Chapter 279

Chapter 279

◎Summer Vacation◎

"Wow!!! What a beautiful little cabin!"

Jiang Tangtang spread her arms and cheered as she ran toward the small wooden cabin covered in flowers. Her long-awaited summer vacation trip had finally begun.

Nestled among the mountains and rivers, the pretty wooden house was adorned with colorful blooms, transforming what would have been an otherwise unremarkable spot into an enchanted forest fit for elves.

Looking at such a cabin, Jiang Tangtang could instantly envision ten photo-ready outfits—there was no better backdrop for stunning photos than this breathtaking scenery.

Laughing joyfully, she waved to her friends: "Xiao Xiao, Lin Yi, hurry up!"

Lin Yi chuckled in response, "Coming, coming! The cabin isn’t going anywhere. Why are you in such a rush?"

Xiao Xiao followed behind with a smile, "Her impatience won’t let her wait. Let her run. She could barely finish an 800-meter run in school, but when it comes to fun and food, she’d happily run from dawn till dusk."

While the girls dashed off to admire the cabin, the boys weren’t particularly interested in it. To them, it was just a place to sleep—any place would do, so they strolled leisurely behind.

Though the cabin didn’t excite them, the recent trending news certainly did.

Especially Chen Shiyi, who was itching with curiosity: "So that lightning strike was really karma?"

Xiao Ye nodded, adding a dramatic warning: "That’s the fate of scumbags—struck by lightning, disgraced, and doomed to a miserable end!"

Chen Shiyi shot him a sidelong glance: "You should take that as a warning for yourself."

With his body not built for hard labor, he had no plans to marry. Just taking care of himself was hard enough—marriage would only drag someone else down.

His biggest wish now was for a home-care robot to be developed before he got too old. He’d start saving now to buy one in the future—both for companionship and care. The only question was if tech would get there in time.

Zhang Yuan had also followed the news. When it happened, he’d asked Xiao Ye, since they were in the capital then. But the phone call hadn’t allowed for much detail, so now that they were face-to-face, it was time for the full scoop.

Usually, Ji Nanxing wasn’t big on gossip. At most, he’d clarify a few facts when they were puzzled about the truth. But Xiao Ye, never one to stay idle, kept the conversation lively the whole time, starting with their dinner with Qi Ruifang.

Chen Shiyi couldn’t help but exclaim, "Wait, so if your friend’s luck hadn’t been stolen, Ma Zhao’s crimes would never have been exposed? What would’ve happened if they weren’t?"

Xiao Ye didn’t know the answer, so he turned to Ji Nanxing.

Ji Nanxing replied, "If the tower hadn’t collapsed, he’d have been trapped until his energy ran out, and his soul scattered."

Chen Shiyi sighed, "At least it didn’t end as badly as it could’ve. What about Long Sili? Did his grandfather really abandon him?"

This, Xiao Ye knew: "Nope. If it were you, and your own child had died giving birth to a baby who was then tortured like that, would you care about the mistress’s kid?"

Chen Shiyi growled, "I’d probably want to strangle him!"

After checking out the whole cabin, Jiang Tangtang stood by the wooden fence, waving at them: "Hurry up! Aren’t you hot walking so slowly?"

Though it was midsummer, as long as they weren’t standing directly under the sun, the area wasn’t too hot. With mountains and water everywhere, and the cabins spaced widely apart in the resort, there wasn’t much heat from air conditioners. The breeze even carried a refreshing coolness from the mountain streams.

By the time the boys arrived, Jiang Tangtang was still taking deep breaths, calling it the smell of nature.

Zhang Yuan flicked a flower at her face: "That’s car exhaust you’re smelling."

Jiang Tangtang blinked in confusion before hearing a noisy commotion. Turning, she saw their neighbors had arrived—two cars had pulled up, but she couldn’t see how many people were there, hauling in luggage.

Their group had brought luggage too, but they’d handed it over to the resort staff for delivery instead of driving up. The area was covered in grass, and driving over it could damage the lawn—though allowed, the staff advised against it.

The two cabins weren’t too close but also not too far apart. Jiang Tangtang leaned on the wooden railing to look over: "Another group of kids, looks like college kids on break too. Check it out—they even brought a dog! So cute—what kind of dog is that? Looks a bit like a Border Collie but not quite."

Xiao Ye glanced back and said, "That's not a Border Collie, it's a Sheltie—also a very smart and intelligent breed."

Ignoring the ones still at the door fawning over the dog, Xiao Ye pulled Ji Nanxing inside and took out a pack of wet wipes from his bag. "You hot? Want a wipe?"

Ji Nanxing shook his head. "Not hot. I'll go wash my hands. You handle the room setup."

Without missing a beat, Xiao Ye shoved his buddy toward Chen Shiyi—they'd shared rooms before anyway. As for the three girls, there were two rooms left; they could sort it out themselves.

Zhang Yuan, trailing behind, caught on right away and hauled his stuff upstairs with a scoff.

The girls were already outside playing with the dog. Chen Shiyi leaned against the front door, sipping a can of cola through a straw as he watched them. "Girls get all the perks—chat for two seconds and boom, free frisbee. They even got invited to a barbecue tonight."

After washing his hands, Ji Nanxing came out and asked, "What do you guys want for dinner? If you want barbecue, we can ask the resort to bring over the grill and tools."

Chen Shiyi shook his head. "Not feeling it today. That long drive wiped me out. I need a nap—just holler when it’s time to eat."

Ji Nanxing nodded, and once Chen Shiyi went upstairs, he poked around the cabin. There was a back door leading to a small forest path that ended at a stream. Standing there, he could already hear the water flowing.

Xiao Ye came downstairs after settling his luggage and saw Ji Nanxing gazing at the scenery by the back door. He bounded down the steps and popped up behind him. "What are you looking at?"

