WAYCAV Chapter 46

The hot spring resort had complete facilities, with hot spring pools, game rooms, massage rooms, buffet restaurants, and everything else you could want.

After everyone arrived, they went to pick their rooms first.

Su Zhiyan wore a hat and followed behind the group. He noticed Qu Fangming was having a serious-looking discussion with the front desk staff.

Since Qu Fangming had handled all the room arrangements for this trip, there was probably some minor issue.

“Su-ge!”

Zhang Chang’s loud voice echoed through half the lobby. He walked over with a stack of room cards and handed the top one to Su Zhiyan.

Su Zhiyan rubbed the small card between his fingers and glanced over at Qu Fangming at the front desk. He asked Zhang Chang, “Is there some problem?”

Zhang Chang followed his gaze and looked confused too. “I don’t think so. The room numbers were booked five days ago. I went straight to the front desk to get the room cards as soon as I got here. Xiao Qu is reliable with this stuff. He’s probably just asking about the rules and regulations.”

Su Zhiyan looked away and nodded.

“Hey,” Zhang Chang lowered his voice and asked him, “Is Shen Nianjing that senior who took a year off from school?”

Senior…

Su Zhiyan silently repeated this title. “He did take time off because of family issues. Do you know him?”

Zhang Chang looked thoughtful. “I heard the secretary mention his name. His academic performance seems pretty impressive.”

“It is very impressive.” Su Zhiyan agreed, then continued, “If you want to get to know him, you can just go talk to him directly. He’s easy to get along with.”

“That’s not it.” Zhang Chang laughed meaningfully. “I’m just surprised you two are so close.”

“You might not know this, but when he was a freshman, he was super popular in the department. He really stood out among all the first-year students.” Zhang Chang slung his arm around Su Zhiyan’s shoulder and sighed. “He was really smart in everything he said and did. All the professors in the department loved him. Before he came back, the secretary talked about him so much my ears grew calluses.”

“But he doesn’t seem interested in graduate school.”

Su Zhiyan thought about it and said, “He really likes math, and with his grades, getting into graduate school shouldn’t be a problem.”

“That’s true, but since he came back, he hasn’t gotten close to any of the professors.”

Su Zhiyan suddenly thought that if Shen Nianjing didn’t go to graduate school here but went to another university or started working directly, they wouldn’t be able to see each other every day anymore.

He might as well just drop dead right then and there.

This dream was really becoming a serious drawback. Not only did it mess up his life, but it also completely tied him and Shen Nianjing together.

If only he could just stop having the dreams someday… Su Zhiyan frowned.

“What are you thinking about?” Shen Nianjing walked over and took the room card from Su Zhiyan’s hand. He raised an eyebrow. “How come everyone else is on the third floor, but we’re on the second floor?”

He stood very close to Su Zhiyan, his whole presence looming over him. His taller frame casted overlapping shadows that made them look intimate at first glance.

Su Zhiyan looked up, and Shen Nianjing happened to look down at him.

Their eyes met.

Shen Nianjing had very sharp, defined features with deep-set eyes. He had the kind of looks that seemed sunny and wild from a distance but very handsome and striking up close.

Every time Su Zhiyan saw him this close, he thought this face was perfect for painting. It was really perfectly proportioned.

Su Zhiyan silently traced his features with his eyes.

Shen Nianjing’s eyes flickered, and he cooperatively adjusted his position to let Su Zhiyan observe him.

He smiled and raised an eyebrow slightly. “What are you looking at?”

He had tried many different styles recently, but Su Zhiyan didn’t seem particularly interested in any of them.

Before leaving today, he had taken Ms. Lin’s advice and wore a gray sweater with a white shirt underneath. Who knew such a simple outfit would have such an effect?

Oh yes! Ms. Lin really deserved her reputation, victory on the first attempt.

“I’m looking at your features,” Su Zhiyan answered honestly. “They’d be perfect as a template for plastic surgery at a cosmetic clinic.”

After saying this, he pulled the room card from Shen Nianjing’s hand and walked toward the elevator hall.

Shen Nianjing: “………..”

Ms. Lin’s first battle ended in defeat.

He turned around and strode after Su Zhiyan.

Wen Bei and the others had rooms on the third floor, so only the two of them got off the elevator on the second floor.

Following the room numbers, they found their rooms on the right side of the hallway, where they also discovered a large terrace at the end.

“The environment here really is nice.” Shen Nianjing walked over and pushed open the terrace door.

The terrace was huge, with five umbrellas and more than ten lounge chairs. There was even a small bar at the entrance that served drinks and cocktails.

“Too bad it’s so cold,” Su Zhiyan also walked over. “Otherwise it would be really comfortable to lie here and enjoy the breeze on summer evenings.”

“Your friend really knows how to pick places.” Shen Nianjing’s eyes sparkled with amusement as he turned to look at him. “Only the second floor has an outdoor terrace.”

“Yeah.” Su Zhiyan agreed. “Looks like we’re pretty lucky. The location of the second-floor rooms is just right.”

Shen Nianjing didn’t respond. He watched as Su Zhiyan headed to their room, his lowered gaze full of tenderness and helplessness.

Sure enough, the next second, Su Zhiyan froze upon opening the door.

Shen Nianjing walked over and stood beside him.

“This…” Su Zhiyan turned to look at Shen Nianjing. “They must have booked the wrong room.”

The room was large and spacious, with a balcony that had a swing. The balcony faced the mountains and water with a very broad view.

The only problem was that this was a room with one large bed¹.

