The private beach lived up to its name, with scenery that was unimaginably gorgeous. The sea water was layered in shades of blue—crystal clear near the shore, blending seamlessly with the horizon in the distance, vast and boundless.
Coconut trees cast comfortable shade beside the sandy shore, while white beach loungers and colorful parasols were interspersed orderly, full of a leisurely resort atmosphere.
The guests changed into swimwear in their respective dressing rooms and, reappearing in front of the cameras, made the scene even more pleasing to the eye.
Xie Weiyi had changed into a dark green halter-neck swimsuit, which set off her fair skin and undoubtedly made her the focal point on the beach. Without the slightest prudishness, she openly displayed her well-proportioned figure.
Jiang Tong chose a classic, conservative dark blue one-piece swimsuit with a higher neckline and crisscrossing thin straps on the back, covering as much skin as possible.
Even so, several faint suture scars could still be seen on her slender, thin frame.
Gently stroking those scars, she put on a sun-protection cardigan before heading out, its hem fluttering slightly in the sea breeze, making her figure appear even more frail and slight.
The production team prepared activities such as beach volleyball and water scooters, while providing drinks and fruits in unlimited quantities.
Jiang Tong didn’t plan to join the sports activities today. After picking up a cup of iced watermelon juice, she walked over to a beach lounger near the coconut tree shade and slowly sat down.
Her movements carried a habitual caution, since every joint in her body required careful treatment.
Xie Weiyi was different; she was simply far too energetic.
Gathering together with Song Anna and Bai Yu, she didn’t know what they were saying, but the three of them burst into laughter together.
Afterward, Song Anna put her hands on her hips, making a gesture to splash water, whereupon Xie Weiyi agilely dodged with a smile and ran behind Yu Ningzhi, who had just walked over, cupping a handful of water to counterattack.
The water battle between the two only ended after Song Anna was dragged away by Bai Yu. Then, Xie Weiyi naturally drifted to Yu Ningzhi’s side, expressing her thanks through a cheek-kiss greeting in an intimate and carefree posture.
She also took the initiative to walk over to Su Leli’s side, pointing at a surfboard not far away and gesturing as she talked about something.
Su Leli seemed a bit hesitant, so Xie Weiyi smilingly pulled her hand, led her to the shallow water area, and taught her how to practice standing postures.
Patiently explaining and demonstrating, she would occasionally reach out to support Su Leli’s waist or arm to help her maintain balance.
[Aine is so good at flirting! She’s actually doing sticker-sticker with all the big sisters!]
[Song Anna & Bai Yu forever (99)]
[I also love shipping the bestie duo of Xie Weiyi and Su Leli, hee hee.]
[Hahaha, the gluttonous girl above.]
[Help, I can’t take it anymore. I want to replace Aine and do sticker-sticker with the sisters, but I also want to teleport over and be sticker-stickered by Aine!]
The sound of frolicking over on Xie Weiyi’s side was too loud, constantly drawing Jiang Tong’s attention over. From time to time, she would slightly turn her head, only to quickly withdraw her gaze.
It wasn’t that she deliberately didn’t fit in; she simply lacked the physical strength.
The aftereffects left by the car accident were like an invisible shackle, not only restricting her body but also defining the boundaries of her activities.
Running, jumping, standing for long periods, or playing in the water meant that she would have to endure even longer periods of lingering soreness and fatigue afterward.
Unable to participate, she could only act as an out-of-place spectator.
Yet her gaze always fell upon the brightest figure on the beach. Watching Xie Weiyi naturally and intimately interacting with others, a trace of subtle sourness began bubbling up uncontrollably in her heart.
She knew she had no right to be jealous. Having chosen to push Xie Weiyi away back then, she now had no footing to feel jealous left and right.
Now that Xie Weiyi was living a brilliant, uninhibited life, surrounded by friends who appreciated her and partners who cared about her, wasn’t this precisely what she had hoped for back then?
Yet rationality was one thing, while emotions were quite another.
Clearly, Xie Weiyi’s warmth and brightness used to be unreservedly displayed for her alone.
