Yaba Ind was a little further away from De Carma than Wine City, but Joes space shuttle was considerably faster than a regr space shuttle.
Twelve hourster, the group of them arrived at Yaba Ind, thergest resort in the Tian Qin system.
This ce was home to the most beautiful sea and thergest forest ofmp pines. The amodation Joe arranged was situated on a hill next to amp pine forest, with the best view of the whole ind.
Yaba Ind and De Carma had inverse season cycles. It was now the beginning of summer, and also midday. They nearly had a heat stroke on the walk to their amodationin their cotton coats.
The two more casual of the bunch stripped off their coats and wool vests as they walked, leaving only their shirts and pants.
Ill be damned, I really detest hot weather. One of them fanned his shirt cor. These are fucking winter clothing. Will anyone mind if I walked through here naked?
The other said, We certainly wont mind, you can walk around naked with your pants down if you want. But you have to take Laura and Elenas feelings into ount. Are you sure you want bothdies to see your belly?
Simrly, Laura had taken off her outer coat. As she fanned herself, she turned over and smiled at Elena, Then well use Gu to cleanse our eyes.
The hand Gu Yan had on his coat paused. His eyes flickered to them.
Nonono, we didnt say anything, Lauraughed merrily, her hand doing a zipping motion over her mouth. Go on, dont mind us.
Yan Suizhi watched them tease Gu Yan from the side; flirt and quickly retreat, then flirt again not muchter, like they had masochistic streaks in them or something.
Gu Yan didnt bother with them. He took off his coat and draped it over his arm. Turning over, he nced at Yan Suizhi and asked in a low voice, What are you smiling at?
Student Gu rarely spoke anything proper to him; Yan Suizhi obviously wouldnt dissuade this. He raised his eyebrows, checking his reflection in the ss next to him. Im smiling? Wherever did you see that from?
Gu Yan tapped a finger to the corner of his own eyes. Here.
He spoke very casually. Perhaps due to the heat or the environment here, his voice even sounded slightlynguid.
Yan Suizhi startled, and didnt say anything more.
They didnt see any other tourists all the way to their amodation. The whole ind seemed quiet and peaceful, what should have been an impossible sight on Yaba Ind. It was apparent that this rich second generation had booked out the entire ind for their leisure for the next few days.
The amodation was apound of small vis which, unlike elsewhere, were connected to each other by ss verandas. The weather on Yaba was unpredictable with frequent downpours. Therefore, the verandas prevented the tragedy of them turning into drowned chickens from walking between the different vis.
Because of these verandas, the vis formed a whole, which looked like a modern castle at first sight.
Have you ever seen amp pine before? Joe asked Yan Suizhi as he made the housing arrangements.
He didnt hold the airs of a rich second generation at allor, maybe he was just much warmer to a guest of Gu Yans.
Yan Suizhi smiled and shook his head. Only the electric versions.
Joe, Oh, thats normal. After all, this is a type of pine unique to Yaba Ind. I heard that it cant be grown elsewhere.
This type of pine tree emitted a special scent at night, quiet and faint, and slightly frosty to the nose. All in all, it was a pleasing fragrance for most. And to a type of insect, it was their most beloved.
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A singlemp pine could attract around thirty to fortympflies regardless of distance; a forest ofmp pines would be an enchanting view.
And Yaba Ind, with thergest forest ofmp pines in the ster system, had a beauty in the night that could astound the world.
Naturally, Yan Suizhi had seen this sight before. He had once spent a short vacation here and loved thismp pine forest. When he returned to De Carma, he whimsically had in his head the idea of nting twomp pines outside by the entrance of his vi like a pair of door guardians, and got someone to sell him several seeds.
However, it was difficult formp pines to survive in De Carma; they must be tended to with great care. Professor Yan simply didnt have that kind of time. During the first few days, he remembered to water and trim the trees religiously. But before long, he was away for half a month on a business trip, and by the time he returned, themp pines had already departed for the good mansnd.
After wrecking three batches of trees, he finally gave up and stopped persecuting thosemp pines.
Thanks to the blessing of Student Gu and the rich second generation, he was able to make another trip down and was in quite a good mood.
You guys can stay in Vi 3, then. Its quiet over there too. Joe patted Gu Yan on the shoulder, pointing to the vi closest to themp pine forest. It was a little further away from the other vis and had a longer ss veranda.
Its just the group of us for these couple of days, the others havent arrived yet so theyre all empty. Theres more than enough room for two people to share a single vi. When more arrive tomorrow, it might be three or four to a vi instead.
Thats fine, Gu Yan nodded.
They would be on the return shuttle tomorrow evening in any case, so sharing a vi with others wouldnt have anything to do with them at all. But Lawyer Gu still answered without batting an eye.
Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? Joe asked.
We just finished eating half an hour ago, Laura said shortly, I dont think I can recklessly take your shuttle in the future. I got fed like a pig the whole way. I ate twelve meals in twelve hours! Thats a meal for every hour; this one trip gained me three kilograms. Just like that, my half-month of exercise went down the drain.
Joe, You could have chosen not to eat. Gu and his intern only ate three meals.
Gu Yan didnt hesitate to correct him. My intern ate five meals.
Yan Suizhi, Of all times, youturn talkativenow?
