Chapter 39: Peeling Shrimp Fang Chuning: So Adorable!…

The second floor of the hotel was a seafood buffet restaurant. Although it was mealtime, there weren’t many people in the restaurant, and it wasn’t even full. Since it was her own family’s property, the curious Fang Chuning, with nothing else to do, went to ask the regional manager.

The regional manager was a woman in her forties who looked refined and smiled as she explained, “Except for hotel guests who eat for free, those tourists who don’t stay at the hotel and just come for a day trip are charged 3,999 per person. Most tourists are unwilling to spend this much money here; the stalls outside are more cost-effective for them.”

Fang Chuning nodded in understanding and then asked, “Are those stalls outside ours too?”

“Of course, all the property on the island belongs exclusively to the Fang family.”

Having gotten her answer, Fang Chuning’s curiosity subsided. She returned to her seat and found that Gao Qiong and the others hadn’t arrived yet. “Qin classmate, have you contacted them?”

Qin Shaoqing, who had been in a bad mood since entering the restaurant, just grunted with his arms folded, ignoring her question.

His expression made it clear to the whole world that he was upset. Fang Chuning found it strange and walked over to Xu Muzhou, bending down to whisper in his ear, “What’s wrong with him?”

The girl’s warm breath tickled his sensitive neck, and Xu Muzhou’s fingers on the table trembled slightly. His fair ears visibly flushed red.

He looked up, his thick eyelashes fluttering, and his cherry-red lips approached her earlobe, whispering softly.

The faint milky scent of the young man’s breath lingered in Fang Chuning’s nose. She hadn’t expected him to suddenly come so close, close enough for her earlobe to feel his touch, causing an unbearable tickle.

Fang Chuning abruptly stood up straight, a blush spreading across her beautiful face.

The culprit’s bright eyes were staring directly at her, and she felt a tingling in her fingers hanging by her side. Looking down, she found the young man gently holding one of her fingers like a child.

The gesture seemed to convey his inner dependence and affection for her.

Whether it was due to the temperature of his palm or not, Fang Chuning felt that the finger he was holding was as hot as if it were on fire, melting her heart.

Even her voice was unprecedentedly gentle: “What do you want to eat? I’ll go get it for you.”

Xu Muzhou lowered his eyelashes, playing with her finger, and said softly, “I’ll eat whatever you eat.”

He’ll eat whatever she eats? Fang Chuning curved her lips, squatted down beside his feet, looked up into his eyes, and said with suppressed laughter, “Will you eat very spicy food if I do?”

The young man replied without complaint, “Sure.”

Fang Chuning was truly captivated by his cuteness and couldn’t help but laugh foolishly.

The two’s lovey-dovey behavior, disregarding others, made the classmates present so sour their eyes turned red. One of the classmates, unable to bear it any longer, got up to get food. With the first person taking the lead, others gradually left the table awkwardly. Qin Shaoqing also couldn’t stand it anymore, “Please, this is a restaurant, you should pay attention…”

Only then did Fang Chuning suppress her smile, coughing lightly with her fist against her lips, her expression serious, “I’ll get you more seafood. I heard from the manager that the lobsters here are the freshest, caught on the same day. You sit here and wait.”

She stood up to get food for him. Lin Yuze poked at the beef on his plate with his fork, sourly saying, “Muzhou, your girlfriend is so good to you. You must be really good at getting along with her usually. How do you do it? Teach me, will you?”

As they say, once the wound heals, the pain is forgotten. The red marks on his face had completely disappeared, and he didn’t take Qin Shaoqing’s warning seriously at all.

The implication in his words seemed to be sarcastically suggesting how good he was at pleasing girls.

Xu Muzhou’s eyes were calm, a smile on his lips: “Not at all. Isn’t this how all couples interact?” He looked towards the boy, innocently asking, “Aren’t you and Gao classmate like this?”

That sentence was very hurtful. Lin Yuze even suspected if he was doing it on purpose, knowing that after coming to the island, Gao Qiong had abandoned him to go play by herself.

But looking at the young man’s expression, it didn’t seem so. His resentment grew stronger, “Of course I’m not as lucky as you. But feelings like this can easily fade. Your girlfriend is so outstanding, you better keep a close eye on her.”

Finally, he deliberately added, “Don’t blame me for being straightforward, I’m telling you this because I consider you a friend.”

Xu Muzhou picked up the juice the girl had prepared for him on the table and took a sip, his eyes slightly dim, “I won’t let that happen.”

The person he had been fond of for so long had finally reciprocated his feelings, how could he let others have a chance?

Lin Yuze was unconvinced, “You’re really confident.”

“Of course our Muzhou is confident, unlike some people from the slums who only know how to covet other people’s girlfriends,” Qin Shaoqing retorted.

“Who’s coveting someone else’s girlfriend?”

Just as he finished speaking, Gao Qiong, who had changed clothes, arrived late, just in time to hear this and casually asked.

