Chapter 6

Everyone pulled from the sea carried that salty, slightly fishy smell, but Wen Zenian was different.

The seawater had washed away the perfume she’d spritzed behind her ears, releasing a fresh, crystalline scent. It was her own body fragrance, cool and crisp, like the only snowfall in this tropical monsoon zone.

She said just that and stepped back. Her soaked hair clung to her scalp without marring her beauty in the least. She looked like an alluring mermaid who’d plunged into the sea.

“I wasn’t pretending not to know you,” Meng Ning said.

“Then what was it?”

Wen Zenian reached up to wring the collar of her shirt, but no water came out. The high-quality fabric had soaked it all up and spread it across her skin. Now the shirt itself was dry, but that expanse of snowy skin looked even more supple and glistening.

Meng Ning averted her eyes modestly, gazing down at Wen Zenian’s ankles instead. But even the sheer stockings there were waterlogged, hugging her slender calves and shimmering in the sunlight.

“I just thought you didn’t remember me,” Meng Ning said. “After all, the rest of your life turned out completely different.”

“I told you last night, didn’t I? The dreams of puberty are the hardest ones to wake from.”

With that, she walked ahead. “That’s enough for today. You should get to work.”

Meng Ning called after her, “Your shoes…”

They’d both lost theirs earlier.

“It’s fine,” Wen Zenian said.

Meng Ning dashed to the control room, then caught up to Wen Zenian’s retreating figure moments later, carrying a fluffy white bath towel and a pair of slippers. Just as she was wondering how to tactfully point out that Wen Zenian’s shirt was now practically see-through, Wen Zenian took the towel from her hand.

“Thanks,” Wen Zenian said. “But no slippers. I only wear high heels these days.”

She was the goddess everyone looked up to now. The dream they all worshipped from afar.

Meng Ning returned to her dorm, took another shower, and changed into the long-sleeved one-piece swimsuit for her day shift. She climbed up to the observation tower.

When Qi Xiao arrived to relieve her, she grumbled, “How come you never tan?”

“I have,” Meng Ning said earnestly. “Two shades darker than before.”

Qi Xiao chucked a towel at her face. “Get outta here.”

Meng Ning pulled off the towel and laughed.

Before the Spring Festival rush hit, it was the relative off-season at C Hotel. The beach wasn’t crowded that day, and they managed a peaceful shift without incident.

When Qi Xiao came to help Meng Ning collect the flags marking the swimming area, she asked, “You’ve worked here five years. How many people have you rescued?”

A lifeguard’s job went beyond just pulling drowning tourists from the water. Lost kids, petty thieves, voyeurs, heatstroke victims—they handled it all.

“Ninety-nine.”

Qi Xiao pulled a face. “That’s bad luck. Fireworks wishes don’t come true if you don’t hit a hundred. And today was so quiet.”

“Isn’t quiet good?” Meng Ning replied. Then she paused abruptly.

Qi Xiao turned. “What?”

Meng Ning shook her head and finished stowing the flag properly. “Nothing.” She turned the question on Qi Xiao. “You’re awfully hung up on whether wishes work. What did you wish for?”

“That my crush comes true.”

It was the first Meng Ning had heard of it. “You have a crush?”

“Who doesn’t?” Qi Xiao arched a brow. “Don’t you?”

Meng Ning just smiled.

“There you go again. You get all cagey whenever your love life comes up.”

They stowed the flags in the control room and headed toward the staff cafeteria together. As they walked, Meng Ning mulled over their conversation.

It had hit her all of a sudden—

Who said the hundredth person she saved had to be a C Hotel guest?

If she ignored that detail, then Wen Zenian was perfectly, exactly her hundredth rescue.

After staff dinner, Meng Ning headed back to the dorm. Qi Xiao was humming as she packed a simple bag.

Tomorrow was their day off rotation. They’d catch the fast boat off the island first thing in the morning. Meng Ning’s packing took all of two minutes—just shoving a couple changes of clothes into her backpack.

The next morning, they stood at the dock.

Xiao Zhang, the boat operator, jogged over. “Meng Ning-jie, Qi Xiao-jie, you two off today?”

The dock was a good distance from C Hotel, as if the morning mist marked the hazy edge where dreams began to fade. Xiao Zhang didn’t use their English names as protocol demanded; he just politely called them “jie.”

Their boat was the first run off-island. After dropping them in the city, he’d pick up the morning batch of tourists and head back.

Qi Xiao chatted with Xiao Zhang. “I heard you picked up Gwyneth when she arrived?”

He nodded.

“So? Up close, what’s she like?”

Xiao Zhang blushed.

Qi Xiao teased him with a grin. “Why so shy? You don’t have a shot.”

He startled. “Qi Xiao-jie, what’re you saying? I’d never even think that way. The gap between us is huge.”

Qi Xiao waved it off. “It’s not about that.”

Amid the boat’s engine hum and the crashing waves, she leaned close to Meng Ning and whispered, “You think all the rumors about her are true, right?”

“What rumors?”

Wen Zenian hadn’t crossed paths with her again since yesterday’s revelation that they knew each other. That sudden encounter felt like a dream half-remembered upon waking.