Since no one is hungry, lets each go back to our vis and change our clothes. Who was the one yelling that they wanted to go diving and fishing thest time? Ive got all the diving gear ready, Joe shouted.
And so the crowd dispersed.
Yan Suizhi followed Gu Yan into Vi 3.
It was purportedly a small vi, but in fact, it wasnt small. There were enough rooms upstairs and downstairs for the whole lot of them to stay in.
Yan Suizhi hung the coat draped over his arm in the cloakroom. He found that the cloakroom was actually well stocked with a change of clothes, brand new and suitable for wear in the summer.
Thats thoughtful, Yan Suizhi murmured.
Gu Yan said, He sends people to prepare clothes here every season, so that he can invite people over anytime.
The summer wear that Joe had initially stocked here were all floral shirts and baggy trousers, in an ill-intentioned attempt to see Gu Yan wearing them. Eventually, the entire cloakroom was cklisted by Lawyer Gu.
Had this gone on, the next thing to enter Lawyer Gus cklist would be Young Master Joe himself.
After two attempts, Joe wised up and swapped the clothes for normal ones.
Where are you staying? Yan Suizhi asked.
Gu Yan said, Are you interested in seeing themp pine forest?
Yan Suizhi, Not particrly. Actually, he would be delighted if he could stay on the third floor, directly opposite themp pine forest. But the esteemed Professor Yan was very dignified and wouldnt say so directly. It all depended on whether or not the student in front of him could pass basicprehension.
Gu Yan nodded, a look of understanding on his face. He scanned the general distribution of the rooms and pointed to the one on the third floor facing themp pine forest. Ill stay in that one.
Pass, myass. Give this student a big fat zero.
Professor Yan smiled and nodded, but in his head, menaced, Ill remember this.
Everyone took a short break, changed into the summer wear that Young Master Joe had readied beforehand, and slowly made their way down to the beach.
As they came out from the main entrance of the vipound, Laura noticed two scanning gates erected at the two entrances of the courtyard to the vipound. They werent very eye-catching and also werent currently in use.
Huh? Why are there security scanners here as well? a few of them questioned.
Gu Yan was closer friends with Joe than the others were, thus was more informed about this. They are not just security scanners.
Everyone gave a start. Then what are they for?
After a few seconds, Laura was the first to catch on. Oh, I got it! Its that kind, isnt it? The kind that can detect traces of gic modification?
Did he bring them over from Spring Ivy Hospital?
They werent here thest time I came.
This group of friends were all well aware of what happened back then, and knew Young Master Joes sensitivity towards such matters.
People checked for dangerous goods. Joe checked for gic modifications.
Yan Suizhi nced over that side then breezily shifted his gaze away, as if those things had nothing to do with him.
Why dont you turn it on? Laura said again.
Whats the point of having it on for nothing?
Ive never tried it, so I thought itd be fun.
Everyone chatted merrily.
Joe happened to follow Ke Jin over from the other side of the beach and overheard their conversation. He said, I cant let you try it, they malfunctioned not long after I brought them over. Therell be someoneing to fix them in the afternoon. Anyway, once fixed they wont be ced here, theyll be moved to the entry points to the ind. Why would I have to check my own friends?
Joe had all the diving gear ready. In high spirits, the group changed into them and went into the water with instructors that Joe had specially hired.
Ke Jin sat quietly by the beach. This vibrant andid-back scene indeed seemed to rx him. Two caretakers followed from not far off, giving him enough space for freedom, yet also close enough to attend to him.
Are you going to dive? Joe asked Yan Suizhi after he made sure Ke Jin was well settled. Wont you feel bored sitting on the beach? You should exercise more while youre still young.
Yan Suizhi motioned at Gu Yan with his chin, smiling as he said, Why dont you ask him?
Joe, Ive already given up on him. Hes an excellent diver, but he just isnt willing to dive with me. Do tell, whats the use of having friends like this?
Yan Suizhi lounged back on thefortable deck chair. Yeah, do away with him.
Joeughed raucously. Gu, this intern of yours is really interesting.
Gu Yan didnt fail to use his smart device for work matters even as he sat on a beach, and couldnt be bothered to deal with them. He was currently sending a voice message to someone else. Okay. Ill take a look and get back to you tonight.
Have you dived before? Joe asked.
Yan Suizhi said, I was passionate about it for a while back when I was in school.
He seldom talked about his past. So when he said this, Gu Yan actually deigned to lift his gaze away from his smart device.
Joe, Sounds like a thing of the past. Youve lost the passion, now?
Yan Suizhi, Imzier now.
The truth was, he had been involved in a diving ident once; he never really went diving much after that.
Okay then.
Joe didnt stay with them for too long. Just as he had changed and was about to enter the sea, Uncle Chang, the butler who attended to him, suddenly came rushing over.
Sir, a few other guests have arrived early.
Arrived early? Joe gave a start.
The early guests were a group of friends that Joe had known since childhood. Their parents frequently had dealings with one another, so they could be considered as having grown up together.
Although Joe remained as warm as usual,ughing and joking along with them, it was clear that he wasnt as close to this group of people as he was to Gu Yan and the rest.
After a brief introduction, they each drank a ss of wine, and each went into the water.
For no particr reason, as Yan Suizhi watched the figures disappear one by one into the sea from where he sat on the shore, inexplicable unease stirred his heart.