Chapter 33 [VIP]

Avoid recklessness.

Han Shu sat at the bar, propping his chin up, staring blankly at the scar removal gel in his hand.

This was discovered at the entrance last night; it's obvious who did it. However, the person involved hasn't said a word about it. After dropping her off at Houhai today, they unusually went home, saying they'd pick her up again in the afternoon.

"Haven't seen you for days, where have you been?"

Han Shu snapped out of his daze, smiled faintly, and explained, "I burned my arm and rested for a few days."

Xiao Yu pulled up a high chair and sat down, asking with concern, "What happened?"

Han Shu shook his arm, "When I got up to eat at the restaurant, I bumped into the waiter who was serving food to the next table, and then..."

"Ouch, that's a huge piece." Xiaoyu grimaced exaggeratedly. "It must hurt terribly, right? This restaurant has to pay for it."

"I lost money, and then they called me every few days to comfort me, and even asked for my address to send me some supplements. I felt really bad about it."

"Make sure you wear sunscreen, or you'll get scars." Xiaoyu pointed to the bright red sun outside. "Do you have any sun-protective clothing? I'll wear it when we take the photos later."

"Yes, I brought it." Han Shu patted the shoulder bag next to him. "Besides, so what if I get a scar? It doesn't matter."

"Don't be so nonchalant. You know the Fourth Hospital of Hainan Island? They're pretty good at treating burns. They have a homemade scar-removing gel, I forget the name. My mom burned her hand with oil while cooking the year before last, and it was basically healed after applying it for a month. You can go and make an appointment when you have time... Go first thing in the morning! It'll be crowded!"

Han Shu slowly raised his hand, revealing the ointment in his palm, his expression somewhat stiff. "You mean this?"

Xiaoyu leaned closer to take a look and nodded repeatedly, "That's right, you bought them all?"

Han Shu slowly clenched his fist back into his palm. "Given to me by someone else."

"They really put in the effort, either getting up in the middle of the night to register or queuing up at six or seven in the morning." Xiaoyu tilted his head back and downed the remaining half glass of iced cola in one gulp. "Now that all the students are here, I'm going to teach the basics. You can come back later when we go into the water. Make sure to wear sunscreen!"

"I know," Han Shu chuckled.

Xiao Yu jogged over, beckoned to the girl sitting on the sofa and the boy standing at the door, and led them to the changing room to change clothes.

Han Shu glanced at her a few more times. There was no other reason; the man was handsome and the woman was beautiful, their skin glowing... but Wen Zhiyu was still a bit fairer.

People have researched many ways to protect against ultraviolet rays, including sunscreen, parasols, and sun-protective clothing, covering both chemical and physical sun protection methods. But for a stay-at-home guy, ultraviolet rays pose no threat at all, because he never goes outside.

Why would someone who never leaves home go to the hospital early in the morning to buy scar removal cream?

Han Shu couldn't understand it, and he couldn't understand his attitude even more.

All morning, her thoughts were chaotic and out of control. Even when she was taking pictures on the beach, she would suddenly forget to press the shutter button when the camera was pointed at the three students in the small class.

Until the girl emerged from the sea, dragging her surfboard.

"get out of class hasn't ended yet, why are you up here?" Han Shu asked, huddled under the umbrella.

The girl sat down next to her, wiggled her right foot, and said, "My big toenail broke off from the board."

Han Shu leaned closer to take a look, "Ouch! Does it hurt?"

A little.

"There are still fifteen minutes left—" Han Shu took out his phone, "get out of class ends in fifteen minutes. There's iodine in the store, I'll disinfect it in a bit."

"Okay, thank you."

The two sat side by side, with only the occasional sound of a camera shutter.

The other two male students picked it up quite quickly, especially the fair-skinned handsome guy, whose physique suggests he's a regular gym-goer.

Han Shu looked through the viewfinder for the best angle, but the surfing photos of Wen Zhiyu kept popping into his mind.

After I sent it to him on WeChat, it disappeared without a trace; he didn't say whether he was satisfied or not. What a killjoy.

"I heard from the coach that you're doing volunteer work here." Perhaps out of sheer boredom, the girl struck up a conversation.

