"Come a little closer..." Gu Sheng gestured with her eyes for him to move nearer.
Mo Qingcheng took the opportunity to lean down.
Suddenly inspired, she asked, "How do you make that Jinxiu Meicai Braised Pork Rice you mentioned last time?"
"Jinxiu Meicai Braised Pork Rice?" Mo Qingcheng seemed to see through her intention but wasn't in a hurry to expose her. "That dish is a bit complicated. First, boil skin-on pork belly until 80% cooked, wipe off the moisture from the skin, and brush it with soy sauce while it's still hot. Then pour oil into a wok, heat it up, and deep-fry the pork belly skin-side down until it turns a deep red. Remove it, let it cool, place it skin-side down on a cutting board, and slice it into pieces about 5 millimeters thick."
She absentmindedly hummed in acknowledgment.
What to do... What excuse should I come up with...
How can I go out to play without having to meet the parents?
Mo Qingcheng seemed to find it amusing and continued watching her distracted expression as he casually explained, "Roll the soaked lotus seeds into the pork slices and arrange them neatly, standing upright, in a bowl. Finely chop the preserved mustard greens, add chicken bouillon, sugar, and soy sauce, then mix them with the cooked glutinous rice while it's still hot."
"And then?" Gu Sheng pretended to press for more details.
Keep talking...
I still haven't thought of a solution...
"Then? Evenly spread the mixed preserved mustard greens and rice over the pork rolls, steam it in a pot for about 30 minutes until the meat is tender, take it out, invert the bowl onto a plate, and the lotus seed-wrapped pork slices will be revealed on top."
Gu Sheng was completely not listening.
"The steps are complicated, and it's easy to mess up," Mo Qingcheng watched her for a moment and chuckled. "Have you thought of a solution yet?"
...
Exposed, she finally gave in, looking at him pitifully. "Let me think a little longer, okay?"
In that moment, it reminded him of the feeling he had when he first heard her humming—so familiar.
In truth, when he first entered the circle and listened to his own recorded voice from the computer, he didn't find it particularly special; it even felt a bit strange. At the time, he thought it didn't sound like his own voice. Whether it was pleasant or not, he had no concept—how could anyone have a feeling about their own voice?
Until he heard her voice.
A faint laziness, a slight huskiness.
So perfectly fitting, it quickly softened his heart.
"Alright," Mo Qingcheng made an unprecedented concession, though it came with an even more lingering, intimate whisper, as if spoken close to her ear. "Decide quickly so I can make arrangements."
And so...
Ten days later, the travel lineup evolved into this:
Jue Mei, Geng Xiaoxing, Feng Ya Song, Dou Dou Dou Bing, Fei Shao and his wife, W and his girlfriend, Mo Bai, Mu Mu... and a pair of complete outsiders, Cousin and Dong Yiru. These two were included entirely because Gu Sheng had to agree to their company to reassure her parents and secure their permission to go.
Initially, she had thought that if she said it was a graduation trip with classmates, everything would be solved, right?
So she turned to Geng Xiaoxing for help.
Geng Xiaoxing very loyally agreed and, after discussing with Jue Mei for a few days, decided to treat it as their first meeting transitioning from the Two-dimensional world to the Three-Dimensional Space. Wasn't it incredibly brave to travel together for a first meeting? Compared to her own conservative studio meet-up with the Top talent...
Once Jue Mei knew, everyone knew.
Unknowingly, the lineup had grown several times larger than she had originally imagined T.T...
Especially Dong Yiru's excitement upon meeting the Top talent for the first time truly made Gu Sheng, who prided herself as a fan of the Top talent, feel embarrassed.Standing at the airport entrance, covering her face with tears welling up in her eyes yet not daring to take a step forward... After a long moment of overwhelming emotion, she finally wiped her tears, looking delicate and trembling as she said, "Top talent, I've been your fan for nine whole years, and I've finally, finally met you. I'm just so, so excited. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just ignore me. It's just that meeting my idol has me too overwhelmed..."
