You Must Accept It

Su Yang walked to the doorway and looked toward the three-story wooden house in the distance.

After the three women came outside, he turned and pointed at the house forty or fifty meters away. “I’ve already booked that house.”

“So soon? Is it also an entire vacation rental?” Yoshie asked.

“Yes. Come on, let’s go take a look.”

“Okay.”

The four of them walked toward the slightly higher ground on the right.

The two houses were about fifty meters apart, and they soon arrived at the wooden house.

Behind it were three more houses, each with a different color and design, though the nearest one was still at least twenty or thirty meters away.

The area around the house was quite spacious, and the lawn in front of it was flatter than the one by their current lodgings.

It would be perfect for playing badminton or organizing little games.

“This house looks pretty good too,” Qingxia said, looking up at it.

“Yes. I looked at the pictures before, and it seemed decent. I just don’t know whether the actual place will be the same as the photos.”

“Then why didn’t you ask the owner to come and show it to you?” Yoshie asked.

“I did. She isn’t here today—she lives in the city. She’ll come over tomorrow to show me around.”

“Did you pay a deposit?”

Su Yang nodded. “Yes. I’ll check the inside tomorrow. If it looks like the pictures, I’ll book it for sure.”

“Sounds good.”

“Not bad, not bad. The two houses aren’t far apart, so if anyone wants to do something, all they have to do is call out and we’ll be able to hear them.”

Su Yang walked around the house once, nodding in satisfaction. “Come on, let’s explore somewhere else.”

Li Yuanying asked, “Should we go up or down?”

“Up. Let’s take a look from the top of the hill.”

“Okay.”

The four of them leisurely followed the gravel path running through the middle of the lawn toward the upper half of the slope.

The farther they went, the fewer houses there were, and the more space there was between them.

“It’s quieter up here, and there are a lot fewer houses,” Qingxia said, turning to look around.

“Too few houses wouldn’t be much fun. There’d be no sense of life. The area where we’re staying now is just right,” Su Yang said with a smile.

“Exactly. I like where we’re staying now.” Li Yuanying turned around and looked down the slope.

From the hillside, the land below rose and fell in places, resembling green waves.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Let’s take a group photo.” Li Yuanying took out her phone with a smile.

“Sure.”

“Su Yang, your arms are the longest, so you take it.” Li Yuanying handed him the phone.

“Okay.”

The four of them turned around, facing away from the slope. Su Yang stood in front of the other three and raised the phone high.

“Move a little closer together,” he said with a smile.

“Okay.”

The three women put their arms around one another and stood behind Su Yang. He spread his legs and lowered his body slightly, smiling as he said, “All right. Don’t move.”

Click, click, click. He pressed the shutter several times in succession.

“That should do it. Let’s take a look.” Su Yang handed the phone back to Li Yuanying.

The three women huddled together and checked the photos.

“Mm-hmm, not bad at all. We look this good even in a random snapshot. Send them to us later,” Qingxia said happily, clapping her hands.

“It’s mainly because all four of us are so attractive. Put us together with scenery this beautiful, and of course the photos will turn out great,” Li Yuanying explained with a laugh.

“Haha, Yuanying sure knows how to flatter people,” Yoshie said with a laugh.

“All right, let’s keep going. This slope is pretty big. Let’s see what’s at the very top.” Su Yang took the lead and continued forward.

The three women hurried after him.

More than ten minutes later, the four of them reached the very top of Dreamy Hill. Ahead of them, their path was blocked by a towering mountain that seemed to pierce the clouds.

Its summit was covered in snow.

The group stood at the top of the slope, looking down over the hillside.

“This place is perfect for retirement. It’s like a paradise far removed from the world, untouched by worldly concerns,” Su Yang said as he plopped down on the ground.

The other three didn’t hear what he said. They quickly ran to a patch of small white wildflowers nearby and began picking them, laughing and fooling around.

Watching the three women play, Su Yang’s lips curved into a smile. He propped himself up with both hands on the grass, tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and quietly savored the moment.

[Ding! The host’s state of mind has been detected to be peaceful. It seems he has gained some insight into life. Reward: 10 million yuan. Physique increased by 2 points. Current physique: 99. Appearance increased by 1 point. Current appearance: 92. Charm increased by 3 points. Current charm: 99. Figure increased by 3 points. Current figure: 93.]

—Wow, what a luxury!

His figure had not changed in a long time, so Su Yang immediately noticed something different in his body when it suddenly increased by three points.

His chest twitched, followed by a sensation of soreness and swelling. The same feeling spread through his abdomen, arms, and legs.

