After the group landed, they quickly arrived at the beach for this field trip.

“Although this trip is meant for researching high-end beach resorts and hotels, our budget is limited, so we’re staying at guesthouses in the area. During the day, everyone can go check out the nearby five-star hotels, look at their design and layout…”

The department student council president, acting as organizer, led everyone to a row of guesthouses. “It’s only a few days, so everyone please make do. Let’s get checked in and settled first. Tonight we’ll relax — there’s a beach bonfire party tonight, everyone come join, not a single person missing!”

Though the architecture department had 54 students total, not everyone had signed up for this field trip. Counting both architecture students and the family and friends they’d brought along, there were roughly under 30 people total. The student council had rented three small guesthouse villas, each with 5 rooms, conveniently two people per room to save costs.

Because of the principle of self-organized pairing, Tan Yin had naturally already arranged to room with Jiang Yilu. The two carried their luggage up to their room on the second floor — the facilities weren’t new, but it was cleaned nicely. Only, since most of the beach vacationers were couples and married pairs, all the rooms had double beds. A pleasant surprise, though — it turned out to be an ocean-view room.

Jiang Yilu pulled open the floor-to-ceiling curtains, and fresh sea breeze immediately blew in, the sound of waves and seabirds drifting from afar, pleasant and utterly relaxing. She said excitedly, “This ocean’s not bad! Tonight we’ve absolutely got to do seafood and beer! This is the carefree life I imagined!”

Tan Yin followed her out onto the balcony too, but before she could even start marveling at life, she saw a familiar figure step out of the next room. Tall, long-legged, cold as ice — who else but Chu Hang?

Tan Yin’s eyes lit up. She immediately decided to seize this opportunity to repair her relationship with Chu Hang, calling out warmly toward the adjoining balcony, “Chu…”

But before she could even finish saying “Hang,” Chu Hang shot her a glare, pressed his lips tightly shut without a word, then turned his back with a stern expression and walked off on his own… The most dramatic part was, he didn’t just leave — he closed the balcony door and locked it swiftly and decisively…

The soundproofing of this guesthouse was clearly poor; before long, the conversation between the two guests in the next room drifted over —

“Watch out for next door.”

“Hm?”

“Tan Yin’s staying next door.”

“What?”

“Make sure to lock the balcony door.”

“Oh……”

Chu Hang’s voice was cold, and it carried through clearly, word for word, straight into Tan Yin’s room…

This was a bit awkward…

Tan Yin coughed, explaining to Jiang Yilu, “You see, this guesthouse has a design flaw. The soundproofing is really too poor. Sure, to save on costs the walls between rooms use wood panels instead of solid walls, but they should’ve added some mineral wool board and polyester fiber acoustic panels — mineral wool board’s average sound absorption rate can reach over 0.5, and polyester fiber acoustic panels are even more suitable, since they not only absorb sound but resist fire and moisture too — very fitting for wooden coastal structures…”

Jiang Yilu crossed her arms, thoroughly entertained. “Tan Yin, they’re not worried about fire and moisture right now — they’re worried about you.”

“Ugh, fine, fine.” Tan Yin conceded defeat. “Chu Hang has some misunderstandings about me, sure, but! This trip, I’ll definitely change his impression of me. I’ll make him understand — I, Tan Yin, will eventually become his rival. Three days apart, and a person deserves fresh eyes! From now on, the mere mention of Master Tan’s name will strike fear into his heart!”

Whether Chu Hang would eventually fear Tan Yin’s name remained to be seen, but for now, his desire to avoid her was plain as day. As Tan Yin and Jiang Yilu, having put away their luggage, stepped out of their room, they ran right into Chu Hang and Xu Yu also heading out. The instant Chu Hang’s eyes landed on Tan Yin, he awkwardly turned his head away, then simply left Xu Yu — still locking the door — behind, walking off alone. Whether it was Tan Yin’s imagination or not, his gait seemed to carry a hint of disarray and unsteadiness, even something like fleeing in a panic.

“Ah, love strikes without warning and runs deep before you know it,” Tan Yin said sympathetically, watching Chu Hang’s retreating back. “Clearly a young man lost in love.”

Having fallen for someone he shouldn’t love, it made sense for Chu Hang to keep being troubled by love for a while. But for him to be this flustered right now — there was probably only one explanation—

The person he shouldn’t love was right beside him just now! Which had thrown his emotions into complete disarray!

Tan Yin almost immediately scanned everyone in the hallway.