As class was about to end, Xiaoyu called the two together, seemingly to discuss the arrangements for the next class. Han Shu closed the camera and looked through the photos taken that morning. "Hmm, you're here for tourism?"

"Yes, apart from the heat, this season is perfect. The sea view is really beautiful."

The photos turned out pretty good, and Han Shu stopped, satisfied. "Have you circled the island yet?"

"No, I came alone so I didn't rent a car. I only went to places that were relatively easy to get to. By the way, have you been to the Peninsula Lighthouse?"

"A lighthouse?" Han Shu shook his head.

"It's said that the sunset and evening glow are incredibly beautiful, and many people drive dozens of kilometers just to go there for a date; it's quite famous."

Just as the small group class ended, Xiaoyu led two students ashore and waved to the girl, "How's your foot?"

The girl stood up. "It's okay for now. I'll check again after I get my nails trimmed when I get back."

"Okay." Xiaoyu nudged the edge of Han Shu's umbrella. "Our next class is in the afternoon, let's go grab something to eat."

"Okay, after you finish eating, it's Xiao Qi's turn."

Chun Jing and Ming Ge have gone off to play somewhere again, and before they left, they told Xiao Yu to take over as their manager. Plus, there weren't many customers today, so it was just the two of them and the younger brother who was in charge of the bar at the moment.

The two went to a buffet at the hotel behind the club, but after only two bites, they asked, "What's wrong?"

"Huh?" Han Shu snapped out of his daze and used a fork to stab a clove of garlic.

Xiao Yu slurped up a big mouthful of noodles. "Hmm, what's up?"

He took a small bite of the egg tart and swallowed it slowly.

"Judging from your negative attitude towards eating, you definitely have something on your mind."

Han Shu glanced at Xiao Yu's dark, sun-kissed face. She really didn't understand men, but Xiao Yu was a man; perhaps he could understand?

Xiao Yu said casually, "Go ahead and say it, why are you hesitating?"

Han Shu stammered, "You mean someone suddenly becomes very cold towards another person... no, just very cold in attitude, but still cares about them and does a lot of things quietly. Why?"

Xiaoyu turned his neck, looking quite troubled. "You're being too vague. What kind of relationship do you have with a man and a woman?"

"Male, friend."

"Male friend?"

Han Shu quickly added, "Just ordinary friends."

Xiao Yu said, "Tell me in detail what changes have occurred before and after."

“Before, we used to play together all the time. He would pester me to keep him company, and he was so eager to stay up all night to play with me. But now, he seems to be deliberately avoiding me. I haven’t seen him for days. When I suggest we play together, he’s not willing. He speaks to me in a cold and indifferent manner, like a stranger.”

At this point, Han Shu felt a tightness in his chest and a dull feeling in his head.

Xiaoyu picked up the bowl and drank it all in one gulp. He took a tissue to wipe his mouth and asked, "You said you care about me silently, how exactly do you care?"

“For example… he doesn’t like cats, but because I rescued stray cats, he specially prepared a cat house for me. And for example… that scar-removing ointment I just saw, he gave it to me.” Han Shu put down her chopsticks. “Do you think he has a problem with me?”

Xiaoyu waved his hand, "Of course not, why would I care about you? Are you just bored?"

"What happened?"

Xiao Yu stroked his chin, pondering for a moment, "Is he a person?"

How did it jump to MBTI? Han Shu was confused. "I didn't ask, but it should be—right?"

"That settles it then." Xiaoyu clapped his hands. "He probably has a problem with me, is in a bad mood, and needs to process it alone."

Han Shu couldn't help but think that analysis based on MBTI was unreliable. "Does it have a problem with me?"

"Well, it's just internal strife! A common human failing."

Han Shu recalled carefully, "But what internal strife did he have? Nothing had happened before, hadn't it?"

"I don't know then." Xiaoyu shrugged and took out his phone to play with it.

Internal strife.

Han Shu sped up his eating, which in turn sped up the speed at which his brain worked.

Feeling down... internal conflict... date... burn ointment—wait, the date!

lighthouse!

After finishing all her work, Han Shu, who was listlessly resting her chin on her hand, saw Xiao Lan slowly come to a stop through the open wooden window, and her dull, lifeless eyes instantly lit up. She jumped off the bar stool, grabbed her bag, and ran outside.

