Are you conducting a census or something

Guys usually shower fast, and Su Yang was done in under ten minutes.

He walked out shirtless, with only a bath towel wrapped around his waist. Water droplets that hadn't been toweled off yet slid down his solid chest and over his abs.

Pan Ning had already finished drying her hair and was leaning against the headboard, staring motionless at Su Yang.

Su Yang walked over to the sofa, picked up the hairdryer, turned his head, and smiled. "What are you looking at?"

"Looking at an idiot."

"Alright, alright, just you wait."

Su Yang quickly dried his hair, then lunged onto the bed in a single bound.

"Come on, let's go to war!"

"War? In your dreams." Pan Ning rolled her eyes at him. "Lie down. I'm going to give you a massage."

Su Yang blinked with a grin. "That works too. Massage first, then..."

He giggled and lay down beside Pan Ning.

Pan Ning said flatly, "On your stomach."

"Face down? You aren't doing my back, are you?"

"On your stomach!" Pan Ning's tone was firm.

Helpless, Su Yang turned over and lay flat.

Once he was settled, Pan Ning didn't say another word. She straddled Su Yang's body and began to use the same technique she had used during the day to pinch his spine.

Su Yang had very low body fat; his back was almost entirely muscle beneath a thin layer of skin. This kind of back was the most painful to pinch. Even with his accelerated healing ability, he had to feel the pain before the recovery could kick in.

"Whoa, whoa, easy... easy!"

"I haven't even started yet."

"Oh, oh. I'm just reminding you. Be gentle."

"Cut the crap." As Pan Ning spoke, she extended her slender fingers, pinched the skin on Su Yang's lower back, lifted it, and then rhythmically pushed her hands upward.

With the very first push, Su Yang's whole body trembled and tensed up instantly. "Ahhh! Oh!"

"Oww! Oww!"

"It hurts, it hurts! Gently, gently!"

"No, no, change positions!"

...

At this very moment, in the adjacent room 1107, Zhong Qing and Su Qingci, who were lying in bed chatting, faintly heard some shouting.

Zhong Qing immediately shut her mouth, tilted her head, and listened carefully.

"Su Su, did you hear something?"

"A sound? What sound?"

"Listen carefully."

The two stopped talking, leaning against the headboard to listen intently.

"Ahhh! Pain!"

"Gently, gently!"

Hearing these screams, the two looked at each other, then instantly turned their heads away, their faces full of awkwardness.

"Um... they sure have a lot of energy," Zhong Qing laughed.

Su Qingci immediately recalled earlier events, and a blush rose on her face.

"Oh, forget it, let's stop listening. Let's keep chatting."

"Okay, okay."

Meanwhile, on the other side, in room 1109.

Meng Qianyu and Tang Ziyun hadn't gone to bed yet; they were leaning on the sofa chatting.

The sofa in this room was right up against the wall shared with the headboard of room 1108.

Naturally, Meng Qianyu and Tang Ziyun also faintly heard the commotion next door. However, they pretended not to hear it and continued their awkward conversation, bracing themselves through the embarrassment.

Tang Ziyun was chatting absentmindedly. A thought suddenly popped into her head: *Why is it Su Yang doing the screaming, and why does he sound so miserable?*

Back in room 1108.

By now, Su Yang's back had been pinched red by Pan Ning, but it quickly returned to normal.

Seeing this, Pan Ning asked in confusion, "Your back was just red from my pinching. How did it recover instantly?"

"Uh, I'm just naturally a fast healer," Su Yang said, making up an excuse before quickly changing the subject. "I'm done. How about you lie down and I'll massage you?"

"Alright."

Pan Ning turned over and lay down. Su Yang quickly scrambled up, a wicked, charming smile on his face. "Where do you want me to massage? My technique is very good, you know."

"Wherever. I'm fine with anything."

"Anything?"

"Mhm."

"Alright then, close your eyes."

"Why do I need to close my eyes?"

"Just listen to me. Close them."

"Fine." Pan Ning helplessly closed her eyes.

Seeing this, Su Yang smiled slightly, crawled over to Pan Ning's side, and flipped the light switch on the wall, plunging the room into darkness.

...

The night passed.

At eight o'clock the next morning, Su Yang opened his sleepy eyes.

Pan Ning woke up at the same time.

The two looked at each other, shared a good morning kiss, and then got up to wash.

Half an hour later, Su Yang asked the others in the group chat, but no one replied. They were probably still asleep.

After Pan Ning put on some light makeup, the two took the elevator to the hotel's rooftop restaurant for breakfast.

At 9:30, Su Yang and Pan Ning went down to the hotel lobby first, ordered coffee, and waited for the others.

Meanwhile, in the boys' group chat.

Liu Bo tagged Chu Qiunan: @ChuQiunan, Old Chu, where are you?

Zhang Ziming: Haven't you come back yet?

Liu Bo: I don't know, there's been no activity. He didn't get taken out, did he?

Zhang Ziming: Call him and ask.

Liu Bo: I did, no answer.

Zhang Ziming: Holy crap? Should we call the police?

Chu Qiunan: Call what police? I'm here, I'm on my way.

