Seaside

"Hurry up, how much longer do you need?"

Xia Yueshan stood at the door, clad in swim trunks, a swim cap on his head, and a pair of dark goggles tightly strapped across his forehead. He had even eagerly slipped on a swimming ring already.

"We still need some time."

Inside the hotel room, Xia Muzhu wore an autumn-yellow one-piece swimsuit with a matching sheer lace shawl draped over her shoulders.

Her swimwear could only be described as conservative—not a hint of skin revealed.

But some things don’t need to be exposed to be captivating.

Their mere existence is enough to leave one speechless!

Though the autumn-yellow shawl softened the visual impact somewhat...

At least, that’s how it looked!

"What else do you need to do?"

"Aren’t you already changed?"

Xia Yueshan tilted his head in confusion.

"We still have to apply sunscreen."

Lin Yu, who knew a thing or two about skincare, shot him an exasperated look and retorted,

"Do you want your sister to end up as tanned as the two of us?"

Xia Yueshan had spent much of the summer running around outside (albeit reluctantly), leaving him noticeably darker.

As for Lin Yu?

He’d never been fair-skinned to begin with!

Hearing this, Xia Yueshan deflated and grumbled unhappily,

"So how much longer?"

"If you’re in such a hurry, go ahead by yourself."

Lin Yu rummaged through the suitcase for Xia Muzhu’s sunscreen, not even sparing Xia Yueshan a glance as he dismissed him.

"Why don’t you let her apply it herself? Let’s go down first, yeah?"

Xia Yueshan grinned shamelessly, trying to drag Lin Yu out to play.

Lin Yu straightened up and looked at him with pitying eyes, as if he were an idiot.

"Can you reach your own back to apply sunscreen?"

Xia Yueshan reached behind himself, attempting and failing, before finally giving up on pestering Lin Yu to join him.

"Fine, but hurry up."

After one last impatient urge, Xia Yueshan turned and marched off downstairs, fully geared up.

"Don’t go near the deep water, you hear?"

Lin Yu called out from the room, loud enough for Xia Yueshan to catch.

"I’m not stupid!"

Xia Yueshan’s exasperated shout echoed from the hallway, clearly tired of being treated like a child with all the warnings.

Lin Yu and Xia Muzhu exchanged an amused glance, both sighing at the antics of this teenage boy.

"Found it!"

Lin Yu pulled out a bottle of sunscreen from the corner of the suitcase. Without giving Xia Muzhu a chance to protest, he popped open the cap and squeezed a generous dollop onto his palm, rubbing his hands together to spread it evenly.

"Zhu-jie, I’ll help you with the sunscreen!"

At the sight of Lin Yu’s hands coated in white lotion, Xia Muzhu’s cheeks flushed pink, as if recalling something.

She nodded softly and took a seat on the chair in the room, waiting for him to begin.

Lin Yu nudged the door shut with his foot, struggling a bit to lock it since his hands were slick with sunscreen.

"Let’s move to the bed."

"It’s not easy to work here..."

"Ugh—I mean, not easy to apply!"

Lin Yu quickly corrected his slip of the tongue.

Xia Muzhu’s face burned redder. She shot him a reproachful look and reminded him,

"Not today."

"Xia Yueshan’s still waiting downstairs."

"And besides..."

She bit her lip, the heat in her face visibly intensifying as she turned away, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I still want to save some energy for later..."

"Don’t worry."

"It’s just sunscreen. I won’t do anything else."

Lin Yu puffed out his chest, as if ready to swear an oath.

Reassured, Xia Muzhu pulled out a beach mat from her bag and spread it over the bed to keep the sheets clean.

Once prepared, she obediently climbed onto the bed and lay face down on the mat.

Lin Yu approached, running his hands along her calves, massaging the sunscreen in slow, even strokes...

...

Heaven bear witness—

Lin Yu had genuinely intended to apply sunscreen properly at first!

But somehow...

Xia Muzhu’s body seemed to possess an irresistible allure, and before he knew it, his focus had shifted.

His hands naturally followed suit...

"Mmm..."

Xia Muzhu suddenly let out a soft, stifled sound, squirming slightly in discomfort.

"There... there’s no need to apply there, right?"

"Of course there is."

Lin Yu replied with utter sincerity,

"What if your clothes shift while we’re out? You wouldn’t want to get sunburned."

"You don’t want to end up as dark as me, do you?"

???

Why did I phrase it like that again?

Though Lin Yu disliked this kind of talk, he had to admit—

It worked like a charm.

Xia Muzhu fell silent, choosing to endure quietly as Lin Yu grew bolder, his touches venturing further...

"Whew."

Letting out a heavy breath, Lin Yu eyed Xia Muzhu’s alluring figure and decided it was time to stop.

Any longer, and he really wouldn’t be able to hold back.

Just as he steeled himself to withdraw, Xia Muzhu lifted her head in confusion, her sapphire-blue eyes clouded with desire—both questioning the pause and silently pleading for more.

Their gazes locked, and in that wordless moment, an understanding passed between them...

...

Meanwhile, Xia Yueshan had cycled through the stages of excitement and exhaustion, now settling into the third phase—

Boredom.

Lying on the beach, he glared at the distant skyscrapers, his thick brows knitting together.

What’s taking them so long?

Two whole hours had passed. Even if they were applying sunscreen—or doing anything else—they should’ve been done by now!

Unless...

They’d ditched him to go on a date or grab a meal?