Chapter 2

    Phayu looked at the young man who seemed to be no more than ten years younger than him, yet had the audacity to call him uncle. He wondered who this guy's parents were and if he was visiting relatives here. If he found out he was the child of one of the workers, he would fire them all. But then again, there were hardly any workers left at his farm... Whatever.

    "What are you doing here?"

    "Uh... I'm here for a visit."

    The younger man's answer surprised Phayu. He did not want to get his hopes up, though, because in the past, he had welcomed some tourists, who had come by mistake, only to leave once they realized they were in the wrong place. His farm was quieter than a graveyard.

    "Are you sure you're in the right place?"

    "If this is Ratchawakit Farm, then I'm in the right place."

    Ramin answered clearly. This guy was strange. He worked here, yet when someone came to visit, instead of being happy, he acted grumpy and suggested they were lost.

    "Do you have accommodations for tourists?"

    So... he was really here to visit the farm.

    The truth was, there were hardly any workers left. Those who remained were loyal old-timers who, even without a salary, chose to work elsewhere in the mornings and return to help maintain the farm in the evenings.

    He loved this place too much to let it go. He endured because he wanted to give it his all, hoping that one day it would recover and become a legacy for his son, Wayu, so he would not have to struggle in the future.

    However... every party had to come to an end. If he truly could not hold on, he might have to sell it and invest the money elsewhere.

    "There is one guesthouse, but there's no staff to assist you right now."

    "That's okay. I can take care of myself. By the way, do you sell food here?"

    Ramin asked with a natural smile. He was not a fussy person and enjoyed his privacy. Not having someone constantly meddling in his affairs was not a problem. As long as he had a meal to fill his stomach, he was content.

    "The canteen hasn't been open for a while, but if you don't mind, you can eat at my house. I'll have the cook prepare extra."

    "Aren't you a worker here, uncle?"

    Phayu closed his eyes and took a deep breath, counting to ten in his mind to stop himself from kicking out the guest when the farm was on the brink of collapse. He decided to overlook the uncle comment one more time.

    "I own the place."

    Ramin nodded in understanding. At first, he thought the other person was just a worker at the farm. He did not mean to look down on him, but the man was covered in dust and dirt, wearing an old plaid shirt and frayed shorts that looked more like someone who worked hard than a tea farm owner.

    "And this little one..."

    "My son. The housekeeper who usually helps isn't here today, so I had to bring him along."

    "Oh, he's very cute."

    Ramin did not ask about the child's mother, as it would be too intrusive. After chatting for a while, he learned that the man's name was Phayu, and that he owned the place.

    Since he did not know the way to his accommodation, and Phayu mentioned that the distance was quite far and the road was unsuitable for dragging luggage, he was instructed to wait there for Phayu to finish his work so they could go back together. In return, he offered to look after the little boy, as he was quite taken with the child's cuteness and wanted to play with him some more.

    It seemed that the guest accommodations had not been maintained for quite some time, so they were not ready for use. Phayu decided to take the younger man to stay at a small guesthouse that was usually used to welcome important guests, next to his home instead.

    "Is it okay for you?"

    Ramin walked inside the house for a quick inspection and came out with a satisfied smile. Truth be told, even if the accommodation was not great, he would still stay here. Despite Phayu's somewhat unfriendly demeanor, he was quite generous, helping him carry his belongings to the accommodation because he noticed Ramin having trouble doing it himself.

    "The place is really nice. Thank you so much for helping me with my stuff."

    Phayu nodded indifferently. This was a minor matter compared to Ramin's generosity. How many tourists would willingly come to visit this place?

    "My house is right next door. Dinner will be served at six-thirty. Don't be late."

    "Got it. And about the expenses?"

    "No need. Consider it a gift for the first tourist in months."

    With that, he turned and walked away. Ramin watched his broad back as Phayu went to pick up his two-month-old son from the car with a calm expression. He could not help but admire him. Despite working hard all day, Phayu took care of his son diligently without a single complaint.

    A gift for the first tourist in months, huh... How strong must he be to say that so calmly?

    Although they had only known each other for a short time, Ramin could sense the love and connection the other had for this place. From his own experience, it was not nearly as bad as the rumors suggested.

    People were like that, always talking without knowing...

    After unpacking, Ramin went out to enjoy the atmosphere in the pavilion by the artificial fountain. He felt a bit regretful that such a wonderful place was left unappreciated.

