Chapter 10

There was a moment of silence.

Xiao Pucheng was the first to look at them with surprise, asking, "You two knew each other before?"

Lin Langyi nodded obediently and said, "Brother Yu came to our place to look at pearls."

"Why do I need to lead them? Make yourselves at home, we're all family."

If they continued to deliberately avoid suspicion, it would draw too much attention. Yuan Chuyu frowned, reached out and took the bag from her hand, and said in a low voice, "Thank you for your trouble."

As if he were dodging some monstrous flood, to avoid their fingers accidentally touching, he deliberately didn't grab the handle, but instead took the gift bag by the edge.

Lin Langyi glanced at him with a puzzled look.

Zhuang Lan suddenly squeezed in, interrupting the two's "reminiscing." She tossed her head, facing Yuan Chuyu, and tried to check his tie. As she tossed her head, her braid whipped in the wind and rose high like a small whip.

Lin Langyi quickly tilted her head back, but still couldn't dodge in time. The braid lashed her chin hard, reminding her of a Labrador's solid tail, which made a "thump thump thump" sound when it hit a stainless steel basin.

Lin Langyi rubbed his chin. Zhuang Lan searched the bag but found nothing. She was so angry that she was about to swing her braid again. Yuan Chuyu frowned, took a step to the side, and raised his hand to block Lin Langyi. The braid only managed to hit his hand.

“Your hair,” he warned.

Lin Langyi's breath fell softly on his hands in front of him. His hands were beautiful, white, slender, with prominent veins and well-proportioned fingers, easily arousing romantic fantasies.

Lin Langyi held his breath briefly because of that hand, then stepped back, distancing himself from her as he had initially deliberately kept his distance.

Yuan Chuyu paused for a moment, and his hand suddenly felt hot as if it had been scalded by hot oil. This burning sensation made him wake up as if from a dream and he quickly put his hand down. Unconsciously, he twisted his wrist slightly, as if trying to shake off some traces that made him feel restless and short of breath.

He turned his head away and continued speaking only to Zhuang Lan: "Aren't you guys going to play water polo later? Wear your swimming caps properly and don't swing them around."

Zhuang Lan stomped her foot: "Wearing a swimming cap doesn't look good at all, it makes me look like a hard-boiled egg, it's so ugly!"

Yuan Chuyu remained unmoved. His eye sockets were slightly deep, and his eyelashes were long and black, which made his dark pupils look like thick black jade. When he wasn't smiling, he looked somewhat stern. He said in a flat tone, "Then you should stop playing around."

Zhuang Lan was filled with resentment. Yuan Fei, the second daughter of the Yuan family, boldly asked her if she wanted to wear her swimming cap, which was a pretty pink and white swimming cap with a cherry blossom knot. However, Zhuang Lan was not appreciative and turned her head to glare at her fiercely.

However, Lin Langyi accurately grasped the key words, raised her head, and murmured in confusion, "Want to play water polo?"

Yuan Fei came with her brother Yuan Yinghe. She was also a newcomer and had an introverted personality. When she was on the boat, she chatted with Lin Langyi, who was sitting in the corner. She immediately clung to Lin Langyi as if she had grabbed a lifeline. When she tried to communicate with others, she was pushed back by Zhuang Lan. She immediately retreated into her own little world and just clung to Lin Langyi.

Seeing Lin Langyi's clueless expression, she whispered, "There are several swimming pools here. We had planned to play water polo here, didn't you know?"

Lin Langyi paused for two seconds, then slowly nodded and forcefully uttered a name: "Very good, Cheng Yanjin, very good!"

Yuan Fei: "I brought a swimsuit. My brother insisted that I bring it, saying that I am not a social person and should participate in more group activities. Actually, I don't want to play by myself. If you don't go into the water later, I won't go in either."

Lin Langyi shook her head: "It's okay. If you don't go in the water, your brother will nag you when you get back. Everyone is just having fun and not really emphasizing competition. Just treat it as playing in the water. I'll stay with you on the shore later. If you don't want to play anymore, you can come ashore and we'll have some snacks together."

Yuan Fei breathed a sigh of relief, hugged Lin Langyi's arm tightly, and nodded slightly.

A group of people took the elevator upstairs. Lin Langyi pressed the open button and let them in one by one. After stopping and starting, they were almost at the top floor when only Xiao Pucheng and Yuan Chuyu remained in the elevator.

