Chapter 255

From the trash can, she stared intently at Xia Yan, who seemed determined to linger a little longer. Sometimes, a silent approach is more effective than words. "Let's go then..." "It's not far, how about we walk?" "Do you think I'm some rich young lady? Complaining about being tired after just a short walk..." Hua Xin scoffed, her expression haughty as she followed Xia Yan slowly away from the tourist spot. They had already taken a car here; at times like this, saving money was always a good idea. They should at least wait until evening to take a car back to their accommodation. The two walked side-by-side along the seaside road, occasionally seeing cars speeding by and tourists stopping to take photos with their phones and cameras. The atmosphere had shifted from the playful banter of the morning to this awkward silence. Compared to the more talkative Xia Yan of the previous two days, he seemed unusually calm after leaving his accommodation today. The girl glanced at Xia Yan beside her with a strange look, but even with his sunglasses on, she couldn't see any change in him. Tired? Xia Yan hadn't had a proper rest during this period of constant running around. Although most people had this kind of schedule when traveling, Xia Yan hadn't just been running around; he had also come up with the entire itinerary, planning the routes and tourist attractions. She, on the other hand, hadn't helped at all. "Feeling down?" Hua Xin asked casually, the clatter of her heels on the ground drowning out the calm sea in the distance. They didn't need to hide anything or use indirect methods to gauge each other's feelings now. Of course, for the girl, there were still some lies she couldn't tell outright. "Quite the opposite." "I'm in a great mood right now." Xia Yan smiled slightly, his tone devoid of any worry. But it was this lack of unusual feeling that made Hua Xin suspect something was off about his mood. It was like... a kid who loved playing video games suddenly stopped liking them and instead spent all day holed up in their room doing homework – a strange phenomenon. Normally, Xia Yan would chatter away, making up all sorts of things, teasing her with what he considered humorous and cheesy remarks. His current silent demeanor was unlike him. But since Xia Yan wasn't willing to say anything, Hua Xin didn't press him further. Maybe it really wasn't anything, maybe she was just imagining things or something. The girl stopped asking and slowly walked alongside Xia Yan. They remained silent the whole time... After a short while, the two finally arrived at a very wide beach. Not only were there tourists playing, but vendors selling sausages and snacks were also there. The azure sky reflected the sea, and the seawater constantly washing over the beach left a trail of foam on the sand. However, it didn't look dirty. Hua Xin seemed somewhat excited. The wind was a bit strong, so she adjusted her straw hat and quickened her pace, stopping just out of the water's reach to crouch down and shield her hands from the oncoming waves. "Look this way," Xia Yan's voice had barely rang out when the girl instinctively turned her head towards Xia Yan. "Splash." A few drops of seawater were splashed from Xia Yan's hands onto Hua Xin's face. The sudden attack made her reflexively close her eyes and take a step back... Feeling the water droplets slowly sliding down her face, Hua Xin looked at the culprit before her and calmly said, "Do you think this is funny?" "... I'm sorry..." Xia Yan was stunned, his heart skipped a beat, and a faint panic began to spread within him. The girl had never acted like this before, even when they were playing around... "Take this! Who's going to repair the dam?!" Hua Xin suddenly changed her previous silent demeanor, quietly and quickly scooping up a large puddle of seawater and splashing it onto Xia Yan's face, not caring whether it would wet his clothes. Before Xia Yan could continue his apologetic apology to the girl, Hua Xin's sneak attack landed unexpectedly on his face. Because he was about to speak, Xia Yan's mouth was slightly open. The salty taste of seawater immediately filled his mouth. Realizing the girl had tricked him, Xia Yan lightly spat out the seawater, then mischievously scooped up a large puddle of it. Uh... Hua Xin cautiously took a step back. Just kidding... she admitted her earlier resistance was retaliation, but if she were to be splashed instead of brushed off... her clothes might be ruined. "I give up, meow." Whether remembering what had just happened or fearing the seawater in Xia Yan's hand, the girl unusually surrendered. But the next moment, she felt a cool sensation under her feet. Seawater had submerged her feet. With a soft "plop," the girl chuckled for some reason, and Xia Yan laughed happily along with her. Their actions just now... how long had it been since they had acted so childishly? 195. Why can't that girl be me? 7k "Do you want to say something to me now?" Hua Xin said softly, twirling her straw hat in her hand, her gaze fixed on the sea in front of her. Waves occasionally surged and washed over the beach. As afternoon approached, the weather was no longer as sunny as in the morning or at noon, revealing a chilly feeling. People came here one after another to take photos. The girl saw several young couples lingering here for a long time, seemingly just to take that one photo that could be preserved forever. However, in the end, they seemed to get rid of the professional photographers stationed here waiting for business and completed their purpose of taking a few photos before leaving satisfied. Things that can be bought with money seem so insignificant when you try to do it yourself. "Hmm... let me think." "You look very beautiful today." Xia Yan said softly after thinking seriously for a while, looking down at the lingering seagulls. They were all sitting on medium-sized fabric folding chairs. There were clearly no other seats on the beach, making it extremely difficult to find a spot where they could comfortably enjoy the view from the sea. So they rented two chairs, bought some food and low-alcohol beer, and sat there facing the ocean. They sat there for over an hour. "I've heard too much of that, can we have something else?" The girl seemed unimpressed by Xia Yan's occasional compliments, lightly patting his thigh to express her displeasure. She knew Xia Yan knew that what she said and wanted to hear wasn't this. "Then..." "You've always been good-looking?" Xia Yan smiled, barely suppressing a smile, and rubbed his thigh where the girl had patted him. With Hua Xin's small, delicate strength, it was clearly impossible for her to cause him any harm. That would make him seem a bit childish, just like how he inexplicably wanted to splash seawater on the girl's face earlier. When with the girl, Xia Yan wouldn't deliberately wear that facade of pandering to others, but...