    Leaving such beauty isolated and withering away seemed too sad. The spirit of the travel blogger within him began to ignite once more. As the top in his field, he was determined to bring life back to this place.

    With a casual hand, he picked up his phone and snapped pictures of the surroundings without much fuss. He wanted them to appear as natural and unedited as possible. Come to think of it, he had not posted any clips or updates about travel destinations in a while. He wondered if his popularity had started to wane.

    As his eyes glanced at his left leg, a thought crossed his mind. Ever since the news of Thanthai's betrayal, he had vanished from the social world. Surely, his return would attract some attention, whether a lot or a little.

    "Maybe I should take this chance to tell my fans."

    It was somewhat sad that he suddenly had to become disabled when he used to be perfectly healthy. He became someone with physical limitations despite always living cautiously. And, of course, when this news spread, it would be followed by looks of pity, sympathy, disdain, or even schadenfreude.

    The human mind was hard to fathom. Where there was love, there was hate. It was a truth of the world that even God could not escape.

    "Eventually, people will find out anyway."

    Ramin sighed deeply, deciding to take a picture of his leg and upload it to his personal blog. Whether he told them sooner or later, it would make no difference. He never intended to abandon his travel blogging anyway.

    'The beauty of this world depends on us.'

    The photo, accompanied by a message with some underlying implications, quickly gained attention. Soon, people were commenting wildly—some offering support, others speculating about the reasons behind Thanthai's infidelity, assuming he could not handle Ramin becoming disabled.

    If they had thought for a moment, they would have realized that the accident happened after he discovered his partner's betrayal!

    With a decisive motion, his slender hand put away his communication device, intending to ignore it for now. He planned to wait until it garnered more attention before posting pictures from here. After that, he would find an opportunity to make a video for his fans to watch again.

    He did not care about the disparaging remarks from others. So what if he was disabled? At least his spirit was nobler than those people who, despite being perfectly whole, had darkened hearts that constantly belittled those less fortunate. Were they lacking human warmth or something...

    Just half an hour before dinner, Ramin posted a picture of Ratchawakit Farm, along with a teaser about the next travel video. Surprisingly, it was more effective than expected, drawing more interest than usual. It was probably due to the story about his leg earlier in the afternoon.

    With no one else around today, Phayu had to step into the kitchen himself. Although his cooking skills could not quite match Aunt Tan, who usually took care of everything in the house, his food was still decent enough to eat—not so bad that it had to be thrown away. He prepared three dishes along with two plates of fragrant jasmine rice on the table. He felt a bit excited since it had been a while since he had company for dinner, and this was someone he had just gotten to know.

    "You're here already?"

    Seeing the tall, slender figure of the younger man entering the house, Phayu greeted him. His face remained as impassive as ever, but Ramin could sense that the other was not putting up as thick a wall as he had earlier in the day.

    "Yes, before I came in, I noticed a bunch of discarded tea baskets outside. Why were they thrown away?"

    "Those were collected but couldn't be sold because there were no buyers. Once they wilt, they can't be sold, so they had to be discarded, as you saw."

    "What a waste..."

    Phayu's sharp eyes discreetly studied the face of his dining companion. Despite still looking quite young, the other person seemed to possess a mature mindset. Phayu himself only realized that Ramin was somewhat famous after he had dropped him off at his accommodation.

    Phayu had seen the recommended blog and decided to check it out. He could not believe Ramin had over four million followers, especially considering his young age. His skills were quite impressive.

    "I saw you updated about your leg on social media. Is everything okay?"

    The question from the older man surprised Ramin a bit. He had not expected the other to know him, but he responded naturally, without a trace of regret. After all, disability was not something to be ashamed of.

    "Before coming for dinner, I posted some pictures of the view here. There's been a lot of interest."

    Ramin placed his spoon down and casually picked up his phone to show the other man. He did not expect anything in return from Phayu; he simply felt sorry for nature and did not want it to be lonely.

    "Thank you."

    Ramin smiled broadly, his cheerful demeanor making the observer feel unexpectedly at ease. But his bright smile soon faded, replaced by awkwardness as Phayu stared at him unblinkingly.

    "Is there something wrong, uncle?"

    "I have something to tell you."

    Phayu used his fork to pick up a piece of fish cake and placed it on the younger man's plate. Then he cut it with such force that the sound of metal clashing against the porcelain plate echoed loudly, causing Ramin to flinch as Phayu continued to stare at him unblinkingly.

    "I don't think I look like I could be your father's older brother. Besides... I'm only twenty-six."

    Ramin "..."