Chapter 120: The Island Parade, and Doggy is a Dog

"Mm... I... I'm home!" Su Bao'er said, her eyes glistening with tears as a smile broke through.

The sea breeze brushed against her face. Her disheveled hair, tangled with stray tears, scattered into the air. Perhaps the wind of her hometown was trying to carry away the sorrow she had carried for so many years.

An Muxi gently pulled Su Bao'er into her arms. "There, there, Bao'er, don't cry. Aren't we home now? Even if we didn't find your family, you still have us. Aren't we your family, too?" An Muxi stroked Su Bao'er's hair tenderly.

She was such a pitiful girl, one who stirred a deep sense of sadness in others.

"Mm... Sister An, I've found my home..." Su Bao'er murmured blankly, her ethereal voice heartbreaking to hear.

...

"Dongji Sea Breeze Homestay." That was the name of the place.

The owners were a married couple. The landlady also served as the chef, and generally, the guests staying at the homestay ate whatever she cooked. This was the difference between a homestay and a hotel or inn. A proper homestay was like being in someone’s actual home. It lacked the polished luxury of an establishment. In the earliest days, a homestay simply meant staying in a resident's house—you slept where they slept, and you ate what they ate.

"You're saying this young girl is the child who went missing from the previous owner of this old house?" Uncle Chen, the proprietor, stared wide-eyed at Su Bao'er before turning to Lin Shenlu.

"That's right, Uncle Chen. Look, this is the documentation we just had issued." Lin Shenlu handed the papers to him.

Uncle Chen hurriedly put on his reading glasses and scrutinized them carefully.

"It really is... it truly is... When we bought this house all those years ago, we heard the previous owner talk about how they were looking for their child... Who would have thought that after all these years, the child would return..." Uncle Chen sighed.

Lin Shenlu sighed as well, his gaze following Uncle Chen’s toward Su Bao'er, who was squatting on the ground playing with a yellow dog.

"That dog is named Potato. He’s very friendly and cute... Actually, this dog's... well, he is the descendant of the dog left behind by the original owners. When they left, they couldn't take the dog with them and had to leave it with me. More than a decade has passed, and that original dog has long since died; it’s buried in the backyard. Potato is the grandchild of the child of that dog..." Uncle Chen explained with a sigh.

Potato scampered around the lobby, looking lively and adorable. He would circle around Su Bao'er, then weave between everyone’s legs.

"Doggy... don't run..." Su Bao'er whispered to Potato.

"That's it! That first dog they left behind was called 'Doggy'..." Uncle Chen nodded.

"What the hell!" Lin Shenlu froze.

So, when he first met Su Bao'er and she asked if he knew "Doggy"... she had been referring to her childhood playmate, a yellow dog from her memories of home? How could he possibly have known? And later... was that why she kept calling him "Deer-boy"?

Lin Shenlu felt a headache coming on and didn't want to speak.

"Old Liu! Is dinner ready?" Uncle Chen took off his glasses and shouted toward the kitchen.

"Almost there!" came the voice of a kind-hearted aunt from the kitchen.

"Eat here with us. I suppose I can consider myself an old acquaintance of this young girl now..." Uncle Chen sighed.

...

The landlady, Aunt Liu, had prepared many delicious home-cooked dishes today: seafood soup, eggplant with minced meat, egg-fried rice, and a plate of stir-fried sea eels with eggs.

This dish of stir-fried sea eels with eggs caught Lin Shenlu off guard. What was that? It was fried egg mixed with tiny fish, salty and fragrant. Lin Shenlu asked about it and learned that sea eels, also known as "sea salt" or "sea bright," were juvenile anchovies. They were tiny but had a unique flavor.

After taking another careful bite, Lin Shenlu had to admit that the flavor was truly full of the taste of "home." It possessed a quality that the food in outside restaurants lacked.

"Eat up, eat more! You're staying here tonight on the house! Tomorrow, I'll drive you to find the girl's distant cousin!" Uncle Chen said cheerfully, pouring some wine to share with Lin Shenlu.

...

After the meal, the group decided to go out for a stroll. It was a rare opportunity to be on Dongji Island, and they wanted to soak in the scenery.

Unlike other islands, Miaozihu Island had sightseeing shuttles. You could buy a ticket on the spot and hop on and off as you pleased, valid for the day of purchase. Naturally, the shuttles stopped at various scenic spots so tourists could take photos. If you spent too long at one spot, you could simply catch the next shuttle by showing your island-tour ticket.

Island tour.

These two words alone brought a sense of joyful satisfaction.

After finding the old house and meeting someone who remembered her past, Su Bao'er’s mood had improved significantly. Having eaten so much of the taste of home, she was happily playing with Potato when they stepped outside. Unfortunately, Potato snuck away and ran back home.

The small blue sightseeing carts had no side windows, allowing the sea breeze to blow in from all directions when they were moving. It was very comfortable. The carts had three rows of seats, enough for nine people. Lin Shenlu and the others squeezed into the back row, placing Su Bao'er in the middle as they began their clockwise tour of Miaozihu Island.

Along the way, the stone railings were decorated with colorful stripes and ship wheel ornaments, giving the island a fresh look—perfect, in Lin Shenlu's opinion, for taking island-style portraits. Wherever they looked, fishing boats were docked at the shore, offering glimpses into the daily lives of the local fishermen. Blue skies, the ocean, fishing boats, lighthouses, and anglers—every scene was picture-perfect.

What surprised Lin Shenlu most was that because Miaozihu Island was the filming location for Han Han's movie *The Continent*, lines from the film were visible everywhere.

"Liking is impulsive, but love is restraint." This was written on a dark wooden board hanging next to a ship wheel on a wall covered in round stones.

"I once felt lost and disappointed, losing all direction, until I saw that the ordinary is the only answer." This was painted on the white wall of a small house at a corner, accompanied by a painting of that familiar red-and-white lighthouse.

Although the movie had made many people aware of Dongji Island, it remained a niche destination. The island was also working hard to ensure its tourism resources were known to more people.

As the three of them toured the island, they saw many colorful carts selling local specialties, large, hand-painted murals by fishermen on walls, and the fresh, colorful exteriors of the homestays. The whole island was permeated with an artistic atmosphere that made one want to take photos.

The most prominent landmark on the island tour was undoubtedly the Dongji Stone. Two massive rocks sat in an open square, surrounded by sightseeing carts. Every tourist who visited chose to take a photo with the Dongji Stone. The two large red characters for "Dongji" were very eye-catching.

"Deer-boy... I want to eat those little dried fish..." Su Bao'er’s nose was drawn to the small dried fish drying by the roadside. The seafood noodles on the island always included these little fish; they were fresh and delicious.

"Behave, we aren't eating those... And, Bao'er, you need to explain to me: what exactly is this business with 'Doggy'?"