[Why is Jiang Tong sitting by herself? She seems a bit out of place.]
[Is her health not very good? She’s skinny and pale, looking so fragile.]
[Is there any possibility that she’s just quiet by nature? As a fellow social phobic, I totally understand.]
[Are those scars on Jiang Tong’s legs? The color is so deep, just looking at it hurts. How severe was that car accident back then!]
“Sister Jiang Tong, want to come play in the water together?” A crisp, cheerful voice drifted over, interrupting Jiang Tong’s sour-tasting train of thought.
Following the direction of the voice, Jiang Tong saw Xia Yuan, who had changed into a pink two-piece swimsuit and was wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat.
Bouncing and running over like a happy little rabbit, her cute appearance simply melted Jiang Tong’s little heart.
“Oh my, Xia Yuan, you’re so cute! This swimsuit suits you super well!” Lifting her hand to straighten Xia Yuan’s straw hat, which had been blown crooked by the wind, Jiang Tong softened her voice involuntarily and showered her with unsparing praise: “You’re ridiculously cute! You’re completely a strawberry little cupcake!”
[So cute ahhhhhh, Xia Yuan, how can you be this cute! Let me ruarua [rub]!]
[Jiang Tong looks like she’s about to be melted by cuteness.]
Blushing from the praise, Xia Yuan waved the small bucket and plastic shovel in her hand: “Shall we build a sandcastle together? Or go step in the water over there in the shallows? It’s super fun!”
Xia Yuan’s gaze was clean and sincere, carrying pure goodwill and an eager desire to pull her into the collective fold.
Raising her head to meet those sparkling eyes, Jiang Tong returned a grateful smile: “Alright then, but I’m a bit afraid of the sun. I might have to come back and rest not long after playing—will that affect your mood?”
“How could it! I’m afraid of the sun too. We’ll play for ten minutes, then come back to drink cold drinks, rest up, and go play again! I saw the production team prepared quite a few freshly squeezed fruit juices. If we add a bit of cocktails, the taste must be amazing!”
While pulling Jiang Tong’s arm to drag her toward the seaside, Xia Yuan rattled off her arrangements. She had thought things through thoroughly, even pre-planning how to mix the drinks.
Unlike her cute and innocent exterior, Xia Yuan possessed a strong inner core and was a decisive, independent woman with plenty of ideas.
“Alright, I’ll listen to you,” Jiang Tong smiled and nodded.
At this moment, Xie An walked over, attempting to make small talk with the two: “Um… do you two want to try the water scooter? I’ve learned how; I can give you a ride…”
Waving the tools in her hand, Xia Yuan replied, “We’re going to build a sandcastle, oh.”
Politely smiling, Jiang Tong nodded in agreement: “Yes, sorry about that. We already have plans.”
“Ah… then I won’t disturb you.” Running into a polite brush-off, Xie An walked away awkwardly.
[Xie An’s progress is at 0, hahahahaha.]
[We’re here to watch the sisters anyway, can men just be automatically blocked?]
[Who wants to watch guys? Didn’t the production team invite male guests just to pass censorship? Everyone understands, so Xie An, go enjoy yourself and have a safe trip.]
The live broadcast bullet comments successively bantered about Xie An’s redundancy.
A dozen minutes later, Xie Weiyi’s surfing lesson was forced to an end.
Complaining that her legs were sore and that she needed to catch her breath, Su Leli forced Xie Weiyi to come ashore with her. While wiping her wet long hair with a towel, Xie Weiyi subconsciously cast her gaze toward the beach loungers.
Then, her movements froze.
There was no sign of Jiang Tong on the beach lounger.
Scanning quickly, her sight soon captured where Jiang Tong was.
Jiang Tong and Xia Yuan were squatting together, their heads close as if discussing something.
Then Jiang Tong carefully steadied a section of a sand wall that was about to tilt, while Xia Yuan cooperatively piled sand over, smiling to reveal her little tiger teeth.
Saying something, Xia Yuan turned her head to look at Jiang Tong, a smile blooming on her face that, in Xie Weiyi’s eyes, was far too gentle and even carried a hint of doting indulgence.
