Diving (Part One)

Everyone filed into their assigned villas according to the housing arrangements. Saintland had plenty of funding and hadn't skimped on accommodations—everything was rented to the highest standard available locally. Still, Fu Liangxia couldn't help noticing that their villa seemed different from the others.

The decor was too exquisite. She'd once seen the fountainhead in the living room on an auction website; it had sold for over six hundred thousand dollars. This wasn't a fountainhead—it was a work of art.

If even a decorative fountainhead was on that level, Fu Liangxia figured the rest of the furnishings wouldn't be cheap either.

The villa had four floors total, with the lowest one underground. Its windows were floor-to-ceiling panels, revealing the dark ocean outside and the aquatic creatures swimming within.

That underground room was a spacious media lounge. The dormant screen displayed a fireplace screensaver, and combined with the silver-and-green decor, it had a distinctly Slytherin vibe.

Bai Kewei couldn't help but gasp softly. She'd never seen such a magnificent room in her life—watching a movie underwater was something she'd never even imagined.

Poverty had limited her imagination.

Even Fu Liangxia's eyes flickered with a moment of awe.

With the underwater cinema and the slide dropping straight into the sea as the highlights, the rooms they saw afterward felt almost ordinary. Not that they weren't luxurious—it was just that after the impact of the former, the rest seemed like standard amenities for a comfortable mansion.

Fu Liangxia noticed that Fu Haoyao and the others who'd come with them wore no particular expressions, as if naturally familiar with all of this.

While she and Bai Kewei wandered around sightseeing, everyone else calmly attended to their own business—except Fu Haoyao, who trailed alongside them.

Cheng Xingzhou headed to the open kitchen to brew coffee. Bai Xin and Bai Yan disappeared after dropping off their luggage. Su Xingshu sat in the living room polishing his guitar, and Fu Liedong, thanks to Su Xingshu, was staying in this villa too. He was busy fiddling with equipment, bustling about with great enthusiasm.

"Xiaxia, come see our room!" Bai Kewei called excitedly from the doorway at the end of the hallway, waving her over. "It's gorgeous!"

Fu Liangxia lagged two steps behind her and saw two princess beds side by side inside the room. Above each bed hung sheer curtains that draped heavily downward, offering some privacy while still looking elegant—like dream beds straight out of a Barbie movie. The walls were papered in pink-and-white stripes, and the air carried a faint fruity-floral scent from an incense burner.

Fu Haoyao, mindful that it was the girls' room, didn't step inside. He waved from the doorway and left.

Bai Kewei turned to Fu Liangxia. "Do you want the inner bed or the outer one?"

"Either's fine—you pick." Fu Liangxia wasn't picky about where she slept. As long as the bed was soft and the pillow comfortable, she could fall asleep quickly.

"I'll take the outer one then." Bai Kewei figured that even on a tropical island, nights could get a bit chilly, and Xiaxia's constitution was weak. Better not have her sleeping by the window and catching a cold.

"Okay." Fu Liangxia nodded, then remembered her suitcase was still downstairs.

The hotel staff had only delivered their luggage to the entrance; they had to carry it up themselves.

And conveniently, there was no elevator in the villa.

Thinking about hauling her suitcase up to the third floor, Fu Liangxia deeply regretted not packing lighter. After all, she hadn't expected the hotel to lack an elevator before she left.

Fu Liangxia headed downstairs and ran into Cheng Xingzhou coming up. He was holding a cup of coffee with an intricate latte art design on top.

Her gaze swept over it without comment. She simply nodded and continued down.

But Cheng Xingzhou suddenly called out to her, raising the cup slightly and asking in a flat tone, "Want some?"

Fu Liangxia didn't think he'd made it specially for her. Given his cool expression, it seemed more like a polite, offhand offer upon a chance encounter.

So she politely declined. "No thanks, you go ahead."

It wasn't that she disliked coffee—within the limits of her health, she actually enjoyed a sip or two, and the cup in Cheng Xingzhou's hand looked delicious.

But Fu Liangxia didn't want to risk another cold stare from him over her words, so she declined outright to avoid trouble.

What she didn't expect was that the moment she finished speaking, Cheng Xingzhou pressed his lips together and shot her a chilly look. She had no idea what he was thinking, but he seemed to be in a foul mood.

So refusing a drink was wrong too?

This time, Fu Liangxia was genuinely puzzled.

"Hey, hey, move it—what're you two blocking the stairs for?" A voice rang out from the corner of the second-floor landing. Fu Haoyao appeared, a suitcase in each hand, head down as he climbed. Seeing two pairs of feet blocking his way, he called out.

