Baihe Fan

Chapter 18: The Hot Springs

Honestly, the gesture was a bit like calling a puppy.

Su Mi, holding Xu Nanqiao’s hand, walked slowly towards Shen Han. By the time they reached her, the school officials and administrators who had been accompanying Shen Han had already left.

Su Mi obediently greeted, “Hello, sister.”

Xu Nanqiao politely added, “Hello, Miss Shen.”

Xu Nanqiao showed no special expression. She remained indifferent to Shen Han and the power and wealth she represented, embodying a noble demeanor that wasn’t swayed by riches.

Su Mi knew that in situations like this, she was the buffer needed between them.

She smiled sweetly and asked, “Sister, what brings you here?”

Shen Han replied, “Business matters. But why are you still here an hour after school ended?”

Su Mi’s heart leaped with joy: it seemed the villain hadn’t checked the messages on her device yet.

She tried to brush it off, saying, “We were studying in the classroom and lost track of time.”

Shen Han’s gaze fell on the bags of food they were carrying.

After a brief pause, Shen Han said, “So it’s the time for the dessert competition.”

Seeing Su Mi’s surprise, Shen Han continued nonchalantly, “You didn’t know? The prize money for this competition is funded by Shen Corporation. If you needed money, why didn’t you just ask me? I recall you’ve already earned all your credits.”

Su Mi: …

Sister, that’s not how you say it.

Both of us know that Xu Nanqiao doesn’t want to accept your money as it makes her feel indebted and humiliated.

Saying it so bluntly is just like slapping her in the face.

Su Mi couldn’t hold back and quickly glanced at Xu Nanqiao, whose expression had indeed darkened.

Time for the buffer to step in.

Su Mi took a couple of steps forward, blocking Xu Nanqiao, and flashed a bright smile at Shen Han.

“We’re just trying to relax before the midterms. I finally convinced Xu Nanqiao to join me in the competition for fun, making some desserts.”

She naturally raised the food bag in her hand.

“Nanqiao and I made some chocolates and cookies. Would you like to try, sister?”

Shen Han looked puzzled, “Since when did you have a passion for making desserts? Last time…”

“Sister!”

Afraid that Shen Han might say something inappropriate, Su Mi knew Xu Nanqiao was already feeling uncomfortable.

She quickly shoved the food bag into Shen Han’s hands, blinking in a fawning manner.

“Sister, please try them. Nanqiao and I have some other things to do, so we have to go! See you!”

Then she grabbed Xu Nanqiao and ran off quickly.

Shen Han looked at the food bag in her hands, a pink one with cute cartoon logos.

Peeking inside, she saw neatly packaged handmade desserts.

After a while, Assistant Zhuang came out of the office building, opened the car’s rear door, and handed the documents to Shen Han.

Noticing the out-of-place food bag and the chocolates inside on the leather seat, he paused and then chuckled.

“Miss Shen, you were only downstairs for a short while, and you’ve already received a White Day gift?”

Shen Han, holding the documents, looked puzzled, “White Day?”

Assistant Zhuang didn’t think much of it and got into the driver’s seat, explaining, “Yes, White Day tradition involves giving chocolates to someone you like.”

Shen Han replied flatly, “Su Mi gave them to me.”

Assistant Zhuang almost hit the brakes.

Shen Han: “…Assistant Zhuang.”

Assistant Zhuang: “Sorry, sorry, switching to autonomous driving now.”

Though he said so, after setting up the autonomous driving mode, he didn’t dare look back.

Awkwardly, he said, “But if I saw correctly, those chocolates are dark. Generally, white chocolate signifies a confession…haha…”

Shen Han didn’t comment, took out a box of chocolates from the bag, opened a spoon, and tasted it.

She made a rare expression of indescribable complexity.

Shen Han: “She might be trying to poison me.”

“Is it that bad?” Assistant Zhuang asked, adjusting his mood and sneaking a peek through the rearview mirror.

Shen Han nodded.

Though he felt he shouldn’t meddle in this, Assistant Zhuang couldn’t help but comment, “Miss Su’s culinary skills indeed don’t seem great, but making it is already quite something…fine, I won’t say anymore.”

He raised his hands, firmly refusing Shen Han’s offer to taste the other piece of chocolate.

After the midterm exams, Su Mi successfully invited Xu Nanqiao for a hot spring trip.

Firstly, she wanted to thank Xu Nanqiao for her genuine help recently. Secondly, she wanted to strengthen their friendship.

Su Mi detailed the hot spring resort’s private and well-equipped facilities, promising a relaxing dip in the hot springs, free meals, and time to do homework.

After days of persuasion, Xu Nanqiao agreed.

Using the invitation her mother provided, Su Mi booked a private bath for two in an independent courtyard.

As the resort was still in its soft opening phase, it was quiet. A staff member led them to their room through Japanese-style corridors and gardens, without encountering anyone else.

They arrived at noon, had a buffet lunch, soaked in the private hot spring in the afternoon, and then continued their 1v1 study session in the courtyard.

While reviewing her midterm answers with Xu Nanqiao, Su Mi couldn’t help but think how studying in such a place was truly unique to them.

But taking a break in such a serene environment was indeed refreshing.

