Chapter 32: My Summer

His arms were tightly wrapped around Jiang Zhiwei’s waist at that moment—so slender.

Jiang Zhiwei accelerated again, and the jet ski surged forward against the waves.

Guan Jingxu’s chest pressed snugly against her back. She was clearly smaller than him, yet he felt an inexplicable sense of safety in her presence.

All his senses were heightened. The feeling of her narrow waist beneath his arms, the vibrations from her cheering that seemed to tremble through his whole world.

He thought, So this is what a girl’s waist feels like—so soft.

And the scent of the sea breeze mixed with the subtle fragrance of the girl ahead of him filled his nose.

Jiang Zhiwei could feel the boy’s pounding heartbeat behind her—clearly, he was thrilled.

Laughter and chatter filled the beach. Pei Jinyang stood among the crowd, his expression dark. Sheng Qiaoxi tentatively invited, “Shall we go play too?”

Pei Jinyang replied coldly, “No.”

Left with no choice, Sheng Qiaoxi stayed by his side, her gaze drifting to the silhouettes over the water. “Jiang Zhiwei and Guan Jingxu are together now?”

“No,” he answered.

Sheng Qiaoxi mumbled under her breath, “Then what are they…”

Pei Jinyang’s irritation spiked for no reason. He frowned and turned away.

He had sent a friend request to Jiang Zhiwei at noon, and she still hadn’t accepted it. It was obvious she was doing it on purpose.

On purpose to get close to Guan Jingxu, on purpose to make him dislike her.

But why?

Back on shore, Jiang Zhiwei returned the jet ski. Her hair was half-wet from the sea, and she pushed her bangs back with a hand.

Her knuckle accidentally brushed against Guan Jingxu’s chin.

Only then did he realize his hands were still on her waist. Embarrassed, he quickly let go and hopped off the jet ski first. His feet sank into the cool seawater, waves lapping at his calves—yet they couldn’t extinguish the fire inside him.

Jiang Zhiwei swung herself off the jet ski, her pale, straight legs briefly exposed in mid-air.

She was actually one of the more modestly dressed girls on the beach—bikini-clad beauties were everywhere.

But Guan Jingxu just couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Was that fun?” Jiang Zhiwei asked.

When the boy nodded, she grabbed his hand again and dragged him off to try parasailing and tow-surfing.

The waves in this area weren’t strong enough for traditional surfing, so most rides required being pulled by speedboats or parasails.

Admittedly, Jiang Zhiwei was kind of using Guan Jingxu as her playmate.

If he weren’t here, she wouldn’t know who else to ask to join her for all this.

Her mom and Uncle Pei definitely weren’t options, and she didn’t want to ask Pei Jinyang. Going alone would’ve been boring.

Guan Jingxu seemed inexperienced with most water sports besides swimming, but he had great balance and core strength. With the coach’s help, he was soon able to stand on the board.

Jiang Zhiwei got competitive and suggested a contest to see who could stay on the board the longest.

Standing on the boat, she found her long inner skirt getting in the way and casually pulled it off.

The bold move left Guan Jingxu completely dumbfounded.

“I’ve got a swimsuit on underneath,” Jiang Zhiwei explained.

Besides, her outer light green camisole dress was still decently long—down to her thighs.

There were plenty of women on the beach who did the same. Most wore bikinis underneath and a light cover-up on top, taking off the outer layer before hitting the water or for photos.

Jiang Zhiwei was completely unbothered. The staff operating the boat and the instructor didn’t even bat an eye.

Guan Jingxu, however, quickly averted his gaze, his ears turning red under the sun—like they might start dripping blood.

Back onshore, the two of them were almost soaked through. Jiang Zhiwei tiptoed barefoot over the warm, fine sand and bought two bottles of sugar-free cola from a vending machine.

“We should shower and change. I wonder if they’re done chatting yet.”

Guan Jingxu opened the first bottle and handed it to her. “Let’s go check.”

Jiang Zhiwei took a sip and saw the hotel shuttle arriving. She hurriedly said goodbye, “I’m heading off first!”

If she missed the shuttle, she’d have to walk over ten minutes back to her hotel.

Guan Jingxu still hadn’t swallowed the sip of cola in his mouth when she had already run far off into the distance.

The icy fizz of the sparkling water assaulted the soft interior of his mouth, reminding him of the kind of summer he had just experienced.

