We Choose Ourselves

Meng Wenzhou shot Liu Bo a dirty look and said no more.

By now, Han So-yeon and Jin Xiangmei had already settled into the pool, sitting about two or three meters to Su Yang's left, with Jin Xiangmei to Han So-yeon's left.

On Su Yang's right were Meng Wenzhou and Liu Bo, while a few other girls sat directly across from them, chattering away.

Han So-yeon tilted her head toward Su Yang and smiled. "It's pretty nice here, huh?"

"Yeah, soaking in a hot spring like this is really relaxing in this weather."

"Hey, by the way, what year are you two in college now?" Su Yang started to steer the conversation.

"Junior year."

"So you're a year older than Jin, right?"

"That's right."

"And she's also a junior?"

"Yeah."

"Which university in Magic City do you actually attend?"

"Magic City Jiaotong University."

"No way, that's amazing! Jiaotong University is a top-tier school in our country."

Hearing Su Yang and Han So-yeon chatting, Liu Bo grinned and stood up, walking over with his towel to sit about a meter away from Jin Xiangmei. "What are you guys talking about? Let me join in. It’s rare to have a language I can actually understand."

"Haha, you kid. I was just asking the two ladies what university they go to."

Meng Wenzhou leaned in to join the conversation as well.

"Magic City Jiaotong," Su Yang said.

"Holy crap, that's impressive!" Liu Bo immediately gave the two girls a thumbs-up.

Ever since he'd come to Japan, he hadn’t really had a proper chat with anyone, and it had been killing this social butterfly. Now that he finally found foreigners he could talk to, he instantly went into praise mode.

The two girls blushed a little from his compliments.

Meng Wenzhou glared at Liu Bo. "Take it easy, man. You’ve got both ladies so flustered they can't get a word in."

"Oh, yeah? Heh heh, sorry about that. I just haven’t had a good chat in way too long."

"It's okay," Jin Xiangmei said, lowering her head slightly.

"Magic City Jiaotong, a Double First-Class university in China. Nice. So, what majors are you two in?" Su Yang asked.

"I'm studying Business Administration, and Xiangmei is in Biotechnology."

"Sugoi! Both great majors. Are you planning to stay in China after graduation or go back to your home country?"

Han So-yeon thought for a moment and said, "I’m planning to stay in China. Mainly because I like China, and besides, I'm actually mixed-race."

"Whoa... you're mixed-race? No wonder your Chinese is so good. So how are you mixed?" Liu butted in.

Hearing this, Meng Wenzhou sighed and covered his face. "Buddy, the way you phrase that sounds kind of off. You don't just ask 'how are you mixed?'"

"How should I ask then?" Liu Bo looked confused.

But Han So-yeon just smiled and said casually, "It's fine. I'm half Chinese and half Korean. My father is Chinese, and my mother is Korean."

"Ohhh, so that's it."

"Then your father must be from Magic City, right?" Meng Wenzhou asked.

"Yeah, that's right."

"No wonder you're studying there. What about Jin?" Meng Wenzhou smiled at Jin Xiangmei.

Jin Xiangmei replied, "I also plan to stay in Magic City for the future. I really love the city—it's so modern, and there are so many opportunities."

"Awesome, awesome!" Meng Wenzhou gave a small smile and sneakily winked at Liu Bo.

Liu Bo winked back.

Su Yang watched the two of them exchange glances and knew exactly what they were up to. He held back his laughter and kept finding topics to chat about with the girls.

Through the conversation, Jin Xiangmei loosened up a bit, no longer as shy as she was during dinner.

As they were talking, the four girls from across the pool—Jiali, Muxi, and the others—couldn't resist and came over.

"Su-san, what are you guys talking about? You look like you're having so much fun. Can we join?"

"Of course, but we're speaking Chinese here, haha. Can you understand it?"

"Huh? So-yeon and Xiangmei can speak Chinese too?"

"They both go to college in Magic City. What do you think?"

"Oh, I see. Then let's chat in English. Everyone knows it."

Meng Wenzhou looked at Liu Bo and said, "This chubby buddy doesn’t."

"Haha, no worries. That's a good chance for him to practice!" Jiali said, walking right over and sitting between Su Yang and Meng Wenzhou, though she sat closer to Su Yang.

Betty was about to sit between Su Yang and Han So-yeon, but when she stepped over, Winnie beat her to it.

Seeing this, Betty froze and stared at Winnie wide-eyed. "What?"

"Haha, sorry. You were too slow."

Betty had no choice but to pull Muxi along and sit between Winnie and Han So-yeon.

Besides the Chinese and Korean girls, the group now also included girls from Japan and England—four different nationalities in total. So they switched to English as the common language.

But every now and then, a few would mix in some Japanese or Korean phrases. Liu Bo was immediately lost again. However, since Jin Xiangmei was also a bit socially anxious, she stopped talking too.

Liu Bo seized the opportunity and started chatting with Jin Xiangmei one-on-one.

Su Yang and Meng Wenzhou silently nodded at the sight. This guy was finally getting the hang of it.

The group of girls sitting opposite them were also chatting happily.