However, the sensation only lasted a few seconds before disappearing.

“Phew… What insight into life did I gain? I don’t even know,” Su Yang muttered, scratching his head with a faint smile.

“Whatever. Getting an increase in all four attributes feels amazing.”

He sat there for a while longer.

At 5:15 p.m., Su Yang stood up and called out to the three women, who were still bent over picking flowers seven or eight meters away.

“Ladies, let’s go! Time to head back and get some food!”

“Coming, coming!”

The three women ran over with smiles, each holding a handful of little wildflowers.

Li Yuanying held out the flowers in her hand. “Here. These are for you.”

“For me? No thanks. They’re too ugly.” Su Yang deliberately pretended to dislike them.

“What? I worked so hard to pick them, and you won’t even take them?”

“Who gives someone wildflowers? And white ones, at that.”

“What’s wrong with that? Aren’t white flowers still flowers?”

“Forget it. There’s no point trying to explain this to a foreigner like you.”

“You have to take them!” Li Yuanying insisted, forcibly stuffing the flowers into Su Yang’s hand.

Yingxia and Yoshie also came over and gave him their flowers.

Looking at the three bunches of wildflowers in his hands, Su Yang smiled helplessly. “All right, all right, I’ll take them. I’ll plant them in the yard when we get back. Come on.”

The four of them chatted and laughed as they made their way down the slope.

More than ten minutes later, they returned to the house. Yoshie pulled Qingxia and Li Yuanying into the kitchen to help, while Su Yang lay alone on the sofa watching a soccer match.

The clattering of pots and pans, along with the three women’s voices, drifted out of the kitchen.

At seven that evening, the three women carried the food out of the kitchen.

“Dinner’s ready!” Li Yuanying called to Su Yang, who was lying on the sofa.

“Okay, I’m coming.”

Su Yang put on his shoes and walked over to the dining table, lowering his head to take a look.

Spread across the table were sushi, sashimi, tonkatsu, tempura, island-style curry rice, and four bowls of pork miso soup.

“Wow, this looks great.”

“It tastes even better. I tried a little of everything just now, and it’s delicious,” Li Yuanying said with a smile as she pulled out a chair and sat down.

“Is that so? Then let’s dig in.”

“I’ll get the drinks.” Qingxia turned and ran into the kitchen.

She soon returned with several bottles of beer and sat down. The four of them poured their drinks, clinked their bottles together, and downed them in one go.

“Let’s eat,” Yoshie said, picking up her chopsticks.

…

The simple island-style dinner soon came to an end, and before they realized it, darkness had fallen outside.

At some point, the wind had begun to pick up. It howled against the floor-to-ceiling windows leading to the balcony, making a scraping sound.

Su Yang walked over to the window and looked outside. The sky was blanketed in heavy, dark clouds.

“This weather really changes in an instant. Looks like it’s going to rain again.”

Yoshie walked over to Su Yang and glanced outside. “Is it going to rain?”

“Looks like it. Hey, come to think of it, it’s kind of strange. The last time we were together, it was because of a typhoon and torrential rain. This time, the weather was fine every day before I ran into you, and now that I’ve met you again, it’s about to rain.”

Yoshie smiled. “Yeah. It seems like it always rains whenever we’re together.”

“Haha, let it rain. We can curl up inside, drink, and watch a movie. What could be more relaxing?”

“Exactly. I actually quite like rainy days.” Yoshie turned to Su Yang and gazed at him with deep affection.

Su Yang smiled faintly, and the two of them turned back to sit on the sofa.

At that moment, Li Yuanying was taking a shower in Su Yang’s bedroom upstairs, while Qingxia was washing up in the bathroom on the first floor.

Su Yang and Yoshie leaned against the sofa and began looking for a movie to watch.

Whoosh—

Suddenly, a streak of white lightning tore across the sky, briefly illuminating the darkness outside the window.

A moment later, a deep rumble of thunder exploded among the dark clouds.

Boom—

“It’s about to start. Did you close the windows in your room?” Su Yang asked Yoshie.

Yoshie nodded. “They’re closed.”

“Good.”

The two looked at each other as they spoke. Yoshie’s breathing gradually quickened, and, unable to restrain herself, she leaned toward Su Yang.

“Su-san~”

“What is it?”

Yoshie didn’t answer. She simply closed her eyes and instinctively leaned in to kiss him.

Pitter-patter-patter—

The instant their lips touched, the rain came pouring down.

Large raindrops drummed against the eaves and the balcony floor, as though accompanying the two of them with a musical score.

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