âI canât sleep back there.â Wen Xu cuddled her with all four limbs. He buried his face in her neck and smelled the sweet scent of her skin. The calmness he felt was indescribable. âDonât move, let me sleep like this for a while.â
âAm I just a pillow to you?â Qi Youjing poked his abdomen with her fingers. It was all hard muscles.
Wen Xu looked at her pitifully. âYour dad is so strict all the time that itâs hard to find a chance to have fun. Just let me cuddle.â
â...â Qi Youning wrestled for some time before breaking into a smile. âYou behave now. Youâre only allowed to cuddle.â
Right after Wen Xu mumbled his agreement, he placed a kiss square on her lips. Qi Youning gave him a kick. âDidnât you say you only wanted to cuddle?â
â...â Wen Xu kissed her again. âI promise not to do anything else.â
Blush seared through Qi Youningâs face. âI... Iâm sleepy... You...you better go to bed!â
Wen Xuâs eyes sparkled. That night they only kissed and did nothing else.
...
There was not much to do after breakfast the following day, so Qi Youning dragged them to the hot springs. The resort was surrounded by the hills and the sea, and there was also a newly opened deep-sea hot spring.
After rinsing off, Wei Muranâs party of four was getting ready to enter the hot spring when they suddenly heard horrified screams coming from inside.âread comics on our Read.liveâ
Wei Muran quickly wrapped herself in a towel and rushed in. She saw approximately seven or eight women standing next to the hot spring pool while three others were crying and scrambling to climb out.
âWhatâs going on?â asked Wei Muran.
The women were obviously scared; they were crying and screaming. Everyone ignored her.
âCalm down, Iâm a police officer!â Wei Muran shouted.
By now, some of the women had calmed down a little and the cries had somewhat died down. A young woman roughly the same age as Wei Muran built up the courage and moved closer, her frightened eyes still fixed on the hot spring pool.
âThere... thereâs a dead body...â the woman cried.
As soon the words left her mouth, someone puked. As the sound of vomiting reached their ears, it was immediately followed by the sound of gasps and of puke hitting the floor.
Everyone moved away.
âEveryone stay calm, nobody leave. Gather to one side and donât approach the corpse. Talk to each other but remain where you are. Yiqing, get the staff to call the police. While the police are on their way, stay put,â instructed Wei Muran calmly.
Qi Youning and Xiao Yiqing have not entered the pool and have not seen the corpse. They did not experience soaking in the same pool with a corpse thus they did not feel too grossed out, but they were still a little anxious.
Xiao Yiqing went out and quickly put on her clothes before she called the police with her cell phone and informed Xiang Haorui.
Wei Muran, together with Qi Youming and Cheng Xicheng, ushered the female customers from the hot springs to the dressing room to change into their clothes. The staff of the resort then brought them to the salon next door and gave them each a cup of hot cocoa while waiting for the police to arrive.
âQingqing!â Xiang Haorui rushed over. His hair was a mess. He and Qi Youxuan were in the male hot spring next door when they received Xiao Yiqingâs message. They did not even have time to put on their clothes properly. Their shirts were untucked, and even the buttons were incorrectly fastened.
Xiao Yiqing barely stood up and was already dragged into his embrace. âWere you scared?â
Xiang Hairui wrapped his arms around her waist and stared nervously down at her face. Her face was a little pale. He cupped her face, his warm palms caressing her pale and cold cheeks.
Xiao Yiqing only felt that his palms were getting hotter. His palms were much rougher than hers. Caressing her face, it tingled and felt like tiny critters crawling across her face.
Xiao Yiqingâs face grew hotter and hotter and also felt numb. Her face visibly turned red and glowed, all too obvious on her pale fair face.
âI... Iâm fine. I didnât actually see it,â whispered Xiao Yiqing. Her voice quavered as she was anxious from being held so tightly by Xiang Haorui.
Xiang Haorui misunderstood and thought she was terrified and was just putting on a brave face. He held on even tighter. âItâs alright, itâs alright. Iâm here.â
Xiao Yiqing was wrapped tightly in his arms and suddenly felt something moist and tender on her forehead.
She looked up in surprise. The tip of her nose brushed across his soft and dry lips. She froze. Her face flushed red down her neck and to her collar.
