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In order to attract customers, she first took note of the exhibits at the Provincial Museum one by one, then crafted small stories behind each exhibit, weaving in elements of traditional culture, and memorized the translations. At first, she lacked the courage to ask for money, so she offered free explanations to foreigners, testing whether they could understand her. After a few attempts, her spoken English improved significantly, and when foreigners understood her well, they often tipped her. Later on, she made a small sign in English to hang around her neck.
The Provincial Museum did not have professional English-speaking guides; it only had pre-recorded audio guides. Not long after Lin Xiao started, the Director had already heard reports from the security staff about her activities. When he called Lin Xiao into his office, she pulled out a stack of lesson plans from her bag and said, "Uncle Director, I know what I'm doing might not be right, but I am promoting and conveying culture in my own way, helping others understand us and enhancing foreigners' experience at the Provincial Museum." She then humbly added, "Uncle Director, I truly need to earn a living."
Seeing Lin Xiao's pitiful expression, the Old Director thought that she hadn't really violated any regulations and decided to let her continue. With the Director's tacit approval, Lin Xiao officially began her role as an unofficial tour guide at the Provincial Museum.
To express her gratitude to the Old Director, Lin Xiao organized and printed a copy of her Chinese explanation manuscript to give to him. As she spent more time there, she became familiar with the ticket sellers and guides, calling them "brother," "sister," "uncle," and "aunt." When she earned more money, she would even buy drinks for the museum staff.
Over time, everyone grew fond of this young girl. Whenever museum guides encountered foreign visitors seeking assistance, they would recommend Lin Xiao to them. Naturally, Lin Xiao wouldn’t share these stories with Li Hao; she merely gave him vague responses.
Fortunately, their awkwardness didn’t last long before Zhao Chenghua entered with her husband. After brief introductions, it turned out that only Lin Xiao and Zhao Chenghua's husband were unfamiliar with each other. Zhao Chenghua's husband, Kuan Ran, was from the same cohort as Zhao Chenghua; she was Li Hao's senior sister in their academic lineage.
Lin Xiao felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her—three mid-level officials were present while she was just a junior staff member. Li Hao shot a meaningful glance at Zhao Chenghua and noticed that she made a face behind Lin Xiao’s back that was unbecoming of her status.
At that moment, he was certain that Zhao Chenghua was indeed setting him up for a blind date with someone who used to be his subordinate. Lin Xiao continued with her duties as a staff member and began to greet the waiter to take their orders.
While waiting for the dishes to arrive, Zhao Chenghua said to Lin Xiao, "Today we don’t have any hierarchical boundaries; we are all alumni from Xiangtian University. You don’t need to be so formal."
Lin Xiao readily complied and began distributing coffee from the tray placed in the center of the table. "Xue Shi Xiong," she said as she pushed a cup towards Zhao Chenghua's husband. "Sister," she continued as she slid a cappuccino in front of Zhao Chenghua. "Li County Chief," she said while offering another cup to Li Hao; she didn’t have the courage to call him senior brother.
Zhao Chenghua teased her, saying, "Lin Xiao, Li Hao is no longer your superior. You’re now part of the Provincial Government while he’s just in the county; you can freely enter and exit the Provincial Organization Department while he cannot."
Lin Xiao thought to herself that he was an official under provincial management; who knows when he might come back and be in charge of her again? "Sister, no way! Li County Chief will always be my leader," Zhao Chenghua replied playfully, unsure if Lin Xiao was genuinely naive or just pretending to be so in order to create distance.
Zhao Chenghua was not one to casually matchmake. Whenever the two of them chatted, without exception, they would bring up Lin Xiao. Li Hao also invariably praised her. Zhao Chenghua thought that at least Lin Xiao held a special place in Li Hao's heart.
Moreover, they were alumni, and meeting up like this could only benefit Lin Xiao in the future. Lin Xiao could tell that this gathering was orchestrated by Hua Jie behind Li Hao's back, and she could only pretend to be calm, as she had no right to express her feelings openly.
However, she was unwilling. The fluttering emotions and expectations she had for him had dissipated along with the incident involving Miao Zhang. To be precise, that event stirred her feelings, making her feel utterly inadequate. She had never even dared to openly admire Lian Zun.
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