The Person You Called Is Unavailable

Chapter 7 Runaway

The guesthouse that Terry booked was incredibly cozy. The house was a simple wooden structure, and the bed inside had no frame, with the mattress surrounded by a mosquito net to keep the bothersome bugs at bay.

The temperature at night was very low, so even without a fan, it felt as if the air conditioning was on. This forced the cold-averse Li Ren to wear a jacket, long pants, and socks, wrapping himself in a blanket to sleep.

When the window was opened, a small creek could be seen, and the sound of the babbling water soothed every tense nerve. With the large trees and little flowers surrounding it, it felt like a living painting on the wall.

The air here was fresh, lacking the smog and mixed exhaust of the city. Standing at the entrance of the guesthouse, Li Ren looked out over a vegetable garden, with mountains in the background, their large trees surrounded by a white mist, like something from a fairy tale.

'He's got a good eye for choosing guesthouses...' Li Ren thought to himself, standing by the door, admiring the view. The morning's coolness was invigorating, and a few stray hairs on Li Ren's head stood up, while some water droplets from washing his face still clung to his skin, resembling the dew on the leaves.

He watched Terry, wearing a straw hat and fully armed with gardening tools, as he busily picked small, plump cherry tomatoes in the vegetable garden, chatting with the aunties working alongside him. 'What's he doing over there...' Li Ren thought, with one hand on his hip as he observed Terry working and talking with the local women.

When Terry's basket was half full, he straightened his back, stretched, and yawned. Turning around, he spotted Li Ren standing at the door. A radiant smile spread across Terry's face, bright as the sun. "Good morning~!" he waved energetically at Li Ren, who responded with a small wave of his own.

"I'll be right over!" Terry shouted back to the aunties in the garden before walking briskly toward Li Ren. He pulled a small bunch of cherry tomatoes from his basket and handed them to Li Ren. "Look! Super fresh mini tomatoes! Try one, they're incredibly sweet!"

Li Ren took the tomatoes and said, "Why did you suddenly run off to someone else's vegetable garden?"

"It's a rare chance for me to try something like this! How often do you get to do this in Huanjia?" Terry laughed. "Hurry up and try one!" Seeing Li Ren just holding the cherry tomatoes without eating them, Terry eagerly urged.

"Ugh... still need to wash it first." Li Ren muttered impatiently.

"These don't have pesticides!" Terry reached out to grab the tomatoes from Li Ren's hand, but Li Ren quickly pulled his hand back, dodging him. "Even if they don't have pesticides, they still need to be washed! Do you know how dirty rainwater is?"

Terry froze for a moment before snatching the tomatoes from Li Ren's hand. "I'll wash them for you!" he said cheerfully, skipping back into the house to wash the tomatoes. Li Ren followed Terry into the house.

Terry quickly rinsed off the tomatoes, shook them dry, and handed one back to Li Ren. "Try it!". Li Ren glanced at Terry before taking the tomato, shaking it a couple of times to dry it off, and then popping it into his mouth.

He bit into the tomato, and the sweet juice flowed instantly in his mouth, the coolness of the fruit making it more refreshing than anything he had ever eaten. 'So sweet...' Li Ren thought in surprise, covering his mouth with his hand to hide the juice that almost dripped from the corner of his lips.

Seeing the surprised expression on Li Ren's face, Terry couldn't contain his excitement and smiled widely, bouncing on his feet. "Isn't it delicious?!" he exclaimed, practically jumping in place. Li Ren nodded and replied, "Mm."