Chapter 27
Li Wan turned her head: "What's wrong? What happened?"
Lu Siyi chuckled and turned her head away, "You'll find out when the show airs."
Li Wan: "Huh?"
"They can't be a couple." Li Xu stabbed the burnt sausage with his fork.
"I didn't say anything!" Lu Siyi immediately distanced herself, but couldn't resist her curiosity, "But why?"
Li Xuhua was speaking to the production team, but her gaze flickered towards Wen Zhiling, "We barely exchanged a few words, are you just going to cut it all out?"
He propped his chin on his hand, not eating anything, waiting for Wen Zhiling's reply. The words were already on his lips; anyone with a modicum of emotional intelligence would know that ignoring them wouldn't be appropriate. Li Xu stared at Wen Zhiling, feeling an uncontrollable urge to regain his previous sense of control.
Wen Zhiling flipped the sandwich over; one side was charred black. She flipped it back over to the other side. "Then let's talk less and not give them a chance to cut it."
Li Xu's smile froze on her face. Wen Zhiling, on the other hand, remained expressionless, speaking in a tone that sounded like a joke, albeit a slightly offensive one.
“That’s so boring. Let’s have more interaction.” Li Xu said unhurriedly, “I’m quite curious to see what kind of cut they’ll make.”
Wen Zhiling slightly raised her eyelids, but Li Xu already returned her gaze with a grin, continuing to eat his bread without changing his expression.
The breakfast gathering was lively, and Wen Zhiling didn't need to say much. As she ate, her thoughts drifted away.
Although she told Zong Linhan that she didn't care, Wen Zhiling felt a little uncomfortable inside. The elegant, smiling, and poised Ms. Lin was coming.
Ms. Lin, who unilaterally believed that Li Xu was paying too much attention to her, targeted her at every turn.
Those countless small details that get criticized: clothes not folded neatly, floor tile grout not clean, things not arranged properly, stains that machine wash can't remove must be hand washed, even though hand washing doesn't always get them clean.
On the rooftop where the sheets were drying, Ms. Lin stared at a light gray spot in the corner of a white bed sheet.
After a long silence, he sighed, "What will you do in the future if you continue like this?"
"How can you not even do this little thing right? It's such a simple thing, but you keep making mistakes lately."
"I am very dissatisfied and disappointed in you."
Wen Zhiling lowered her head and apologized softly. Aunt Wen, embarrassed, smiled apologetically, "This young lady is usually very diligent and thoughtful..."
Ms. Lin smiled and said, "Aunt Wen, how come you've become so careless? You weren't like this before. I remember a few years ago, you were more demanding than me and very meticulous. It's only been a few years and you've lost your drive."
Every time she made a mistake, her aunt had to apologize with her.
People's patience and love are limited. After suffering for a month, one late night, the aunt lost her temper with her for the first time.
She slammed the bowl and chopsticks on the table, lowering her voice but her anger unabated, "How could I have been so blind to take you in!"
Disaster!
This is her aunt's evaluation of her.
The warmth, care, and protection she once received have shattered like pieces of paper. She understands, of course, and knows that those things never truly belonged to her.
After being treated coldly by her aunt and uncle for a month, she suddenly realized something.
Those who bring misfortune should be more self-aware.
One stormy night, at two in the morning, she climbed out of the window.
The bedding was neatly folded, and on the table was a letter containing two-thirds of her savings.
Amidst the bleak autumn wind and the sound of rain, she left the Li family with enough money to sustain her for about ten days.
-
Blue sky and white clouds, full of fluffy clouds, a beach that isn't too sunny, and the sea breeze is damp.
The camera zoomed out on the beach, showing three groups of guests wearing sun hats with fine sand at their feet.
The first points-based competition was beach volleyball. The sea breeze was warm, and volleyball nets were set up on the beach.
As the production team explained the game rules, Wen Zhiling frowned. The first round of the draw was between her and Zong Linhan against Li Xu and Li Wan.
Wen Zhiling sighed silently, lowered her head and stepped on the sand, burying her toes in and then pulling them out.
The crowds, cameras, and the sound of waves before me felt like another nightmare.
They were so confident they could win, but they dragged the team down in the very first match. It's hard to say that Aunt Wen's assessment wasn't spot on.
Zong Linhan stood beside her, his voice low, "Didn't we guess there would be beach volleyball?"
Wen Zhiling felt a tightness in her chest. "Back then, I didn't know that Sister Li Wan would hit me."
When Li Wan heard about the competition events, she exclaimed, "Great! I was on the volleyball team back in junior high!"
Zong Linhan: "It's been so long since junior high, the situation hasn't changed, and it doesn't matter if we lose."
Wen Zhiling didn't speak, her palms were clenched and sweaty.
Perhaps influenced by last night's nightmare, she suddenly felt like she really couldn't accomplish anything.
Wen Zhiling's silence seemed off; her eyelashes were lowered, and she was staring at the sand on the back of her feet. Zong Linhan was about to say something when the assembly whistle blew. He patted her shoulder and said, "Don't worry."
The match began, and as soon as the whistle blew, the volleyball drew an arc in the air.
Wen Zhiling blocked the ball in front of the line to receive it. When she looked up, the sunlight was dazzling. When she saw the ball coming, she instinctively dodged to the side, and the volleyball grazed her shoulder and fell to the ground.
"Li Family Army scores!" Lu Siyi, acting as referee, shouted.
"I'm sorry," she said softly.
Zong Linhan walked to the volleyball net. "It's just the first ball. Don't be nervous. This is a team game, not an individual match. Complementary cooperation is more important."