Xiaoyu greeted him, "Leaving already?"

"Bye-bye!" Han Shu waved as he ran without turning his head.

As soon as Wen Zhiyu got out of the car, before the door had even closed, he heard a cheerful "Wen Zhiyu!" followed by a lively mushroom-shaped head that popped into his deep eyes. The girl was carrying a light blue handbag, and the hem of her white skirt, which didn't reach her knees, fluttered as she ran, creating the most beautiful arc along with the smile on her lips.

Han Shu stopped in front of him, slightly out of breath, "Wen Zhiyu, are you alright now?"

Before Wen Zhiyu could withdraw his staring gaze, he froze like a brick. "No."

Han Shu's face lit up with joy, and he skipped around to the passenger seat, "That's great, let's go, let's go see the lighthouse."

"Lighthouse?" Wen Zhiyu heard the hesitation in his own tone and was a little angry with himself. Then, his short and neatly trimmed nails dug into his palm in his pocket.

"Okay, I'll navigate. Get in the car!"

Thirty kilometers, about twenty minutes.

Han Shu was happily holding her phone, seemingly engrossed in something. Wen Zhiyu had countless opportunities to glance at her profile in the right rearview mirror, capturing that beautiful silhouette on his retina, saving it to his memory, and then replaying it repeatedly in his mind when he looked straight ahead.

She was happy today, so he was happy too.

But he didn't know why she was happy... yet he was also a little unhappy.

Wen Zhiyu was both happy and sad, feeling conflicted.

He's been avoiding her these past few days, unsure of how to face her. Before, he didn't think about it, but now his mind is racing, leaving him feeling helpless and conflicted.

As Wen Zhiyu was about to turn left, Han Shu grabbed his elbow.

"Go straight, you can park on the side of the road ahead." She quickly let go of his arm and pointed, "The lighthouse is over there, see it?"

Wen Zhiyu hummed in agreement, and beneath the rolled-up sleeves of his shirt, a lingering tingling sensation remained.

After parking the car, Han Shu jumped out in a hurry and tugged at his sleeve, "The sun has already set, hurry up!"

Wen Zhiyu dodged away, cleared his throat awkwardly, and finally caught up with her after being urged on by her repeated glances.

As the red sun sinks into the blue sea, the western sky is ablaze with clouds burning with pink and purple light. Looking east, the sunset casts a greyish hue over the sea and sky, with white and red lighthouses standing tall amidst the scene.

Han Shu suddenly stopped in his tracks.

There were still tens of meters to go before reaching the dam.

Wen Zhiyu followed closely behind, stopping to the side and behind. "Aren't you going up?"

Han Shu smiled and said, "It looks most beautiful from here."

Looking at that slender and exquisite figure, Wen Zhiyu said from the bottom of his heart, "Yes, the most beautiful."

In the blues of the night, when day and night meet, Han Shu turned around and asked, "Have you been here before?"

"No." Wen Zhiyu lowered his eyes, somewhat afraid to look at her.

"Do you know that many people come here to make a wish?"

"have no idea."

Han Shu put his hands behind his back and said, "Now you know, don't you? Since you're already here, just make a promise."

"..." Wen Zhiyu wanted to laugh, but forcibly suppressed the corners of his mouth.

Han Shu had already guessed he would turn out this way, but he was still exasperated. "Fine, you won't allow it then, but I will!"

She glanced at him sideways with a look of disdain, but her tone was unusually serious.

Wen Zhiyu first heard her say, "Then I'll make a wish... that the things that Teacher Wen is worried and struggling with right now can be resolved easily."

Immediately afterwards, the thunderous pounding of his heart drowned out the crashing waves, the gentle sea breeze, and even his already overloaded thoughts.

Wen Zhiyu mustered his courage and looked into those almond-shaped eyes, shimmering with tears. He never believed in praying to gods or making wishes.

But at this moment, he hoped it would come true, even if the wish was unspeakable and despicable.

He silently made a wish in his heart, then pretended to repeat it aloud, saying in a hoarse voice, "It will be easily solved."

Han Shu nodded vigorously, "Easy to solve."