With that, she cast aside her reservations. In a flash, she transformed into a mermaid, leaping away from the pool’s edge and gliding slowly to the center.
Steam rose from the warm water, mist pervading the entire room and soon flushing Zhao Qingyu’s skin a rosy red.
Shen An stayed perfectly still, watching Zhao Qingyu’s swimming form with keen interest.
Through the haze of mist, her figure shimmered ethereally between the steaming water and vapor. Her slender, delicate frame and form-fitting swimsuit highlighted her graceful curves to perfection.
If mermaids truly existed in this world, Zhao Qingyu would undoubtedly outshine them all.
“Hoo~”
Zhao Qingyu rose from the water, her small hand sweeping back her hair to comb it behind her head before lazily shaking it from side to side.
“Why aren’t you moving at all?”
She shot Shen An an irritated look.
Shen An arched a brow. “I’m here to soak, not swim. Why move?”
“Tch…” Zhao Qingyu pursed her lips, disappointment flickering across her face.
Seeing he wouldn’t budge, she lost the mood to keep swimming and slowly waded back to his side, settling down beside him.
“Here, dry off.”
Shen An grabbed a dry towel and first patted her damp hair dry to keep her from catching a chill.
“Buttering me up now? Too late!” Zhao Qingyu rolled her eyes at him, feigning aloofness as she turned her head away. Her long, slender legs swayed and swirled beneath the surface.
The water wasn’t murky. Despite the obscuring mist, Shen An could clearly make out the fresh red polish gleaming on her toenails.
Struck by a whim, he shifted his own foot closer to her delicate one, trying to pin it down.
Zhao Qingyu, of course, wasn’t having it.
At least on the surface, she put up a show of resistance.
Every time Shen An’s foot drew near, she deliberately nudged hers aside, determined not to let him succeed.
Until Shen An, playing dirty, slipped a hand onto her shoulder and forcefully pulled her into his embrace.
Only then did Zhao Qingyu lose her chance to squirm free. Her pair of dainty feet could only reluctantly allow themselves to be trapped beneath his.
To call it stepping was inaccurate; enveloping fit far better.
“I thought Senior Sister wanted to soak alone.”
Shen An narrowed his eyes, his voice laced with contentment.
Zhao Qingyu crossed her arms over her chest and replied coolly, “That was the original plan.”
“Hmm? And then?”
“The hot spring pool prepared for me had a little problem.”
“Oh~” Shen An feigned a sudden epiphany. “So Senior Sister came to join me instead.”
“Bull!” Zhao Qingyu shot back instantly. “I just came to check on how you were soaking. I had zero intention of bathing with you.”
“It’s all your fault!”
As she spoke, she even started lightly thumping his shoulder. “If you hadn’t yanked me in, I never would’ve wanted to mixed-bath with you!”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, my bad.”
Shen An stifled a laugh. He had never realized before that Zhao Qingyu’s true nature was such a classic tsundere.
After thumping for a while, Zhao Qingyu abruptly stopped.
As if surrendering, she tilted her head onto Shen An’s shoulder and pouted. “Boring…”
“Where’s the bore? I think it’s plenty fun.”
Shen An chuckled softly.
“It’s not fun!” Zhao Qingyu glared at him through gritted teeth, her gaze tinged with resentment. “You’re obviously just humoring me, going along with my little act.”
“Ha~” Shen An gently raised a hand to caress her cheek. “It’s not that I don’t want to play along seriously—Senior Sister, your intentions were just way too obvious.”
“You came right up to the pool’s edge. How could I resist pulling you in?”
“Shut up!”
Zhao Qingyu puffed out her cheeks. Though her ruse had long been seen through and she’d obliquely admitted as much, she simply couldn’t bring herself to say outright that she wanted to soak with him.
“Okay, okay, shutting up now.”
Shen An playfully mimed zipping his lips shut.
Zhao Qingyu’s dainty feet kept wiggling, toying with his beneath the water.
Her upper body grew even more relaxed against the pool’s edge, nestled right up beside Shen An.
“This feels so nice…”
Zhao Qingyu murmured. “It’s been ages since I last soaked in a hot spring.”
She waited a moment but got no reply from Shen An.
Glancing over, she saw him wink.
Zhao Qingyu burst into giggles and reached out to “unzip” his mouth.
“Phew~ Nearly suffocated.”
Shen An reveled in putting on his childish act for Zhao Qingyu.
Propping her cheek in her hand, Zhao Qingyu watched his antics with a smile playing on her lips.
After hamming it up solo for a bit, Shen An paused, looking glum. “Boring.”
Zhao Qingyu laughed even harder. “Now you get how I feel, huh?”
“I get it. Next time, I’ll do my absolute best to play along seriously with Senior Sister.” Shen An deadpanned. “Won’t let you catch on that I’m humoring you.”
“You deserve a beating~”
Zhao Qingyu coquettishly poked at his muscles.
Huh?
Because they’d been roughhousing since she arrived, Zhao Qingyu hadn’t taken a proper look at his upper body.
