She tossed the dress aside, trying to avoid seeing it. Zhao Qingyun whispered a few words in her ear, and Xu Lai gave him a push before finally taking the dress to the bathroom.

She came out after changing, wearing a bathrobe over her clothes. Zhao Qingyun had also changed and was only wearing swimming trunks.

The two walked to the edge of the pool. Xu Lai tested the water temperature with her foot. It was still a bit hot, but tolerable. She took advantage of Zhao Qingyun's inattention and went into the water.

When he turned around, Xu Lai was already soaking in the pool. He waded in and swam to her.

Xu Lai didn't want to get too close to him. Zhao Qingyun always liked to pull and tug at her, and he liked to stick close to her. She just wanted to relax in the hot spring.

Zhao Qingyun's eyes burned with passion. Xu Lai's clothes were white, but even though they were white, it was clear that they were actually white.

Her skin was naturally fair, but her forearms were tanned, creating a subtle color difference with her arms, though it wasn't very noticeable.

The clothes didn't make her look darker; instead, they made her look even fairer. With her fair skin and black hair, her face was flushed pink from the steam.

Xu Lai noticed his gaze and moved to the side, but Zhao Qingyun grabbed her and said, "Am I a plague god?"

Xu Lai shook her head: "Right now, you're more of a plague to me than I'd want to avoid."

Zhao Qingyun smiled inexplicably, "I'm not very satisfied with your description."

Xu Lai's wrist was held by him and she couldn't break free, so she obediently stayed beside him.

Zhao Qingyun's hands were well-behaved; one hand rested outside, while the other held her hand, as if afraid she would run away.

Not long after, Xu Lai felt a little hungry, so she got up to get the food from the table in the room. Zhao Qingyun was about to ask her what was wrong when he saw her get up.

The clothes, soaked in water, clung even more to the body. His eyes changed instantly; he stood up, grabbed the man's head, and kissed him.

Xu Lai was completely bewildered by him, and soon her legs went weak. Zhao Qingyun supported her until they were both out of breath before they separated.

Xu Lai's face was already flushed, and her body was also rosy, like a ripe peach.

Zhao Qingyun pinched her earlobe, "Want to soak again?"

Xu Lai cleared her throat. "I want to eat something. It's all your fault. I'm even hungrier now."

The two then came out of the pool, and Xu Lai changed into her pajamas and began to eat.

Zhao Qingyun wasn't very hungry, so he just watched her eat. Xu Lai felt a little embarrassed and stopped eating after only eating a small portion.

He asked, "Have you finished eating?"

Xu Lai didn't understand why he asked that. She rinsed her mouth with mouthwash and nodded. "That's about enough. Let's eat later."

Zhao Qingyun leaned over and said, "Then it should be my turn to eat."

Two hours later, Xu Lai kicked him and went to the bathroom wearing a bathrobe.

Zhao Qingyun touched her forehead with her hand and smiled, "She looked so fierce, I almost kicked her down."

The next morning, the four of them met at the restaurant. Xia Ning looked unwell and seemed listless.

She was so angry when she thought about last night that she gritted her teeth and wished she could hang herself with a rope and end it all.

"Damn Zhang Ye," Xia Ning cursed as she rubbed her lower back. Last night, she had acted on impulse and ended up sleeping with him again. Although they each got what they wanted and she didn't lose out, who knew he was like a wolf? She almost fell to her death when she woke up this morning.

They had a simple breakfast together, then went their separate ways. They planned to explore the area and then head back to Shangxi Village in the afternoon.

Xu Lai heard that there was a navel orange orchard nearby, so she wanted to pick some to take back. She and Zhao Qingyun asked around and followed the road signs before they finally found the place.

Before even entering the garden, she saw the fruits hanging on the trees. Xu Lai loved fiddling with these things; she found the picking process very interesting.

The owner handed her a basket and said, "Choose your own items, then come to the door to pay."

As soon as she entered, her eyes were dazzled. She felt like she wanted to pick the fruit from every tree, but she was afraid they wouldn't be sweet. So she picked one, pried open a small slit with her fingernail, peeled off the skin, and tasted it.

She tasted a segment of fruit and thought it was alright, so she tossed the rest to Zhao Qingyun and took scissors to cut it herself.

Before long, her basket wasn't even full, but Zhao Qingyun couldn't carry any more navel oranges.

After eating three, he called out to Xu Lai, "Can we finish eating first before picking more?"

Xu Lai looked back and couldn't help but laugh. "No, why didn't you say anything? I didn't even know we picked so many."

Zhao Qingyun said sincerely, "I just saw that you didn't choose the sweet one."

Xu Lai put the peeled fruits into the basket. "Let's pay together. If I keep eating like this, the boss will go bankrupt."

After picking the oranges, the two walked back, Zhao Qingyun carrying a bag in one hand and holding Xu Lai's hand in the other.

Back at the hot spring inn, only Xu Shen was left. Xu Lai asked, "Why are you alone? Where's Ningning?"

Xu Shen shrugged. "I wanted to know too. I was thinking of chatting with her for a while, but when I went to her room and knocked on the door, no one answered."

Xu Lai couldn't help but worry, "What if she went out for a stroll and got lost?"

Just then, her phone received a message. She opened it and saw that it was from Zhang Ye. The two had added each other on WeChat when Xu Yin got married, but they had never chatted before.

Zhang Ye: "I've taken your friend with me, don't worry."

Xu Lai couldn't help but frown. What was going on with these two? She felt that Xia Ning was in big trouble right now.

Seeing her unusual expression, Zhao Qingyun asked, "What's wrong? Did Xia Ning send you a message?"

Xu Lai shook her head: "No, she left with Zhang Ye. I don't understand what's going on between them. Let's see what she thinks."

After being away for two days, she returned home before dinner. Knowing they were coming back at this time, her grandmother had just finished preparing the dishes and was about to greet them at the door when she heard Xu Lai's voice.

"Grandma, I'm back!" Xu Lai shouted.

Grandma came out of the kitchen. "I heard you. Tell Grandma, was it fun there?"

Xu Lai nodded: "It's alright, I'll take you next time."

Grandma shook her head: "I'm old and in poor health, so it's not suitable for me to soak in hot springs."

Xu Lai smiled and said, "It's okay, then I'll take you to other places to play."

Zhao Qingyun brought the oranges inside. They had bought a whole bag of them. Xu Lai originally wanted to buy more, but the two of them simply couldn't carry that many, and since they didn't have a car, they only brought these.

Xu Lai took a large one, peeled it, and shared it with her grandmother. She liked to eat it peeled like that, feeling that eating it cut in half would lack a certain flavor.

Zhao Qingyun cooked dinner. Actually, he's quite good at cooking, although he doesn't do it often.

Since Grandma Jiang returned to City B, Zhao Qingyun has been eating at the Xu family's place almost every day. Outsiders who don't know the situation assume that he and Xu Lai are already married.