90: Bishuiwan Trip Part 2

Everyone exclaimed in unison, rushing toward the tidal flats with eager anticipation.

Soon, the group reached the seabed; there were many other tourists around, so they all split up.

Some crouched by the reefs to pick up sea snails, some carefully flipped over rocks to find crabs, and others curiously studied marine life they had never seen before.

Chen Li followed unhurriedly behind Liu Yu and Song Lingyun, watching the two of them excitedly catch small crabs.

"I stepped on one! Lingyun, come here quick!" Liu Yu suddenly shouted excitedly, one foot carefully pinned down in a puddle.

"Where is it? How do I catch it?" Song Lingyun gripped the tongs nervously, feeling at a loss.

"Just use the tongs to grab it from underneath!"

"Okay, I've got it. You can lift your foot now."

To their surprise, the moment Liu Yu lifted her foot, a small crab escaped with a 'whoosh,' splashing water everywhere.

Only half a crab claw remained in Song Lingyun's tongs.

The two girls looked at each other, their faces filled with disappointment.

Chen Li couldn't help but laugh from behind. "Just stepping on it isn't enough. You have to grab it with your hands—fast, accurate, and ruthless."

"Chen Li, you're still laughing!"

Liu Yu turned her head and grumbled, "Come over here and help us catch them! They're all getting away!"

"Coming, coming..."

Chen Li immediately transformed into a beachcombing expert, leading the two girls as they wove through the reefs.

His technique was relatively skilled; he could spot little creatures hidden in the rock crevices at a single glance.

"Chen Li, come quick! There's a big one here..."

"It's running that way! Quick, block it..."

Amidst the shouting and cheering of the two, Chen Li was kept busy and happy.

Though he was being ordered around by the two girls, he enjoyed every moment of it.

By the end of the afternoon, under the 'command' of the two women, he alone had caught over a dozen crabs and picked up quite a few sea snails.

Liu Yu happily held up the small bucket, and the two of them couldn't wait to take photos to post on their social media feeds.

The others also returned to the shore one after another, counting their respective spoils.

"Qiang-zi, you're amazing! You caught so many crabs."

Guo Zihong marveled as he looked at the crabs crawling all over the bottom of Wu Qiang's bucket.

"Yixi, what is this black thing you caught? Is it a sea cucumber?" Chen Li leaned in curiously toward Zhang Yixi's bucket.

"Probably. It looks like one."

"You're really brave to grab that. Aren't you afraid of getting stung?" Guo Zihong teased.

"I used tongs to grab it, not my hands."

Everyone chatted and laughed while comparing their harvests; they would all bring them back to the Hotel for processing as an extra dish for dinner... Back in the Hotel room, Chen Li collapsed onto the sofa like a salted fish.

Song Lingyun couldn't help but smile at the sight of him. "Look how tired you are. I'm going to shower first; being covered in seawater is really uncomfortable."

"Go ahead. I'll rest for a bit. Once you're done, I'll need to wash off this salty smell too."

When Song Lingyun finished and came out, just as Chen Li was preparing to go in, there was a knock at the door.

Liu Yu, who had just finished showering in her own room, stood at the door; she had clearly made an appointment with Song Lingyun to come over.

"Chen Li, why haven't you showered yet?" As soon as Liu Yu entered, she saw Chen Li still wearing his seawater-stained clothes.

"I was waiting for Lingyun to finish first," Chen Li explained with a smile.

"Oh~ I thought you two would shower together," Liu Yu teased with a wink.

Upon hearing this, Song Lingyun's cheeks immediately flushed crimson. Her bashful appearance amused Chen Li as well.

This girl Liu Yu was really starting to understand his thoughts better and better.

When Chen Li emerged from the bathroom drying his hair, he found the two girls sitting side-by-side in the middle of the large bed.

"This one looks good!" Liu Yu tilted her phone toward Song Lingyun. "Look, Lingyun, it got all of us in the shot."

Song Lingyun leaned in for a closer look. "But only half of Chen Li's face is in the back..."

"Then this one."