That smile stung Xie Weiyi’s eyes until they ahed.
Over these past two days, Xie Weiyi had hardly ever seen Jiang Tong display such an expression toward anyone in front of the cameras.
To herself, it was polite and distant; to others, it was mild and courteous—she had only been amused into smiling twice when Liang Xin was acting goofy.
Yet right now, Jiang Tong was actually smiling this dotingly and gently toward that Xia Yuan!
The fingers clutching the towel tightened involuntarily as a mixture of displeasure and irritation surged unheralded into Xie Weiyi’s heart.
Biting her red lips and with her eye sockets stinging slightly, she stared fixedly at the two.
Watching Xia Yuan chatter away, watching Jiang Tong patiently listen and respond, watching Jiang Tong raise her hand to gently brush away a grain of sand that had accidentally stuck to Xia Yuan’s cheek.
“Tsk.” An almost imperceptible light scoff spilled from her lips.
Su Leli had walked up beside her at some point. Following her gaze, Su Leli raised an eyebrow understandingly.
Picking up a bottle of chilled water to press against Xie Weiyi’s exposed arm, Su Leli spoke in a tone carrying undisguised teasing: “What are you looking at so intently? Oh, Teacher Jiang and Xia Yuan are playing together so congenially. The picture’s quite heartwarming, too.”
Not taking the water, Xie Weiyi kept her gaze locked over there. Speaking in a rigid tone tinged with a wave of sourness, she said softly: “She clearly used to say she liked my kind best.”
“Huh?” Su Leli didn’t react for a moment.
“I said,” turning her head, Xie Weiyi had complex, indistinguishable emotions churning within her glass-like eyes, while her tone was filled with a nearly childish awkwardness and dissatisfaction, “she clearly used to say she liked my kind of bright and generous type. What’s going on now? When did she switch to liking the cute style?”
Su Leli: “…”
Staring blankly for a full three seconds, Su Leli let out a sudden “pfft” of laughter, laughing so hard her shoulders shook.
Supporting her forehead, she was simply speechless: “Big Star Xie, Teacher Aine, aren’t you eating this vinegar (jealousy) a bit too unreasonably?”
Annoyed by her laughter, Xie Weiyi glared at her: “What vinegar am I eating?”
“You call this not eating vinegar???”
Lowering her voice, resisting laughter, and speaking at a volume only the two of them could hear, Su Leli said: “Look at yourself—from this morning until now, you’ve splashed water with Anna, brought me to learn surfing, and even done a cheek-kiss greeting with Yu Ningzhi. Your charm is radiating so hard there are almost no blind spots within a ten-mile radius. After bustling around for half the day, did you want her to see, did you want her to get jealous?”
Pouting her lips without admitting or denying it, Xie Weiyi let her gaze drift away.
Finding her like this all the more amusing, Su Leli advised persuasively: “As a result? Jiang Tong just went about her business, having a blast building sandcastles with the cute younger sister, and didn’t even spare a glance in your direction. Look at you—you knocked over your own vinegar jar first.”
“Tsk tsk,” sighing, Su Leli exhorted earnestly, “Aine, I advise you to withdraw your magical powers and seriously think about how to chase someone.”
Smilingly walking back to a beach lounger to sit down and wipe the water droplets off her legs with a towel, Su Leli added: “Anyway, don’t drag me along to play the part of ‘deep bestie love’ with you ever again. These old bones of mine were soaked in water almost to the point of bloating today just to serve as your tool to provoke an ex-girlfriend—do you think that was easy for me?”
Stung by her words, Xie Weiyi felt her face burning slightly with heat at the base of her ears.
Of course she knew what Su Leli said made sense; those actions of hers getting close to others today indeed harbored a bit of probing and childish showing-off.
She wanted to see Jiang Tong’s reaction, wanting to fish out even a shred of care from that calm, waveless face.
Yet Jiang Tong showed none.
Jiang Tong merely sat there quietly, and then…
And then she let Xia Yuan drag her away!
And smiled so gently!
This feeling of punching cotton, only for it to rebound and smash heavily back into oneself, was utterly terrible.