358: Beach Vacation Routine (Part 2)

Ling Qi stood up abruptly, the straps of her pearl-white swimsuit tracing sharp lines. She looked directly at the girl and said coldly, "This is your final warning. Please leave, miss."

The girl was forced back half a step by the Secretary-General's imposing manner, muttering, "If you don't want to add me, then don't, why be so fierce..." Yet, she still pouted and walked away, looking back every few steps, even waving at Shang Wan Ning when she reached the end of the beach.

(つд⊂)

Olexia shook with laughter, her wine-red lace swimsuit rising and falling with her curves, "The Secretary-General's jealousy is almost catching up to the waves of the Caribbean."

As soon as the teasing remark landed, Ling Qi didn't even glance over, standing up and walking straight toward the other end of the beach.

She had caught a glimpse of surfboards piled up on the shore earlier; her steps were decisive now, clearly intending to find somewhere quiet.

Shang Wan Ning traced the rim of her iced drink cup, her gaze following Ling Qi's back as she crossed the long beach.

The sun stretched that figure out, long and slender, and even the "keep away" coldness around her seemed to fade a little under the heat.

She tilted her head back and finished the rest of the juice in her cup; the crisp clinking of the ice cubes settled, and she had already stood up.

"Is Your Majesty going too?" Lia propped herself up on her elbows.

Shang Wan Ning tugged at the gold chain on her bikini waist, the black and gold color scheme flashing with a cold light under the sun, "I can't just let her fall into the sea all by herself."

Olexia rolled over lazily, "Oh my, chasing after her already?"

She winked at Lia, "Wanna bet? Let's see how long it takes for them to break the ice."

Lia twisted the seashell decorations on her skirt hem with her fingers, thinking seriously, "Five minutes? Your Majesty is quite good at coaxing people."

"Five minutes?"

Olexia scoffed and tapped the sand. "Three minutes at most. Do you believe me? Even if Ling Qi gives Shang Wan Ning the cold shoulder all day, as long as the other party offers a step down, she will still obediently take it."

Lia blinked her emerald eyes, feeling that the Secretary-General's attitude toward Her Majesty was not as simple as just being "obedient."

While the two were betting, Shang Wan Ning had already caught up to Ling Qi.

Ling Qi was bending over to choose a surfboard. As soon as her hand touched an indigo board, she heard footsteps behind her. She paused, only pulling the board closer to her chest.

"Choosing this one?" Shang Wan Ning asked.

"It's too long for a beginner and easy to lose balance; there are shorter soft boards over there."

Ling Qi gripped the edge of the board, her eyelashes trembling behind her gold-rimmed glasses, "Subordinate is not a beginner."

"Oh?" Shang Wan Ning circled to stand in front of the Secretary-General, "That's perfect, then you can show me the ropes."

Ling Qi's knuckles gripping the surfboard turned white. In the end, she turned around and picked up a fluorescent yellow soft board, "Your Majesty, stand steady."

When the seawater washed over their ankles, Ling Qi stepped on the board first to demonstrate.

"Bend your knees, lower your center of gravity, don't lean back." Her attitude was softer than it had been on the beach; the waves seemed to have worn down her sharp edges.

Shang Wan Ning did as she was told, her straps glistening from being soaked in seawater, and she deliberately leaned closer to her, "Like this?"

A wave suddenly surged in. Shang Wan Ning slipped, and just as she was about to fall into the water, her wrist was grabbed tightly.

Ling Qi's grip was firm, her palm rough with anti-slip wax. When she pulled her back onto the board, they were close enough to smell the scent of sea salt in each other's hair.

"I told you not to wobble."

"Then AQi, hold on tight." Shang Wan Ning leaned another two centimeters closer to the Secretary-General, her fragrant shoulder brushing against her arm.

When the first wave came, Shang Wan Ning was half a beat slow to get up on the board, and she dragged Ling Qi into the water with her.

