“What about this one?” Xie Lai pointed it out to Bai Ci. “The Honey Rite is a ceremony where you marry a god.”
“Sister Bai, don't you think this event is really creepy? Selecting an innocent girl every year to marry an invisible god... this setup is just like a horror story.”
“Think about it. The bride from the previous year dies a tragic death, then returns as a ghost to take revenge on the village. That's exactly how horror stories go, right?”
Bai Ci chuckled when she heard this, her smile gentle, looking entirely like an open-minded senior amused by a junior's wild imagination.
She teased, “Why is it that you young people nowadays are so into these cliché suspense and horror stories? Don't look at everything through a thriller lens.”
“This is just the evolution of a traditional custom,” Bai Ci explained from the perspective of a normal person.
“In the early years, when resources were scarce and information was limited, the villagers believed in gods. They relied on this ceremony to place their hopes and pray for a bountiful harvest. It's a very common folk belief.”
“But as times changed, this ancient sacrificial ritual gradually lost its original religious color and slowly evolved into a celebratory event.”
“Look at the supplementary notes at the back of the materials. This Honey Rite doesn't impose any restrictions on the chosen bride. Once the ceremony is over, the girl is still free. Her daily life, working out of town, dating, and marriage are completely unaffected.”
“In fact, those who have served as the Honey Bride are highly respected by their neighbors in the village, and they even receive better prospects when it comes to marriage.”
“Furthermore, take a close look at our company's event history.”
“The preliminary research section mentions that in the early years, this Honey Rite was prepared by the villagers themselves, with every household contributing to the organization.”
“But later on, most of the young people in the village left to work in the cities, and the permanent population dwindled year by year. Whenever the ritual came around, it was too much of a hassle, time-consuming, and exhausting for the migrant villagers to make a special trip back just to help out.”
“Later, someone suggested simply paying to outsource it to a professional wedding planning team to save time and worry.”
“The first team they hired was our company. After that initial trial run went smoothly, it became a regular thing, and they put it up for bidding every year.”
“Our company relied on the foundation laid during that first trial, and because our service attitude and results were good, we've won this big contract for several consecutive years.”
Bai Ci shrugged. “If this ceremony really hid some dark, unspeakable danger, there's no way the village would comfortably outsource it to an outside team year after year, let alone let us outsiders get so deeply involved in the entire preparation process.”
“The fact that they dare to open it up to the public and hand it over to strangers is proof enough that, at least on the surface, this is just an ordinary folk festival.”
Xie Lai stared at the materials in silence for a long time. In the end, she could only close the booklet in frustration, completely deflated.
She knew there had to be danger here, but she simply couldn't find any basis or argument to refute Bai Ci.
“It seems... I really did overcomplicate things.” Xie Lai's shoulders slumped.
She had originally thought that if she could quietly warn Bai Ci and make this kind NPC a bit more vigilant, maybe she could keep herself safe.
It would be a way to repay her for helping her out earlier.
But after all her efforts, not only did she fail to convince Bai Ci, but she also ended up looking like she was worrying over nothing and making a fuss about nothing.
Qu Ling, who had silently listened to the entire conversation between the newcomer and the NPC, was utterly speechless.
She had originally thought the rookie might extract some bits of information, so she had been listening intently. To her disappointment, nothing they discussed went beyond what was already in the reference materials.
It was a complete waste of her time.
Qu Ling closed the bound document with Xie Lai's name written on the title page, stood up, and prepared to head out with the materials.
It seemed she would still have to collaborate with Wang Dong to pool the information from the male NPCs.
Just as she thought this, she opened the door and ran right into the village chief's wife.
It turned out dinner was ready, and the village chief's wife had come up to call everyone down to eat.
Qu Ling put the documents back into her suitcase, locked it, and followed everyone downstairs to eat.
Nothing happened on the first night, allowing everyone to rest and recover in peace.
At dawn the next day, Bai Ci was awakened by the sound of Qu Ling getting out of bed.
The latter explained that she was going out for a walk nearby to get some fresh air.
Without waiting for Bai Ci's response, she swiftly headed out the door.
Having been woken up, Bai Ci couldn't fall back asleep. She glanced at Xie Lai, who was still fast asleep, and got up quietly.
After getting dressed and tidying up a bit, Bai Ci headed to the bathroom at the end of the second floor to wash up.
As soon as she stepped out, she saw a familiar figure leaning against the outer railing of the corridor, seemingly waiting for someone.
It was Sang Lan.
Today, Sang Lan was still dressed in his usual unisex, minimalist style, wearing a clean black short-sleeved shirt with no extra accessories.
To make it easier to carry props and set up the venue today, his signature slightly curly golden hair was tied up in a loose bun, with a few stray strands hanging by his temples, softening his originally bright and sharp features.
However, he didn't seem to be in the best condition.
His eyes were slightly downcast, his shoulders slumped, and he occasionally raised a hand to cover his mouth as he yawned, radiating fatigue.
Most noticeable was his lip color, which was pale and whitish, making him look rather listless.
Hearing the door open, Sang Lan immediately turned his head. Seeing it was Bai Ci, the exhaustion in his eyes faded slightly, and he habitually curled his lips into a smile.
“You're awake, Ci-mei'er.”
Bai Ci walked over, her gaze lingering on his face for a moment, and asked naturally, “Didn't sleep well last night?”
“Yeah,” Sang Lan nodded honestly, his tone laced with a touch of helplessness. “New place, new bed. I slept lightly the whole night, half-awake, waking up several times.”
“Then Wang Dong woke me up this morning. He said he was going for a morning run and left, so I couldn't really say anything. I couldn't fall back asleep, so I came here to wait for you, Ci-mei'er.”
He leaned in slightly, closed his eyes, and rested his head on Bai Ci's shoulder.
“Ci-mei'er, could I borrow your dusty rose lipstick? I look terrible today, so listless.”
Having already searched through her canvas bag last night, Bai Ci knew its contents like the back of her hand. Hearing this, she patted Sang Lan, telling him to lift his head.
She went back into the room, brought out her canvas bag, and handed it to him. “Get it yourself.”
Sang Lan reached out to take it, accurately pulling the slim lipstick tube from the side pocket of the bag.
He twisted up a section of the lipstick, lightly dabbed some onto his fingertip, and pressed it onto his pale lips. His movements weren't exactly practiced or clumsy, but carried a casual, effortless air.
A light dusty rose was naturally a “no-makeup” shade. A thin layer like this wouldn't be as conspicuous as red lipstick, but was just enough to cover his pale lips.
With this touch of color, Sang Lan instantly looked much more refreshed, returning to his usual clean and sharp appearance.
After applying it, Sang Lan even took out the small mirror from the canvas bag, made a couple of adjustments while looking at his reflection, and gave Bai Ci a satisfied wink.
Rate on N.U.