Fu Liangxia looked down. The first thing she noticed was the taut lines of the boy's muscles from the slight strain—he'd rolled his sleeves up to his shoulders, showing off well-defined arms.

The second thing she noticed was that one of the suitcases was hers.

She froze, her gaze lingering on Fu Haoyao a beat longer than necessary.

Fu Liangxia figured it wasn't long—just a couple of seconds—but it was enough to make Cheng Xingzhou frown.

"Enjoying the view?" The boy's icy voice brushed past her ear.

Fu Liangxia paused, then couldn't help but glance up at him, brow furrowed.

Why did Cheng Xingzhou have to be so infuriating? Couldn't he just speak normally?

But this wasn't her first day knowing him. She gave him a casual look and shot back, "Yeah, so what?" before continuing down the stairs without another glance.

"Why'd you bring it up for me?" A smile crept into her eyes as she asked Fu Haoyao, reaching out to take the suitcase. But he dodged her hand.

"This is nothing—I've got it." Fu Haoyao hadn't realized the people on the stairs were Fu Liangxia and Cheng Xingzhou. His gaze flicked past a scowling Cheng Xingzhou, then turned to Fu Liangxia, flashing a row of white teeth as he grinned.

Fu Liangxia didn't argue. "Thanks for the trouble. Want something to drink? I'll get it for you—coffee, juice?"

Cheng Xingzhou, who had carefully made a cup of coffee for Fu Liangxia only to be completely ignored by her: "..."

Why? Why did Fu Haoyao get so lucky?

If he hadn't been busy making coffee, a step slower than Fu Haoyao in grabbing the luggage, wouldn't he be the one getting a drink from Fu Liangxia right now?

Cheng Xingzhou's fingers tightened around the cup. Meanwhile, the two below were still chatting away, oblivious.

"Really?" Fu Haoyao paused, then his eyes began to sparkle. "Then I'll have juice. Coffee's for old fogies."

His meaning was clear.

Cheng Xingzhou, the "old fogey" clutching his coffee, had had enough. He turned and left.

*

The hotel was beautiful, the atmosphere lovely—but unfortunately, Fu Liangxia never got to see the sunrise in the end.

Because it rained.

Rain poured down suddenly, thick clouds gathering, throwing their original plans into chaos.

Fu Liangxia lay in her room, and beside her, Bai Kewei sighed softly. "What a shame. I really wanted to watch the sunrise by the sea."

No wonder she felt that way. The capital was inland, far from the coast. Bai Kewei probably rarely had the chance to see the ocean, and on ordinary trips, she wouldn't have had the opportunity to stay in a hotel right against the sea like this.

Fu Liangxia mulled it over, opened the weather app, and saw that starting tomorrow it was all clear skies. She smiled. "No worries. We can watch it tomorrow instead. We'll sit on the inflatable sofas by the water downstairs, sip drinks, and watch the sunrise."

Bai Kewei was drawn in by the picture she painted and nodded eagerly. "Okay!"

Fu Liangxia thought she was this happy because she liked the plan, but she didn't know that Bai Kewei was thinking that as long as she was with Fu Liangxia, anything was wonderful.

It felt blissful and reassuring.

A dreamless night.

The next morning, the sky was indeed clear and bright, though puddles still dotted the ground, a reminder of the rain the night before.

The school's scheduled activity for the morning was diving, and everyone had changed into swimwear in their rooms before gathering at the meeting point.

The school had swimming classes normally, so people should have been used to appearing in swimwear.

But that was just in theory.

Fu Liangxia had brought a strappy swim dress, a departure from the conservative swimsuits she wore at school. The all-black suit hugged her figure, accentuating every curve, while her already fair skin seemed even more luminous, like polished jade.

She stood there, dark hair pinned up, tall and slender, revealing a delicately boned face that exuded an untouchable air.

Even Bai Kewei felt her cheeks flush at the sight of Fu Liangxia.

They were assigned to boats by villa, but the activities were done in smaller groups. Fu Liangxia and Bai Kewei arrived early, yet the boys staying in their villa trickled in later and later, one after another.

When they showed up, only Bai Xin and Bai Yan were there, giving them a casual wave of greeting.

Fu Liangxia thought nothing of it, but the surprised looks on the other students' faces from neighboring villas made her realize just how aloof and unapproachable the Bai twins were perceived to be.

Next came Fu Haoyao, sprinting over with his hair flying and eyes bright—like an eager puppy bounding toward its owner.

He hurried up, caught his breath, and checked his wristwatch. "Made it just in time."

Then he lifted his gaze—and the moment he saw what was in front of him, he froze where he stood.