“It’s not gossip or anything. She’s been with the company forever without a single scandal. I mean,” Qi Xiao dropped her voice further, “everyone says she’s the Lesbian Circle Hottie. Gotta be true, right?”

Meng Ning shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Oh, come on, don’t play dumb!” Qi Xiao elbowed her. “One look at her and you just know—she’s totally into women.”

“Just don’t know what kind she likes.”

Qi Xiao glanced back at the receding C Hotel, its curved eaves giving it the look of a fairy-tale castle. She said what everyone did when leaving the island: “Back to real life.”

Meng Ning and Qi Xiao shared a city apartment to cut costs—no sense blowing cash on cheap motels every week off. Their third roommate was Song Xiao, a designer at an ad firm.

They took the subway home. Song Xiao was already at work. The two headed downstairs to the market for groceries. Staff meals at a five-star hotel were top-notch, but after a while, you craved home cooking.

If the island had left her a bit dazed on the ferry ride, stepping into the bustling downstairs market yanked her firmly back to reality.

They rented in the old district, right above a traditional wet market. It was still early, so the place was hopping.

Live chickens and geese flapped wildly in their cages, sending feathers flying as they passed. The bun shop steamed away, and the fresh soy milk grinder whirred nonstop. A vendor misted his tomatoes with a spray bottle, making that fresh red glow even juicier.

Qi Xiao’s mouth watered. “Tomato-egg stir-fry?”

Meng Ning nodded.

She elbowed through to grab a few. Nearby aunties were haggling at top volume with the stall owners, so she had to shout her price right back.

Finally paid via scan, she squeezed back to Meng Ning. “Doesn’t it feel split sometimes?”

“What?”

“Life at C Hotel versus real life back in the city.”

Meng Ning nodded. “A little.”

The weekly hard switch could catch the brain off guard.

Qi Xiao walked on with her. “Let’s grab bitter melon too. I want bitter melon squid stir-fry.” Then: “Sometimes I think, we can’t lifeguard at C Hotel forever, right? But could we even adjust if we left? Maybe aim for a back-office gig.”

She asked Meng Ning, “Know what the ex-lifeguards ended up doing?”

“No.”

“You never think about your own future? It’ll get harder to pass the fitness tests as we age.”

“I haven’t, really.” Meng Ning pointed to a stall. “That one’s got good bitter melon.”

“No way?” As Qi Xiao headed over, she kept going. “You only live in the now? ESFP personality? But you don’t seem like an extrovert at all.”

They went home, cooked lunch, and crashed for a long nap.

When Meng Ning woke, Qi Xiao lounged in the living room, half-watching a slice-of-life family drama while scrolling her phone.

She glanced at Meng Ning, her eyes dropping to the wrist. “I always wonder—don’t those Buddha beads of yours dig in when you sleep?”

“Nope.” Meng Ning shook her head. “Used to it.”

“Tonight, after Song Xiao gets off, let’s hit the barbecue. Five-star food’s great, but I crave street stalls.”

“Sure.”

“Awesome.” Qi Xiao perked up. “Lemme see where.”

She fired up the Orange App and scrolled.

They always got excited browsing, but in the end picked the stall downstairs out of laziness. Qi Xiao ordered grilled oysters, chicken wings, and beef skewers—then got Song Xiao’s bad news: “Gotta work late!”

“You poor thing.”

“But wait for me! I’ll miss the barbecue, but I’ll take you to a bar!”

“Which one? Pricey?”

“Free! Boss gave me a voucher!”

Qi Xiao checked with Meng Ning, who shrugged indifferently. “We’re in. We’ll listen to you vent about that boss of yours!”

When Song Xiao finally made it after work, they cabbed to the bar.

As Meng Ning realized where the taxi was heading, she sat up straight.

They piled out, and she said to Qi Xiao and Song Xiao, “You two go ahead. I’m kinda beat.”

“Nooo,” Song Xiao wheedled, grabbing her arm. “I haven’t vented about my boss all week! I’m losing it!”

Meng Ning hesitated. “Okay, let’s go in.”

The bar’s lighting was forever hazy, weaving a different flavor of seductive illusion. Meng Ning pointed to a corner table. “That okay?”

Qi Xiao grinned. “Meng Ning’s scared of getting hit on.”

They claimed it, and Qi Xiao asked Song Xiao, “In real life, have you ever seen anyone prettier than Meng Ning? I did this week.”

“Who?”

“Didn’t I tell you? Gwyneth Won, the honorary admin manager from C Hotel Group.”

“The ABC?”

“Her Mandarin’s flawless, no accent. And you know the rumors—she’s the Lesbian Circle Hottie?” Qi Xiao said it dead serious. “She really is. Drop-dead gorgeous!”

Song Xiao, straight as they come, had no frame of reference. “How gorgeous?”

Qi Xiao thought for a moment. “I mean, if she walked into this bar, at least twenty women would go over to hit on her!”

Meng Ning jumped in surprise at Qi Xiao’s words, instinctively sweeping her gaze across the bar.