As the “head chef,” Shen An suddenly became everyone’s favorite, taking a good while to finish dealing with all the eggplants.
Once he’d fed everyone to their hearts’ content, he slipped away.
Glancing around, he spotted the three girls huddled together. Grinning, he sidled up to them. “What are you all chatting about?”
“Talking about you,” Shen Lianyao replied with a soft laugh.
“Me?” Shen An plopped down cross-legged in a spot next to Wang Yuqiong. “What’s there to talk about with me?”
“You done grilling?” Shen Lianyao nodded toward the barbecue area.
“Yep. You must be wiped out from peeling all those eggplants.”
“Oh, no—you’re the one who worked hard, manning the grill for so long.” Shen Lianyao pulled out her phone and checked the time. “About two hours.”
“Two hours?”
Shen An blinked in surprise. He looked up at the vast blue sky, where the sun now hung low, casting brilliant hues of sunset across the horizon.
“Looks like… almost five o’clock,” he muttered, staring at the changing sky.
Shen Lianyao paused, then smiled. “Spot on. It’s exactly five.”
“That’s not guessing—you can calculate it.” Shen An pointed at the setting sun. “The sun follows a predictable path. Every position lines up with a specific time.”
Wang Yuqiong shrugged. “See? Told you he loves showing off.”
Song Rui clapped a hand over her mouth, stifling a giggle.
Shen An shot her an exasperated look. “Showing off? This is just life experience.”
Out of nowhere, he reached out and tucked a stray lock of Wang Yuqiong’s hair behind her ear. “I think I forgot to save some for you. Sorry about that.”
“Thanks for at least remembering me.”
Wang Yuqiong wrinkled her dainty nose.
“Oh, you two as well—but looks like we’re out of eggplants.”
“No need. Song Rui and I ate plenty,” Shen Lianyao said, shaking her head slightly.
“You’re the one who barely ate anything, aren’t you?”
Song Rui was still worried about Shen An. From start to finish, he’d only nibbled on the chicken wings that Zhao Qingyu and Shen Lianyao had passed him.
“Doesn’t matter to me. Skipping a meal or not won’t kill me—we’ll have a feast back at the hotel anyway.”
Shen An chuckled lightly, then scanned the area. “Hey, where’s Senior Sister Zhao? Haven’t seen her around.”
“Probably off fishing,” Wang Yuqiong said with a pout. “She grabbed some rods with Senior Sister Yu and headed to the artificial lake.”
“Oh?” Shen An rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“Why don’t you go check on her?” Wang Yuqiong said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
“Nah, I’m beat today.” Shen An sighed and patted Wang Yuqiong’s shoulder.
“What?”
“Scoot over a bit. I wanna lie down for a sec.”
“Lie down, lie down. Didn’t you sleep last night or what?”
Wang Yuqiong grumbled under her breath but obediently shifted, leaving plenty of space for him.
He stretched out flat on his back, right there beside the three girls.
Squinting up at the sunset unfurling across the sky, he took in the beauty of it—a sight easily overlooked in the rush of everyday life.
With Shen An so close, the three girls couldn’t pick up their earlier conversation.
More to the point, his presence left them drawing a blank on what to talk about next.
They were in the same class and the same Art Troupe, but the three of them weren’t all that close.
Wang Yuqiong and Song Rui got along a little better, at least, since they were roommates—but that was about it.
None of them seemed to realize that without Shen An to tie them together, they’d probably end up staring at each other in awkward silence.
Of course, without him around, Wang Yuqiong and Song Rui might’ve hit it off and become fast friends. Wang Yuqiong was pretty outgoing, after all, and she genuinely liked Song Rui’s personality.
But just a slight twist of fate could lock people into their separate cliques.
The three girls fell quiet, not wanting to disturb him, and turned their eyes to the sunset instead.
Both sunrise and sunset were timeless gifts from nature.
If sunrise celebrated the world’s grandeur and vibrant energy, then sunset carried a melancholic, poignant beauty.