Ji Meng? She and Chu Hang had barely exchanged a few sentences — not possible. Chen Ziqiang? He was always draping himself over Chu Hang, but Chu Hang always dodged him — definitely no chance there. Jiang Yilu? She barely had any interaction with Chu Hang at all — if anything, seeing her probably made Chu Hang think of Tan Yin herself, his expression usually turning complicated. Herself? Well, she had enough self-awareness for that… So — that left only one possible answer…

Tan Yin’s gaze fell sharply on Xu Yu.

She hadn’t expected it, but going around in circles, the person Chu Hang shouldn’t love turned out to be him!

That would explain everything!

This forbidden romance, this unspeakable desire, this conflicted, tangled love, this uncontrollable pull toward each other…

Xu Yu, unaware of Tan Yin’s burning gaze, had just picked up a thermos and caught up to Chu Hang. “You always pull all-nighters on your designs and forget to eat, not great for your stomach — don’t go drinking cold water carelessly, I brought you a special middle-aged-uncle-style thermos…”

“Oh, and I brought you sunscreen and sunglasses too, I’ll give them to you tomorrow.”

……

Tan Yin watched Chu Hang and Xu Yu walk further and further away, her thoughts racing. For Chu Hang, some kinds of love were so close and yet so far. But those caught up in it were often blind, while onlookers saw clearly — and Tan Yin now had a vague guess in her heart…

“Move it, don’t just stand in the middle of the way if you’re not walking.”

Just as Tan Yin was deep in thought, Duan Yingfei’s voice came from behind her, sidestepping around her and giving her a solid glare as they crossed paths. It seemed old grudges and new ones alike had left a lasting impression of Tan Yin in her mind.

Fortunately, Tan Yin’s mood wasn’t affected in the slightest. Dusk was falling now, the beach steeped in the glow of a coming sunset, painting the distant clouds in brilliant, saturated colors — beautiful, shifting, tinged with a gentle warmth of lingering light. The group chatted on the beach, sipping fresh coconut juice, taking in the gorgeous scenery together.

And once dusk gave way, the night’s revelry began.

As night fell, the restaurants along the beach all opened for business, rows of pretty glass lanterns bathing the whole beach in a hazy beauty.

Soon, a bonfire was lit in the middle of the beach, and nearby a grill was set up too. The student council organizers brought over buckets full of beer and soft drinks, and to the sound of music and delicious food, the bonfire party got underway, lively and bustling.

Tan Yin was dragged by Jiang Yilu to dance a lap around the bonfire, and only slipped away, somewhat distracted, when Jiang Yilu went off to eat seafood. Since a while ago, she hadn’t been able to stop watching Chu Hang and Xu Yu. It wasn’t hard to see why Tan Yin was curious — the dynamic between these two friends was, honestly, a bit… hard to put into words.

Throughout the entire bonfire party, Xu Yu was attentive to Chu Hang to a fault, his eyes constantly on him. In the glow of the firelight, Tan Yin felt it was practically brimming with tenderness.

And right now, Chu Hang and Xu Yu were sitting on the sand not far from the bonfire, Xu Yu handing Chu Hang a grilled chicken wing. “Eat some.”

Almost in a flash, Tan Yin’s earlier vague guess finally took shape—

This wasn’t unrequited love at all! This was mutual, secret pining!

Chu Hang had fallen for Xu Yu, but feared that if rejected, he’d lose even the friendship, so love stayed locked in his throat, unable to be spoken! And it turned out Xu Yu was exactly the same! He too harbored unspeakable feelings for Chu Hang — a grown man, not only caring about the other’s food, clothing, and daily needs, even worried about whether he was hungry. And that gaze, never leaving Chu Hang for even a moment, that eager-to-spoon-feed-him doting look…

What was love? This was love!

Tan Yin crouched not far away, watching Chu Hang and Xu Yu go back and forth — she could practically taste the sweetness in every casual gesture between them.

She couldn’t let these two young people in love miss their chance with each other!

Just then, as if heaven itself was helping, Chu Hang got up and left. Tan Yin decided at once, moving over to sit beside Xu Yu.

These two — weren’t they just blind to what was obvious, needing someone to poke through the paper window for them?

Facing Xu Yu’s puzzled look, Tan Yin lowered her voice with great solemnity. “Don’t worry, I already know.” She winked at Xu Yu. “Your feelings for Chu Hang.”

Xu Yu blinked, stunned. Actually, he had no particular feelings about the beach; the only reason he’d come along was out of worry that Chu Hang, unsettled by his father’s suspected affair, might be in an unstable state of mind — better make sure he didn’t do anything like jump into the sea or something.