The hot spring resort was located at the foot of a hill, surrounded by lush greenery. In early spring, the view of the mountain was filled with fresh green hues, and the garden was adorned with flowers. The fresh air mixed with the steam from the hot springs created a particularly relaxing atmosphere.

During their study break, Xu Nanqiao couldn’t help but lie back on the soft leather couch in the courtyard, exhaling deeply.

Su Mi brought her some fruit and lay on another couch, mimicking Xu Nanqiao’s posture, lying upside down and looking at her.

“What’s up?” Su Mi asked.

Xu Nanqiao chuckled, adjusted her position, and lay upside down like Su Mi.

“Nothing, just feels surreal.”

Su Mi: “Oh? What’s surreal?”

Xu Nanqiao sighed, “I never thought I’d ever come to a place like this, soaking in hot springs, eating fruit, feeling like I can do whatever I want.”

Su Mi: “And now lying here, what are your thoughts?”

Xu Nanqiao smiled, “My thoughts are that the lady lying on the couch opposite me is quite nice.”

Su Mi: “Hey!”

She pretended to be annoyed, huffing, and they both laughed, staring at each other upside down.

Su Mi asked, “Can I ask you something? Why don’t you mind me being nice to you, but you mind my sister being nice to you?”

Xu Nanqiao feigned confusion, “Are you nice to me?”

Su Mi patted the couch beneath her, “This! Isn’t this being nice?”

Xu Nanqiao laughed heartily.

“I don’t know, but you’re quite nice, better than before you differentiated, and better than your sister.”

Su Mi cleared her throat, attempting to probe, “Isn’t my sister nice too? What do you think of her?”

Xu Nanqiao thought for a moment, “She’s quite mysterious, hard to read, and never smiles, a bit scary.”

Su Mi: … I think so too.

But she had to defend her, saying, “Don’t you think she’s quite generous? Maybe she just doesn’t understand people well and isn’t good with words.”

Xu Nanqiao hummed, “Is that so? I haven’t noticed, feels like she’s just like other rich people, not very sincere.”

Alright then.

Su Mi’s heart broke a little but quickly rallied: at least she found out that the protagonist wasn’t completely averse to the antagonist.

Having read the storyline, Su Mi knew that in the first few years at the academy, Xu Nanqiao was often treated as a curiosity and faced a lot of malice from the wealthy second-generation students, leading her to distrust them.

So, she just needed to show Shen Han’s sincerity and human side to improve her impression!

Su Mi felt confident and clenched her fists, “Come on, let’s continue studying!”

In the evening, the staff mentioned there was a seafood buffet in the resort’s restaurant, but Xu Nanqiao was allergic to seafood, so Su Mi went alone to check it out.

The food was decent. She had the staff pack some non-seafood dishes and carried the bags back to their small courtyard.

Just as she reached their area and turned a corner, Su Mi suddenly stopped.

At the end of the path stood a figure. Dressed in the resort’s service uniform, he was pushing a food cart towards Su Mi.

With just one glance at his face, Su Mi confirmed: it was Gu Yansheng!

She instinctively hid behind the corner, peeking through the greenery.

It was indeed Gu Yansheng.

What was he doing here?

Su Mi recalled the storyline, which mentioned that the protagonist took on various part-time jobs in the city after arriving in the capital, just like Xu Nanqiao.

However, the hot spring resort wasn’t in the original storyline.

Having met him a few times, Su Mi instinctively felt that Gu Yansheng wasn’t as simple as his character in the original story, as if he had other motives.

So she didn’t want Gu Yansheng to see her.

Hearing the sound of the food cart approaching and stopping at the door, Su Mi looked back at her path.

It was a straight corridor, and if Gu Yansheng turned the corner with the food cart, he would see her even if she turned around to leave.

Looking around, she quickly found a room with its door slightly ajar.

She slipped inside.

The room’s entryway was a small living room, lit by a floor lamp. It was quiet inside, and Su Mi nervously closed the door gently, staying by the entrance to listen to the outside.

Earlier, she had asked the staff and learned that since the resort was in its soft opening phase, only a few friends of the resort’s owner were staying, and the other rooms were vacant. If she wanted to switch rooms, she could simply inform the staff.

Su Mi naturally assumed this half-opened door was also an empty room.

However—

The sound of the food cart stopped outside the door.

She heard Gu Yansheng press the doorbell.

“Hello, your food is here.”

Su Mi: ?!!

Wait, there’s someone in this room!

She was startled and turned back, thinking about how to explain herself to this unknown host. She then saw a more familiar figure walk out from behind a screen in the inner room.

The tall, slender woman with a cold and solemn demeanor was only wearing a bathrobe, loosely tied, revealing the beautiful curve of her collarbone and extending down to her chest.

One hand was holding the robe’s tie, and the other was holding a round brush, with her head slightly tilted. Her straight black hair draped over her left shoulder, exposing her fair right face and the ink-colored tear mole at the corner of her right eye.

“Leave it at the door…”

The clear voice stopped midway, and the woman’s eyes widened as she saw Su Mi pressed against the doorframe.

Shen Han was also taken aback, then raised her right eyebrow sharply.

Su Mi’s mind went blank. She nervously clutched the food bag meant for Xu Nanqiao, trying hard to avoid looking at Shen Han’s exposed collarbone.

She stammered,

“Not, not this meal…”