172: Chapter 172 Star Island Holiday: The Gentleman Male Lead 1

"If you like butterflies, please do not chase them, you should weave a net."

—— Meng Zhu

Southern Country Y.

The sea breeze whipped up layers of rolling waves, pounding against the golden beach.

The setting sun cast fragmented light across the sea surface, refracting specks of shimmering light.

Xia Qingyuan strolled alone on the beach.

She wore a light-colored long dress, and the sea breeze blew against her hem and long hair.

She walked very slowly, her gaze fixed entirely on the beach beneath her feet, bending down from time to time to rummage through the fine sand for something.

Looking again, she was holding a glass jar in her hands, filled with sand, stones, and seashells of various colors.

She seemed to have a soft spot for these little things, and every time she had a harvest, she would be exceptionally happy.

After squatting down again to search for a moment, a pair of exquisitely crafted leather shoes suddenly appeared before her eyes.

Following the immaculate shoes upward, there were crisp suit pants.

Xia Qingyuan raised her head in some astonishment, a man having appeared before her at some unknown time.

It was that pure Huaguo face, with deep and three-dimensional facial features, and a jawline as cold and stern as if carved by a knife.

He was somewhat unsmiling.

Let alone being amiable or gentle; his brows and eyes were filled with a sense of alienation.

He was probably a poker-faced person, Xia Qingyuan thought.

Time retreated to ten minutes ago.

Meng Zhu had just entered the movie, and came to his senses on the beach.

He ignored the flying barrage of light spots all over the sky.

At the first moment, he checked his own status.

A moment later, his memories also flowed smoothly.

Then, Meng Zhu carefully scanned his surroundings, searching for that figure.

The next moment, he finally understood what emotional transference meant.

The good news was that he was indeed still a bug in the subconscious movie.

He could clearly realize that he did not love the girl in the distance.

But that woman had a fatal attraction to him.

He felt she was very perfect; her figure, appearance, personality, temperament, voice, and even strands of hair were all perfect, matching what he liked.

Yet he was not attracted to her because he thought she was perfect.

He was attracted to her first, and only then did he think she was perfect.

The logic was inverted.

Meng Zhu closed his eyes and began to suppress this feeling.

Fortunately, this proved effective; a few minutes later, the emotional transference with a one-month validity period was completely dispelled.

Looking again at the girl in the distance, Meng Zhu could already sense traces of emotional fuzzy substitution.

Very well, he only needed the excuse of emotional transference.

He certainly did not wish to love someone in that way.

There would be an awkward feeling of infidelity.

Especially since that feeling just now made the girl feel very much like a substitute for Nan Li.

After Meng Zhu calmed his mind, he naturally understood the identity of the girl in the distance.

Xia Qingyuan, the female lead.

Thus, Meng Zhu calmly walked over.

Apart from a bunch of nonsense when entering the movie, the barrage did not suspect Meng Zhu at this moment.

After all, according to the setting, his mood was simply bad when he came to the seaside.

Closing his eyes to rest his mind for a moment was entirely normal.

...

Time came to the present.

Xia Qingyuan raised her head.

Only then did Meng Zhu clearly see the other person's face.

She turned out to be a beauty of the enduring type; not stunning, but very comfortable.

Most importantly, this time the female lead was not an eldest miss with that pampered temperament; instead, she was very warm.

Very pure and sunny, or rather, overflowing with youthful vitality.

"What are you looking for? Did you drop something?"

After Meng Zhu came to his senses, his voice was slightly low, without excessive ups and downs in his tone.

The original owner's personality seemed to not like talking much.

Meng Zhu was adapting to it.

Xia Qingyuan was stunned for a moment, then stood up somewhat sheepishly, holding up the glass jar in her hand.

"Ah, yes, I'm sorry, I was just looking for some nice seashells and stones."

Hearing this answer, Meng Zhu nodded slightly.

"Then, excuse me, I thought you had lost something valuable."

Having said this, Meng Zhu turned around, preparing to continue his aimless stroll.

Just as he turned and took his first step, the girl's crisp voice suddenly came from behind.

"So, you came over specially because you wanted to help me look for valuables, is that right?"

Meng Zhu turned his head.

"That is indeed the case, but..."

"Since it's like that, then please help me together, can you?"

Meng Zhu turned back, astonishment flashing in his eyes, just looking like that at Xia Qingyuan's sincere face.

The sea breeze blew against the two of them, and there was a moment of silence in the air.

A moment later, Meng Zhu silently turned back around and walked to Xia Qingyuan's side.

