[In the Women's Bath]
The mist of the hot spring swirled around the hall, resembling a fairyland.
And Kiana was like a cheerful little fish splashing around in the water, stirring up waves.
"Let's go to the beach tomorrow!" Kiana suddenly popped up from the water and loudly suggested, "I heard the beach here is super nice! But besides taking a walk, I don't know what else we can do there?"
"How about beach volleyball?" Raiden Mei thought for a moment and replied, "I remember class monitor has always been good at playing volleyball."
"I'm fine with anything," said Fu Hua.
Beside them, Sirin pouted and hugged her knees, curling up in the corner, "Hmph, I don't want to play such childish games…"
"Oh right, we can also go surfing!" Kiana's eyes lit up. "That's fun and exciting! I think Mei learned how to surf before, right?"
Just then, Ivana suddenly popped up from the water with a splash, spraying the others with droplets.
"Hey hey, you guys all brought swimsuits, right? There's that saying, after all, beach and swimsuits are a perfect match~"
The hot spring suddenly fell silent for a moment.
"I brought two sets," Raiden Mei spoke first, her face slightly red. "One is the school-issued one, and the other is… one I bought before…"
"I've seen Mei's other swimsuit! It's super pretty!" Kiana jumped in. "As for me, I brought a blue two-piece I bought earlier! There are little stars on it too!"
Fu Hua cleared her throat lightly, "The one I brought is also the school-issued one…"
At this point, everyone's eyes naturally turned to Sirin.
The purple-haired girl instantly bristled, "What… what are you looking at! Of course I brought one too!"
Just then, Ivana said with a mischievous grin, "Say, do you think old geezer will keep staring at our swimsuits tomorrow?"
As she said that, Ivana deliberately looked down at her own flat chest, then glanced at Kiana and Raiden Mei.
"Of course~ With a body like mine, there's no way I'd attract his attention, but some people… their advantages are a bit too obvious…"
Hearing this, Fu Hua instinctively glanced down at her chest, then silently recited in her heart, 'She's just a child… doesn't know better…' and similar phrases.
Meanwhile, Sirin gritted her teeth while staring at the water's surface, secretly vowing, 'When I grow up, I'll definitely grow enough to win people's hearts!'
"Oh right, I just thought of a great idea~" Ivana's eyes spun like little gears. "Tomorrow, let's have a swimsuit competition to decide who gets to go to the couples' hot spring with old geezer! Whoever wears the best swimsuit wins!"
The hot spring immediately fell into silence again, but Ivana was satisfied with the stillness on everyone's faces.
Because in their silence, she didn't just see shyness, she saw eagerness too.
Just imagining how tomorrow old Ye would be dazzled by the girls' swimsuits made the corners of her mouth uncontrollably rise.
'No… no good! Can't laugh out loud yet!'
'As a professional fun-haver, no matter how funny the scene is, one must hold it in!'
"Since no one has any objections, then it's settled! Tomorrow at the beach we'll find out!"
After finishing, Ivana looked over at Fu Hua on the side and thought to herself, 'Old hag, oh old hag, good thing I prepared a swimsuit kill move in advance for you.'
'Otherwise, with that elementary schooler aesthetic of yours, how were you gonna compete with Kiana and Raiden Mei?'
———
[In the Men's Bath]
After a brief silence, Van suddenly spoke, "Come to think of it, why did you suddenly want to come to Changkong City?"
"I don't know either. Just suddenly felt like dropping by."
Otto leaned against the edge of the bath, his golden hair damp and sticking to the sides of his neck. "Later I looked up some travel guides online, then happened to see a related ad, so I brought Kallen over."
At that, Otto suddenly changed tone and teased, "But you, how come you're vacationing with so many beautiful girls?"
"You're not bad either," Van shot back.
"Being surrounded by so many beauties, feels pretty nice, huh?" Otto jabbed. "So, have you decided where your heart lies?"
"Why don't you guess?"
"I'm the loyal type, I can't guess what's going on in someone like your head." Otto shrugged. "But I really am curious, which is harder, surviving the love battlefield or surviving the apocalypse?"
"Let's not talk about difficulty first," Van raised an eyebrow, "but what about you, wasn't this supposed to be a honeymoon for two? Why'd you bring Sakura along? Otto, be honest with me. You didn't awaken some strange new preference, did you?"
Otto went red-hot again from having his weak spot exposed.
He argued furiously, "That's still better than you, surrounded by a bunch of beautiful girls!"
Van, "Your wife ran away with the fox spirit."
Otto, "You, attracting this many girls, aren't you afraid of getting knife-ended?"
Van, "Your wife ran away with the fox spirit."
Otto, "What if you end up being N-way split?"
Van, "Your wife ran away with the fox spirit."
Otto, "Can we not bring that up?!"
Otto was speechless.
How could this damn guy always strike exactly where it hurts? Weren't they supposed to be old friends? Couldn't they at least pretend to have some decency?
To that, Van replied, "Sure, bro, of course."
"Maybe while you're soaking in the hot spring with me, Kallen's off having a moment with Yae Sakura."
Van delivered the final blow with an open-palmed shrug.
Otto, 'F***!!!'
Otto's face instantly turned crimson, and he shot to his feet.
"I just remembered Kallen said she wanted a midnight snack, I'll go get her something!"
Van only laughed in silence.
As Otto reached the bathhouse exit, he suddenly stopped.
Amid the drifting steam, Van saw Otto raise a hand toward him, back still turned.
"No matter what happened between us, in the past or now… I still want to say one thing,"
"Old friend, welcome back."
"And… thank you…"
"Mm." Van softly responded, "You too."
After Otto left, the bathhouse returned to silence.
Van's smile also gradually faded along with the quiet.
Otto had said he came because of an ad, but from what Van knew of his old friend, that reason felt too far-fetched.
What concerned him more was that Otto had mentioned they originally planned to visit somewhere else before this resort, but had to change plans for some reason.
Next door, the sounds of the girls laughing and playing could be heard, but Van's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.
He had a vague feeling…
That behind this seemingly ordinary vacation, there was an invisible hand pushing something forward…
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