Shen Nianjing also looked surprised and widened his eyes. “Looks like it.”

Su Zhiyan took out his phone. “Let me ask Qu Fangming.”

But just as he pulled up the screen, someone came running over. He looked up and saw a staff member in uniform hurrying toward them.

“I’m so sorry, sir.” The staff member’s face was full of apology. “We just learned that your room was originally booked as a twin room, but due to our oversight, there was a mistake.”

“All the twin rooms on the third and fourth floors are now full.”

He stepped to the right, revealing the food cart behind him, and bowed with a smile. “This is lunch specially prepared for you two by the resort. Also, we’re giving you half off the room rate. We’re truly very sorry.”

Su Zhiyan understood and was about to speak when another staff member came running over, also followed by a food cart.

“We’re very sorry, sir. Your room should be on the third floor—” Her words stopped abruptly as she stared at her colleague in shock.

The two staff members looked at each other, suddenly both confused about the situation.

“You’re also here to apologize for the room mix-up, right?” The first one forced a smile, desperately trying to smooth things over.

“Yes.” The second one smiled politely, swallowing the words she hadn’t said yet and going along with it. “But now there’s an available room on the third floor. Would you two like to switch rooms?”

“Your hotel service is pretty thorough,” Shen Nianjing said loudly with admiration. “Buy one, get two free.”

Staff members: “…”

He smiled. “Thanks for your hard work. It must have been quite a hassle to run all the way here.” He then took cash from his pocket and gave both of them some tips.

The staff members immediately smiled graciously and said in unison, “We’re very sorry for the inconvenience.”

Then they left the double lunch and three all-access passes in the room and quickly left.

“Where did you get cash?” Su Zhiyan asked.

“Courtesy of Ms. Lin.” Shen Nianjing pushed him into the room and helped put down his bag.

Shen Nianjing plopped down on the floor between the sofa and coffee table, eagerly opening the food containers. “Wow, so much! Did they bring up the entire buffet?”

He looked up at Su Zhiyan, who was still standing by the door, and called out, “Why don’t you come sit down?”

Su Zhiyan pressed his lips together. Even on such a cold day, he could feel his palms getting sweaty.

“Didn’t you say the room was wrong? Why didn’t you go with them to switch to the third floor?” He sat cross-legged next to Shen Nianjing, leaning back against the sofa, turning his face away to avoid looking at Shen Nianjing.

He couldn’t understand what Shen Nianjing meant. Why didn’t he want to switch to a twin room and instead sent the staff away?

Shen Nianjing’s knee bumped against Su Zhiyan’s as he lifted his eyelids to look at him. “I just don’t want to go along with other people’s plans.”

He raised his head stubbornly. “Why should I switch just because he wants me to? Is it because my presence messed up all his arrangements?”

This sentence was actually ambiguous, but Su Zhiyan’s mind was all mixed up right now, so he didn’t think too deeply about it.

The biggest problem facing him now was…

He would be sharing a bed with Shen Nianjing.

Growing up, it wasn’t like he’d never slept with close friends before. In middle school, during a school trip, he even squeezed into a sleeper train bunk with his good friend at the time.

But none of them were Shen Nianjing.

Su Zhiyan crossed his arms over his chest and didn’t say anything.

Shen Nianjing’s eyelashes trembled as he turned his head and said in a relaxed tone, “I can sleep on the sofa tonight.”

He reached back and patted the soft cushions of the sofa, smiling. “See? It’s wide enough for me.”

His tone was light and cheerful, his breathing steady, no different from usual. His attitude was very casual and generous.

Su Zhiyan’s chest rose and fell as he forced himself to calm down.

He was being led astray by that dream again.

Shen Nianjing was his good friend, no different from his previous friends.

He could perfectly well share this large bed without overthinking it.

“No need,” he said. “The sofa is too cold. We’ll share the bed.”

He’d already felt guilty for being somewhat distant with Shen Nianjing due to his own confusion. While he couldn’t completel avoid being affected by his dreams, if Shen Nianjing got sick again tonight because of sleeping on the sofa, he would feel even more guilty.

Shen Nianjing’s eyes brightened slightly as he nodded. “Okay.”

The room fell quiet as they slowly ate their meal without talking.

Their knees touched occasionally, brushing against each other with small movements.

Su Zhiyan had already confirmed that longer contact time could prevent the dreams, so for the past few days he had been finding opportunities to have extended physical contact with Shen Nianjing.

But somehow, this “extended contact” had become a regular thing, something that happened naturally without Su Zhiyan needing to create chances.

Su Zhiyan finished eating with his head down. After wiping his mouth, he realized that Shen Nianjing had finished eating long ago and had been quietly watching him from the side for who knew how long.

“You…” He faltered, instinctively avoiding Shen Nianjing’s gaze.

Shen Nianjing’s long eyelashes drooped as he watched Su Zhiyan turn his face away, his slightly red ear tips facing him.

With a soft smile, he stood up, his voice low. “I’ll take a shower first. Let’s go meet up with them afterward.”

“Mm.” Su Zhiyan didn’t look at him, just nodded.

Only when he heard the bathroom door close did Su Zhiyan suddenly realize.

“!” A shower?

He was going to share a bathroom with Shen Nianjing and sleep in the same bed.

Clear sounds of running water came from the bathroom. Through the steamy, frosted glass, he could vaguely make out the outline of a figure.

It was exactly like a scene from his dream.

Su Zhiyan’s face heated up.

The psychological barrier he had just built instantly crumbled.