Chapter 557 Damn Bitch, Still Quite Considerate

Chapter 557: Dead Flirt, Yet Quite Thoughtful

The next morning, Zu Ying invited everyone for morning tea.

After the tea, Zhao Zhanjun and his son went to work at the shop.

Hou Li, Zhao's mother, and Zuo Jingdan took the children home, while Zu Ying, Su An, Gangzi, Chu Shuyu, Liu Hongtao, and Zuo Jinghuan, six people in total, planned to go to the seaside in Pengcheng.

Su An still sat in the passenger seat, listening to Zuo Jinghuan's chatter from the back, her eyes often stealing glances at Zu Ying beside her.

Zu Ying had been paying attention to Su An all along. Seeing her constantly looking at him, he couldn't help but feel nervous.

Taking advantage of Su An turning to talk to Zuo Jinghuan, he quickly wiped his face. Was there anything wrong with it?

Why was she always looking at him?

Did he suddenly look particularly handsome today?

Thinking this, the corners of Zu Ying's mouth curled up slightly, and he subconsciously straightened his chest.

He was secretly delighted inside; every time he looked in the mirror, he thought he looked good too!!

In the afternoon, they finally arrived at the Sea World in the Pengcheng Special Zone.

As soon as Zuo Jinghuan, Chu Shuyu, and Su An got out of the car, they saw the clean sea below the stone railing, felt the moist sea breeze, and couldn't help but spread their arms and cheer.

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah～"

"Hahahaha～"

"Quick, look, there's a big cruise ship!" Zuo Jinghuan pointed excitedly at the large white cruise ship anchored in the water not far away.

Liu Hongtao followed Zuo Jinghuan's gaze and introduced it to everyone, "This is the Minghua, which has risen to fame in recent years. I've been on it before with some friends who work at customs. It's quite famous; many people come here just to catch a glimpse of the Minghua that has captivated Pengcheng, and take a photo as a keepsake."

Zuo Jinghuan looked at Liu Hongtao with delight, "Hongtao, do you mean we can go on board?"

Su An and Chu Shuyu, hearing Zuo Jinghuan's words, also looked at Liu Hongtao expectantly.

Liu Hongtao nodded, "Sure, they have cold drinks and snacks up there."

"Ah, we want to go, we want to go," Zuo Jinghuan clung to Liu Hongtao's arm, shaking it.

Liu Hongtao smiled broadly, "No rush."

As he spoke, he pointed to the buildings on the opposite shore and said to Zuo Zuying and Gangzi, "See that? That's the South Sea Hotel. We'll park the car over there. The hotel offers rest facilities. Since we're here, let's stay for a day and head back tomorrow."

"Alright!"

The group checked into the South Sea Hotel, booked four rooms, and after dropping off their belongings, Zuo Jinghuan eagerly pulled Su An and Chu Shuyu toward the Minghua.

The Minghua was equipped with restaurants, lounges, and various entertainment options, including gambling. It accepted both RMB and HKD, and sold cigarettes, alcohol, soft drinks, and medicinal oils.

However, the expenses were not within the reach of the average working class.

None of Zuo Zuying's group were short of money. They followed Liu Hongtao onto the ship and found a seat by the window. Each of them ordered a cold drink and enjoyed the scenery outside while feeling the sea breeze.

Su An, having experienced the 98 yuan fruit platter and 78 yuan pot of black tea at Zuo Zuying's nightclub, now remained unperturbed by the 58 yuan bowl of cold drink on the Minghua.

The portion was generous, a large bowl.

The ingredients were of high quality, with colorful fruits. During the preparation, soda bottles were taken out from the ice machine on the spot, shaken and tapped, and the liquid inside visibly turned into slush before being poured into bowls.

The taste was excellent, refreshingly cool, and perfectly balanced between sweet and sour, truly a divine summer drink. The three girls all ate to their heart's content.

At Chu Shuyu’s place, Gangzi didn’t let her eat too much. After she had eaten one-third, he coaxed her and snatched the bowl away.

After finishing the cold drinks, Liu Hongtao led everyone on a tour.