Saltwater choked her throat. She coughed and looked up to see Ling Qi lying on the board watching her, her gold-rimmed glasses slid to the tip of her nose, the lenses covered in water droplets. Gone was her usual coldness, replaced instead by a touch of silliness.

"What are you laughing at?" Shang Wan Ning swam over and reached out to push the glasses back up.

"If you laugh again, I'll flip the board!"

Ling Qi turned her face away, a faint curve escaping the corner of her mouth, and she pushed herself up to paddle toward the deep sea, "Again, listen to my command."

This wave was just right. The moment Ling Qi shouted "Up," Shang Wan Ning used the buoyancy to stand straight, adjusting her knees slightly with the movement of the wave.

The Secretary-General was right behind her, half a step away, her elbow almost touching her slender waist.

The sunlight spilled over their overlapping shadows. The wave pushed the board forward, and the splashing water hit their ankles, cool and ticklish.

"Your Majesty, look ahead." Ling Qi suddenly reached out and gave her waist a push.

Shang Wan Ning was distracted by the push, and instead leaned into her arms, "If I fall, will you be responsible for fishing me out?"

Her hand froze in mid-air, her fingertips brushing against the gold chain on Shang Wan Ning's waist. When she pulled it back sharply, it brought up a string of water droplets. "...Childish."

Despite saying that, when the next wave came, she still moved closer to Shang Wan Ning, ensuring she could reach her with just a stretch of her hand.

On a lounge chair on the shore, Lia held up a stopwatch, her eyes wide, "Two minutes and twenty seconds! They... they laughed!"

Olexia bit on her straw, watching the two figures in the water occasionally colliding, a teasing smile curling her lips. "Told you it would be done within three minutes."

She leaned back against the chair, the wind lifting a corner of her wine-red sarong.

"Still saying you aren't a beginner?"

Ling Qi wiped the water from her face, the coldness in her eyes long gone. "You can't even hold onto the board."

"With you supporting me, what is there to fear?" Shang Wan Ning smiled and leaned toward her, this time not being pushed away.

The two rode the same wave forward, the surfboard's wake dragging two parallel white marks in the water, like a knot tied by the sea breeze.

The sun gradually slanted, dyeing the sea surface a warm orange.

Shang Wan Ning grabbed Ling Qi's wrist and leaped up, using the momentum of the wave to soar into the air. Their shadows overlapped on the crest of the wave, and when they landed, they stood firmly on the board, splashing water all over themselves.

Ling Qi's laughter came mixed with the waves, clear and crisp, lighter than it had ever been.

"Still saying you'd guide me?" Shang Wan Ning bumped her shoulder against hers, "Clearly, it's me taking you for a ride."

Ling Qi hummed, the board moving even closer to A Ning, until even their fingertips touched the backs of their hands.

On the shore, Lia had already put down the stopwatch, resting her chin in her hand, "It didn't even take five minutes at all."

Olexia stood up and walked toward the water, the wind lifting a corner of her wine-red sarong, "Let's go, let's go take a look. If they keep messing around, they might just end up throwing the surfboard around like a toy."

When they got close, they saw Shang Wan Ning and Ling Qi sharing a board, drifting toward the shore...

"Hey ;-) , I won the bet." Olexia tilted her chin at Lia, "Remember my mango smoothie."

Lia stuck out her tongue, her emerald eyes reflecting the warm orange light, her gaze glued to the two figures walking away side by side.

The setting sun traced their silhouettes with gold, and even the scent of sea salt in the air seemed to have sweetened a little.

Ling Qi suddenly stopped, straightening up from Shang Wan Ning's embrace, her earlobes as red as if they had been scorched by the sun, "Your Majesty..."

"Hmm?" Shang Wan Ning looked down at her, her eyes still holding the light of the waves.

"Next time... Subordinate will teach you how to paddle."

Shang Wan Ning laughed out loud, reaching out to straighten Ling Qi's crooked glasses, "Alright!"