Liu Yu's finger swiped lightly. "In this one, we both look very natural when we smile. What caption should I use? 'The sea breeze and you are both very gentle'?"

"That's too cheesy," Song Lingyun chuckled. "How about just 'Beachcombing Harvest'?"

"That's too plain..." Liu Yu was about to argue when she suddenly felt the mattress sink.

Chen Li squeezed between them without a word. "Let me see. What are you posting?"

"Hehe, why is Chen Li squeezing in?"

Though Liu Yu complained, her hand hooked onto his arm as she held the phone up in front of him.

"Quick, help us choose. Which one looks the best?"

Song Lingyun also leaned closer to him and explained softly, "We're picking photos from this afternoon. Does this one have the best lighting?"

Chen Li didn't know which one looked best either, so he picked one at random. He then leaned his head on Song Lingyun's shoulder, smelling the faint fragrance on her body as he closed his eyes to rest.

Before long, Chen Li drifted off into a daze until Liu Yu gently nudged him awake.

Only then did he realize that Song Lingyun had also fallen asleep leaning against him, her cheek resting against his shoulder.

"Chen Li, Lingyun, it's time to eat," Liu Yu called out softly.

The two slowly woke up. Song Lingyun realized she was revealing a large patch of snowy white skin and couldn't help but blush again—she hadn't noticed it while sleeping against Chen Li just now.

Dinner was held at the Hotel restaurant.

The catering at a star-rated Hotel was naturally not bad. By the time the three arrived at the restaurant, everyone else was already seated.

Seeing that Liu Yu and Song Lingyun were as close as sisters, the others didn't think much of the three appearing together.

"We were just waiting for you three..." Zhang Yixi greeted them.

"Why hasn't the food been served yet?" Chen Li asked as he sat down.

"Isn't it coming right now?" No sooner had Guo Zihong spoken than the waiters began serving the dishes.

Plates of fragrant dishes were brought to the table, and the eyes of the already famished group immediately lit up.

After a whole afternoon of beachcombing, everyone was tired and hungry, and their appetites were exceptionally good.

Plus, with a tycoon like Chen Li around, no one even looked at the prices when ordering; they specifically picked the delicious, hearty dishes.

The crabs they caught in the afternoon had also been processed by the Hotel into a dish of braised crabs that was perfect in color, aroma, and taste—spicy and savory with a hint of sweetness, exceptionally tempting.

Because they were so hungry, everyone initially buried their heads in their food during the meal.

It wasn't until they were mostly full that they gradually felt like chatting.

"Shall we go soak in the Hot Springs after dinner? I heard the Hot Springs here are all natural," Zhang Yixi suggested.

"Of course we're going. Isn't that why we came here?" Wu Wenqian happily agreed.

The others also responded one after another. After playing on the beach all afternoon, what they wanted most now was to relax their bodies and minds in the warm spring water... The Hot Spring area was located on the hill behind the Hotel and required a shuttle bus to get there.

The line for the bus was very long. Besides their group, there were many other tourists waiting to go to the Hot Springs.

Compared to other girls wearing revealing outfits, Song Lingyun, Liu Yu, and the others had chosen relatively conservative one-piece swimsuits.

They also wore the white bathrobes provided by the Hotel over them. The night breeze carried a chill, making them instinctively pull their robes tighter.

Walking around in swimsuits in front of strangers made both of them feel a bit bashful.

After a few minutes on the shuttle bus, they arrived at the Hot Spring area.

Walking down the winding stone steps, the view suddenly opened up—Hot Spring pools of various sizes were scattered throughout the valley in an orderly fashion.

The small ones could only hold two or three people, while the large ones were big enough for more than ten.

Wisps of white mist rose from every pool, and the air was filled with a faint scent of sulfur.

Since there were many tourists, almost every pool already had people in it.

Everyone had to split up to find pools that still had empty spots.

Liu Yu and Song Lingyun followed Chen Li and eventually chose a medium-sized pool that only had a family of three soaking in it.

Along the way, the two girls had attracted many glances.