This worry wasn’t unfounded either — lately Chu Hang really had seemed emotionally erratic. It was probably true that rainy days made people prone to melancholy; every time it stormed, Chu Hang would always look flustered and hurried, as if trying to shake something off, his brow perpetually furrowed, even distracted when talking to him. After a few times of this, Xu Yu had noticed he seemed quite out of sorts.

Only, he hadn’t expected that this deep, caring friendship — one that not even Chu Hang himself, the person involved, had noticed — would be seen through by Tan Yin. Xu Yu said, shocked, “You saw through it too?”

Sure enough!

Tan Yin nodded knowingly. “Haven’t you heard the saying — some feelings, even unspoken, show themselves in the eyes.” She smiled confidently. “No need to praise me, I just have a bit more insight than most people.”

Xu Yu looked at her with admiration.

Tan Yin patted his shoulder earnestly. “Actually, these feelings of yours aren’t one-sided. Chu Hang feels the same way about you. You two really should communicate properly and push your relationship to the next level.”

“Next level?” Xu Yu looked confused. “I feel like Chu Hang and I already get along great — how much further does it need to go?”

“You know, over the weekend, invite him to see a romance movie together, then find some couple-friendly amusement park, or a restaurant with a private space, then hold his little hand, kiss his little lips…”

Xu Yu found this increasingly off. “Wait a second… why would I hold his hand and kiss him???”

Tan Yin rolled her eyes. “Just be honest — don’t you like Chu Hang, don’t you want to sleep with him?”

“I do not!” Xu Yu jumped to his feet. “Have you been reading too many of those comics and gone crazy?!”

Now it was Tan Yin’s turn to frown. “You don’t like him? Then why do you look at him so affectionately? And why do you take such good care of him — sunscreen this, sunglasses that, thermos this, managing his whole life?”

“That’s friendship! Don’t you dare slander me!”

Tan Yin was stunned. “Wow, Xu Yu, I really misjudged you — turns out you’re a scheming little manipulator, using these tactics to seduce Chu Hang, and once you’ve got him hooked, you won’t even take responsibility.”

“……”

“I’m warning you — if you don’t have those kinds of feelings for Chu Hang, then stay away from him! Don’t lead him down the wrong path!”

……

Tan Yin left, but Xu Yu’s mind couldn’t settle for a long while. Not until Chu Hang finished eating and returned to his side did he snap out of his daze.

“I’m going back to sleep. Are you coming?”

Chu Hang’s voice remained as cold as ever, yet Xu Yu felt that underneath it, there might be suppressed, tremendous passion, leaving him at a loss.

He stammered, “N-no, not yet, I still want to drink a bit more. You just leave the door for me, I’ll come in later. I want to get some sea air, clear my head.”

Chu Hang found this baffling — wanting to drink more and clear his head at the same time? Xu Yu must have addled his brain.

Having learned that Xu Yu had no improper feelings toward Chu Hang, Tan Yin felt a bit dejected for a moment. Chu Hang, so outstanding, and yet even he was denied the love he sought — it seemed the battlefield of love really was fair to everyone. Tan Yin felt both sympathy and a touch of wistfulness.

Fortunately, this mood didn’t last long. Jiang Yilu dragged her into a drinking contest, and Tan Yin quickly sank back into the lively atmosphere of the bonfire party.

Jiang Yilu, who back at school had claimed to be on a diet and starved herself daily like some kind of natural-disaster survivor, now that she was at the beach, completely lost control in a revenge-eating rampage — wolfing down more than a dozen oysters, along with plenty of beer, and before long, her stomach started acting up.

“Ugh, Tan Yin, I can’t hold on much longer… I’m heading back to the room first…”

Jiang Yilu said this, clutched her stomach, and dashed off. A bit later, she sent Tan Yin a text: “Diarrhea’s done, going to sleep — drank too much, feeling it. Just ordered some porridge for my stomach to be delivered, should show up at the door soon, remember to bring it in for me. I’ll want it when I wake up in the night. Door’s unlocked, I’m leaving it for you.”

With Jiang Yilu gone, Tan Yin didn’t rejoin the lively crowd either. She found a spot a bit further from the bonfire and sat down, enjoying this rare moment of quiet amid the noise. The sea breeze blew gently, the waves sounded soft, and she felt an unexpected calm settle over her as she sipped her fruit wine.

Only, without her realizing it, she’d had quite a bit to drink. The fruit wine was sweet and pleasant, but packed a stronger kick than expected — before long, Tan Yin started feeling dizzy. She didn’t linger any further and hurried back to the guesthouse.

Being students trying to save money, the guesthouse they’d booked could only be called budget-tier — the motion-sensor lights in the hallway, long overdue for repair, didn’t work at all. Tan Yin had no choice but to feel her way along the railing in the dark, buzzed from the alcohol.

