Chapter 25

The hot spring resort is located at the foot of a scenic mountain, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with a huge natural lake in front of it. However, at this time of year, the lake is covered with a thin layer of ice.

After resting for a while, Sang Nian and Ye Shu went out. It was Christmas Day, and the hot spring resort was holding a bonfire party. Ye Shu always loved to join in the fun, so she happily dragged Sang Nian along.

The sun had long since sunk below the horizon, shrouding the villa in darkness, cold and silent. But on a lawn behind the villa, lights shone brightly, and a crowd had gathered, admiring the tall Christmas tree.

"Wow, it's so beautiful!" Upon getting closer, Ye Shu saw all sorts of flowers and colorful lights hanging on the Christmas tree and couldn't help but exclaim.

"Niannian, look!" Sang Nian looked in the direction she was pointing and saw some gift boxes hanging on the Christmas tree. The largest gift box was hanging on the highest branch, and even the packaging was more exquisite than the others.

These are Christmas gifts prepared by the hot spring resort for its guests. They will be distributed to the winners later through some games.

Ye Shu didn't find out exactly what game it was, but she was very interested and kept saying she wanted to win the biggest prize of the day.

Although the people who come here are all wealthy and powerful, and have seen all sorts of rare things in their daily lives, they are still very interested in blind box-like gifts.

Beyond the crowd, behind the Christmas tree, lies the main area for the bonfire party. Barbecue grills have already been set up, and various ingredients are laid out on the grill plates beside them.

Sang Nian looked at the number plate in his hand and led Ye Shu to their barbecue grill. They stopped and realized there were already two people sitting there.

Xu Muze raised his hand to greet Sang Nian and Ye Shu: "You guys are too slow. The ones Wen Yan just baked are already cold." After saying that, he nudged Wen Yan with his elbow, "Chef, bake some more."

Wen Yan gave a helpless twitch of his lips and silently sprinkled a lethal amount of chili powder onto the skewers. However, Xu Muze didn't see it. After he finished speaking, he pulled Ye Shu aside and whispered something to her, looking very mysterious.

Only Sang Nian remained standing to one side, at a loss.

Judging from Wen Yan's demeanor, it was as if he didn't exist at all. He neither showed welcome nor unwelcomeness, but just kept grilling skewers, dutifully playing the role of "chef" in Xu Muze's words.

Sang Nian took a deep breath, then walked over to Wen Yan, rolled up his sleeves, and asked ingratiatingly, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Wen Yan glanced at Sang Nian, and after a long while, he managed to utter four words, "Stay away from me." Sang Nian pretended not to hear, took two strings of corn from the plate next to her, put them on the grill, and started grilling them, just like Wen Yan did.

He and Qiu Yang had eaten barbecue before, on the roadside, where small skewers of grilled meat cost five cents each. When Qiu Yang got his salary, they would buy twenty skewers and squat down to eat them for a long time.

Back then, they didn't eat meat often, and he was very envious when he saw his peers eating this and that. He never told Qiu Yang, but Qiu Yang noticed it all, because every time he passed a barbecue stall, he would slow down, just to smell the aroma wafting from it.

At that time, he told Qiu Yang that once he started working and making money, he would rent out the entire barbecue stand so the two of them could eat their fill! It would also be best to buy a dozen beers and have a comfortable and enjoyable time together.

Qiu Yang laughed and agreed, saying, "Mo Mo, from now on, all my big meals will depend on you."

Qiu Yang's smiling face was etched in Sang Nian's mind. A lump formed in her throat, and a tear rolled down her cheek, landing on her wrist. Sang Nian sniffed, forcing back the remaining tears.

"Miss Ye, I risked breaking off our friendship today to have you and Sang Nian arranged to sit next to us. How about that? Pretty loyal, right?" Xu Muze looked like he was waiting to be praised.

Ye Shu gave a professional fake smile, then raised her phone, opened the camera, switched to selfie mode, and snapped a picture of her and Xu Muze's faces.

"Alright, I can report back to Dad now. I'll post the photos on my WeChat Moments as a way of repaying you." Ye Shu said, typing away on the screen. After editing a message, she was about to press publish when Xu Muze stopped her.

"Wait!" Xu Muze opened the photo and glanced at it, looking quite disgusted. "This photo of me looks terrible. No, take another one."

Ye Shu rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine, take pictures, you're so annoying." Then, under Xu Muze's direction, she took dozens of pictures before finally picking out one that Xu Muze liked.

"Just this one?"

Xu Muze nodded. Ye Shu clicked "post," and less than a second later she saw that the post had been liked.

It was Tao Zeqian.

Ye Shu slapped her forehead, realizing she'd forgotten to block him. She glanced at Xu Muze and saw that he'd seen it too. Just as she was thinking about how to explain, she suddenly heard Xu Muze say something.

"Tao Zeqian commented, asking where we are. What should we do? Is he planning to come looking for us? Oh my god, he's definitely jealous. He threw a huge tantrum when he found out about my blind date with you, and ignored me for months. Now he's finally lost his temper..."

Ye Shu gave Xu Muze a thumbs up, but inwardly she was speechless. This guy was way too love-struck! She didn't want to say anything more to Xu Muze, so she turned off her phone and planned to go back to find Sang Nian.

