Shen An was almost the last one to step off the bus.
He stretched lazily, strolling along at an unhurried pace while occasionally rubbing the muscles along both sides of his shoulders.
Having slept for an hour or two with his head pillowed against something, they felt a little stiff.
As the bus slowly pulled away behind him, Shen An lingered in place for a moment. He scanned the crowd instinctively, searching for Wang Yuqiong and Song Rui.
But after looking all around, he didn’t spot the two women anywhere.
Shen An raised an eyebrow and let out a soft chuckle under his breath. “Looks like they caught on~”
They must have seen Yu Wen and Qi Taili get off the bus, so they hadn’t bothered waiting for him.
He didn’t pay it any mind. Instead, he shifted his gaze and began surveying their destination more carefully.
The first thing to catch his eye was the main gate.
Two majestic stone lions flanked it on either side. The gate itself was a grand arch, curving gracefully to both sides, while a straight road led inward from the center—broader even than a major city street.
From that first glance alone, it struck Shen An as incredibly imposing, far more elaborate than the university’s own main entrance.
Gazing farther into the distance, he spotted tall buildings rising amid dense clusters of trees. Nestled within the woods, the structures shed much of their modern edge and took on a more rustic charm.
These buildings appeared loosely arranged around a central behemoth: a grand hotel on the scale of the school library.
There was no sign at the gate itself; the nameplate was emblazoned across the hotel’s facade.
It read boldly: “Azure Sea Resort Villa.”
Azure Sea Resort Villa…
Azure Sea Grand Hotel…
Well, this had to be another one of Zhao Qingyu’s family holdings.
Shen An wasn’t remotely surprised. Ever since she’d shown that air of total confidence, he’d half-expected as much.
He had no words for it—just a sigh that money really opened doors.
If he had a family like hers, he’d head here for a getaway whenever he felt off, or bring along a few girls when he was in high spirits.
“What are you doing, just standing there like a fool? Not coming?”
A petulant voice called from behind him. Shen An turned to see Zhao Qingyu, sunglasses perched on her nose and dressed in her usual sharp, stylish way.
Her personal car had been parked behind the bus, so it made sense that she was a step behind.
Of course, seen another way, one might say she’d deliberately hung back to catch up with him for this “accidental” encounter.
Shen An asked with feigned innocence, “Senior Sister, is this another of your family’s properties?”
The sunglasses hid her eyes completely, leaving no hint of their expression, but the slight curve at the corners of her mouth suggested she was in a pretty good mood.
“Didn’t you see the name of the hotel?”
“I did.”
“Then why bother asking?”
“Just double-checking.” Shen An flashed a wide grin. “In that case, I can relax.”
Zhao Qingyu stepped up beside him. “Relax about what?”
Shen An put on a straight face. “Since it’s your family’s place, Senior Sister, if I accidentally break something later, I won’t have to pay for it, right?”
Zhao Qingyu wagged a small finger at him. “Tsk. If I were the chairman of this hotel, then sure, no compensation needed.”
“But sadly, I’m not—yet.”
“Hey, you’re still the little princess of the hotel at least. Doesn’t that come with some perks?”
“Those are my perks, not yours.”
Zhao Qingyu turned to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him, both of them gazing out toward the distant hotel.
She narrowed her eyes a touch, her voice carrying an undercurrent of some unnameable feeling. “So, what do you think?”
“Hm?”
“What do you think of the place?”
Her sunglasses obscured any real read on her face, but her tone—and the question itself—revealed she wasn’t quite as self-assured as she’d hoped to seem.
This whole trip had been her solo project, planned and executed without input from anyone else.
In front of the regular club members, she’d never let on any nerves or second-guessing, terrified of falling short in any way.
But with Shen An, she just couldn’t help seeking his take on it.
“Hmm, so is this vacation just holing up in the hotel? Or can we wander freely, as long as we stay on the grounds?”
“Lots of options.”
Zhao Qingyu elaborated, “You’ve only seen a slice of it so far. Step inside, and you’ll get how massive the whole setup is. It’s called Azure Sea Resort Villa for a reason—way more than just the hotel.”
“Like what?”
“Well, you could go for wild camping out in the woods, get that raw, back-to-nature vibe. Or head to the beach—though it’s a trek, and honestly, it doesn’t really appeal to me.”
