Island Journey

"Two of them? That's impossible... at least twenty." Ye Shuang smiled faintly and replied upon hearing Alice's voice on the phone.

There were already plenty of people in his own household—himself, Yu You, Keke, Yezi, Duoduo... and the Light Music Club...

"Twenty?!" Alice's voice suddenly rose in volume, enough to draw the attention of Bobo near the door. The camera feed then shook, as if Alice were rolling around on her bed. After a burst of spinning, it finally settled on the ceiling.

"I'm not going! I'm very busy."

And then, nothing more.

Staring at the ended call in his hand, Ye Shuang thought for a few seconds, then told Yu You and the others, "Looks like Alice doesn't like big crowds. We'll plan it another time."

Alice seemed to dislike having too many people tag along.

"Oh?"

...

A few days later,

the day of the sea outing finally arrived—

"Swish." Early morning, bright sunshine. Accompanied by the sound of curtains being drawn, a girl with a large backpack yawned and pushed open the window. "Haaah... so sleepy. Staying up till six and farming till two. I'll catch some sleep in the car later."

This was Keke's own room, though most of the stuff in it had already been moved out. Only a clean bed and a wall of figurines she couldn't bear to part with remained—everything else had been gradually carried over to Ye Shuang's place, bit by bit, like ants moving house.

"Wonder if Yu You and the others are up yet." Tang Keke scratched her backpack, then glanced at the weather outside. Even with her drowsy eyes, looking at the lush plants under the bright sunlight felt a bit dazzling.

Vibrant and lively—so dazzling, it stung.

Like some shade-dwelling creature dragged out of a sewer and thrown under the scorching sun.

"Haaah... let me wash up first." Keke yawned again.

" Sis, have you finished packing your clothes?" Duoduo asked upon seeing Keke get up. After all, wasn't today the day they were heading to the island? Why did her sister look so slow and reluctant?

"All packed." Keke said, sitting down to start breakfast. "Hmm... eh."

"Mweh?"

"Breakfast at home isn't good."

"You've got your head full of that place already. Why don't you just marry over there?" At that moment, their mother, inside the kitchen, upon hearing her daughter badmouth the breakfast she'd made, retorted with a spatula in hand, half-serious.

"Heh."

Tang Keke dared not say much more. After finishing breakfast, she packed up her things and took Duoduo with her to take the elevator up to the rooftop.

"Sis, I think living there isn't great—the commute up and down is so convenient here, you know." Duoduo remarked as they went.

"I know, I know. I used to live alone, that's all."

Arriving at the top floor, the two girls stepped out of the elevator.

"Beep beep." Standing at the door, Tang Keke placed her finger on the fingerprint lock, and it opened instantly.

Tang Duoduo: "..."

You even have your fingerprint registered?

"Oh, you're early?" Coincidentally, Ye Shuang was standing in the living room looking at his phone. Seeing Keke and Duoduo arrive, he smiled and said, "Duoduo."

"Greetings!" Duoduo immediately stuck out her hand.

"Greetings? Haha, where did you learn that?"

"From a TV drama!"

Today, both Keke and Duoduo were wearing denim shorts. Perhaps because Keke was such a homebody, or because Duoduo's legs were wheat-colored, Keke's plump, fair thighs looked especially pale in contrast.

"Have a seat for a bit—everyone's not here yet." As Ye Shuang spoke, Bai Yuyou also walked out of the kitchen, wearing an apron like a little chef, except for a dab of dish soap foam on the tip of her nose.

"Yu You, foam." Keke pointed it out.

"Foam?" Bai Yuyou tilted her head.

Seeing this, Ye Shuang casually wiped the foam away with his finger, then gave her soft cheek a gentle pinch, full of affection.

By now, Ye Shuang no longer minded being affectionate with Yu You in front of others—perhaps because he'd grown used to Keke being around as well.

"All packed?" Ye Shuang asked.

"Yeah, brought a few sets of spare clothes, plus some sunscreen," Keke said. She, like Yu You, didn't really wear makeup, so her skincare essentials only contained the basics—moisturizer and sunscreen.

"I brought clothes too, but no sunscreen!" Duoduo immediately chimed in.

"Why not?"

"I'll just share yours!"

"You're already dark as a log, you can skip it." Keke couldn't resist teasing—her little sister was practically turning into a piece of chocolate.

After messing around for a bit, Ye Shuang checked the time. It was just about time to meet up.

"Let's go, we'll head down first."

The meeting point was the commercial plaza at the entrance of the neighborhood. Ye Shuang had booked a car, so they could all ride over together.

...

"Oh? Over here, over here." On the open plaza, a casually dressed Peach spotted Ye Shuang and the others right away and raised her hand to wave.

"I thought we'd be the earliest," Ye Shuang said upon seeing Peach, unable to resist adding, "You're even half an hour early."

"I'm used to waking up early. Made breakfast for the little ones, and since I had nothing else to do, I came over." Peach said, pulling a small lunchbox out of her tote bag. "I brought some fried dough bites. Want to try some? Five-spice flavor."

"Fried dough bites—what's that?" Keke asked curiously, while Bai Yuyou had already reached out her paw.

"Should be something like fried dough sticks, I guess." After opening the lunchbox, they were all golden, crispy pieces, though the shapes weren't uniform.

"Let me try." Keke and Bai Yuyou both sampled one, finding them soft, crispy, and fragrant—absolutely delicious.

"Peach, these are really good." Bai Yuyou said, nibbling away like a little hamster, stuffing one whole into her mouth.

"So glad you like them. I was worried you wouldn't." Peach looked relieved. "Usually, I'd pair them with spicy soup (hulatang), but you probably wouldn't go for that."

"No worries, Peach. Just make some for us sometime." Keke said, feeding Duoduo a piece as she ate, while the foodie Bai Yuyou nodded along eagerly.

"Brother Ye, want one?" Peach asked.

"I'll try one." Ye Shuang took a piece, then split it in half for the curious Yezi nearby. "Kids can only have a bit—it's warming food, you know."

"No worries, I'll drink herbal tea," Yezi said.

As they snacked, the other members of the Light Music Club arrived.

"Damn, am I the last one?" Chen Hai arrived, dressed in an exaggerated floral summer shirt, baggy shorts, and flip-flops, with sunglasses on his face—looking like he was off on some vacation, which, fair enough, he was.

"Otherwise? You keep a group of girls waiting," Ye Shuang said.

"No way, isn't that twin pair not here yet?" Chen Hai looked around, noticing that An Shiyu hadn't arrived.