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Yilan is located in the Northeast part of Bay Island, bordering Peach Blossom Land and about ninety kilometers away from Taoyuan Airport. Hanno took a bus for over two hours to reach Yilan County Town and directly booked a room at Lan Cheng Crystal Hotel. Although Aunt Yang's son-in-law had a room available, Hanno was unwilling to stay at her relatives' home in the Provincial Capital, let alone at the house of someone she wasn't familiar with. Lan Cheng Crystal Hotel is considered one of the better hotels in Yilan County, with convenient transportation, reasonable prices, pleasant scenery, and complete facilities, including a hot tub, which made Hanno quite satisfied.
After a good night's rest, the next day, Hanno had breakfast provided by the hotel and took a taxi to the Yang family's son-in-law's house. Due to bankruptcy, the Yang family son-in-law had moved back to their ancestral home in the countryside with his wife and son. The countryside was somewhat distant from the county town, and it took Hanno half an hour by car to find the place.
The Yang family's ancestral home was quite old, built with red bricks, giving it a rustic village charm. Hanno gave a hundred New Taiwan Dollars to a brat in the village to guide her to the Yang family's doorstep. The main gate was open; Aunt Yang was outside in the yard with her daughter, basking in the sun. They were chatting while cutting up a pile of old clothes on the table into pieces about one foot long and half a foot wide to make diapers for children.
"Aunt Yang," Hanno greeted with a smile.
"Nono, you’re here?!" Aunt Yang happily put down her scissors and came over. "Thank you for coming all this way; you must be tired!"
"I'm not tired," Hanno shook her head with a smile. "I actually just came out for a little trip."
"You really know how to talk! I’ve heard from your mom that you’re quite the homebody, always preferring to stay indoors. If there’s nothing going on, why would you go out?" Aunt Yang laughed, feeling very grateful that Hanno made this trip. Aunt Yang had a vibrant personality and many friends, but only a few could be trusted like Mom Han. Those friends' children were not around, leaving only Hanno as a young person whom Mom Han pushed into coming to Bay Island.
Hanno chuckled and didn’t argue further. She was indeed quite the homebody, but once she went out, she would fully enjoy herself and wouldn’t return until she had enough fun. In the past, when she didn’t have money, she could only play for two or three days; now that she had money, she naturally wanted to indulge herself. If it weren’t for someone waiting for her at home, Hanno might spend an entire month outside.
Aunt Yang took Hanno by the arm and led her to meet her daughter, introducing her to Yang Qiong. Both Yang Qiong and Hanno had only heard each other's names before; this was their first meeting.
"Hanno, I’ve heard so much about you; thank you for coming," Yang Qiong said with mixed feelings towards Hanno. She had previously heard from her mother about a girl around her age working in the south and couldn’t help but compare herself. However, she only graduated from vocational school and worked as a waitress in a hotel. In contrast, Hanno graduated from university and worked at a big company; Yang Qiong felt inferior. Later on, she found herself a wealthy businessman from Bay Island but then heard that he resigned and returned home. Yang Qiong thought she finally surpassed Hanno until her husband went bankrupt and now needed Hanno to send her money… It was easy to imagine how complicated Yang Qiong's feelings were; however, she was good at hiding them and greeted Hanno warmly with gratitude. Yet standing before her were two people who knew her well—her mother who understood her deeply and someone seasoned by various experiences who could easily see through her facade.
Hanno smiled politely at Yang Qiong and maintained a friendly demeanor for Aunt Yang’s sake. Without Aunt Yang around… well, who would care?
"Aunt Yang, I brought the money; let’s go inside quickly."
"Okay." As soon as Aunt Yang heard about the money, she hurriedly led Hanno inside while Yang Qiong followed behind them with eager anticipation. After experiencing bankruptcy, she valued money more than anyone else.
Hanno pulled out a bulging envelope: "Inside is one hundred thousand dollars; my mom asked me to give it to you."
She then took out another envelope that was only half as full as the first one and handed it to Aunt Yang: "This is your bank card; Uncle Zhao withdrew fifty thousand dollars for me to bring you. He wants you to take good care of yourself and not suffer."
Uncle Zhao was Aunt Yang's remarried husband and not Yang Qiong's biological father; he had his own children whose future he intended to secure with his savings. Aunt Yang never expected Uncle Zhao would give her money; this truly came as an unexpected delight.
"Aunt Yang" burst into laughter, and "Yang Qiong" was equally delighted. Although fifty thousand yuan wasn't a lot, it was still something to chip away at the debt.
"Qiong Qiong, go prepare a room for Nono. She must be tired from the journey; let her rest well," "Aunt Yang" said happily as she tucked the money away. Turning to "Hanno," she added, "Nono, you should rest for a while. I'll make you something delicious."
"No need," "Hanno" interrupted "Aunt Yang" and "Yang Qiong." "I’ll be heading to the county town soon."
