On the other side, Dou Yiqing still ignored Qin Yun’s warning and insisted on standing up to challenge the wave.
Unsurprisingly, the water immediately knocked her off the board and into the sea.
Before falling in, she had also seen her friend on the nearby float tumble into the water at almost the same time.
The moment Dou Yiqing surfaced, she shouted towards Wen Ci.
“Wen Ci—are you all right? Did you swallow any water? Does anything hurt?”
“I’m fine,” Wen Ci replied.
Worried Dou Yiqing had not heard, she shook her head as well.
“I didn’t swallow any water—”
Dou Yiqing did not believe her.
“If you didn’t, why is your face so red?”
In the distance, Wen Ci clung to the flamingo’s neck. At a glance, her cheeks were almost the same shade as the pinkish-red float.
Wen Ci did not know why her face felt so hot.
Zhou Wu had only used her as an excuse and said it casually.
The kiss they had shared could hardly be considered particularly intimate either.
“I…”
Sensing Zhou Wu’s gaze sweep towards her, Wen Ci kept her expression unchanged.
“I was only a little frightened!”
Another gust of wind rose.
A surfer nearby waved towards his companions onshore.
“The wind’s stronger! The waves are getting higher! Hurry into the water!”
The heat in Wen Ci’s face had not faded.
Hearing the man, she felt as though she had been rescued.
After a delayed pause, she replied, “I don’t mind… Zhou Wu, the waves are higher now. You should go surfing.”
Zhou Wu looked uninterested.
He had surfed countless times before. It was not as entertaining as pushing someone around on a float.
From the other side, Dou Yiqing shouted again.
“Wen Ci, are you hungry? Do you want to go ashore and eat something?”
They had eaten too much at breakfast, so neither woman had eaten lunch.
Wen Ci was about to answer when the float beneath her began moving first.
“Sit properly,” Zhou Wu said. “I’ll push you back.”
…
The wind and waves were stronger that afternoon, so Wen Ci did not venture into deeper water again.
She only walked around in the shallows and photographed Dou Yiqing while she surfed.
Several times, when no one was paying attention, Wen Ci secretly turned the camera and took a few blurry photographs of Zhou Wu.
They played intermittently until dusk.
When Dou Yiqing could no longer endure her hunger, the group finally set off for the Western restaurant Qin Yun had booked several days earlier.
The restaurant stood beside the beach, not far from where they were.
It ranked first within the expensive resort both for reviews and average spending per customer.
By the time they arrived, it was almost dinnertime and the restaurant was packed.
The only empty table was the outdoor seat with the best view, which had been reserved specifically for them.
The sunset lay directly behind it.
Crimson light spread across the sea.
The clouds burned fiery red, while layer after layer of golden ripples rose beside the shore.
It was as though the entire world had been wrapped in warm orange-red light.
Wen Ci had initially worried that entering a restaurant in a swimsuit might look strange.
She relaxed only after arriving and seeing that everyone else was also dressed in swimwear.
Dou Yiqing was extremely pleased with the scenery.
After sitting down, she first took eighty selfies before pushing her phone into Wen Ci’s hands.
“Darling! I’m relying on you!”
Their seats surrounded a small wooden round table.
To photograph her, Wen Ci moved her chair and shifted slightly closer to Zhou Wu on the other side.
Zhou Wu glanced at her phone screen.
She knew plenty of techniques—composition, adjusting the focus and changing the brightness.
The only thing she did not know how to do was photograph herself.
Wen Ci’s camera had barely been closed all day.
She photographed Dou Yiqing and the scenery, yet did not take a single selfie.
The photo session finally ended when the sun was almost completely below the horizon.
Qin Yun looked at the woman who remained bent over her album selecting photographs.
“Who was the one claiming she was starving? Your steak is nearly cold.”
Dou Yiqing ignored him.
After a while, she snapped her fingers and put down her phone in satisfaction.
“Okay. Sent successfully.”
“What did you send? A Moments post?” Qin Yun asked.
“Mind your own business. It has nothing to do with you.”
“Heh. I don’t even want to see it. Thank you for blocking me. Otherwise, you’d be assaulting my Moments feed again.”
“Get lost.”
Wen Ci was no longer worried that the two might genuinely start fighting.
Amused by their exchange, she picked up her phone, preparing to contribute the first like to Dou Yiqing’s post.
“Why do you never post on Moments?”
The person beside her suddenly spoke lazily.
The piece of beef in Wen Ci’s mouth was slightly too large.
She had been chewing it for a long time and could not swallow it all at once.
Realising Zhou Wu was asking her, she answered indistinctly, “I do.”
Zhou Wu gave a faint, amused hum.
“A warm safety reminder about preventing drowning.”
Wen Ci smiled in embarrassment.
“There isn’t much worth posting. I’m almost always at school.”
“You don’t go out at weekends?”
“Sometimes I go to the library.”
Wen Ci glanced to the side and confirmed that the other two were still arguing.
Then she added quickly and quietly, “Or I come to see you.”
“…”
Those were indeed activities that were unsuitable for Moments.
Zhou Wu raised an eyebrow in understanding.
“You don’t like photographs either?”
He paused.
“I mean photographs of yourself.”
Dou Yiqing had posted three updates.
Wen Ci lowered her head and liked them one after another.
Smiling, she said, “I don’t look particularly good in photographs.”
Zhou Wu picked up his phone.
“Wen Ci.”
“Mm?”
Wen Ci instinctively raised her eyes and found herself facing Zhou Wu’s camera.
There was a click.
With his eyelids half lowered, Zhou Wu examined the screen with interest.