As mentioned downstairs, the business here is booming, with a large number of rooms booked by tourists. Since the trip was a last-minute decision, it was impossible to book an entire floor a week and a half in advance. Rooms could only be booked in short supply, so Lin Langyi wasn't too surprised that only a few people were left in the elevator.

"Lin Daiyu is so lucky." Xiao Pucheng winked and took credit from the side. "The top floor has a wide view and a great scenery, so it's hard to book one."

Lin Langyi glanced at the two consecutive room cards and knew that she had probably benefited from Cheng Yanjin's favor. When she looked up again, her question hit the nail on the head: "You swiped Cheng Yanjin's card, right? He doesn't even come to stay. Do I have to pay for his room too?"

The number that popped up in the lobby just now was so outrageous that she'd rather spend that money to rent a yacht for two hours at sea. Cheng Yanjin, you can't go too far. If he hasn't even paid, she'll sail back and kill him right now.

Xiao Pucheng: "Wasn't that kid's card frozen? Where did he get the money?"

Lin Langyi took a deep breath and decisively handed the room card back to Yuan Chuyu: "Didn't Miss Zhuang want to stay on the same floor just now? She would definitely be willing to pay this exorbitant price... no, this money."

Their hands collided and then separated. Yuan Chuyu's fingers trembled, and he quickly separated his hands.

After they separated, he unconsciously rubbed the room cards with his fingers. The two room cards were held in the girl's palm and had already warmed up a little, like a sudden thunderstorm on a summer afternoon. The raindrops were warm when they fell on the skin, damp and stuffy, and then he was soaked to the bone.

He glanced at her, lifting his eyelids slightly. In the enclosed space, he deliberately had Xiao Pucheng stand in front of him, as if this would bury his head in the sand and prevent him from looking in that direction. But she still barged in, shoving the things into his hands without a word, just like her, who, on a summer night, suddenly and unreasonably barged into his world.

But summer rains are very short-lived. They come in torrents, soaking everything in a grand manner, and then stop cleanly and neatly. In just one or two hours, the water stains on the ground can evaporate completely, as if they had never been there at all.

"I've already paid." He handed the room key back, still holding it by the short side, a full length of the long side between his fingers and hers. He said softly, "Have fun."

"No, you already paid?!" Xiao Pucheng almost jumped up. "What do you mean? What do you mean? You told me you'd pay for it yourself, but you're giving it to someone for free? Jin Gou is a brother, but I'm not, right?"

Yuan Chuyu glanced at him, bent his knees and leaned back, casually asking, "Was your card frozen too?"

"Is this about whether the card is frozen or not? This is proof of our brotherhood! You bastard, these evil capitalists are even targeting me. No way, you'd better get it waived for me too."

Lin Langyi was amused and kept smiling at Xiao Pucheng.

In a daze, she seemed to see Yuan Chuyu look down at his phone to check the information, and then quickly glance at her, but she was too busy watching Xiao Pucheng jump up and down to look away.

With a "ding," the elevator arrived.

Lin Langyi approached the door, pressed the open button, and stepped back to the side, still considerately asking others to go out first.

Xiao Pucheng took the first step out. Just as she was about to turn around to look at the other person, the button was suddenly pressed down by another finger. That hand was broad and thick, and it lightly covered the back of her hand.

She looked up at him with surprise, only to see Yuan Chuyu's smooth jawline and his beautiful skin tightly pressed against his bones.

He lowered his eyes to look at her. His eyelids were thin, and the creases of his double eyelids appeared even deeper as he looked down, making his dark and deep eyes resemble a deep well.

Once again, she subconsciously recalled the proverb, "Green water is deep, black water is abyss"... What a strange association.

"Ladies first," he said, with a gentle, considerate smile, as always impeccably polite, "to the right."

"Ah, oh." Lin Langyi snapped out of her daze, and when she pulled her hand away, it inevitably brushed against his palm. Yuan Chuyu remained motionless, his gaze following her out of the elevator before he slowly withdrew his hand and followed her out.

His hands hung naturally at his sides, clenched slightly, and then quickly relaxed again.

Lin Langyi turned right and went straight to the room. She checked the room number and took out a room card. Then, a voice sounded behind her again, Yuan Chuyu politely asking, "Could you give me the other card temporarily?"

"Huh?" Lin Langyi opened the door with a "beep". She turned around and Yuan Chuyu nodded his chin toward the room next to him, his brows furrowing slightly, looking somewhat apologetic.

"I don't have a room. If Yan Jin isn't here, could I borrow it for a while? I'm leaving this afternoon, and I'll have the cleaning lady come and clean before I leave."