Seeing this, Lin Yuze panicked a bit, hurriedly got up from his seat and walked over to hold her arm, shaking it like a spoiled child, changing the subject, “Qiong, where have you been for most of the day?”

“I went diving.”

“You can’t just focus on playing and leave me here.”

Gao Qiong pinched his face, “You can’t swim, how could I take you?”

“Next time, don’t go diving, take me to play something else!”

The boy’s coquettish behavior completely disgusted Qin Shaoqing. He had never seen such a fickle man before.

At the dinner table, everyone was eating happily, chatting and laughing. Fang Chuning placed a plate of large shrimp in front of Xu Muzhou. Seeing him about to peel the shells, she stopped him: “Don’t move, my hands are oily, I’ll peel them for you.”

The hand that was about to touch the shrimp stopped. The young man’s thick eyelashes, like wings, fluttered twice, looking at her pitifully, “That’s too much trouble for you…”

Fang Chuning swallowed and shook her head, “It’s not. Don’t get your hands dirty.”

This was definitely the first time in her life that she had ever served someone else. Usually at home, it was always others peeling shrimp for her.

Fang Chuning peeled the shrimp with the same seriousness and care she used when doing homework, placing each peeled shrimp into his bowl.

“You eat too,” Xu Muzhou used his chopsticks to pick up a peeled shrimp and bring it to her mouth.

Fang Chuning dodged, still focused on peeling shrimp, “I won’t eat, you eat.”

Xu Muzhou pursed his lips, his movements stilling for two seconds before slowly retracting and eating it himself.

Gao Qiong watched her friend peeling shrimp for someone else with curiosity, “This is the first time I’ve seen you being so considerate! Having a boyfriend really does make a difference.” She pushed her bowl in front of the girl, “You’ve never peeled shrimp for me before. No way, you have to peel one for me to eat too!”

So childish, Fang Chuning rolled her eyes at her but still placed a peeled shrimp in her bowl.

Gao Qiong put the shrimp in her mouth and chewed, her expression exaggerated, “I feel like I’ve been elevated!”

The other classmates burst into laughter at her antics, even Fang Chuning couldn’t help but smile.

Only Xu Muzhou’s expression remained calm. He ate the peeled shrimp one by one, his red lips moving slightly as he chewed, his eyes watching Gao Qiong for a moment before looking away.

After placing the last peeled shrimp in the young man’s bowl, Fang Chuning suggested to him, “Let’s go play on the sea this afternoon. It’s okay if you can’t swim, there are inflatable mattresses.”

Before Xu Muzhou could speak, Lin Yuze, sitting next to Gao Qiong, excitedly said, “I want to go too! I want to go too! I’ve been bored all day.”

The boy’s impolite behavior easily aroused others’ antipathy, but he himself was unaware. “Qiong, you must take me, okay~”

Gao Qiong ate a spoonful of ice cream, her expression indifferent, “If you want to go, then go.”

Suddenly, it seemed like Lin Yuze had become the decision-maker. Even though everyone felt uncomfortable, they didn’t dare say anything because he was Gao Qiong’s boyfriend.

In the afternoon, the number of people on the beach increased rather than decreased. They requested two inflatable mattresses, which were mainly occupied by the boys. The mattresses drifted with the waves, the hot sun overhead contrasting with the exceptionally cool seawater. The occasional splash of seawater on their bodies elicited clear laughter from the boys, causing passing women to frequently turn their heads.

Fang Chuning, with half her body propped on the inflatable mattress, said to Xu Muzhou who was sitting on it, “Remember to wear your life jacket properly. If anything happens, just call me, I’ll be over there with them.” She raised her hand to point in a direction.

Xu Muzhou nodded gently, “I understand.”

He actually hoped she would stay here to accompany him, but it wasn’t appropriate to say such things now.

After Fang Chuning swam away, Lin Yuze moved closer. He stared at the watch on the young man’s wrist, which he hadn’t noticed before. It was only now, under the sun, that it caught his eye, “Your watch is so beautiful, can I take a look?”

Xu Muzhou raised his lips and good-naturedly took off the watch to give to him.

Lin Yuze hadn’t expected him to be so forthright. He examined the watch that looked expensive, his heart tingling slightly. He looked up and tentatively asked, “On the plane, I saw your girlfriend give you a very beautiful brooch. Can you let me take a look at that too sometime?”

He had thought that someone so good-natured probably wouldn’t refuse, but unexpectedly, the young man’s expression became hesitant, “That’s not possible.”

“Why?” Lin Yuze felt a bit angry, “It’s not like I want to keep it, I just want to look. Are all you rich people so stingy?”

The seemingly weak and easy to bully young man suddenly became resolute in his attitude, turning his face away without speaking.

“What’s so great about it, take it back!” Lin Yuze pouted, throwing the watch back at him, but due to using too much force, the watch flew past the young man and precisely fell into the sea.

…