Now, as her eyes landed there, she couldn’t help a flicker of surprise.
“Who knew? You’re pretty ripped.”
Perhaps women had some innate, inexplicable fascination with men’s muscles.
Zhao Qingyu poked at them while muttering to herself.
Shen An was utterly unfazed by now…
Almost every woman who’d seen his bare torso alone had to come touch.
Who said women couldn’t be pervy?
When women got pervy, men didn’t stand a chance.
“They say I look slim in clothes but packed when bare.” Shen An humored her curiosity, raising an arm to flex his bicep.
“So cool… It even moves?”
Zhao Qingyu stared fixedly at the muscles in his arm.
“This…” Shen An arched a brow. “Senior Sister, with a figure like yours, you must hit the gym all the time, right?”
“Mhm~”
Zhao Qingyu nodded slightly.
“With all those gym bros around, you’ve never seen any?” Shen An said in exasperation.
“My gym’s just me.”
Zhao Qingyu quietly revealed her humblebrag side once again.
Shen An could only silently give her a thumbs up.
Having money really was great…
“Of course, it’s not like I’ve never seen men’s muscles,” Zhao Qingyu said with a pout. “In the summer, you can usually spot fitness buffs at school wearing tank tops, but their muscles are mostly kinda weird. Too… bulky.”
There were standards for the beauty or ugliness of muscles, even if they were highly subjective.
Generally speaking, without any muscle, the overall aesthetic fell short, giving a person a frail, scrawny look.
But if the muscles were too bulky, that ruined the appeal too, creating the impression of someone who’d been pumping steroids.
Of course, some people preferred that bulky type, seeing it as a symbol of raw power and ferocity.
But the strength of one’s muscles didn’t necessarily correlate with the size of what was below the belt.
In Zhao Qingyu’s case, it would be more accurate to say she didn’t just like muscles in general—she liked Shen An’s muscles.
When a woman was smitten with you, everything about you seemed special to her.
“Can I touch your muscles too, Senior Sister?”
Shen An rubbed his hands together, a mix of shyness and anticipation in his voice.
Zhao Qingyu tilted her head: ?
“Just one touch. I’ve honestly never seen many girls with a figure as good as yours, Senior Sister.”
Shen An was practically raising his hand to swear he wasn’t just trying to cop a feel.
“Touch what? I don’t have muscles.”
Zhao Qingyu turned her head away to hide her embarrassment.
“You do. Right here—I just saw it.”
Emboldened, Shen An reached out and placed his hand on Zhao Qingyu’s lower abdomen, then spread his palm flat against her navel.
Eh…
Zhao Qingyu’s delicate frame trembled noticeably, and she instinctively tensed her abs.
That made the faint lines of her toned core stand out even more beneath the strip of fabric.
Shen An caressed it gently.
Though Zhao Qingyu took good care of her figure, she wasn’t some gym rat.
Her muscles weren’t overly defined, and the feel of them was exquisite—just the right balance everywhere.
Unfortunately, with her swimsuit in the way, that sensation was muffled by a layer of fabric.
“How is it? Done groping yet?”
Zhao Qingyu’s voice trembled, but she tried to play it cool, like she didn’t care.
“Mm.”
Shen An reluctantly withdrew his hand.
Phew~
Good thing there was that swimsuit layer. If there hadn’t been any barrier…
Just imagining it made Zhao Qingyu’s face heat up and her heart race.
But… he probably wanted her to take the swimsuit off, right?
There had been a flicker of regret in his eyes when he pulled his hand back.
What if…
Zhao Qingyu swallowed hard. A restless heat bubbled up inside her, like the steaming hot spring water threatening to swallow her whole.
Her fox-like eyes gleamed with a strange allure—a deep, innate seductiveness.
“It’s getting a bit hot.”
She leaned close to Shen An’s ear and murmured softly.
Shen An clicked his tongue. “Of course it’s hot wearing a swimsuit. This isn’t the beach.”
“Then… do you want me to take it off?”
Zhao Qingyu lifted her chin slightly, the strange gleam in her eyes coalescing into a sultry, teasing challenge.
Gulp, gulp~
Bubbles rose from the center of the bath, and Shen An’s Adam’s apple bobbed in tandem.
He stared into Zhao Qingyu’s provocative gaze, unsure if she was baiting him or genuinely leaving the choice to him.
Then Zhao Qingyu’s eyes shifted, and she burst out laughing with a “pfft.” “Your ears are so red!”
Shen An froze, then quickly touched his earlobes.
Hiss.
He’d almost fallen for it.
With a light cough to cover his embarrassment, he said, “It is kinda hot.”
“So, is your body hot, or is it your heart that’s hot?”
Zhao Qingyu slowly turned around, planting her toes against the bath floor as she stepped right up to Shen An. She hooked a finger under his chin and gazed at him with silky, seductive eyes.
For a moment, Shen An felt dazed…
Was she the tsundere type or the seductress? Which was the real Zhao Qingyu?
Her seamless switches were a charm all her own, utterly unique.