"certainly."

Lin Langyi immediately handed over the room key.

The money and the venue were provided by them, and besides, she felt like punching someone whenever she heard the name Cheng Yanjin, so she immediately said no problem.

Yuan Chuyu politely accepted the card, walked a few steps to the next room, swiped his card, entered, closed the door, and then took out his vibrating phone to look at the three bright characters "Chu Guanqian" on it.

"Ayu, you don't need to rush back to the company this afternoon. You can take good care of the guests. They've all arrived, right?"

Yuan Chuyu sat on the edge of the bed, somewhat dejected, his long legs casually crossed. Yuan Pingran would naturally tell Chu Guanqian what she had seen and heard here, so why bother?

“I heard from Pingran that the Zhuang family’s daughter is also here. You should take good care of her.” Chu Guanqian said in a businesslike tone, “Isn’t Yan Jin also trying to settle down? You’re a few years older than him, so you should pay more attention to him too.”

Yuan Chuyu chuckled: "Even if you don't care about my thoughts, you should at least consider Zhuang Lan's thoughts. She cried when she learned that Cheng Yanjin was going to get married. You are usually so insightful, but you seem to be lacking in this kind of thing."

Chu Guanqian: "So Zhuang Lan has no chance with the Cheng family? She's always liked to follow you and Cheng Yanjin around since she was little, what's the difference?"

Yuan Chuyu's expression turned pale, and his tone changed. He let out a strange "ah" and nodded as he said, "It sounds like buying vegetables at the market. Green peppers can be stir-fried with beef or mixed with chili peppers."

Chu Guanqian didn't expect to be met with such a sarcastic remark. Aside from being tough at work, Chu Yu was usually not easily angered in private. In the past, when this topic came up, he would always dodge the subject and rarely spoke harshly.

Before he could think of a reply, his son spoke coldly:

“If Ying Yuan needs to consolidate his position through marriage and expand his sphere of influence by binding himself to a woman in the future,” Yuan Chuyu chuckled, his intimidating elite aura, nurtured since childhood, finally emerging, utterly arrogant, “then I think Ying Yuan is quite useless and demeanor.”

“It’s not enough to listen to that group of people going crazy and making a scene at the shareholders’ meeting. When I get home, I have to face a disapproving face and pretend that everything is fine,” a slightly cold and sharp curve appeared on his lips. He rarely showed such a sharp and intimidating expression. “In this respect, I really need to learn more from my father.”

Chu Guanqian, having been openly mocked and ridiculed, coldly replied, "Cheng Yanjin can do it, but you can't?"

"Oh? So Yingyuan's positioning is the same as Cheng's? If that's all you've got, why did you have to compromise in the first place?"

Chu Guanqian was rendered speechless by this series of sarcastic and derogatory retorts. He was momentarily stunned and felt as if his son on the other end of the phone had been possessed, which was why he was suddenly so aggressive in saying these things that he shouldn't have said.

"You..." Chu Guanqian hesitated for a moment, then suddenly a thought struck him, "What's wrong today? Why are you reacting so strongly? Do you have a girl you like?"

Without even a moment's pause, a resolute "No" immediately slipped out.

Both sides fell silent.

Chu Guanqian didn't think much of it. The words he had just heard flashed through his mind again, and the anger that had been briefly suppressed by shock finally flared up. He threw down the words, "When you can change your surname before you say such things," and coldly hung up the phone.

Yuan Chuyu relaxed his shoulders, casually tossed his phone onto the bed, and went to the bathroom to wash his hands carefully. He rinsed them repeatedly and then gently patted them dry with a tissue.

As he left the restroom, he calmly unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and gulped it down.

After finishing half a bottle, he glanced down at the room key he had casually tossed on the table, paused for two seconds, and then traced a few lines on it with a finger.

He wrote each character slower and slower until he stopped before finishing. He stood there for a long time before giving a short, wistful laugh. Then he went back to the washroom, turned on the tap, and repeatedly splashed cold water on his face.

Physical cooling helped him calm down completely, at least that's what he thought.

He propped himself up on the table with one hand and looked up. The hair on his forehead was wet and clung limply to his face. Water droplets trickled down the winding trails, soaking several patches of the fabric at the collar of his clothes.

He slightly raised his chin and roughly wiped the water droplets off his chin with the back of his hand, revealing the undulating veins under the skin.

Yuan Chuyu wanted to wash away those chaotic thoughts along with the burning heat with water.

No.

No.