There were six people in total, and apart from Liu Hongtao, it was the first time for everyone else to visit a cruise ship, each one filled with curiosity.

As the sky gradually darkened, the cruise ship lit up with beautiful neon lights. New father Gangzi, fearing his child might be hungry, urged everyone to go for dinner.

Liu Hongtao glanced outside and said to Zuo Jinghuan and the others, who were still reluctant to leave, “It’s about time, let’s go. There are too many people at night. If you want to play more, come back tomorrow during the day. Now I’ll take you to some delicious food.”

Mentioning delicious food, Zuo Jinghuan’s eyes immediately lit up, “Hongtao, what are we eating?”

Liu Hongtao replied, “We’re near the sea, so naturally, we’ll be eating seafood.”

“Come on, follow me. Not far ahead is a fishing village where everything is freshly caught and cooked right away. They use the most primitive cooking methods to preserve the freshest flavors.”

Zuo Zuying drove the car according to Liu Hongtao’s directions toward the fishing village.

After a twenty-minute drive, they arrived at a small fishing village.

“Alright, this is the place. See that open space? Park the car there, and we’ll walk in,” Liu Hongtao pointed to a large flat area near the village entrance where several cars were already parked.

The group followed him on foot and soon reached the entrance of a fully wooden pavilion.

Liu Hongtao spoke in the local dialect to an uncle wearing wellington boots and an apron, chattering away for a while before turning to invite everyone to follow the uncle inside.

The uncle led them to select their goods: live crabs, bamboo shrimp, pufferfish, sixteen-rose fish, tiger-headed fish, pomfret, yellow croaker, sea cucumber, shellfish, and various other categories that left everyone dazzled.

When it came to eating seafood, Liu Hongtao was the expert.

After asking everyone for their preferences, he ordered a mixed fish hotpot and, according to individual tastes, selected various items like crabs, shrimp, clams, snails, sea cucumbers, and large squids, instructing the owner to only sprinkle scallions and ginger, nothing else, and steam them in a basket.

When the steaming basket, so full that Su An could hardly hold it with both hands, was brought up, everyone let out excited exclamations.

"Ah, it smells so good~"

"I'm already drooling."

Liu Hongtao had already prepared the sauces for everyone.

As soon as the steaming basket was set down, he urged everyone to dig in, "Hurry up, this is the real deal—nothing added, just fresh ingredients steamed right away, preserving all the original flavors."

With that, he picked up a steamed octopus from the basket, dipped it in the sauce bowl in front of him, and immediately popped it into his mouth.

Seeing his expression of pure enjoyment, everyone rushed over.

"Wow, it's really good."

"Mm-hmm, so fresh and sweet, truly delicious."

"Hey, give me that big scallop."

"There's plenty; since we're here, let's enjoy ourselves fully. If it's not enough, we can ask the boss to steam more."

"Shuyu, you shouldn't eat that crab; it's too cold for you. Eat fish and shrimp, and this one is fine too," Gangzi said while helping Chu Shuyu peel a shrimp.

Zu Ying held a large crab, deftly removing its shell, and used a spoon to scrape the crab meat into a bowl. He did the same with the next one, glanced around, and seeing no one paying attention, gently nudged Su An with his elbow, quickly pushing his own bowl over and pulling Su An's bowl toward him.

Su An was taken aback, looking at the crab meat and shrimp in the bowl, and caught Zu Ying pretending nothing had happened out of the corner of his eye, unable to stop the corners of his mouth from curling up.

Flirtatious bastard, but quite considerate.

After everyone had their fill of food and drink, they returned to the South Sea Hotel, parked the car, and prepared to take a walk by the sea to digest their meal.

Gangzi and Liu Hongtao, without waiting for Zu Ying to say anything, each took their wives and walked away.

Zu Ying hurriedly took two bottles of Jianlibao from the car and called out to Su An, who was about to follow, "Su An, why are you in such a hurry? They're on a date; do you want to be a third wheel?"

"Hey~ there are stone benches over there. Come on, let's sit down. I have something to talk to you about..."