Chapter 24

Wen Ci followed his gaze downward.

Several lights illuminated the garden, and the faint glow from one side outlined Zhou Wu’s clearly defined abs.

Zhou Wu’s skin was much darker than hers, making the contrast with her fingers very noticeable when she touched him.

An eerie silence fell around them, and feeling the two intense gazes from behind, Wen Ci’s fingertips burned, and she immediately pulled back and stood up straight.

“Sorry,” she stammered, “I just wanted to see if you were burned.”

Zhou Wu smoothed out his clothes. “It’s okay.”

“…So, did you get burned?” she persistently asked.

“No,” Zhou Wu chuckled lightly, “It’s not that hot.”

Only then did Wen Ci feel relieved and sat back in her original position, facing the two sets of eyes in front of her.

Seeing what had just happened, Dou Yiqing’s chewing stopped, and after a moment, she gave Wen Ci a thumbs up.

“We just talked about it this morning, and you’re already testing it out tonight,” Dou Yiqing praised, “Your execution skills are always on point.”

“What?” Zhou Wu asked with interest.

Before Wen Ci could interrupt, Dou Yiqing had already explained: “This morning, we accidentally saw you… and we discussed whether your muscles were soft or hard.”

Zhou Wu looked at Wen Ci and casually asked, “Teacher Wen, have you never touched muscles before?”

Wen Ci: “…”

Wen Ci: “No.”

She didn’t dare look at him, but she heard Zhou Wu laugh.

“What do you mean? I have muscles too, okay?” Qin Yun lifted his shirt confidently. “Dou Yiqing, come on, touch mine.”

“?” Dou Yiqing covered her eyes and calmly said, “I knew inviting me on this trip had ulterior motives. If you don’t cover up, I’ll report you for harassment.”

“???” Qin Yun laughed angrily and said to the others, “Wen Ci, come on, testify for me. Don’t I have better abs than Zhou Wu? Aren’t mine better looking?”

Hearing her name, Wen Ci instinctively looked up. She only glanced for a moment before Zhou Wu’s hand blocked her view.

Zhou Wu rested his hand and told Dou Yiqing, “Report him. I’ll cover the legal fees.”

“No way, I’m just a guy showing off my abs, how is that harassment? Tomorrow, I’ll be wearing just swim trunks. Let’s see if any of you dare to look!” Qin Yun laughed angrily. “Zhou Wu, you’re just afraid Wen Ci will see and realize I’m stronger than you—”

“No,” Wen Ci said.

Qin Yun: “What?”

Wen Ci grabbed Zhou Wu’s hand with both of hers and moved it down a little, revealing her eyes.

She glanced at Qin Yun’s abs again and very fairly said, “Sorry, I don’t think they’re better than Zhou Wu’s.”

Qin Yun: “You—”

Dou Yiqin: “Case dismissed!”

Qin Yun: “You all—!!”

Zhou Wu turned his face and chuckled.

Wen Ci’s hand suddenly felt empty as Zhou Wu withdrew his hand. While the two people in front of them were arguing, Zhou Wu lightly ruffled her hair. Before Wen Ci could react, he had already returned to his original position.

Sensing that his earlier unhappiness seemed to have mysteriously dissipated, Wen Ci unconsciously relaxed a bit.

She discreetly scooted a bit closer to Zhou Wu and asked, “Do you want to change clothes?”

“No, it doesn’t matter,” Zhou Wu said, picking up a skewer. Suddenly, he asked, “Ms. Wen, when can we become closer?”

Wen Ci was slightly stunned, “What?”

“I said, when can we get closer?” Zhou Wu repeated lazily. “It’s quite annoying to keep pretending we’re not familiar. You don’t talk to me at all.”

—-

During the flight, Wen Ci had thought it through. To avoid being discovered, the safest approach was to talk less.

She had practiced this method for the entire afternoon and found that, while it was indeed very safe, it also made half of the vacation very dull and depressing.

Not talking to Zhou Wu was boring; watching his back was depressing.

Her heart, which had been stifled all day, began to beat warmly again. Wen Ci nodded obediently, “Okay.”

After eating and drinking their fill, Wen Ci and Dou Yiqing returned to their villa temporarily.

After finishing her shower, Wen Ci was about to organize her luggage when Dou Yiqing burst in, startling her so much that she slammed the suitcase shut with a bang.

Dou Yiqing didn’t notice. Hugging her pillow, she rushed in, “Help! Wen Ci! Guess how much this pillow costs!”

