Hot Spring

"I heard that soaking in hot springs is really good for your skin," Tang Keke said with a grin during breakfast.

"Why?"

"Um, because it's good. Yep, that's right." Tang Keke thought about it but couldn't come up with a reason why it was good. After all, she had only heard it from others.

Beside her, Bai Yuyou spoke up, "Keke loves talking nonsense."

"That's so mean!"

Ye Shuang smiled and didn't say much else. He wasn't going to the hot springs with the idea that it would be good for his health, either; he purely just wanted to go out and relax. After all, he had been quite tired from work lately. It was just a pity that Chen Qin didn't come along.

"Alright, let's head out after we finish eating."

"Oh."

The hot spring wasn't actually that far from the city area, only a few dozen miles away. Driving there, they could even take a short stretch of the city highway, which would only take about half an hour.

"Since the others didn't have time, it's just the three of us going." Ye Shuang drove the car with the two girls. Whether it was An Shiyu or Chen Hai and the rest, they all had their own plans for New Year's Day.

"Hot springs!"

"It's actually just boiler water."

"Brother, you really like being a buzzkill."

After getting on the highway, Ye Shuang and the two girls soon arrived at their destination, a massive hot spring resort. From the outside, the entire area was filled with Japanese-style elements, and there were quite a few men and women in yukatas going in and out.

"This hot spring seems to focus on a Japanese theme," Tang Keke couldn't help but comment as she looked around.

"After all, when it comes to taking baths, the Japanese definitely love it the most. Most of us in our country still prefer taking showers," Ye Shuang said slowly. "Even in that country, the order of taking a bath has its own rules."

"For example, taking a bath requires lining up according to family status. First is the male head of the household, then the female head, and only then the children, friends, and so on."

Tang Keke was curious. "That would save quite a bit of water."

"Indeed. After all, if you have Japanese friends and you drain their bathwater when you shower, they might actually have a problem with it," Ye Shuang said.

"But we don't have that many rules in our country. In other words, young people generally don't really follow traditions."

"Yeah, that's why I like taking baths with Ye Shuang," Bai Yuyou also said to Tang Keke from the side.

"Cough, cough?!"

After going inside, the three of them got their room cards and some necessary items. The room also provided yukatas in appropriate sizes. Besides the large open-air hot springs, there was actually a separate small bath right in their room.

Ye Shuang had originally planned to book two rooms, but in the end, under the unanimous request of Tang Keke and Bai Yuyou, he directly booked a triple room. It was actually a bunk bed layout, but since the beds were large enough, sleeping wouldn't be a problem at all.

"Wow!" As soon as Tang Keke entered the room, she saw a circular pool built of stones outside the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, currently emitting steaming hot air.

"Hot springs—"

Saying that, Tang Keke pulled Bai Yuyou along and trotted over. They then squatted next to the bath and began to study it. The water temperature was a bit on the hotter side, but in such a slightly chilly winter, the perceived temperature felt even higher.

"We can go next door to eat the gourmet buffet at six o'clock. There will also be some interesting shows to watch then," Ye Shuang looked at the two girls, smiled, and said.

"This pool is really nice! Is that large open-air pool even bigger?" Tang Keke looked like a curious baby. "Yuyou, Yuyou, let's go take a bath?!"

"With Ye Shuang."

"There probably aren't any mixed baths. You guys go ahead." As soon as Ye Shuang finished speaking, Bai Yuyou refused no matter what was said, standing stiffly in place like a pillar.

"Huh? What's wrong, Yuyou?" Seeing Bai Yuyou completely motionless, Tang Keke asked curiously.

"I want to take a bath with Ye Shuang," Bai Yuyou said.

"Eh—" Hearing this, Tang Keke immediately caught on, showing a little cat-like expression. "Oh, oh, oh, I see. Actually, I don't think the open-air bath is necessarily better either. This one seems pretty nice."

"Brother, are we taking a bath together?" Tang Keke suddenly said to Ye Shuang, who was putting away the luggage.

"Huh? Right now?" Ye Shuang was still sorting out the clothes and the yukatas they would wear later. Hearing Tang Keke say that, he snapped back to attention a bit. "Then you guys go ahead. I still need to sort out a few things."

"No, we're going to soak in the hot spring right here."

"If it's right here, aren't you going to check out the large open-air hot spring?" Ye Shuang smiled.

"Oh my, it's all the same."

Indeed, they were all just boiler water after all.

Thinking like this, Ye Shuang agreed.

However, when the two girls stood in front of him wrapped in bath towels, he suddenly realized something was amiss—it seemed the atmosphere wasn't quite right either?

"Hehe, I'll go over first." Tang Keke was actually a little shy like this. After all, wrapping a bath towel couldn't cover up the massive size of her slimes, to the point that the towel was propped up high.

So she made a quick escape and slipped into the bath to start soaking.

As for Bai Yuyou, she didn't care as much. Even though she wrapped her towel quite low, exposing half of her slimes, the girl hugged Ye Shuang's arm tightly, their skin pressed against each other.

"Ye Shuang, let's take a bath together."

After all, the two of them hadn't taken a bath together in a long time.

"Alright."

The surroundings were a bit cold, but the moment he entered the bath, his entire body and mind seemed to relax.

Every pore opened up, and the feeling of being enveloped by hot water from head to toe made Ye Shuang unconsciously narrow his eyes.

Although he initially thought this was a bit of an idiot tax, being in such a super-sized bathtub where he could stretch his limbs without restraint brought a joy that went without saying.

Oh no, this seems better than I imagined.

Beside him, Bai Yuyou also half-closed her eyes like Ye Shuang. After all, in winter, whenever one took a bath while the temperature was low, they generally never wanted to get out.

Not far away, there was also an oversized monitor provided for watching videos while soaking in the bath.

"Let's watch anime." Tang Keke's eyes were already sparkling as she started looking for the remote control. Watching anime while soaking in a hot spring would be absolutely amazing.

Meanwhile, Bai Yuyou suddenly crawled over and ended up sitting right on Ye Shuang's lap.

"Hm?" The familiar touch made Ye Shuang open his eyes, only to find the girl already nestled against his chest. She even grabbed his hands, "Ye Shuang, put your hands here."

Ye Shuang didn't say anything more. He skillfully rested his chin on the girl's head and just gently held her in his arms.

Taking a bath like this occasionally didn't seem like a bad idea at all.

However, right at this moment, Bai Yuyou suddenly shifted backward.