Liu Bo: Damn, why didn't you answer the phone then?

Chu Qiunan: I just saw it. My phone was on silent. Don't worry, boys, I'm fine. And...

Ji Bo: And what?

Chu Qiunan: This girl is willing to come traveling with us.

Zhang Ziming: What? For real?

Chu Qiunan: For real. Why would I lie to you? She's right next to me.

Su Yang: [Thumbs Up] One night and she's that committed? Where is she from?

Chu Qiunan: Star City.

Zhang Ziming: That's not bad, not far from our Ocean City.

Liu Bo: You slept together for one night and she's willing to leave with you?

Chu Qiunan: This is what you call love at first sight~

Liu Bo: ...Why do I get the feeling you're going to get scammed by her?

Chu Qiunan: Do I look like someone who gets scammed easily? To be honest with you guys, I've already scoped out her background.

Ji Bo: Oh? Let's hear it.

Chu Qiunan: Her family conditions are actually pretty good. Her dad is in the building materials business; the scale isn't huge, but he's still a boss. Her mom is a senior teacher at Star City Normal University. She also has a younger sister in high school.

Su Yang: Damn, are you running a census? You figured all that out in one night?

Chu Qiunan: Hehe, just casual chat~ It's good to be clear about these things. Based on what I know so far, this girl seems to be a hopeless romantic.

Ji Bo: Well, don't just play around for a few days and then dump her... otherwise, I'll look down on you.

Chu Qiunan: Am I that kind of person? I'm very loyal, okay? I either don't flirt, or if I do, I treat them right.

Liu Bo: Do you actually like her?

Chu Qiunan: It's alright. Mainly, she really fits my aesthetic. Otherwise, I wouldn't have invited her along.

Liu Bo: Why do I feel like *you're* the hopeless romantic here?

...

After chatting for a while, Liu Bo asked: By the way, where is my Brother Meng?

Meng Wenzhou: I'm in my room. What's up?

Ji Bo: Damn? You've been lurking this whole time?

Meng Wenzhou: Just watching you guys chat.

Liu Bo: Which hotel room are you in?

Meng Wenzhou: Our hotel room.

Ji Bo: ?? You mean you came back right after late-night snacks last night?

Meng Wenzhou: What else?

Zhang Ziming: Holy crap? You didn't score?

Meng Wenzhou: That woman is extremely shrewd. She's a high-level player. It's not that easy to seal the deal.

Zhang Ziming: A pity~

Meng Wenzhou: It doesn't matter. We added each other on WeChat, so there will be plenty of opportunities later.

Liu Bo: Alright then.

Su Yang: Then hurry up and come downstairs. Pan Pan and I have been waiting in the lobby for ages.

The others: OK, we'll be right there.

Su Yang was smiling at his phone when Pan Ning, sitting beside him, tilted her head to look. "What are you chatting about? You look so happy."

"Oh, just checking in with Old Meng and Old Chu," Su Yang blurted out.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized something sounded a bit off about Pan Ning's question.

You?

Su Yang froze for a moment before asking, "Uh, did you know we made a separate group chat?"

"I've known for ages."

"Huh? How did you find out?" Su Yang asked, puzzled.

"I saw it last night. We were all drinking and chatting, but you guys kept lowering your heads and sneaking peeks at your phones. Wasn't it obvious?"

"Uh..." Su Yang suddenly felt like a kid in school who had just been caught secretly eating snacks under his desk.

You think you are hiding it well, but the teacher standing at the podium sees everything clearly.

Seeing Su Yang's awkward expression, Pan Ning added, "It's no big deal. We girls started a separate group chat too. Do you want to see it?"

"You guys made one too?"

"Mm-hmm, Qianyu set it up."

"Oh, got it. I'll pass on looking," Su Yang laughed.

"Alright then. I'm not interested in your group either," Pan Ning said, taking a sip of her coffee before going back to scrolling through TikTok.

Over ten minutes later, Chu Qiunan and Gao Yue walked through the hotel entrance, holding hands.

Su Yang spotted them as soon as they entered. He smiled, waved, and called out, "Over here."

Hearing his voice, the couple quickened their pace. Gao Yue looked at Su Yang and beamed. "Brother Yang, we meet again!"

"Indeed, we meet again. But what's this?" Su Yang teased, his eyes fixed on their joined hands.

Hearing this, they both froze for a second before immediately letting go of each other's hands. Chu Qiunan turned his head away and scratched his head awkwardly.

Gao Yue gave a shy smile. "Oh, stop it, let's not talk about that."

As she spoke, she looked at Pan Ning sitting beside Su Yang and exclaimed in shock, "Wow, this lady is so beautiful! Is she your girlfriend, Brother Yang?"

Su Yang nodded. "Yep. Come, sit down."

Pan Ning looked at Gao Yue and nodded politely. "Hello."

"Hello there, beautiful. I'm Gao Yue. How should I address you?"

"Pan Ning."

Su Yang smiled and said, "You can just call her Pan Pan."

"Okay, got it."

After Gao Yue sat down, Chu Qiunan said, "You guys chat for a bit. I'm going to run upstairs to grab something."

"Alright, hurry up."

"I'll be right back."