When the second ball came, Zong Linhan jumped up to block it, and with a precise flick of his wrist, he launched a counterattack into the open area on the other side. The program crew members watching burst into applause, and the camera captured the moment.
Zong Linhan smiled at her, "Look, Li Wan is only at the level we were practicing."
Li Wan angrily shouted, "Who's practicing their skills, Zong Linhan! I was just holding back! I used to be on the school team!!"
"Just use five-tenths of your usual strength. Didn't we coordinate well during practice? You catch the balls I can't catch, and I'll catch the ones you can't catch." Zong Linhan pretended not to hear and patted Wen Zhiling on the shoulder. "I'm right behind you."
His hand was warm and strong, and his tone was ordinary, yet it seemed to brush away the brief shadow that came with the nightmare.
The match continued in full swing. Li Xu smashed the ball with great force, and Wen Zhiling instinctively dodged. The ball grazed past her, but Zong Linhan immediately filled in and saved a high ball, successfully counterattacking.
On the next ball, Wen Zhiling served. The ball flew crookedly but landed in the opponent's corner, scoring a point. As the score was announced, Zong Linhan exclaimed, "Beautiful!"
Wen Zhiling pursed her lips, her tension dissipating considerably.
The ball flew back and forth, and the two sides fought fiercely. Li Wan jumped up and smashed the ball, which came with a strong wind. Wen Zhiling almost instinctively crouched down to dodge, and at the same time stretched out her arm and pushed upward to save the ball, which bounced in front of Zong Linhan.
He slammed the ball down and scored directly.
He stepped forward and gave Wen Zhiling a high five, beaming. "I told you, we worked together perfectly. How about you consider trusting me a little more? Let's crush them until they're paralyzed with fear."
Li Wan was the first to object, shouting for the next ball to be played quickly.
Wen Zhiling didn't pay much attention to her subsequent service error and quickly got back into the game. For the first time, she felt how great it was to have teammates, someone behind her who could cover for her mistakes.
Neither Li Wan nor Li Xu are volleyball pros; the fact that everyone's skill level is roughly the same is what makes the show entertaining.
Wen Zhiling's serve landed in the opposite corner, ending the match.
The camera zoomed in on her expression, from initial nervousness and unease to a hint of smugness.
Tao Tao, who was on set, remembered this moment. Zong Linhan's encouragement gave Wen Zhiling the courage to face the difficulties.
In the three groups, the two teams competed against each other, and in the end, Wen Zhiling and Zong Linhan won the game with a lead.
Everyone was covered in sand and sat down to rest under the parasols.
Wen Zhiling and Zong Linhan sat side by side, sipping water. She had a lot to say to Zong Linhan, such as, "You played really well today, you were in great form, and I feel very safe with you here."
But a crowd had gathered behind her, and worried that she might say something inappropriate, she ultimately said nothing.
Zong Linhan turned to look at her several times, his expression serious. He asked her if she wanted water or if she was hot.
It seems like she's the same; she wants to say something but doesn't.
Given Zong Linhan's personality, he'd be eager to claim credit to the heavens right now; being unable to speak would probably suffocate him.
Thinking of this, Wen Zhiling laughed, and Zong Linhan laughed along with her.
Once they started laughing, they couldn't stop, and the two of them ended up laughing face to face for no apparent reason.
Zong Linhan tilted his head back to drink water, his eyes and brows full of smiles. "You know what I'm laughing at, right?"
Wen Zhiling grabbed a handful of sand, her voice tinged with laughter, "I could have guessed."
Li Xu stood under the opposite parasol, his back covered in sweat. His gaze swept casually over Zong Linhan and Wen Zhiling as they talked. He held a bottle of mineral water in his hand and twisted the cap with a "click".
The production team announced that the guests would be coming, and that they would go to the market in the afternoon to buy props to decorate the villa. Each group would be responsible for a different area, and points would be awarded based on the decoration results.
Back at the villa, Lu Qin and Li Xu went up to the second floor one after the other to rinse off the sand and chatted about the beach volleyball game they had just played.
Lu Qin kept brushing the sand off his body. "The two of them have a pretty good relationship, much better than Siyi and I."
Li Xu snorted coldly, "Don't become a sister-obsessed person, there's no future in being a sister-obsessed person."
Lu Qin chuckled. As the two passed the little angel statue at the corner, he casually asked, "Hey, have you ever heard that there are mermaids on this island?"
Li Xu turned her head: "Huh?"
Lu Qin possessed a natural scholarly air, and even when he was talking nonsense, it sounded like he was seriously explaining scientific knowledge. "And what about island ghosts, urban legends about sea monsters climbing walls at midnight... You're not scared, are you?"
Li Xu: "Just kidding, who would be afraid of that?"
Lu Qin shrugged and opened the door.
Li Xu called out to him, her voice hesitant, "Is it true or false, just an urban legend?"
Lu Qin chuckled, "Just kidding, you actually believed me?"
Li Xu hesitated: "Are we going to watch a horror movie together in a couple of days? Did you get the news?" Otherwise, why would you suddenly say something so scary?
Lu Qin narrowed his eyes slightly, "Li Xu."
Li Xu was startled by his low, cold voice and instinctively pressed her back against the wall. "What are you doing?"
Lu Qin smiled and said, "You're quite timid."
Li Xu, unconvinced, raised his voice: "Who's a coward!"
Lu Qin shook his head, pushed open the door and entered, casually leaving behind a sentence, as if deliberately trying to provoke him, "It might be nearby... and suck people's blood..."
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