Chapter 14 Do you want to join us?

Under the cover of night, the hot mist in the rose pool rises up and lingers in the embrace of the night.

On the water, the deep red petals are like delicate little boats, swaying slowly with the gentle ripples, as if telling a quiet poem that belongs only to them.

Jiang Tingwan sat leisurely on the natural stone wall beside the pool.

She was wearing a black one-piece swimsuit that shone like silk in the moonlight. The round hollow design on the back of the swimsuit perfectly showed off her graceful shoulder blades, which was pleasing to the eye.

The water droplets slid down her fair neck, lingered for a moment at her delicate collarbone, as if lingering on that warm skin, but finally sank into the fabric of her clothes soaked by the hot spring water and disappeared.

Ruan Yue and Lu Yiqiao were having fun in the pool.

Jiang Tingwan looked at them quietly, and a different kind of beautiful feeling surged in her heart, as if the time at this moment was infinitely stretched.

She gently raised her hand, picked up a glass of wine, and brought the amber liquid to her lips. The aroma of the wine spread on the tip of her tongue, adding a bit of charm to this beauty.

"Sister, your skin is so white."

Ruan Yue moved closer to Jiang Tingwan, staring at her white and slender legs, her eyes full of undisguised envy.

Lu Yiqiao also smiled and reached out to scoop up a handful of water on Jiang Tingwan.

She smiled with curved eyebrows, "Wanwan chose a good swimsuit. It looks elegant and graceful, but actually..." She blinked slyly, "It's quite lethal."

Jiang Tingwan chuckled and was about to speak.

Just then, a burst of cheerful laughter suddenly came from the path beside the pond.

Jiang Tingwan looked in the direction of the sound and saw Lu Zhaoye and his group walking towards the swimming pool.

He walked at the end of the team, his white bathrobe tied loosely, revealing a large area of his strong and powerful chest, exuding a unique charm.

When they passed the rose pond, Lu Zhaoye paused slightly.

Jiang Tingwan raised her eyes lazily, and her eyes met his sharp and dark gaze like an eagle.

His gaze, as if drawn by an invisible force, moved slowly from her slender waistline to her long white legs half submerged in the water, and finally stopped at her eyes.

At this moment, the lingering mist was like a layer of gauze, blurring each other's outlines, but it seemed to have some kind of magic, making that look more clearly imprinted in her heart.

Jiang Tingwan suddenly had some naughty thoughts in her mind.

She deliberately lifted her calves slowly from the warm water, crossing her two long white legs together, completely exposed outside the pool, and water droplets rolled down her cold white skin like beads from a broken string.

She slightly opened her lips, and her lips opened and closed silently, as if writing three words in the air: "Does it look good?"

Lu Zhaoye's Adam's apple rolled involuntarily, as if something had hit a string deep in his heart.

The people behind him were still immersed in laughter and joking, and no one noticed this brief and subtle confrontation.

"Want to join us?"

She asked silently again, lip-syncing.

At the same time, her fingertips gently touched the delicate rose petals on the water.

The petals trembled slightly under her caress, as if they also felt the subtle atmosphere in the air.

At this moment, a companion's voice came from the pool: "Zhao Ye, let's go!"

Lu Zhaoye still stood there quietly without moving.

Jiang Tingwan waited quietly, thinking that he would retort with sharp words as usual.

However, she saw that he just looked at her deeply.

"You go first."

His voice was low and mellow, even deeper than the mist of the hot spring.

"I want to smoke a cigarette."

Jiang Tingwan looked at his gradually disappearing back, and a triumphant smile unconsciously appeared on the corner of her lips.

-------------------------------------------

Lu Zhaoye stood alone in the bamboo forest outside the hot spring pool.

He skillfully turned the lighter in his hand a few times between his fingers, but the cigarette between his lips was not lit yet and just stayed there in the corner of his mouth.

The night breeze blew gently, ruffling the ends of his slightly damp hair and bringing a hint of coolness.

But this coolness seemed unable to extinguish the inexplicable restlessness rising in his heart.

His thoughts involuntarily drifted back to earlier today.

At that time, Jiang Tingwan slammed the lighter hard on his chest.

At that moment, her fingertips accidentally brushed across his shirt.

The action seems unintentional, but it seems to have some kind of arousing meaning.

That woman, even returning something, could disturb his mood without leaving a trace.

"Lu, Mr. Lu..."

A voice as thin as a mosquito came quietly from behind him.

Lu Zhaoye turned around when he heard the voice.

I saw the daughter of the Xu family standing a few steps away, and I didn't know when she had quietly followed me.

Lu Zhaoye frowned slightly and searched his memory for a moment before finally remembering her name - Xu Yi.

In my memory, she seemed to often play with Bai Che and the others.

Different from other young ladies from aristocratic families who are lively and outgoing, she is quiet and shy, and always stays quietly aside.

If other young ladies from aristocratic families were interested in him, most of them would take the initiative to approach him and talk to him, but Lu Zhaoye always refused directly without any hesitation, so he would crush the young ladies' thoughts.

But Xu Yi was different. She always followed everyone silently, never took the initiative to express her feelings, but just followed quietly.

Everyone could see that she had special feelings for Lu Zhaoye, but the girl was shy and too embarrassed to speak up.

The group of people didn't know what to do, so they could only let it go, thinking that maybe over time, she would gradually give up this idea.

But I didn't expect that she would follow me on her own initiative tonight.

"What's up?"

Lu Zhaoye's tone was flat, without any emotion in it. He took the cigarette from his lips and played with it casually in his hand.

Xu Yi lowered his head, as if he didn't dare to look him in the eye, and his voice was so soft that it was almost blown away by the night wind.

"I, I see you drank quite a bit, do you need some hangover soup?"

The mottled moonlight shone through the gaps between the bamboo leaves and fell on her face, making her nervous expression even more obvious.

Lu Zhaoye looked at her nervous and awkward appearance, and suddenly his mind emerged with the evaluation of her by people in the circle: quiet, shy, and well-behaved.

For some reason, he thought of Jiang Tingwan again.

The woman often pretended to be gentle and lovely.

When they first met, she called him "Mr. Lu" with a humble look, but in the blink of an eye, she quietly won his chips at the gambling table.

Just now in the rose pond, her eyes were as alluring as a cunning fox, but she had to make that innocent lip movement, which was really infuriating and annoying.

Xu Yi mustered up his courage and raised his head slightly.

But as soon as his eyes met Lu Zhaoye's, he instantly shrank back like a frightened rabbit, looking even more cowardly.

Lu Zhaoye felt inexplicably irritated, as if there was an unknown fire burning in his heart.

"Ms. Xu,"

He simply threw away the cigarette in his hand. Although his voice was still calm, it revealed an unquestionable alienation.

"It's cold, go back early."

Xu Yi's eyes instantly turned red, but she still responded in a low voice: "Okay, okay..."

She turned around slowly and walked away with a staggering step.

Lu Zhaoye looked at her departing back and couldn't help but think of Jiang Tingwan again.

Even when pretending to be good, Jiang Tingwan never walked so timidly.

Even if she pretended to be docile, she would still hold her chin up proudly, just like a proud cat. Her every move revealed a unique charm that was hard to ignore.

He subconsciously lowered his head and looked at the lighter in his hand.

There seemed to be a faint scent of jasmine lingering on the metal shell, and that familiar fragrance once again touched his heartstrings.

“Tsk.”

He couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

Then he suddenly put the lighter back into his pocket, turned around and strode towards the room.