After arriving at the agreed-upon time, Van changed his clothes and walked out from the men's bath.
Just as he stepped outside, he happened to run into Kiana and the others, who had also changed clothes.
Thus, both parties coincidentally returned to the hotel together.
Along the way, all the girls tacitly avoided mentioning tomorrow's swimsuit showdown plan.
Van, meanwhile, was preoccupied with pondering the suspicious things behind the resort and didn't notice the glances they occasionally exchanged.
After returning to the suite, everyone went back to their rooms to change clothes.
When Van finished changing and arrived at the living room, he saw that Kiana and Sirin had already changed into pajamas and were sitting on the sofa bickering.
"Hey, your pajamas are way too childish, aren't they?" Sirin crossed her arms, looking at Kiana's Houmu-patterned pajamas with disdain.
Kiana pulled at Sirin's pajama sleeve without backing down, "Better than someone dressing like an elementary schooler!"
"Who are you calling an elementary schooler?!"
"Whoever reacts must be the one~"
Seeing the quarrel escalating, Van quickly walked over and sat between the two on the sofa.
"Speaking of which, I heard there are jet skis at the beach tomorrow. Want to try them...?"
Van had just started speaking when Raiden Mei also walked out after changing into pajamas.
She naturally sat between Kiana and Van, her smooth violet hair giving off a faint fragrance.
"By the way, I just asked the hotel front desk. There's also a boat rental service here. I think it should be pretty good," Raiden Mei said.
"Wow~ We can go out to sea too!" Kiana's eyes sparkled. "Then can't we drive the boat and go on a sea adventure? That's so cool!"
"Oh yeah! Speaking of which, where are class monitor and Ivana? I'm looking forward to the bedtime pillow fight tonight~" Kiana said, swinging her fair legs on the sofa.
As soon as she said that, Fu Hua's room door opened, and Ivana and Fu Hua came out together.
But what caught Van's attention, was that Ivana wore a mischievous smile on her face, while Fu Hua behind her was completely red in the face.
Van was about to ask, but Kiana had already thrown a pillow at his face.
"I declare, the first-ever pillow war, begins!!!"
With Kiana leading the charge, the living room was thrown into chaos.
Pillows flew everywhere, and feathers floated through the air.
"Take this!" Sirin threw a pillow at Kiana, but Kiana skillfully dodged it.
And Kiana didn't go easy either, she countered with a pillow straight at Sirin.
Sirin tried to copy Kiana's dodge move, but due to not being as athletic, she slipped and nearly fell, only for Van to catch her just in time.
Feeling the warmth from Van at close range, Sirin's cheeks instantly flushed red.
However, just as the atmosphere began to grow ambiguous, an uninvited voice broke their eye contact.
"Old geezer's got an opening!!!"
Thwack!
Ivana smacked the back of Van's head with a pillow, and the force of it sent feathers flying into Sirin's face.
Sirin, '...'
Watching Van bickering and playing with the others again, Sirin puffed up her cheeks instinctively.
Elsewhere, Fu Hua was originally standing calmly in the corner, but she was suddenly pulled into the battle by Kiana.
She calmly adjusted her glasses, then precisely smacked Ivana with a pillow.
"Old hag! You repay kindness with betrayal!!" Ivana shouted.
Laughter and shouts filled the living room.
Kiana laughed so hard her cheeks turned red, looking even more charming.
Raiden Mei's pajama collar had slipped to one side, revealing her collarbone clearly.
Eventually, everyone collapsed onto the carpet, exhausted, staring at the ceiling and panting.
"Tomorrow... let's go play on jet skis..." Kiana said between breaths.
"Sure, we can also try beach volleyball," Raiden Mei said slowly.
Sirin snorted, "I want to go surfing...."
The girls continued chatting about tomorrow's plans, but all tacitly avoided the swimsuit topic.
As the night deepened, a practical issue was placed in front of them, five rooms, six people.
After a brief moment of silence, Kiana spoke casually, "How about Sirin sleeps in my room tonight?"
Saying that, she hugged Raiden Mei. "That way I can sleep with Mei~"
Sirin felt warmth in her heart, though her mouth stayed stubborn, "Who... who wants to sleep in your room?!"
Watching the two argue, Ivana's eyes suddenly lit up as she suggested, "Sirin, how about we put you in old geezer's room to sleep?"
Sirin's eyes lit up upon hearing that and nodded subconsciously, "Sure~"
But the moment the words left her mouth, she realized what she had just said and her face turned red up to her ears again.
On the other side, Fu Hua adjusted her glasses and said coolly, "Sirin is still a girl, and it's not very appropriate for her to sleep with Van. How about this, Sirin can sleep in Ivana's room, and Ivana can sleep with me tonight?"
Before Fu Hua even finished speaking, Sirin didn't care about being embarrassed anymore and hurriedly said, "Actually I don't really think it's inappropriate. It's not like we haven't slept together before..."
Only after she finished did Sirin realize she slipped up. She quickly covered her mouth.
Her words reminded everyone of the scene from the leaked video of Van and Sirin alone in a room, and the atmosphere instantly turned awkward.
Sensing the surrounding mood, Van quickly spoke up, "How about I just sleep in the living room? The living room is big enough, plenty of space for me to lie down..."
At this point, Ivana opened her mouth to say something, but Van was faster and covered her mouth with one hand.
"Since no one has any objections, it's happily decided, then." Van declared firmly while still tightly covering Ivana's mouth.
Although Sirin was extremely unwilling inside, she could only pout and nod reluctantly.
Her puffed-up cheeks looked just like an angry pufferfish, and even her purple hair was slightly frizzed from frustration.
———
[Late Into the Night]
The gentle moonlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling window, casting a silver glow on the floor.
Outside, waves softly lapped the shore in rhythmic beats.
It should have been a peaceful seaside night view, refreshing to the soul, but Van had no mind to enjoy it.
He was lost in thoughts about the oddities of today's events.
Suddenly, a faint sound of footsteps broke Van's train of thought.
To avoid awkwardness, Van immediately closed his eyes, slowed his breathing, and pretended to be asleep.
Through barely cracked eyelids, he managed to see who it was.
Under the moonlight, Kiana walked over barefoot, carefully heading in his direction.
When she reached the sofa, Kiana slowly squatted down and gently placed the Homu plushie she had won earlier at the arcade next to Van's head.
After setting it down, she tilted her head, studied it for a moment, then lightly adjusted the plushie's position to ensure it faced Van directly.
"With this accompanying you... you probably won't feel lonely anymore..." Kiana whispered softly.
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