He didn't say yes, just bent down and began to earnestly help rummage and pick.

Before long, the two walked along the coastline picking things up, and the glass jar in Xia Qingyuan's hand quickly filled up.

Looking at the colorful jar under the sunlight, she smiled contentedly, the corners of her eyes curving into crescent moons.

"It's a bit of a pity."

She gently shook the jar, a hint of regret in her tone.

"Do you know about sea glass?"

"What?"

"Sea glass, it's very hard to pick up, but it's very pretty."

"That's right, that's what I wanted to find the most."

Meng Zhu straightened his body and patted the fine sand off his hands.

Looking at that jar of colorful stones and seashells, he didn't comment on her regret.

Instead, he calmly asked a question.

"They shouldn't be worth anything, so why pick them up?"

Xia Qingyuan raised her head, smiling brilliantly against the sunlight.

"That's because pretty things shouldn't be buried by the beach in the first place, nor should they be washed back and forth by the seawater."

Hearing these words, Meng Zhu's heart trembled slightly.

He lowered his eyelids, looked at the girl's clear eyes, and was silent for a moment.

"Pretty things should be treasured or collected, that is indeed the case."

Xia Qingyuan looked at him, the smile on her face gradually fading, replaced by a serious expression.

"So, has your mood gotten a bit better?"

Meng Zhu frowned slightly.

"What?"

"I noticed, just when you turned around earlier—"

Xia Qingyuan pointed.

"Your back looked a little lonely, a little sad, didn't it?"

"Is that so? Because you thought I was sad, you called me over and asked me to help pick up stones?"

"Not right, it's because your help would make me pick them up faster."

She lied without batting an eye.

Then she squinted her eyes and leaned closer.

"So? After picking up the stones, has your mood improved?"

Meng Zhu couldn't stand her either.

He gently bloomed an extremely faint smile.

"Yes, your method is very effective; I'm much better."

Meng Zhu said softly.

"Thank you very much for your company."

Xia Qingyuan shook her head instead, a sincere light flashing in the depths of her eyes.

"Not at all, I should be the one thanking you. By the way, may I ask your name?"

"Of course, my name is Meng Zhu."

"Xia Qingyuan, this is my name."

The girl introduced herself with a smile, then asked somewhat curiously.

"So you're also here traveling in Country Y?"

"It's not like that."

Meng Zhu shook his head.

"I've lived in Country Y since I was a child, very close to this beach."

"Goodness!"

Xia Qingyuan widened her eyes in astonishment.

"Then your Mandarin is spoken so well, completely without a single trace of an accent."

Meng Zhu smiled and didn't explain.

"So, you're here traveling."

"Yes, actually I rarely travel out, this is my first time coming to such a distant place."

Perhaps lamenting fate, she took the initiative to extend her hand.

"Mr. Meng Zhu, it's very nice to meet you today."

Meng Zhu also extended his hand to shake back.

"Miss Qingyuan, it's also my honor to meet you."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Looking at the sky, Xia Qingyuan gathered up her hair blown messy by the sea breeze.

"Mr. Meng Zhu, then I should head back first."

Meng Zhu nodded.

"Alright, goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Xia Qingyuan turned around to leave, and having just walked two steps, as if suddenly remembering something, she stopped again.

She opened the lid of the glass jar, rummaged carefully inside, and finally pulled out a seashell with peculiar patterns.

"Please accept it."

She handed that seashell into Meng Zhu's palm.

That was a daylight snail.

"It's very hard to find a complete shell for this kind of snail."

Xia Qingyuan looked into Meng Zhu's eyes, her tone sincere.

"But today we are lucky; hopefully this luck can bring you blessings."

Having spoken, she waved her hand, turned around, and walked further and further away along the beach.

Meng Zhu stood quietly in place, the sea breeze blowing up the corners of his clothes.

He lowered his head, looking at that daylight snail in his palm, his slender fingers slowly closing.

He raised his head, his gaze fixed on the direction where Xia Qingyuan disappeared, murmuring to himself.

"Yet you yourself... aren't you also sad?"

Only people who are likewise immersed in sorrow can so keenly catch the scent of their own kind.

Xia Qingyuan could see through his sorrow at a glance and empathize with him simply because her own heart was also very sad at that time.

"[PS: Darlings, this story will be filled with a large amount of dialogue, and some of the dialogue lines will also be a bit strange, having a strange sense of language."

"For example, my name is Xia Qingyuan, I would write, Xia Qingyuan, this is my name."

"As long as you get used to it for a few chapters, you will discover the charm of this kind of dialogue, give it a try~]"