Wen Ci, her slender arm still pressing on the suitcase, asked cooperatively, “How much?”

“Online price is 3988,” Dou Yiqing said expressionlessly. “Honestly, the hotel’s provided body wash is more expensive than my foundation. I checked online for the hotel’s rates, and it’s peak season now. Our villa costs 68,800 per night. I must fight this capitalist Zhou Wu——”

Wen Ci got the wrong focus, “Why not Qin Yun?”

“Because Zhou Wu has shares in this hotel, so we’re staying here for free. Qin Yun told me,” Dou Yiqing said, hugging her pillow and looking up, “My monthly salary is 4,800! I hate capitalists!!!”

Wen Ci’s phone buzzed. She looked down and saw it was a message from the capitalist——

[Zhou Wu: Can you come over?]

Wen Ci’s heart started pounding, and she quickly replied, “Okay.” She then echoed Dou Yiqing, “I hate them too——Yiqing, I’m… feeling a bit tired and want to sleep early.”

“?” Dou Yiqing glanced at the time, “What kind of schedule are you on? It’s not even nine, and you want to sleep?”

“Maybe… maybe it’s because of the flight, I’m just really sleepy now,” Wen Ci said, then exaggeratedly yawned.

Dou Yiqing was taken aback by her over-the-top yawn, “……Fine, you rest first then. I’ll wake you up for breakfast in the morning. The hotel’s breakfast must be delicious.”

“Okay,” Wen Ci agreed, “Good night.”

After Dou Yiqing left and closed the door, Wen Ci breathed a sigh of relief, reopened her suitcase, and carefully, sneakily took out a condom.

Just as she was about to leave, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and paused.

Tonight, she was wearing bear-patterned pajamas, a two-piece set——which looked completely unappealing.

Wen Ci retreated and changed into another white camisole nightgown.

The nightgown had no pockets, so Wen Ci could only hold the condom in her hand. Once she confirmed that Dou Yiqing was in the shower, she turned off her room lights, locked the door, left the house, crossed the long yard, and tiptoed out the large wooden gate of the villa.

Zhou Wu and Qin Yun weren’t staying in the same villa, but they were close. Their three villas were connected. The area outside was designed to look like a forest path, with lush trees on both sides and constant cicada chirps in the background.

Dressed somewhat inappropriately and worried about being seen, Wen Ci quickly ran to Zhou Wu’s villa, looking like a thief.

Covering her chest, trying to control her heartbeat, she reached out to press Zhou Wu’s doorbell.

The next moment, a beam of white light suddenly shone on her.

“Eh? Wen Ci?”

Inside the villa, Zhou Wu, drying his hair, was typing on his phone: Bring that black swimsuit——

Before he could finish typing, the doorbell rang.

Knowing who it was, Zhou Wu didn’t check the video doorbell. He directly opened the outer gate and waited by the villa’s entrance.

The villa door opened, and Wen Ci, with a look of panic, stared at him.

Zhou Wu assumed she had snuck out and got scared. He glanced at her thin lace nightgown, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he reached out to take her hand—only to have something quickly shoved into his hand.

Zhou Wu looked down at the condom in his hand and laughed, “Wen Ci, don’t tell me you only brought one……”

“Why aren’t you going in?” Qin Yun’s voice came from outside, “What are you talking about, blocking the door?”

Zhou Wu: “……”

In Zhou Wu’s villa living room, the four of them sat on the sofa, the atmosphere heavy.

On the left sofa, Qin Yun said, “I told you we were watching a movie tonight. I mentioned it when we went to the supermarket to buy meat this afternoon, and I bought a big bag of snacks.”

Zhou Wu’s eyelid twitched, remembering, “Why are we watching at my place?”

“Of course, because your villa is the biggest.”

Although their villas were connected, the layouts were different. Zhou Wu’s had the best layout, with a private pool outside the floor-to-ceiling windows that almost matched the size of Wen Ci’s home.

“Then let me ask——”

On the right sofa, Dou Yiqing, who had been called over by Qin Yun, crossed her legs, a face mask on her face, arms crossed, and scrutinized her friend who had just said goodnight, “Why are you here?”

In the center sofa, wrapped in Zhou Wu’s jacket and covered with a blanket, Wen Ci said: “………”

She wanted to die.

Wen Ci’s mind had already gone numb. When Qin Yun’s phone flashlight shone on her, it was as if she had been transported to another world.

