Chapter 196

Chapter 196

She had always liked these things, harboring a natural sense of romanticism.

The two of them walked for several hours before finishing just two of the large exhibition halls.

Xie Shiqing was completely exhausted. She genuinely had to take back what she had said earlier—others could go to work like normal only because they had good stamina and strong constitutions. Neither of those things had anything to do with her.

"I'm tired." She really couldn't keep going anymore, and her legs simply wouldn't move.

Her legs had already been sore for a long time, and she'd been forcing herself to push through. But now, she truly didn't want to take another step.

"Let’s sit for a bit and rest, then we’ll go have lunch. Sound good?"

Xie Shiqing eagerly nodded like a pecking chick.

Zhong Ning couldn't help but let out a small laugh, but quickly suppressed the curve of her lips.

She couldn’t afford to show Xie Shiqing too much warmth. Even though... even though she felt guilty now, she had already acted on it—smiling was definitely off-limits.

This person would absolutely take advantage of the slightest kindness.

She could guarantee that no one in this world understood Xie Shiqing better than she did.

Between the two exhibition areas, there was a rest space. Zhong Ning spotted an empty bench and walked over with Xie Shiqing to sit down, pulling out her phone to look up the museum map.

The museum was divided into several large halls and covered a vast area. It was designed like a semi-park, so of course it had restaurants as well.

Zhong Ning checked and saw that the nearest place to eat was about 1.5 kilometers away.

"It's 1,500 meters to the dining area. After lunch, are we still going to continue looking around this afternoon?"

Xie Shiqing bit her lip. She really wanted to say yes, unwilling to contradict her earlier enthusiasm, but the words just wouldn’t come out.

Zhong Ning secretly lifted one corner of her mouth in a smirk, then quickly smoothed it out. "I’m kind of tired of walking too. Let’s go back to the hotel instead."

Xie Shiqing let out a breath of relief and followed her lead. "Let’s head back to the hotel then. A museum this big can’t possibly be covered in just one day."

"Why don’t we take a taxi and eat lunch at the hotel?"

Zhong Ning knew exactly what she meant—clearly, she didn’t want to walk the remaining 1,500 meters either.

"Alright," she said. "We’ll eat at the hotel."

She hadn’t been too keen on coming out for this in the first place, but she couldn’t resist when Xie Shiqing insisted, going on and on about it.

Now that the instigator herself was backing out, what reason did she have to argue?

Seeing her give in like this, Zhong Ning couldn’t help feeling a mix of amusement and pity. She pulled out two milk candies from her bag. "Here, have something sweet to recharge. Even if we’re calling a cab, we still have to walk to the entrance."

Xie Shiqing instantly felt like she had shot herself in the foot.

The main reason she came to the museum wasn’t just to check something off a list or make up for her childhood regrets—it was to show Zhong Ning that she had genuinely changed.

Photos alone weren’t convincing enough.

Zhong Ning had to see it with her own eyes.

But how could she have known the museum would be this enormous?

She had finally gotten a chance to spend time alone with Zhong Ning, and she had planned to use her identity as "Jingjing" to grow closer. But instead, she kept stumbling every step of the way.

Xie Shiqing was deeply frustrated.

She sulkily unwrapped the milk candy and popped it into her mouth.

It wasn’t overly sweet, but it had a rich, creamy flavor—surprisingly good.

Meanwhile, Zhong Ning picked up her phone and contacted members of the foundation over in Shancheng.

These days, money could be transferred easily through banks, and the funds had already been sent over. Their purpose in going there in person was to check how the money had been allocated, whether it had been properly implemented, how communication with the hospital and the families had gone, and how local officials were coordinating and cooperating with the process.

Whether it was a few days earlier or later, it didn’t really matter.

Besides, it wasn’t emergency funding. The recipient family had already been approved for assistance and was currently doing well in the hospital, so Zhong Ning wasn’t in a rush.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t be taking her time here with Xie Shiqing.

After informing the person in charge over there that they’d likely be delayed by three or four days, Zhong Ning had just put down her phone when she saw three young women walking over.

They were holding cameras and all had friendly smiles. One of them politely asked, “Hi jiejie, you’re so cool. We’re content creators focusing on photography, and this is our account. Would you be willing to join us for a quick shoot? It won’t take much of your time.”

Zhong Ning was familiar with short video content—she often watched clips and game edits online. She had seen these kinds of street interview or candid photography videos before, but this was her first time encountering it in person.

She glanced at their account and saw they had quite a large following—over 3 million fans. It was a big account, and their video views were also quite high. She casually tapped one of the videos; most of them had a romantic couple aesthetic.

Zhong Ning had initially wanted to refuse, but the words changed on her lips. “Sure.”

“Jingjing, you can rest here for a while,” she added.

The girl’s gaze drifted between the two of them before asking, “So... are you a couple? If you are, I can do solo shots instead.”

Zhong Ning replied, “No, just colleagues hanging out together.”

She stood up and looked down at Xie Shiqing. Xie Shiqing also looked up at her. Their eyes met, but Zhong Ning turned away without lingering, lips curling faintly.

The group consisted of three members. The one who had spoken was the main photographer, a girl named Bowen. The model was a girl in hanfu called Zai Zai, and the third girl, holding another camera, was responsible for filming the shooting process itself. Her name was Xiao Ba, and she didn’t appear on camera.

Zai Zai was a very pretty girl, with a gentle face and two dimples when she smiled. Her eyes had a flirty, almond-shaped charm to them, sweet as if dripping with honey.

Zhong Ning glanced at her own outfit—white T-shirt, dark green overshirt, and black pants. Very simple, and completely mismatched with Zai Zai’s look. “Do I need to change clothes or anything?”

Bowen shook her head. “No need, no need. The contrast with modern style actually works really well. What should I call you? Do you mind if I put on a bit of makeup?”

Zhong Ning smiled. “I don’t mind. Just call me Sheep.”

Bowen let out a cheerful laugh. “That’s such a cute name—such a fun contrast, too.” She opened up her makeup pouch, which was a small square bag, but with a few quick moves, it unfolded into multiple compartments like a large round palette. Zhong Ning was a bit stunned watching it open.