Zhuang Mengli, however, wasn't really talking. She was smiling as she soaked in the pool, her arms resting on the edge like a boss, staring at Su Yang with an intense gaze.

Jiang Xiaotang noticed and tilted her head. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing."

Following Zhuang Mengli’s gaze, Jiang Xiaotang understood.

"What are you looking for? Just go join them."

"No need, I'm fine right here."

"Huh? I really can't figure you out." Jiang Xiaotang said something, then suddenly thought of something and moved closer to Zhuang Mengli, lowering her voice. "I just thought of something."

"What?"

"Isn't Panpan Su Yang's girlfriend? She doesn't even care, just letting him hang out with a bunch of beautiful girls."

Zhuang Mengli turned her head and glanced at Jiang Xiaotang flatly. "Then Meng Wenzhou is your boyfriend, right? Aren't you just letting him do the same?"

"Me... oh come on, when did he become my boyfriend!" Jiang Xiaotang instantly blushed and lowered her head.

"You two live together, and you're still pretending?"

"I..."

"Stop pretending. It's just chatting. What's the big deal?"

"Well, I guess so. But why have you been staring at him?"

"Because he's handsome. Who else would I be looking at?"

Jiang Xiaotang: "..."

"You, you big flirt. I'm not going to argue with you." Jiang Xiaotang got up and walked over to Pan Ning and the others to join their conversation.

Zhuang Mengli didn't mind at all, still staring at Su Yang with that smile on her face.

"Mengmeng, why are you sitting so far away? Come over and chat!" Ren Lingxi called out to Zhuang Mengli.

"You guys go ahead. I'm going to admire the eye candy~"

Ren Lingxi: "..."

Everyone soaked in the warm, comfortable hot spring, filling the air with laughter and chatter.

Su Yang and Meng Wenzhou would occasionally crack a joke, making the girls burst out laughing.

Because it was a bit noisy, Liu Bo and Jin Xiangmei gradually moved a little further to the side.

The two of them were chatting aimlessly, jumping from topic to topic without much coherence. Most of the time, Liu Bo was the one starting the conversations, but Jin Xiangmei didn't seem bothered by it—in fact, they seemed to be hitting it off quite well.

"Look at Fatty and that little beauty from Korea," Meng Qianyu said with a smile.

Everyone turned to look at Liu Bo and immediately began to grin.

"Wow, Fatty's springtime has arrived," Tang Ziyun laughed heartily.

"Do you think those two might end up together?" Su Qingci asked.

"Looks like there's a good chance," the girls said, tapping into their innate gossip-loving instincts as they analyzed the situation.

Time flew by quickly. After soaking in the hot springs for forty minutes straight, everyone's faces were flushed red, and their foreheads were covered in sweat.

"I think that's enough. If I soak any longer, I feel like I might pass out. Let's go," Meng Wenzhou said.

"Where to? It's still early," Liu Bo asked.

"Let's check out the free massage here. We get one free session per day—it'd be a waste not to take it."

"Oh, right, we can get a massage too," Liu Bo said, turning to Jin Xiangmei beside him and asking, "Xiangmei, want to come for a massage?"

Jin Xiangmei thought for a couple of seconds and then nodded. "Okay."

"Heh, let's go then."

"Ladies, let's move! Time for a massage!" Meng Wenzhou stood up and shouted toward Pan Ning and the others across from them.

Everyone got up and headed back to the changing rooms to change clothes.

At that moment, it was ten in the evening. The temperature had already dropped to five degrees Celsius, and a chilly wind was blowing, suddenly making it feel like winter.

Everyone quickly changed and walked out of the hot spring area.

A few minutes later, the group of seventeen people arrived briskly at the entrance of a three-story building. In the middle of the main door were Japanese characters reading "Little Gold Mountain Leisure SPA."

The crowd poured into the lobby. After a simple check-in process, they followed two staff members dressed in kimonos up to the second floor.

The SPA facility attached to this hotel didn't have a wide variety of services. There was only one type of massage: a full-body Japanese-style massage (70 minutes).

Of course, there were also other options besides the massage, including ear cleaning and foot therapy.

The girls seemed to have discussed it in advance, as none of them chose the full-body massage. Pan Ning, Meng Qianyu, Lu Yun, Su Qingci, Han So-yeon, and Zhuang Mengli opted for ear cleaning, while the other girls went for foot therapy.

Su Yang and the other two guys didn't care about that—they were definitely going for the full-body massage.

After sitting and waiting for a while in the lounge area on the second floor, two staff members first led the girls to the group rooms for ear cleaning and foot therapy.

Su Yang and the other two continued sitting, sipping tea, and waiting.

After waiting another few minutes, a girl in a kimono suddenly appeared from somewhere.

Holding a tablet, she took quick, short steps over to the three of them and said, "Excuse me, have all three gentlemen chosen the full-body massage?"

"Yes," Meng Wenzhou replied with a nod.

"Alright. You can select a masseuse here. Would you like to choose one yourselves, or should I arrange one for you?"

"Oh? We can pick a masseuse for a free massage?" Meng Wenzhou said with a laugh.

"Yes, you can."

"Then we'll choose ourselves."