"That won't do! Since you're at my house, you should stay a few days and enjoy the area. The scenery around here is beautiful, and you can even take a boat out to sea. There's a place called Turtle Mountain Island across the water, which has even better views. You know that famous singing group 5566? One of the members built a lovely guesthouse not far from us in Tao Shan Town..." Seeing the money had brightened "Yang Qiong's" attitude significantly, she enthusiastically invited "Hanno" to stay.
"Hanno" smiled and found an excuse to decline: "I just arrived at the airport and signed up for a tour group; I’ll be following them tomorrow."
"Well, at least stay for a meal?" "Aunt Yang" insisted.
"Hanno" nodded, no longer refusing.
"Aunt Yang" cheerfully picked up a basket. "I'll go pick some fresh vegetables from the field."
"Hanno" was surprised. "You grow your own vegetables?"
"Yang Qiong" nodded. "Yes, my husband’s family has two acres of land besides the house. It’s not worth selling, so we decided to grow our own. Although it has been neglected for a long time, we can still grow vegetables and save quite a bit on groceries."
"So you’ll have to raise chickens and ducks too?" "Hanno" joked. Was "Yang Qiong" entering farming mode?
"Yang Qiong" replied, "Yes, but right now the child is too young. I'm worried they might catch some illness from the chickens or ducks. Once he’s older, I’ll start raising them."
"What about the child?"
"He’s sleeping. Do you want to see him?" "Yang Qiong" asked.
"I’d love to," "Hanno" said, as she adored children and loved to pinch their little hands and feet.
"Yang Qiong's" child likely resembled his father: with slightly flat eyes and nose, he wouldn’t grow up to be a handsome boy, but as a baby, no matter how he looked, he was incredibly cute. The child was sleeping soundly, and "Hanno" had no intention of waking him. After taking a glance at the baby, she stepped outside to sit in the yard with "Yang Qiong," engaging in casual conversation. They were essentially strangers with vastly different life philosophies and not much in common to discuss. By the time "Aunt Yang" returned with fresh vegetables, "Yang Qiong" immediately went into the kitchen to help out, leaving "Hanno" alone in the sun with her phone.
Yang Qiong's husband had taken two jobs and rarely came home. During lunch, the three women enjoyed a meal mostly consisting of fresh vegetarian dishes that were quite delicious. As they were eating, a sudden commotion outside caught their attention.
"You all keep eating; I'm going to see what's happening," Aunt Yang said, her curiosity piqued by the growing noise outside. Unable to resist, she hurried out.
After a while, Aunt Yang returned, beaming with excitement. "I saw a celebrity!"
"A celebrity? Who?" Yang Qiong asked.
"Zhou!" Aunt Yang exclaimed joyfully. "He’s the one from 'Flower Boy Next Door,' Hanae Rui. I didn’t know he was from Yilan too!"
"Oh, him?" Yang Qiong nodded. "His hometown is indeed around here. He must be back to visit relatives."
Aunt Yang asked eagerly, "Do you know him?"
"I know him; he doesn’t know me. We’ve only just come back," Yang Qiong replied.
Aunt Yang sighed, "I thought maybe you could introduce me to a celebrity. It would be something to brag about when we go back to D City."
Hanno chimed in with a smile, "You could ask him for a photo or an autograph; that would be just as good for bragging."
"Right!" Aunt Yang exclaimed, striking her palm with her fist. "How did I not think of that? I’ll go again."
She took a couple of steps before stopping and turning back to ask, "Nono, do you want to come with me?"
Hanno waved her off. "No thanks; I’m not into celebrity chasing."
"You're such an old stick in the mud compared to me," Aunt Yang teased before bouncing away again.
As Hanno left the Yang household, Zhou Mingxing was still around, and she could see a few paparazzi lurking outside the village.
Realizing she had forgotten to call a taxi for herself, Hanno had no choice but to walk out of the village and head toward the main road to catch a ride.
"Do you need a ride?" A car stopped beside Hanno, and the driver rolled down the window to ask.
Hanno glanced at the driver, who appeared to be in his thirties, wearing sunglasses. He wasn't particularly handsome, but he had a pleasant demeanor that felt somewhat familiar.
"I'm heading to Yilan County Town."
"Perfect, I'm going there too. I can give you a lift," the driver said.
"Then let's go." Hanno didn't hesitate, opening the door and sitting in the passenger seat. As she fastened her seatbelt, she overheard some gossip from a few paparazzi behind them.
"Isn't that guy in the car Jia Qianjun?"
"Wait, what is he doing here? Did he follow Zhou to get some news?"
"You idiot, Jia Qianjun is from Yilan. This is his hometown; he's just going home, not chasing news."
"Is there going to be a report? He just invited a beautiful woman into his car."
"Even if there is a report, no one will care. He's not famous, and once he leaves, I doubt many people will even recognize him."
"Oh, so you're an actor? No wonder you look familiar," Hanno said to the driver. She suddenly remembered seeing his face in a Taiwanese idol drama she had watched before. He played a supporting role, but his acting was quite good, and the character's personality was appealing, leaving a lasting impression on Hanno.
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