The photograph captured the final sunset of the day.
Wen Ci’s cheek was slightly puffed from the food in her mouth. Her eyes curved faintly, and her lips held the habitual smile she usually wore.
The collar of the cover-up over her swimsuit sat messily, while a strand of hair had been lifted into the air by the sea breeze.
Dark orange light covered her cheeks, adding a relaxed, natural beauty to her face.
“I don’t think so,” Zhou Wu said. “You’re very pretty.”
“…”
Wen Ci’s heart skipped a beat.
Still holding the beef in her mouth, she stared blankly for several seconds.
“Why did you suddenly photograph me? I was still eating… Let me see.”
Zhou Wu moved his phone slightly closer.
The screen reflected the light, making it difficult for Wen Ci to see clearly.
In her urgency, she caught Zhou Wu’s hand and tilted the phone towards herself.
After spending so long in the sea breeze, Wen Ci’s fingers were slightly cool as they pressed intimately against his skin.
“…”
Once she saw the photograph clearly, Wen Ci raised one hand to fix her hair.
Then she extended a finger towards the delete button on Zhou Wu’s phone.
She was caught immediately.
Zhou Wu seized her finger and moved it aside before turning his phone face-down on the table.
“Ms Wen, touching other people’s phones is not a good habit.”
A faint curve appeared at his lips as he lazily lectured her.
“But that’s a photograph of me.”
Wen Ci attempted to negotiate.
“My expression wasn’t prepared, and my hair was messy. Why don’t you take another one?”
Zhou Wu imitated the polite tone she usually used when refusing him.
“No, thank you. I like this one.”
“…”
…
Once darkness completely settled, the beach became quiet and still.
Warm yellow lights glowed inside the small wooden restaurant, and the gentle night breeze brought a sense of peace.
After filling her stomach, Wen Ci went to the bathroom.
When she returned, several bottles of iced beer had appeared on the table.
Only Wen Ci’s seat had a glass of fruit juice.
Bubbles rose continuously through the iced beer.
Dou Yiqing drank a large mouthful, the refreshing sensation making her scalp tingle.
Then she turned and continued the conversation she had been having with Qin Yun.
“Really? It only takes half an hour by boat?”
“Right. The water there is even clearer, and the hotel rooms are built directly over the sea.”
Qin Yun continued, “I also keep a yacht on that island. I can take you wakesurfing, and the following day we can visit the sea-fishing club. Didn’t you say you wanted to try it? You can fish as much as you like.”
He remembered something else.
“Oh, there’s also a famous bar there. They often invite bands to perform. We can go and join the crowd.”
Dou Yiqing immediately searched on her phone.
To her surprise, the bar had invited an underground rock band she often listened to.
Tonight was the final night of their performance.
Her face filled with regret.
“Then why wasn’t this island included in the original itinerary?”
“Because Zhou Wu doesn’t like going there. There are too many mosquitoes, and monkeys live in the mountains. He finds it irritating.”
Dou Yiqing let out a disappointed sound.
“Then we…”
“You should go.”
Zhou Wu took a sip of the dark beer in his hand, his Adam’s apple moving.
He put down the bottle and generously said, “Why not go tonight? I’ll call someone and arrange rooms for you.”
Qin Yun froze.
“Wouldn’t tonight be a little too—”
“Tonight? We can go in a little while?!”
Dou Yiqing screamed in delight.
“I want to go!”
Qin Yun narrowed his eyes.
He suddenly felt that something was wrong.
Zhou Wu had been the one to introduce the topic of this island.
Earlier, while Dou Yiqing searched for nearby attractions, Zhou Wu—who had remained silent—had suddenly lifted his eyes and casually asked why they were not visiting the neighbouring island.
“Wait.”
Qin Yun saw through everything.
“Zhou Wu, you did that deliberately, didn’t you? You only want some peace and can’t be bothered to accompany us anymore.”
Zhou Wu rested his back against the chair, his shoulders sinking lazily.
He did not care that he had been exposed.
He smiled coldly.
“It’s enough to understand it privately. Saying it aloud damages our friendship.”
Qin Yun laughed angrily.
“F*ck.”
The thought of seeing the band perform had already made Dou Yiqing excited.
She nudged the person beside her.
“Then we should hurry back and pack—Wen Ci, remember to bring your bottle of mosquito repellent too.”
Only then did Wen Ci finally get the chance to ask, “Where are we going?”
“To a small island nearby. It only takes a few dozen minutes by boat.”
Dou Yiqing spoke excitedly.
“It’s decided. We’ll go over tonight for the performance, then stay there for two days—one day surfing and one day sea fishing. Once we’ve had enough fun, we’ll come back and go diving!”
Qin Yun picked up his phone.
“I’ll call and book the tickets. We should still be able to catch the final boat.”
Then he asked, “By the way, Wen Ci, you don’t get seasick, do you?”
Wen Ci hesitated.
In truth, she wanted to remain behind with Zhou Wu.
But everyone had come on this trip to have fun.
Would refusing to go seem strange and spoil their mood?
Besides, Zhou Wu had already implied that he wanted to remain alone for some peace.
If she stayed with him, she would inevitably disturb him.
Thinking this, Wen Ci glanced towards the person beside her.
Zhou Wu rested one hand lazily against the back of his chair and casually lowered his head to type on his phone.
The conversation at the table appeared to have nothing to do with him anymore.
“I…”
The phone in her hand suddenly vibrated.
Wen Ci lowered her gaze.
Against the faint glow of the screen were only two simple words—
**Zhou Wu: Refuse.**
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