Before she could turn around, Xu Muze grabbed her hand.

Did you reply to him?

Ye Shu paused for two seconds, then shook her head. She then saw Xu Muze let out a long sigh of relief, before raising his hands to pull at his hair, looking extremely distressed.

Ye Shu clicked her tongue and patted Xu Muze's shoulder. "Do you want him to come?"

"If you want him to come, I'll tell him; if you don't..."

"I think so!" Xu Muze nodded vigorously. Ye Shu nodded knowingly, "Then I'll reply to him in half an hour." Since the person involved had agreed, she couldn't disagree.

This isn't just a matter between Xu Muze and Tao Zeqian; now she's involved too. She's not only Xu Muze's "blind date" but also Tao Zeqian's object of affection. Some things are easier to resolve if all three of them are present.

Thick wisps of smoke rose from the grill, not much, but pungent. Sang Nian didn't even notice that his corn was already burning; his eyes were fixed on the skewers held by Wen Yan's slender fingers.

The skewer of pork belly was sizzling with oil, looking incredibly delicious.

"Oh my god, Nian Nian, your corn is practically charred!" Ye Shu was choked by the thick smoke as soon as she got closer. She grabbed the two ears of corn from Sang Nian's hand and threw them into the metal trash can next to her, then turned to look at Sang Nian, "You..."

Sang Nian's eyes were bloodshot, and the tip of his nose was also red, as if he had just been crying.

"Look at you, your eyes are all red from the smoke."

Reminded by Ye Shu, Sang Nian felt his eyes burning and stinging again. He raised his hand to rub them, and his eyes were burned by the chili powder on his hand. The tears he had been holding back finally came in handy and squeezed out one by one.

"Wait a minute, I'll go get you some water. Don't rub it yet." Ye Shu was flustered because this was the first time she had encountered something like this. While she was looking for mineral water, Xu Muze came over and asked if Tao Zeqian had messaged her privately. Ye Shu was getting annoyed by this love-struck guy, so she pushed Xu Muze away.

"Get out of my way! Can't you see I'm busy?"

Xu Muze was stunned by the push. He stared blankly in Wen Yan's direction, only to find that Wen Yan was no longer in front of the grill, but had walked to Ye Shu.

"Take him to the restroom to wash up," Wen Yan said. He glanced at Sang Nian, who was standing there with red eyes, and his heart skipped a beat for no reason. Ye Shu seemed not to have reacted yet, so Wen Yan had to say again, "Never mind, I'll take him. Aze probably has something to discuss with you."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards Sang Nian. Sang Nian immediately tensed up. He instinctively wanted to refuse, but then he remembered that all he had tried to do was get close to Wen Yan, so he clenched his fist and smiled at Wen Yan.

"Then I'll have to trouble you."

He obediently stopped calling him "Brother Wenyan" because he was afraid that if he did, Wenyan would turn around and leave.

The restrooms weren't far, but it required crossing a whole lawn. There were many people on the lawn, and Sang Nian, with her eyes half-open, couldn't see clearly. Afraid of bumping into someone or something, she said to Wen Yan, "I can't see very well. Could you hold my hand and lead me there?"

Wen Yan frowned, gritting her teeth as she said, "Don't push your luck."

"Then I'll go find Ye Shu and ask her to take me there." With that, she turned to turn around. Wen Yan looked up and saw that Ye Shu was currently being held back by Xu Muze and couldn't get away at all.

I wonder what earth-shattering thing Xu Muze has done.

Wen Yan sighed and remained silent.

The two remained locked in this stalemate. Sang Nian thought that if it were any later, his eyes would heal on their own. So he gave up and said to Wen Yan, "Then walk slower, I can't keep up if you go too fast."

Wen Yan then turned around and walked forward, his pace much slower. Sang Nian followed behind him step by step, greedily inhaling the scent emanating from Wen Yan.

It has a cool and refreshing taste, with a hint of cumin.

Sang Nian lowered his head and laughed.

Soon, they arrived at the restroom. After Sang Nian turned on the tap, Wen Yan turned and left without waiting for Sang Nian.

Just like mulberry trees are snakes, insects, rats and ants that people would avoid at all costs.

After washing up, Sang Nian stayed in the bathroom for a while. Although he was now determined to stick with Wen Yan, he knew that Wen Yan wouldn't give him a friendly look, and he was fully prepared mentally.

But reality is always crueler than imagination. After interacting with Wen Yan today, he only felt tired and heartbroken. He hadn't done anything wrong, and he hadn't caused Sang Ning's death, so why was Wen Yan so heartless towards him?

Looking at the face in the mirror that resembled Sang Ning's, Sang Nian smiled indifferently.

His only bargaining chip now is his face.

He heard voices outside the restroom and sighed as he went out. Once outside, he saw Wen Yan standing not far away, a nearly finished cigarette between his fingers.

A flutter of excitement stirred within Sang Nian, and he quickened his pace toward Wen Yan. Wen Yan, hearing the footsteps, turned his head. Their eyes met, and in the darkness, Sang Nian couldn't see the expression on Wen Yan's face, only feeling his heart pounding.

Then he heard Wen Yan's voice in his ear.

What is your relationship with Liu Wenyuan?