As they watched, Shen Lianyao instinctively pulled out her phone and snapped a photo of the sunset and glowing clouds.
Song Rui noticed and did the same.
Wang Yuqiong pouted, her lips pursing. Her phone was dead!
A short while later, Zhao Qingyu and Yu Wen came back, fishing rods in hand and a small wooden bucket dangling from one of them.
Judging by their expressions, though, they’d had no luck—the bucket held nothing but water.
Zhao Qingyu set the bucket down and clapped the dirt from her hands. Without a word, she walked straight to Shen An’s side.
The other three girls quietly made way for her, their eyes fixed on Zhao Qingyu.
Ignoring them completely, Zhao Qingyu nudged Shen An with her foot.
“Hm?”
Shen An twisted his head around, a smirk tugging at his lips. “Yo, Senior Sister Zhao. Good haul?”
Zhao Qingyu kept her face cool and impassive. “Pack up. Time to head back.”
“So soon?”
“You can stay here overnight if you want.”
“Hey, I just got comfortable.” Shen An stood up reluctantly and brushed the dust off his backside.
He turned to the three girls still sitting there. “Don’t just sit around—tell everyone we’re heading out. Have them pack up.”
Song Rui jumped into action first, followed by Shen Lianyao.
Wang Yuqiong dragged her feet a little, but she preferred going back to the hotel over sticking around here. After dark, she’d have better chances to steal some alone time with him.
But first…
She shot a glance at Zhao Qingyu’s retreating back.
She had to deal with that pesky vixen.
Before long, the area was mostly tidied up.
They didn’t need to haul anything away—hotel staff would handle the full cleanup. They just did a basic once-over.
Then the group set off for home, following the same path back toward the Grand Hotel.
Along the way, Shen An kept an eye on things.
He had to admit, Zhao Qingyu’s outing had done its job.
He hadn’t made any big social leaps himself—Wang Yuqiong was his little tag-along, Song Rui his eager echo, and Shen Lianyao too independent to mingle, preferring her own company.
But the rest of the group? They’d all made new friends on the trip. The Model Group girls who’d arrived in their clique were now chatting with some from the Singing Group on the walk back.
And the guys? Even easier—they’d bonded into packs without trying.
Shen An’s gaze happened to meet Zhao Qingyu’s across the distance.
Even from afar, they caught the spark in each other’s eyes.
He curved his lips into a smile. So did she. A quiet understanding passed between them, hanging in the air.
Once they reached the hotel, Zhao Qingyu called for disband.
Everyone head back to your rooms. The rest of the evening was free—no more structured activities.
She added, almost casually, that there’d be fireworks that night. Anyone interested could check them out.
That was hint enough.
Most of the members opted for their rooms. After the long afternoon, their sweat had dried but left them sticky and gross.
Especially the girls.
So they all headed off to shower—including Wang Yuqiong and the other two.
Before she left, though, Wang Yuqiong sidled up and gave Shen An a light kick. “Don’t forget to charge your phone!”
Then she spun on her heel and walked away.
After Wang Yuqiong was gone, Song Rui seized her chance and sidled over, whispering, “You… gonna watch the fireworks tonight?”
She quickly added, as if to cover herself, “Lianyao said she’s beat and plans to rest. Not heading out.”
Shen An suddenly felt the pressure mounting.
The end of the afternoon outing might just mark a new beginning for him—one he wasn’t sure he wanted.
But staring into Song Rui’s hopeful eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to turn her down flat.
Luckily, just as he was scrambling for a reply, Zhao Qingyu appeared behind them. “Shen An. Come with me.”
Shen An latched onto the escape. “You head back and shower first. I’ll catch up later!”
With that, he bolted.
Song Rui could only watch him go, her eyes tracking the two backs as they retreated.
She bit her lip, a spark of defiance flaring for the first time toward the intimidating Zhao Qingyu.
Senior Sister Zhao…
Kinda hate her~