She opened her mouth but couldn’t come up with anything—

“She came to bring me some burn ointment,” Zhou Wu beside her said calmly.

Qin Yun: “But you’re not burned.”

“It was too dark to see at the time, and I only noticed a red spot when I got back,” Zhou Wu lied naturally, not noticing Wen Ci giving him a quick glance at his words.

Dou Yi Qing looked puzzled. Wen Ci did usually carry some first aid supplies when traveling, but she still found it odd. She scrutinized Wen Ci, “Were you wearing this pajama just now? I remember you were wearing the two-piece set with the bear pattern.”

Zhou Wu raised an eyebrow, glancing sideways.

Wen Ci, feeling numb, red-eared, gave up struggling in front of Zhou Wu: “That set… got splashed during washing, so I changed.”

But that didn’t justify going out dressed like this to deliver medicine to Zhou Wu, which was totally unlike Wen Ci’s usual behavior.

Even the mask couldn’t hide Dou Yi Qing’s frown as she was about to ask more—

“I see, I was startled when I saw you at the door earlier. The wind is strong near the sea at night, remember to wear a coat next time you come to find Zhou Wu,” Qin Yun cheerfully advised, then picked up the remote and turned on the living room’s projector and screen. “Come on, let’s pick a movie. What do you want to watch, Dou Yi Qing?”

Dou Yi Qing: “Who wants to watch a movie with you? You’re so noisy.”

“Then why did you come?” Qin Yun paused. “Wait, who’s noisy?”

“You said Wen Ci was here, so I came to take a look,” Dou Yi Qing sneered. “Need I remind you? At the high school sports meet, who screamed the loudest while secretly watching a horror movie in class? Attracted the teacher, totally embarrassing.”

“… I was trying to enhance the viewing experience for classmates, you know nothing! Besides, it wasn’t me who called the teacher, it was you, scaredy-cat, who couldn’t watch and called the teacher yourself.”

Dou Yi Qing nodded: “Who are you calling a scaredy-cat? Let’s see who’s scared tonight.”

Zhou Wu was trying to think of a way to make these two leave, but in the short time he was pondering, they had already argued and chosen a movie amidst the bickering, turned off the lights, and started the projection—

Five minutes later, Zhou Wu sat in the pitch-dark living room, watching the horror movie on the screen, unable to help but laugh in exasperation.

To make it easier to watch the movie and to monitor if the other had their eyes closed, Dou Yi Qing and Qin Yun had moved to sit beside them.

Wen Ci made room for them and silently moved a bit closer to Zhou Wu.

Their legs were touching through the blanket on Wen Ci’s knees. Zhou Wu lazily thought, well, at least they were sitting closer than they had been in the car this afternoon.

Dou Yi Qing and Qin Yun were chatting incessantly, while Zhou Wu had little interest in such movies.

His elbow rested lazily on the sofa armrest, unreservedly staring at the person beside him in the dim light.

Wen Ci was wearing a shirt jacket he had randomly grabbed. It was too large, not fitting her snugly at all, with the collar hanging loose, leaving a large gap that exposed her delicate white shoulder straps, clear and pretty collarbones, and the scattered strands of hair on her slender neck.

From the side, her eyelashes looked very long as she seriously watched the screen in front of her—

At least that’s what Zhou Wu thought until Dou Yi Qing was scared by a jump scare and turned to hug Wen Ci. Wen Ci was jolted back to reality, “What’s wrong?”

Dou Yi Qing: “A ghost!”

Only then did Wen Ci seem to notice the ghost on the screen, quickly closing her eyes tightly. She patted Dou Yi Qing’s head, comforting her like a child, “It’s okay, it’s fake, it’s fake.”

So, she hadn’t been watching at all.

Wen Ci was jolted towards Zhou Wu, bringing the scent of her body wash with her.

Zhou Wu smelled her scent, thinking about the condom in his pocket, feeling a surge of frustration, and then the person beside him suddenly stood up.

“Where are you going?” Dou Yi Qing asked on his behalf.

“I’m a bit thirsty, going to get some water. Do you want some?” Wen Ci’s voice was gentle in the dark.

Before Dou Yi Qing could answer, Qin Yun raised his hand first: “Can you get me a Coke from the fridge, please?”

Wen Ci agreed, and Zhou Wu waited for her to turn and ask him.

But he watched as she set down the blanket and tiptoed towards the kitchen.

Zhou Wu: “…”

Weren’t they supposed to get closer?

