "You can't do this. You don't exercise regularly, and you get out of breath just climbing a few stairs."

"I stand for seven or eight hours a day working in the studio, how can that not be considered exercise? Is standing the same as climbing stairs?"

The two of them slowly climbed up, and it took them ten minutes to reach the top.

Standing on the city wall and looking into the distance, you can see the blue bricks and gray tiles of the old town of Linhai. Further away are the continuous mountains, the trees on the mountains have lost all their leaves, and they are bare, which has a desolate beauty.

Shen Yuege leaned against the crenellations of the city wall, gazing at it for a long while, before suddenly asking, "Lu Ran, what do you think the ancient soldiers felt standing here looking out?"

"They were probably thinking, 'Why haven't the Japanese pirates come yet?'"

Shen Yuege turned her head and glared at him: "Can't you be serious for once?"

"I'm being very serious. Isn't the purpose of being a soldier to fight? How do you earn military merit if you don't fight?"

"You have absolutely no romantic side."

Lu Ran thought for a moment and said, "Yes. But I think romance isn't about admiring the ancients while standing on the city wall, it's about standing on the city wall with you and looking at the scenery."

Shen Yuege was stunned for a moment, then looked away, her ears turning slightly red.

"Don't give me that," she said, her voice much softer than before.

Lu Ran smiled and didn't say anything more. The two of them slowly walked forward along the city wall.

Many camphor trees were planted on both sides of the city wall, their canopies blocking out the sunlight and casting patches of shadow on the ground. When the wind blew, the leaves rustled, and there was a faint scent of camphor wood in the air.

When they reached the middle of the city wall, Shen Yuege suddenly stopped, pointed to a big tree below the wall, and said, "Look, there's a squirrel in that tree."

Lu Ran looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a grayish-brown squirrel perched on a tree branch, holding a pine cone in its two front paws and nibbling on it.

After taking a couple of bites, it noticed someone was watching it, so it darted up to a higher branch with the pine cone in its mouth.

"Why are you running? I'm not going to steal your pine cones," Shen Yuege shouted at the tree.

"Can it understand when you call it?" Lu Ran asked.

"You have to shout it out even if you don't understand. What if you do understand?"

Lu Ran was defeated by her logic, shook his head and continued walking forward.

After they went out to play, Lu Ran realized the little girl inside Shen Yuege.

After coming down from the city wall, the two went to Ziyang Ancient Street.

This street is the most famous old street in Linhai. Both sides are lined with buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties. The road is paved with bluestone slabs, which are bumpy and uneven when you walk on it.

The streets are lined with all sorts of small shops, selling food, toys, souvenirs, and everything else imaginable.

Shen Yuege got excited as soon as she entered the street and wanted to buy everything she saw.

First, I bought a box of seaweed crackers, tasted one and said it was delicious, so I went back and bought two more boxes.

Then I bought a bag of "Egg White Sheep's Tail," a dessert made with egg whites and red bean paste. It's shaped like a sheep's tail, and when you bite into it, it's soft, chewy, and just the right amount of sweet.

"Try it." She held up a piece of egg white lamb tail and stuffed it to Lu Ran's mouth.

Lu Ran took a bite, and it was indeed delicious, sweet but not cloying, and melted in her mouth.

"How is it?" Shen Yuege looked at him expectantly.

"good."

"What does 'it's alright' mean? If it's delicious, just say it's delicious."

"tasty."

Shen Yuege nodded in satisfaction and asked the shopkeeper to pack six more.

By the time they reached the end of the street, Shen Yue was already carrying four or five bags filled with local snacks: seaweed cakes, egg white lamb tails, wheat shrimp, rice porridge, and ginger stewed eggs.

Seeing that she was struggling to carry the bag, Lu Ran reached out and took the bag from her and carried it himself.

"Didn't you think it was too expensive? Why are you making me buy so much?" Shen Yuege asked with a smile.

"You may think it's too expensive, but if you want to eat it, you still have to buy it. I can't just let you drool over it."

Shen Yuege glanced at him and the corners of her mouth curled up: "You're stingy with your words, but you're not stingy with your actions."

"Of course. Saying and doing are two different things."

It was almost six o'clock when we came out of Ziyang Ancient Street.

It was getting dark, and Lu Ran originally wanted to find a place to stay in Linhai for the night, but Shen Yuege suggested that they drive south a bit further and stop in Wenzhou.

"Aren't you tired?" Lu Ran asked.

"Not tired at all. I had a lot of fun today and I'm in great spirits."

Lu Ran looked at her and felt that she was indeed different from usual today.

At the company, she would smile, but her smiles were measured and restrained, as if she were keeping her distance from the world.

Today was different. She laughed loudly, didn't care that there were crumbs on the corners of her mouth when she ate, and squatted down to catch her breath when she got tired of climbing the stairs, showing no regard for her image.

But this lack of image actually made Lu Ran think it looked particularly good.

"Okay, let's head to Vancouver then. Let me know if you get tired, and I'll take over driving."

"I don't need to change. You just need to rest."

The two got into the car, and Lu Ran started the RV, continuing south along G228.

It was completely dark, and there were far fewer cars on the highway, with only a few large trucks occasionally whizzing past.

Shen Yuege adjusted her seat back, half-reclined, with a bag of seaweed crackers on her lap, and started eating them one by one.

"Don't eat too much, you haven't had dinner yet," Lu Ran said.

"This is a small appetizer before meals. Didn't you say you were going to cook for yourself? You can cook for me when we get to Vancouver."

"Okay. What would you like to eat?"

"Whatever. I'll eat whatever you make."

After driving for more than an hour, we arrived in Vancouver.

Lu Ran found a campervan campsite in the suburbs, parked the car, connected the water and electricity, and then started cooking dinner.

He took two steaks, a bag of broccoli, and two ears of corn from the refrigerator.

Thaw the steak, blanch the broccoli florets, and cook the corn in sections.

Shen Yuege sat in the booth, propped her phone on the table, and searched for a comedy movie.

"How about this one?"

Lu Ran peeked inside; it was an old movie from this world that he hadn't seen before. "Fine. You decide."

The steak is cooked, the broccoli is tossed with garlic soy sauce, and the corn is cooked.

Lu Ran brought the dishes to the table, then took two cans of beer from the refrigerator, opened one, and handed it to Shen Yuege.

"Thank you for your hard work today, driving with me for so long." Shen Yuege said with a smile as she took the beer.

"What's so hard about it? As long as you're happy."

The two of them ate while watching a movie on their phones.

The movie tells the story of an unlucky guy starting a business. It's packed with laughs, and Shen Yuege laughed so hard she almost spilled her beer several times.

Lu Ran didn't laugh much, not because it wasn't funny, but because he kept watching Shen Yuege's laughter.

When she smiles, her eyes squint into slits, a few fine wrinkles appear on the bridge of her nose, and the corners of her mouth turn up high, revealing two small tiger teeth.

This smile wasn't faked; it was genuine, heartfelt joy.

As Lu Ran looked around, he suddenly felt that this trip had been worthwhile.

Because this was the first time he had seen Shen Yuege laugh so happily and so freely.

...