“Or stick to the hotel: full-service dining, entertainment, the works. They’ve even got hot springs—the spot’s ideal, right by the sea and backed by mountains. Ocean waves on one side, steaming pools on the other.”
“In short,” Zhao Qingyu turned her head and murmured, “Anything fun you can dream up, they’ve got it here!”
Shen An started to get the picture. The hotel was just the centerpiece; the real draw was the sprawling resort complex behind it—a one-stop shop for every kind of leisure.
He eyed Zhao Qingyu, a spark of anticipation in his voice. “What about massages?”
She blinked. “Massages?”
“Yeah, you know—saunas, foot rubs, that kind of deal.” Shen An rubbed the back of his neck, a touch sheepish.
“Yeah, they’ve got those, right in the hotel.”
Evidently, Zhao Qingyu took his words at face value, missing the loaded subtext entirely and assuming he just meant the standard spa services.
“Place seems pretty straight-laced.”
Shen An chuckled lightly.
“Of course it is. They only hire top-tier professionals for that stuff.”
“Tsk~”
“What’s the ‘tsk’ for? You sound disappointed.” Zhao Qingyu furrowed her brow, genuinely baffled. “Isn’t ‘professional’ a good thing?”
“Good? It’s great. Perfect, even!”
Shen An narrowed his eyes, giving the grand hotel another appraising once-over.
Camping, wilderness treks, beaches, hot springs… it really did have it all.
And every corner looked primed for some fireworks—and stories to match.
Shen An found himself genuinely looking forward to the day and a half ahead.
He rubbed his hands together. “So, Senior Sister, any fixed schedule? Or do we pick our own fun?”
“Pick your own,” Zhao Qingyu replied evenly. “With this many people, herding us all together would just be a madhouse.”
She tossed her short hair back. “We’ll do a quick muster at the hotel entrance soon. I’ll run down the basics, show you to your rooms, and after that, you’re on your own—go wherever.”
“No other guests around?”
“Nope, not for these two days.” Zhao Qingyu beamed. “I cleared the place out just for us.”
As she chatted, she edged imperceptibly closer to Shen An.
Then a peculiar scent hit her.
Seizing the moment while he was distracted, she leaned in a fraction more and took a discreet sniff.
The more she inhaled, the odder her expression became.
Just then, a breeze swept in from the side, wafting the clashing perfume notes from both of Shen An’s shoulders straight to her nostrils.
Shen An remained oblivious to her sneaky investigation.
His attention stayed locked on the hotel, his mind already buzzing with the romantic possibilities of the coming day and a half.
“Oh, right—Senior Sister, what’re you planning to do?”
Zhao Qingyu arched an eyebrow, fixing him with a cool stare but saying nothing.
Shen An finally clocked it and turned, puzzled. “Senior Sister?”
Behind those pitch-black lenses, he couldn’t see her eyes narrowing into icy slits.
But the tight press of her lips gave him a clue. “What’s wrong? You heading straight up for a nap or something? Haha~”
Zhao Qingyu tilted her chin up just a hair, her voice level but edged with frost. “After the gathering breaks up, you stick with me. No straying.”
And with that, she turned on her heel and strode off alone, not bothering to wait.
“Huh?”
What happened to free choice? One second it’s all liberty, the next—bam, total face-change.
The breeze kept up, and Shen An caught a whiff of the cloying fragrance himself.
The corner of his mouth twitched as he sighed. “What’s the point of shampoo that strong?”
Watching Zhao Qingyu’s back as she marched off without so much as a glance over her shoulder, Shen An mulled it over for a beat but decided against following. Better not risk whatever storm might be brewing.
Still, her reaction dredged up Yu Wen’s words from the bus ride.
No flirting. No playing the field.
Zhao Qingyu could be awfully bossy, that was true.
But it wasn’t a bad look on her. For one thing, it proved her feelings toward him had shifted worlds away from how things stood at the start of term.
Even if hers was just a friend’s possessiveness, or righteous irritation at his wandering eye…
That beat being treated like some disposable tool she barely cared about.
And given Zhao Qingyu’s temperament…
Shen An could practically feel the collar slipping into place around her neck. It wouldn’t be long now.