A bit woozy, she found her and Jiang Yilu’s room. Fortunately, she quickly located the delivery bag left at the door. Tan Yin turned the doorknob — sure enough, the door had been left unlocked for her. She carried the delivery bag inside, then locked the door behind her out of habit.

The room was pitch dark. Jiang Yilu had presumably already fallen asleep — there was a human-shaped outline under the covers on the double bed. Only, the blanket must have been quite fluffy, because though petite Jiang Yilu was sleeping under it, the shape somehow looked oddly large.

Tan Yin was tired too. Sleepy and dizzy, she didn’t think much of it, just fumbled her way onto the double bed and crawled under the covers to sleep right away.

It was practically a blissful, deep sleep — Tan Yin even had a sweet dream, dreaming she was back in childhood, hugging a stuffed bear bigger than herself. The next morning, she woke up leisurely to the sound of waves. She’d slept remarkably well. The guesthouse’s curtains weren’t very good at blocking light, and from the light seeping in through the window, she could tell today wasn’t a great day weather-wise — a bit overcast, even. Tan Yin, still drowsy-eyed, looked toward the other side of the bed — Jiang Yilu was still asleep. Probably annoyed by the sound of the waves, her whole head was buried under the covers, only a small stretch of pale, fair neck showing.

Tan Yin had heard Jiang Yilu going on about wanting to whiten her skin recently, but — had she really managed to get this pale without her noticing? Hadn’t she thought Jiang Yilu wasn’t particularly fair just yesterday?

Once she woke up properly, she’d have to ask what face mask she’d used!

Perhaps because sleeping in was too pleasant, and the overcast weather made her drowsy, Tan Yin drifted back into a hazy sleep. Not until her phone alarm rang did this perfect extra bit of sleep finally get interrupted.

Still a bit groggy, Tan Yin instinctively reached out toward the bed to search for her phone and turn off the alarm, until her hand touched slightly cool skin — only then did she start to come to her senses.

This wasn’t the dorm room. Sleeping beside her was Jiang Yilu — only then did Tan Yin belatedly realize that her hand had probably just brushed against Jiang Yilu’s chest, except—

This was way too flat! Tan Yin was utterly stunned. Thinking back on how much padding Jiang Yilu usually stuffed into her bra to achieve that effect — that must have taken serious effort???

But her muscles felt surprisingly toned? Or was this just her still half-asleep, imagining things? Tan Yin couldn’t resist — she patted the covers beside her and mumbled, “Let me feel your tummy…”

She and Jiang Yilu were close, always helping each other with shoulder rubs and massages, liked to play around and tickle each other — they had that kind of friendship where feeling each other’s stomach wasn’t a big deal.

The figure under the covers didn’t respond. Tan Yin simply reached in and felt around herself, and this time she was truly outraged — what a liar Jiang Yilu was, always claiming she had belly fat, always going on about needing to do planks, when she’d clearly secretly built herself a great body all along.

Tan Yin, in disbelief, felt around again and again — wasn’t this basically an eight-pack abs ratio? The feel wasn’t bad either, quite firm, looked powerful, with nice muscle definition — the muscle felt really good under her hand. Tan Yin couldn’t resist, ready to feel around a bit more — only this time, before she could continue, her hand was firmly seized by another hand.

In that instant, Tan Yin’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach. Only one thought flashed through her mind at that moment—

Something’s not right here…

Whoever had been lying beside her — this was absolutely, definitely not Jiang Yilu!! Because this was clearly not a girl’s hand at all!!

“Don’t grope around in the morning.” The voice carried a faint, heavy breathing, as if suppressing something with great effort.

The man’s voice was deep and low, sexy — yet Tan Yin found it bone-chilling to hear.

This was, holy sh*t, Chu Hang’s voice!!

Almost instinctively, Tan Yin forcefully yanked her hand free from Chu Hang’s grip. Watching Chu Hang, still somewhat drowsy, about to sit up, Tan Yin’s heart sank in despair — her mind couldn’t even process how exactly she’d ended up in the same bed as Chu Hang. She only knew that if Chu Hang saw it was her, there was no telling whether he’d smother her with a pillow on the spot…

At a moment like this, only a miracle could save her worthless life now…

And as if heaven had heard Tan Yin’s prayer, just as Chu Hang lifted the covers and started to sit up, a clap of thunder sounded outside the window.

Thank goodness! This overcast weather had finally couldn’t hold back and was starting to rain!

Tan Yin nearly burst into tears of joy — in this life-or-death moment, she’d finally turned invisible!!