Chapter 30: The Tour Guide Industry

“Yes,” Han An said, “You’re so pretty, people often take pictures of you without your consent and then post them in group chats to show off, so I’ve definitely considered the possibility that you’ve been kidnapped. Plus, there’s that scratch on your thigh, I even think the kidnappers abused you.”

Upon hearing her husband’s words, Bai Jing’s expression became somewhat unnatural.

After smiling, Bai Jing, whose expression had returned to normal, said, “Honey, if I had been kidnapped, how could I have talked to you on the phone the day before yesterday? Besides, I have a very strong sense of self-defense, so it’s not so easy for me to be kidnapped. Anyway, the bruise on my wrist was from playing an escape room game, and that scratch was from when I accidentally scratched myself.”

The more his wife explained, the less Han An believed her.

Han An even considered revealing his discovery at the Huazhu Inn, but then felt it was inappropriate.

His wife would say that Li Fulong was a longtime friend, so she invited Li Fulong to dinner and also asked him to help carry her suitcase.

As for why Li Fulong stayed in the guest room for so long, his wife could say that he was just chatting.

After all, when many wives are caught by their husbands going to a hotel with another man, they will say that they were just chatting.

These wives all think the same way.

As long as they don’t reveal the truth about the affair and insist that they were just chatting, their husbands can’t do anything about it!

ridiculous!

How ridiculous!

So, does his wife think the same way?

After glancing at his wife again, Han An asked, “How many years did you work as a tour guide in Lijiang?”

“Five or six years,” Bai Jing said. “I remember I started working as a tour guide when I was eighteen.”

“Are they with the same travel agency?”

Other travel agencies tried to recruit me, but I didn’t go.

“Is it because you have good sales performance, or because you’re pretty?”

“There are two reasons,” Bai Jing said. “If the tour guide is pretty, more people will join the tour, so many people specifically ask for my tour when they sign up. To be honest, a woman who is pretty will have a lot of advantages. I guess it’s because everyone knows this that so many women are getting plastic surgery now. Of course, they say that beauty is a curse, so being pretty will also attract a lot of trouble, which is what they call ‘beauty attracts bees.’”

Do you have any attachment to that travel agency?

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“I was thinking that if we had feelings for each other, I could go and sit with you there.”

“It has already closed down.”

“Why?”

“The profit margin was too low, so the owner wanted to sell the business, but no one was willing to take it over, so it closed down.”

“Was your boss good to you back then?”

“Of course it’s great,” Bai Jing said with a smile. “I’m the best-performing tour guide.”

“I’ve heard that the unspoken rules in the tour guide industry are quite serious, and some tour guides even sleep with drivers.”

Upon hearing her husband’s words, Bai Jing’s brows furrowed deeply, and the smile on her face vanished without a trace.

Looking at her husband, Bai Jing said, “Honey, every industry has its unspoken rules, and the tour guide industry is no exception. But honestly, many people like to generalize. According to their thinking, more than 90% of tour guides are subjected to these unspoken rules. But in reality, the proportion of those subjected to these unspoken rules, or those who voluntarily submit to them, is only three or four out of ten thousand. As for the travel agency I used to work for, this phenomenon also existed, but it was a very small minority and can be completely ignored.”

“If there’s only one rat dropping in a pot of porridge, can we just ignore it?”

“One bad apple spoils the whole bunch, but does one or two tour guides being subjected to unspoken rules affect the entire travel agency?”

“At the very least, it will set a bad example,” Han An said. “Some tour guides will think about why they can’t get a raise despite working so hard, so they might consider accepting unspoken rules.”

“A woman who is capable of moral decay will become morally corrupt in any industry, so whether a woman will become morally corrupt has nothing to do with her industry.”

“But some industries are more likely to become corrupt.”

“That’s because they were tempted by even greater profits.”

“There are many lucrative opportunities in the tour guide industry.”

“Honey,” Bai Jing said, sounding somewhat helpless, “you’ve never been a tour guide, so you think that way, but that’s not true at all. And even if there are unspoken rules in the tour guide industry, what does that have to do with me? I really don’t want to talk to you about this because I feel like you’re targeting me. Honey, putting everything else aside, when we first slept together, didn’t you see the blood? That was proof that I had transformed from a girl into a woman, and it was proof of my chastity. I gave myself to you because I knew you would be with me for life. Ever since you came to Lijiang, I’ve felt like you’re suspicious of me, as if I’ve done something to betray you. Anyway, if I were the kind of woman who would willingly be subjected to unspoken rules, I definitely wouldn’t have chosen to be with you.”

What do you mean by that?

“If I were sexually harassed, it would mean I’m a woman who’s greedy for fame and fortune, and that’s the standard I would use to find a marriage partner. But I’ve never been sexually harassed, and I’m not a woman who’s greedy for fame and fortune. So the reason I was with you was because you were genuinely good to me, and I felt that we would be very happy together.”

“I didn’t say you were sexually harassed; I just said the tour guide industry is very chaotic.”

“It’s not messy at all.”

“Alright.”

“Honey, I think mutual trust is really important,” Bai Jing said. “For example, when you occasionally go out for business dinners, or even go to karaoke to drink and sing, have I ever checked up on you? I remember you once said that several of your friends had been checked up on by their wives, and one woman even went directly to the karaoke bar to find her husband to see if he was messing around with those hostesses. Because I trust you, I know you wouldn’t do such a thing, so besides telling you to drink less and come home early, have I done anything like those women?”

I know you’re fine.

“I trust you, but you don’t trust me,” Bai Jing said, her eyes reddening. “This feeling really hurts me.”

“That’s because of you…”

Han An wanted to say that his wife had come to Lijiang to see Li Fulong, but he didn’t want to say it out loud.

Rather than letting his wife become suspicious and inform Li Fulong, it was better to find Li Fulong secretly.

After thinking it over, Han An, still feeling very unhappy, said, “Wife, I was wrong. I will trust you completely from now on.”

“Me too.”

As she spoke, Bai Jing nestled against her husband.

After putting his arm around his wife’s slender waist, Han An said, “Let’s find a place to sit for a while. Standing is really tiring.”

“Honey, let’s go back tomorrow, okay?”

Don’t you want to spend a few more days in Lijiang?

“There’s nothing fun about it.”

“So many tourist attractions.”

“There are indeed many tourist attractions, but I’m tired of them all,” Bai Jing said. “Besides, the hot pot restaurant needs you, so you can’t stay here forever. Honey, you should buy the plane tickets now, just in case something goes wrong.”

“I hope you can spend a few more days with your mother. We won’t be able to come back until Chinese New Year next time.”

“But I want to go back tomorrow. I really miss Binbin.”

Han An wanted to stay a few more days; he needed to find out the truth about his wife’s infidelity.

As for why his wife insisted on leaving tomorrow, it was simply because she didn’t want him to find out the truth.