Without turning, Ji Nanxing replied, "Good to get out and touch grass once in a while."

Xiao Ye tilted his head slightly. Cicadas buzzed in the summer air, and the person he loved stood right beside him. When the breeze drifted in, he caught that familiar scent—one that always sent his heart racing.

He took a deep breath. Summer was wonderful. Having Ji Naonao here made it even better.

Zhang Yuan, coming down, caught Xiao Ye’s lovesick grin and couldn’t even look, turning away with a grimace before stepping outside.

The three girls were already on the lawn playing with the dog named Beibei, tossing a frisbee for it to chase. Whether it was the company or the open space, the pup wagged its tail like a propeller.

Spotting him, Jiang Tangtang fake-gasped. "Zhang Yuan, come join! Let’s stand in four corners and have Beibei chase the frisbee!"

Zhang Yuan had no interest and sat on the cabin’s front steps instead. "It’s still pretty hot out. Don’t go overboard."

Jiang Tangtang deadpanned. "You actually care about people? Did hell freeze over?"

Zhang Yuan shot back, "Not you—the dog. Don’t let it get heatstroke."

Jiang Tangtang huffed. "Figures. Where are Xiao Ye and the academic god? Resting too?"

Zhang Yuan glanced back, confirming they were out of sight, before saying, "Glued to each other out back."

Jiang Tangtang sighed. Xiao Ye had been latched onto Ji Nanxing since freshman year, and now it was worse—like someone might swipe the academic god if he so much as blinked.

After a few more rounds with the frisbee, Jiang Tangtang returned it to the other group, petting the dog’s head. "Be a good boy, Beibei. Come find us later—we brought lots of treats."

Zhang Yuan remarked, "Most of what you packed is junk. Dogs can’t eat that."

Jiang Tangtang snapped, "Shut up."

The people from the other cabin seemed young too, of all shapes and sizes. Hearing their chatter, one called from the greenery between the cabins, "We’re grilling tonight—join us! The more the better! We brought plenty of food."

Zhang Yuan didn’t refuse outright, smiling instead. "We just got here and haven’t even unpacked. We’ll see later."

The inviter grinned. "No problem! You’re welcome anytime."

As both groups retreated to their cabins, Lin Yi linked arms with Xiao Xiao and exhaled. "Extroverts are scary."

Xiao Xiao chuckled, "No kidding! In just this short while, Jiang Tangtang almost got their whole life story."

Jiang Tangtang said, "There are eleven of them in total—four girls and seven boys. They're from a university club called the Botanical Appreciation Club. It's the first time I've heard of such a club in a university. Anyway, they said they came out this time to do some plant classification or something. I don’t really get it. Plants are just plants, and the ones in this resort are probably all common ones that have long been classified. I think their club is more like finding an excuse for a team-building trip."

Zhang Yuan shook his head, "If you were born a few decades earlier, you’d definitely have your name in history books for intelligence work."

Jiang Tangtang retorted, "Screw you!"

Amid the banter, they decided to have the resort’s specialty dish for dinner—roast suckling pig—and ordered some vegetables and seafood to grill in the yard. The ingredients were already prepared, and the suckling pig was delivered already cooked. If they wanted some hands-on fun, they could rotate the spit, baste it, or slice the meat directly off the spit.

Chen Shiyi, who had earlier claimed he didn’t want to barbecue or lift a finger, was now the first to roll up his sleeves and get to work. Watching him expertly brush sauce and slice meat, Zhang Yuan remarked between bites of vegetables, "You’ve got quite a few skills. If you can’t find a job later, you could always become a chef."

Chen Shiyi adjusted the heat and turned the spit, replying, "No way. This kind of manual labor is fine occasionally, but I can only handle things that don’t require much brainpower. Nan Xing, come here! This part has the perfect fat-to-lean ratio. A little more crisping will make it even better. I saved it just for you."

Jiang Tangtang held up a skewer of shrimp, "Brainiac, try the shrimp! I just had some—it’s perfectly cooked!"

Xiao Ye, seeing everyone eager to feed Ji Naonao, protested, "What about me?"

Jiang Tangtang immediately dropped her smile, "Nothing for you. Grill your own!"

Ji Nanxing sat down and started eating, with Xiao Ye now joining those being waited on. One handed him a plate of sliced meat, another grilled him a skewer of vegetables, leaving him unable to get a word in edgewise between bites.

Too full to continue, Ji Nanxing finally put down his chopsticks. While the path lights were still on, he decided to take a stroll around to digest.

Xiao Ye wiped his mouth and followed.

By the time they returned, the grill outside had been cleared away. Chen Shiyi and Zhang Yuan were getting Lin Yi to join their mobile game. Spotting them, they called out, "Hurry up! With you two, we'll have a full squad."

Xiao Ye placed the fruits he’d bought on the table, "Where are the other two?"

Chen Shiyi, busy tweaking his in-game runes, didn’t look up, "Those two are bold—they went to hang out with the people in the next cabin again."

Xiao Ye scoffed, "That’s not bold, that’s just being a social butterfly."

Chen Shiyi lifted his head, "But they’re sitting around telling ghost stories."

Jiang Tangtang had tried to drag them along earlier, but Chen Shiyi knew his own cowardice—especially now that he knew ghosts were real. There was no way he’d dare listen to ghost stories late at night. He wouldn't budge.

Lin Yi was also too scared to go. With the other two out of the room, she didn’t dare return alone either. The three of them sat in the living room, with nothing better to do, until they decided to play games.

Ji Nanxing glanced outside. With the woods right behind them, telling ghost stories in the middle of the night—now that was bold. After all, it wasn’t just the living who enjoyed ghost stories; lonely spirits who've been around too long loved them too.