The table in front of him was full of snacks, untouched by Zhou Wu. He picked up a beer, opened it with one hand, and was about to take a sip.

The phone in his pocket vibrated slightly.

[Wen Ci: Zhou Wu, can you come out for a moment?]

In the darkness, Zhou Wu stood up. Qin Yun, startled, clutched his wildly pounding heart, “Where are you going?”

“Bathroom.”

Passing by, Zhou Wu handed him the freshly opened but untouched beer. Qin Yun, puzzled, asked: “What for?”

“Not drinking, you drink.”

Zhou Wu strode away. Qin Yun took a sip, muttering, “I already asked Wen Ci to get me a Coke… why open it if you’re not drinking?”

Wen Ci paced in the kitchen for a moment and decided to go back and get the burn ointment.

She walked out of the hallway and ran into Zhou Wu coming towards her. She stopped: “Can you wait here for a moment? I’ll go back and get—”

Before she finished speaking, her wrist was grabbed, and she was pulled into the nearby bathroom.

The door closed. Before the light could be turned on, Wen Ci’s back was pressed against the door, and her chin was lifted for a kiss.

Her lips and tongue were swept over, her tongue tip sucked, and licked, then quickly separated.

In the darkness, Zhou Wu swallowed her taste and lowered his eyes to ask: “Get what?”

Wen Ci, a bit dazed from the kiss, softly replied, “Burn ointment.”

“You’re easily deceived.” Zhou Wu added another comment about her. “No burn, just fooled them.”

“……”

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Zhou Wu asked.

Wen Ci’s mind went blank, and she instinctively shook her head.

Zhou Wu raised an eyebrow in satisfaction and asked for her opinion, “Then shall we play for a while?”

—-

Here? While there are still people outside?

It’s too weird, too risky, too much, Wen Ci thought rationally as she looked at Zhou Wu’s desire-tinged features.

The sound of the movie came through the door, but Wen Ci’s heartbeat was louder. She looked up and kissed Zhou Wu on the chin as a response.

Dou Yiqing: “…”

After nearly twenty more minutes, Zhou Wu finally strolled back into the living room.

Seeing him, Qin Yun was surprised: “Why did you take a shower?”

“Hot,” Zhou Wu replied concisely.

Watching a horror movie in an air-conditioned room, hot?

Qin Yun was about to ask when Zhou Wu motioned with his chin: “Move over a bit.”

Qin Yun was momentarily stunned before realizing Zhou Wu wanted to sit in his original spot: “Sit here, next to me. There’s plenty of room.”

“You two are too noisy.” Without turning back, Zhou Wu walked to the other end of the sofa.

Seeing Zhou Wu approach, Wen Ci silently made room for him.

A cup of iced mineral water was handed to her, and Zhou Wu said calmly, “Drink some water.”

“…” Staring at Zhou Wu’s fingers grasping the bottle cap for a few seconds, Wen Ci averted her gaze and accepted it, “Thanks.”

Qin Yun and Dou Yiqing were choosing the next movie to watch. When they came across an old horror film, Qin Yun said, “Look, this is the movie we watched during our high school sports meet break. It’s your fault for calling the teacher, and I missed the ending.”

Dou Yiqing rolled her eyes: “I didn’t tattle to the teacher. How many times do I have to say it? Don’t believe me? Ask Wen Ci.”

Hearing her name, Wen Ci nodded: “Yes, Yiqing didn’t leave her seat then.”

Qin Yun immediately said: “Then I wasn’t the one who shouted so loudly. It was the sports committee member next door—don’t believe me? Ask Zhou Wu!”

Zhou Wu drank a few gulps of ice water and nonchalantly replied: “I don’t remember.”

Of course, Zhou Wu didn’t remember because he skipped the first period of night study that day. He had just entered the classroom when the teacher showed up.

Wen Ci remembered that night study session. She didn’t dare to look up at the screen, using the light from the movie to do her homework. When the classroom door was pushed open and someone shouted “Zhou Wu,” she hastily looked up, only to catch a glimpse of a ghostly face on the screen. Zhou Wu had already passed by her seat in the front row, bringing a cool and hurried breeze with him.

As the new movie started, its warm yellow hues reflected on Wen Ci’s face.

The space on this side of the sofa wasn’t very spacious. She and Zhou Wu were shoulder to shoulder, their bodies intimately close through their thin clothes.

Wen Ci unscrewed the cap of the ice water in her hand, took a small sip, and silently savored the indescribable, surreal fullness emanating from her heart.