——

After returning to the hotel and taking a shower, Jiang Mingzhi sent a message in the family WeChat group with Qiu Tang, letting them know dinner was at six—she had already made a reservation.

She glanced at the time displayed on her phone and began blow-drying her hair.

After changing her clothes, she headed downstairs. While waiting in the hotel lobby for her mom and Uncle Pei to come down, she picked a few photos from her gallery and posted them to her Moments.

Before she had the chance to admire them properly, a shadow blocked the light above her.

Looking up, she saw Pei Jinyang standing in front of her, one hand in his pocket, eyes lowered with a distinctly unfriendly gaze.

Instinctively, she glanced behind him—Sheng Qiaoxi wasn’t following him this time.

Pei Jinyang saw her phone screen was on the Moments page and shot her a sharp glare. “I thought you dropped your phone in the ocean. Jiang Mingzhi, accept my friend request. Now.”

Jiang Mingzhi was amused by the commanding tone. “Young Master Pei, under what authority are you ordering me?”

Pei Jinyang stood tall, looking down at her as she sat on the sofa. His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, and his voice came out rough from his chest. “What do you think?”

Jiang Mingzhi raised an eyebrow. “Half-brother from a different mother?”

“But~” Her tone shifted. “I think I have the right to say no.”

Pei Jinyang squinted ever so slightly—was she saying she didn’t want to add him as a friend?

All his life, people had begged to add him on WeChat. This was the first time he’d ever been ignored by a girl.

A streak of competitiveness flared inside him. No matter what, he was getting that WeChat request accepted today.

Jiang Mingzhi couldn’t be bothered with him. She turned her body slightly, deliberately not giving him the satisfaction of a glance.

The crystal lights above once again illuminated her fair face. The girl browsed her Moments like no one else existed in the world.

Being ignored only made Pei Jinyang angrier. And the thought of how friendly she’d been to Guan Jingxu that afternoon made his blood boil. The more he thought about it, the more infuriated and stifled he felt. His chest was like a balloon rapidly expanding—just a pinprick away from bursting. He needed a release.

He snatched Jiang Mingzhi’s phone, navigated to the contacts page, and opened the pending friend requests. Sure enough, his own request was still lying there, untouched.

“What are you doing?” Jiang Mingzhi jumped up and tried to take her phone back. “Give me my phone!”

She reached for it, but with Pei Jinyang being taller, he easily held the phone above his head, well out of her reach.

The commotion drew curious glances from others in the hotel lobby.

Pei Jinyang operated the phone in midair, accepted the friend request himself, then handed it back to her.

Jiang Mingzhi snatched it back and rolled her eyes, immediately planning to delete his contact.

Then his voice drifted over from above, cool and quiet: “Try deleting it.”

Jiang Mingzhi instantly changed her mind. She tucked her phone away and smiled sweetly at him. “Guess I won’t delete it, then.”

She’d just block him and never respond to any of his messages. That would drive him crazy far more effectively.

“Smart move.”

Pei Jinyang didn’t know why she’d suddenly changed her mind, but that stifled pressure in his chest had finally dissipated.

Sheng Qiaoxi walked over to them. “What are you two doing?”

She had seen them messing around from the elevator and had left her sister-in-law and nephew behind to come check on them.

Pei Jinyang remained cold and said nothing.

Jiang Mingzhi, on the other hand, responded cheerfully, “He’s like a mangy dog—refused to stop until I added him on WeChat.”

Sheng Qiaoxi’s face immediately darkened.

Why did Pei Jinyang insist on adding her? Wasn’t he supposed to dislike Jiang Mingzhi?

He wouldn’t insult her just to get a WeChat request through, would he?

A troubling thought crept up in Sheng Qiaoxi’s heart, and it startled even herself.

Could this be real? Was she overthinking things?

Jiang Mingzhi was very satisfied with Sheng Qiaoxi’s reaction—that was exactly what she wanted: to make her feel a sense of crisis.

In her past life, Sheng Qiaoxi had secretly loved Pei Jinyang. Maybe because their families had mapped out different paths for them, she’d never confessed. By the time Jiang Mingzhi returned from abroad, Pei Jinyang was already with her.

Unspoken feelings had remained buried, but when you love someone, the affection leaks from your eyes, even if your lips stay sealed.

Jiang Mingzhi had always understood her feelings.