Even Mo Qingcheng didn't know what to say.
He probably really was encountering such a purely devoted fan for the first time, rather than someone in a professional collaboration or a recording studio staff member.
Fortunately, Dong Yiru was completely subdued by her cousin, so she just got excited without actually trying to do anything...
The entire tour group had only about twenty people, and they made up half of it. The tour guide noticed they were all a familiar bunch and thought it would be easier to manage. At least he wouldn't have to track down each person individually for every activity—finding one meant finding them all.
"Everyone should know that recently, relations between that country and ours haven't been great, so it's best to stick with me for everything. Don't go off on your own for activities, and absolutely don't argue with the locals. It's better to take a small loss..." The tour guide perched his sunglasses on his head and spoke with great enthusiasm, his expressions animated, making the country sound as dangerous as the center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Dou Dou Dou Bing was already nervous about going to that country, and the more she listened, the more her heart pounded. She grabbed Jue Mei and asked, "Why do we have to go to such a dangerous place? This is supposed to be a vacation, not a grand adventure..."
Jue Mei Sha Yi, however, felt the tour guide was exaggerating. He pointed at the Top talent and said, "Mo Qingcheng said that since relations are so strained now, we absolutely have to go once, or we might never get another chance."
...
...
Well, Jue Mei's explanation was even more terrifying.
Geng Xiaoxing stood very meekly by his side, still immersed in the nervousness of their first meeting, trying her best to present her best self. Gu Sheng found it hilarious and made a face at her: Look at you, even you have a day like this~
The tour guide continued to scare them, probably genuinely worried that with so many men in the group, they might cause trouble with the locals. Even after passing through customs, he earnestly reminded them, "Remember, once the plane lands, don't call me 'tour guide.' Call me 'group leader.' Please, everyone, so others won't think we're a tour group."
Finally, even Mu Mu couldn't hold back and muttered under his breath, "Tour guide, are you handing out guns for self-defense?"
"Guns? You can buy them locally anytime," the tour guide took his sunglasses off his head. "Once we land, you'll see—even outside Starbucks, there are people carrying submachine guns."
...
All the girls silently moved closer to the men beside them.
Dou Dou Dou Bing, who had been standing alone, looked around and suddenly fixed her eyes on Mu Mu, quietly walking over to stand beside him. Mu Mu gave her a bewildered look. "The people's police serve the people, remember to protect me when the time comes," Dou Bing explained succinctly.
"..."
And so, the tour guide's threats and intimidation had a peculiar effect.
The men with girlfriends suddenly seemed taller, stronger, and more capable—finally having a chance to shine =。=Since the flight was overnight, many people took the opportunity to sleep, as there would be a tour group activity in the afternoon upon arrival the next day. Gu Sheng also sat beside the Top talent, closing her eyes, opening them again, then closing them once more to glance at him… He was still holding a book, reading. Unable to resist, she whispered to him, "Aren't you tired?"
"Not really," he smiled. "I'm used to staying up late, or my day and night rhythms are reversed."
She let out a soft sigh. "I also get inspiration to do things at night, so I'm wide awake now. But if I don't sleep, I'll be exhausted when we arrive tomorrow morning, won't I…"
"If you're tired, you can sleep," Mo Qingcheng's voice lowered. "This is a vacation, after all. If you're tired, sleep. When you wake up, go out and have some fun. There's no need to follow the tour guide's schedule."
She hummed in agreement.
Suddenly, Feng Ya Song's voice came from behind them, leaning in: "Wait, isn't this vacation arranged by the two of you? You're not really planning to just sleep when you're tired and play when you're awake… ignoring us, are you?"
…
How could the same words, when repeated by Feng Ya Song, sound so… suggestive and ambiguous?
Indeed, any words polished by a professional's voice immediately took on a different flavor…
"Do you want to hang out with us?" the Top talent's tone shifted, tossing the question back.
"…No, absolutely not…" Feng Ya Song put on his eye mask again… and went back to sleep…
Such ordinary words, when spoken by the two of them… how did they become so ambiguous?