Xiao Yiqing was shocked speechless. Xiang Haorui smiled warmly, lowered his head, and kissed her on the cheek again.
Xiao Yiqing was stupefied, her face completely blushed. âYou... What... What the hell are you doing?â
âWhat am I doing? Iâm kissing you,â said Xiang Haorui softly.
âThatâs enough, you two. Whereâs Mumu?â Qi Youxuan asked impatiently. He thought he should also comfort his woman.
Xiao Yiqing was so stunned by Xiang Haoruiâs kisses and hugs that she forgot that there were still so many people around. Qi Youxuanâs remark snapped her back into reality. She tried to push away but was trapped in Xiang Haoruiâs embrace. She could not break free.
âMuran went back into the hot spring,â said Xiao Yiqing while blushing.
The hot spring had been cleared of people so Qi Youxuan went in.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Xiang Haorui sat down while still holding on to Xiao Yiqing. Xiao Yiqing twisted and contorted trying to break free. Xiang Haorui was still clueless. âDonât move, youâre afraid.â
Xiao Yiqing was silent.
She was not afraid.
âPresident Xiang.â An Feiru rushed over and saw Xiang Haorui and Xiao Yiqing in an embrace. She froze for a moment but quickly recovered. âAre you all right?â
âIâm alright, my girlfriend is just a little scared,â Xiang Haorui replied. Based on the position they were in, Xiao Yiqing was almost sitting on his lap.
She might already be if not for there being so many people around.
Placing a cup of hot cocoa in her hands, he lowered her head and asked intimately, âWould you like anything else?â He completely ignored An Feiru.
An Feiru stood there stunned and awkward. Seeing how Xiang Haorui treated Xiao Yiqing, she desperately tried to conceal her jealousy.
Xiao Yiqing was so skittish that she did not pay any attention whatsoever to An Feiru. She only blushed and shook her head.
It took a long time to react. Recalling what Wei Muran had told her last night, she struggled for a long time before gathering the courage to say, âWho...whoâs your girlfriend?â
Xiang Haorui looked at her with a pitiful expression. âAre you not going to take responsibility? Iâve protected you since you were little. I preserved my virginity for more than twenty years. You actually wonât admit it?â
âWh... What? When did you say that?â Xiao Yiqing muttered but did not dare look him in the eye. âI wouldnât know if you donât tell me. Besides, youâre declaring that Iâm your girlfriend. Weâve never discussed this.â
âSo you donât like me?â Xiang Haoruiâs feeling was hurt and he wanted to leave. âWen Xu and Qi Youxuan both said you liked me, Iâll have to confront them.â
âHey, where are you going?â Xiao Yiqing grabbed onto him. âI.. Iâve yet to reply. Moreover, would you just leave me here?â
âThen do you agree?â Xiang Haorui hugged her again.
Seeing that Xiao Yiqingâs lowered face was as red and glowing like the head of a cigarette, Xiang Haorui smiled from ear to ear, parted his lips and planted a big kiss onto her.
âDo you agree? Iâm so pathetic,â Xiang Haorui whispered.
The other female guests at the hot springs had forgotten about the repulsiveness of soaking in the same pool with a corpse. They were now nauseated by Xiang Haorui and could think of nothing else but to burn the two lovebirds to death.
âDonât make a scene, Iâll answer you...â Xiao Yiqing was so nervous that she found it difficult to breathe. She felt as though she was going to pass out due to the lack of oxygen. âI agree,â her voice was stuck in her throat.
Xiang Haorui grinned happily and ruthlessly planted another one on Xiao Yiqing.
...
Qi Youxuan hurriedly entered the hot spring. Wei Muran was surveying the scene. As he was fully clothed, it felt hot and uncomfortable.
âWhatâs the situation?â Qi Youxuan asked as he walked in.
Wei Muran turned and smiled a little. âItâs alright. We heard screams just as we were about to enter. When we came in, the guests had already exited the pool claiming there was a corpse in the pool. We havenât seen it though.â
The hot spring water is reddish-brown and opaque. There was no way to determine the condition under the water.
âThe corpse hasnât surfaced, so the time of death should be quite recent.â Wei Muran took a good look around. âThe room is sealed from all sides, and thereâs only one exit through the dressing room. There are air vents on the ceiling, the size of which are large enough for an adult to crawl through.â