An invitation from Mr. Li!

Listening to the trickling water from the washroom, Li Yuer, who had never experienced anything like this, felt a stir in her heart. She inexplicably felt a bit parched and quickly took a sip of water to moisten her throat.

Before long, Zhao Dongchuan emerged, looking refreshed, with some water droplets still on his face.

His clothes were the same, but they looked much cleaner. In fact, he had directly taken a new set of identical clothes from his spatial dimension, changed into them, and tossed the old ones into the dimension.

"Let's go, I'm done!"

"That fast…" Li Yuer said in surprise.

"Uh, I just rinsed off, so of course it was fast!"

"Oh!"

...

Zhao Dongchuan rode his bicycle with Li Yuer sitting on the back, as they traveled along the streets of the county town. Guangdong Province, being close to the equator, has a subtropical monsoon climate, so the winter temperatures here are not cold. It's like spring all year round, with a gentle and exceptionally mild breeze.

Under Li Yuer's guidance, Zhao Dongchuan quickly arrived at the County Cultural Bureau. They dismounted and pushed their bicycles towards the entrance.

"Hello, Comrade!"

"Haha, hello! Hello!"

Before Zhao Dongchuan could say anything more, the doorman, an old man, looked at Li Yuer with a smile and said, "Little Yu is here. Is this your friend?"

He cast a meaningful glance at Zhao Dongchuan.

"Grandpa Yang, this is my friend, Zhao Dongchuan, from Huangyuan City! He's here by invitation for a cultural exchange…"

"Oh, haha, alright, you two go on in!" Grandpa Yang said with a smile, looking at them.

The doorman knew Li Yuer, so he let them in directly.

Li Yuer then led Zhao Dongchuan straight to the Cultural Bureau Director's office.

Along the way, they encountered staff members from the bureau. Everyone greeted Li Yuer warmly and curiously looked at Zhao Dongchuan, secretly wondering about his relationship with Li Yuer and why he was at the bureau.

Soon, they arrived at the Director's office.

Li Yuer knocked on the door.

"Please come in!" a deep voice of a middle-aged man responded.

Li Yuer opened the door and walked in.

"Uncle Xu!"

"Oh, it's Little Yu. Why are you here? Come in, quickly!"

Director Xu of the Cultural Bureau was a lean, middle-aged man, around forty years old, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, with his hair meticulously combed.

"Uncle Xu, this is the writer my father mentioned to you last time—Zhao Dongchuan!"

"Brother Dongchuan, this is Director Xu, the Director of our County Cultural Bureau!"

Li Yuer smiled as she introduced the two.

"Hahaha, today we have a distinguished guest! Teacher Zhao, I've heard about you for a long time. I've read all your works. Please, have a seat!" Director Xu was also good at handling situations and immediately elevated Zhao Dongchuan. Regardless of what he thought internally, he certainly had to give face to the Revolutionary Committee Director.

"Director Xu, you are too kind. I am still just a junior who has just started out and don't deserve the title of teacher. You can call me Little Zhao or Dongchuan!" Zhao Dongchuan naturally couldn't accept such praise arrogantly and humbly replied.

Director Xu smiled, nodded, and said, "Alright, as expected, you are a talented young man with limitless potential.

Then I'll call you Little Zhao. Director Li has already told me about your matter. Our bureau will arrange an exchange meeting during this period, bringing together some of our outstanding young literary talents. Everyone can exchange ideas and learn together. Little Zhao, please don't be stingy with your guidance!"

"Haha, everyone exchanges ideas and learns together. It's not about guidance; I also need to learn more from everyone!" Zhao Dongchuan said with a slight smile.

"Little Zhao, if you encounter any difficulties here, you can tell us!"

"Don't be shy when you're here; just treat it like your own home! If you need anything, come to us!" Director Xu glanced at Li Yuer and said with a chuckle.

.........

After a few more polite exchanges, Zhao Dongchuan and Li Yuer left together.

"Are your father and this Director Xu very close?"

"Uh, my father and Uncle Xu used to be Comrades-in-arms!"

"Oh, I see! Please thank your father for me!"

Being able to come to "Pengcheng" for exchange and study was very important for his personal qualifications, a bonus point that would serve as a reference for future promotions.

Clearly, Li Yuer's father had also done him a favor, otherwise, during this special period, when the situation here was becoming increasingly chaotic, this invitation would not have reached him.

Through official channels, he wouldn't have been able to come to Pengcheng.

Zhao Dongchuan pushed his bicycle, chatting with Li Yuer as they walked, each recounting their recent situations over the past six months. The letters only provided a general overview, not such detailed information.

"Is your family from Beijing?" Li Yuer asked with a bit of surprise after hearing Zhao Dongchuan say he had returned to Beijing for family visits.

"Yes, why?"

"Oh, nothing, I originally thought you were from Shanghai!" Li Yuer explained.

"..."

Well, it seemed the traces of his "Shanghai drifter" past were too strong; they were discovered even across a different space-time.

Zhao Dongchuan silently complained!

"You're amazing! So young, yet you're publishing novels and writing poetry. Ever since I learned who you are, my father always uses you to lecture me! Sigh!" Li Yuer said with an expression of both admiration and indignation.

"Don't you have to go to work? You've spent half the day with me!"

"I took the day off today. I'll go tomorrow!"

...

Li Yuer took Zhao Dongchuan to stroll around the county town. Both of them had plenty of money and coupons.

They bought things they liked on the street and ate delicious food they came across. Zhao Dongchuan bought some local specialty pastries, gave some to Li Yuer, and planned to take most of them back to Huangyuan as gifts.

Li Yuer, on the other hand, bought some trendy new clothes at the ready-to-wear shop.

The two of them had their bicycle laden with bags and packages, making others envious!

Those who didn't know might have thought they were a newlywed couple shopping for their new home.

After shopping, Zhao Dongchuan rode his bicycle, taking Li Yuer back to the guesthouse to put all their purchases in the room.

"When I came earlier, my father asked me to invite you to dinner at our house tonight. Will you come?"

At the entrance of the guesthouse, Li Yuer asked with some anticipation.

"Sure, I'll take the opportunity to properly thank your father for his care!"

Zhao Dongchuan was naturally indifferent; it was just a meal, not a dragon's den or a tiger's lair, so why not?

Li Yuer was very happy to hear that Zhao Dongchuan would come for dinner, smiling brightly. Her momentary charm reminded Zhao Dongchuan of a certain Hong Kong actress from later generations.

In that instant, Zhao Dongchuan thought of many things…

Under Li Yuer's guidance, Zhao Dongchuan rode his bicycle towards the County Prefectural Committee compound.

Just like he had been at the Yuanxi County Revolutionary Committee compound, where Yuanxi County had the sister flowers Tian Runye and Tian Xiaoxia, here was Li Yuer.

It was a strangely similar situation…

With Li Yuer's familiar face, they entered the Prefectural Committee compound without any hindrance.

Soon, they arrived at a small courtyard with a garden, which was Li Yuer's home.