Indeed, any words polished by a professional's voice immediately took on a different flavor…
Gu Sheng closed her eyes again.
Since she couldn't sleep, she could only rest with her eyes closed.
Occasionally, she could sense him shifting or turning a page of his book.
Not long after, he turned off the light above her head. She felt a weight settle over her as he draped the blanket brought by the flight attendant over her.
After all the commotion, they finally arrived at the hotel on the island. Gu Sheng and Geng Xiaoxing shared a room, while the Top talent naturally stayed with Jue Mei. Everyone wore expressions that seemed to say, "You're clearly fooling yourselves," as they entered their rooms to catch a quick nap before heading to the beach together.
Her room with Geng Xiaoxing was right next to the Top talent's. The hotel they were staying at was right by the white sandy beach, with only the fine white sand and a row of bars separating the hotel entrance from the sea.
Just looking at the sea so close by, all the exhaustion from the overnight flight and the over two hours of travel from the airport to the island vanished.
The Top talent had booked all sea-view rooms.
The rooms on the fourth and fifth floors shared an open terrace, perfect for friends vacationing together.
As soon as they entered the room, Geng Xiaoxing drew the curtains and immediately began changing from winter clothes to summer wear: "I brought two swimsuits—one bikini and one more conservative… Which one should I wear…"
Gu Sheng simply changed into a dress. "…Two?"
"Yeah, I didn't know what everyone else would be wearing… No, I've been sweating since I got off the plane. I'm going to take a shower first." Geng Xiaoxing hugged her clothes and rushed nervously into the bathroom.
Just as Gu Sheng zipped up the side of her dress, she heard a knock on the balcony door.She pulled back the curtain, and there stood the top talent outside the glass door, wearing black swim trunks and a dark blue short-sleeved shirt. Just standing there, he almost blocked out the entire backdrop of the blue sea and sky. He wore a blue baseball cap to shield himself from the sun, and his eyes, cast in the faint shadow of the cap, looked even more beautiful.
Just as she was about to speak, she saw him bend down and slip a sticky note under the glass door for her.
Puzzled, she picked it up to look.
On the paper was a drawing of a little girl wearing a large straw hat—simple and sketchy, yet very cute.
Below it was a line of text: It’s very hot, wear as little as possible, but the straw hat is a must.
As little as possible…
When she looked up again, Mo Qingcheng had already made a shushing gesture, using two fingers to quietly signal “let’s go.”
Sneak away?
Gu Sheng was a bit confused, but she still cooperated, taking her room key and the large straw hat, and slipped out quietly amid the sound of Geng Xiaoxing’s shower. Even as she entered the elevator and left the hotel, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was sneaking out for a secret rendezvous.
Outside, it was pouring rain.
“We didn’t bring an umbrella. What do we do?” Gu Sheng hesitated, looking at the rain.
“It’s fine. On this island, it rains several times a day, and the sun will come out soon.”
Barefoot, each carrying their flip-flops, they walked past the open-air bar in front of them… Sure enough, in less than five minutes, the rain gave way to blazing sunshine, and even the sand dried quickly, becoming fine, soft, and scorching under the intense sun.
She walked unsteadily for a while, then grew happy.
“Are you happy?”
She nodded. “Very, very much.”
The soles of her feet were warmed by the scorching sand, feeling incredibly comfortable.
Sunshine, the beach, and the top talent by her side… She stepped on the top of his foot with hers, and he stopped. Holding onto her straw hat, she looked up and, in the moment he lowered his head, quickly kissed the corner of his mouth.
He looked down at her and smiled.
She quickly covered her face with the straw hat and pointed toward the distant sea. “The tour guide said we’ll go fishing on the boat later.”
The top talent hummed softly, his voice gentle, easily touching the deepest part of her heart…
Whew, taking advantage of someone in broad daylight really requires a very strong mindset.
People were coming and going all around them—how had she not noticed so many people earlier?
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