Hot Spring

“Say it.”

“Oh, oh…”

“?”

Xu Zhitong stammered, her face red. “I do.”

“……” Lin Yang tapped her face with the flower. “Who’s proposing to you?”

The petals felt featherlight, carrying the faint scent of flowers.

Xu Zhitong’s already frantic heartbeat nearly skipped a beat.

She seemed to have forgotten how to do anything but smile. Nodding stupidly, she said, “Mm-mm.”

It was as if she’d forgotten how to speak.

With Xu Zhitong looking at her so openly, Lin Yang belatedly felt a little embarrassed too.

She said awkwardly, “...Then let’s eat.”

Inside the private room, soothing music flowed quietly.

Even the sounds of eating were soft.

Over the past few weeks, whenever the two of them shared a private space, they would inevitably end up clinging to each other, either hugging or kissing, and it had long since become second nature.

But now, having suddenly filled in the missing confession, both of them inexplicably grew shy.

Just making eye contact was enough to send their gazes darting away.

They ate the meal in unusual silence.

A server came in partway through to add more dishes. Seeing the atmosphere, she probably assumed that with such elaborate decorations, the confession had gone badly.

So after they paid the bill, when Xu Zhitong asked her to pick out a few stems separately and make a small bouquet to take away, the server couldn’t help looking surprised.

Xu Zhitong: Hmph.

Too lazy to explain to you!

Holding the small bouquet of flowers, the two of them went for a walk by the river.

Before leaving, Xu Zhitong carefully tucked away the obvious color of her hair once more.

Walking along the riverside path, a cool evening breeze blew gently.

On both sides were people out for post-dinner strolls, along with dogs being walked and children playing.

Xu Zhitong secretly reached for Lin Yang’s hand.

First their backs of the hands touched; then she gently took her hand. Their ten fingers interlaced, and their arms and shoulders drew close as well.

What a strange relationship progression.

First, kisses.

Then, being together.

Then, flowers and a confession.

Then, only now, formally holding hands like any other couple.

The order was a complete mess.

But Xu Zhitong thought that was fine. The process was strange, but it led to a very good result.

Among the scattered groups strolling by the river, she and Lin Yang were just like everyone else; a happy, ordinary couple.

When they reached the fountain square Lin Yang had mentioned, it really was crowded. Children ran and played beside the fountain, dogs chased each other on the grass nearby, and young people were skateboarding and rollerblading off to the side.

It was very lively.

Xu Zhitong had rarely come to places like this before; she was both surprised and curious.

So this was what her happy everyday life looked like after falling in love with Lin Yang.

The two of them found a place to sit, still not letting go of each other’s hands. Xu Zhitong clung to Lin Yang eagerly, wanting to hear stories about their love life during college.

A long-distance relationship plus an international one must have been really hard, TT.

Lin Yang: “……”

How was she supposed to make that up?

Fortunately, Lin Yang already didn’t talk much. Bracing herself, she borrowed examples from couples she had seen before and made up a few little incidents.

She even added a bit of artistic embellishment.

It sounded ordinary enough, but after Xu Zhitong savored it for a while, she felt that a happy romance might really just be like this.

She said sourly, “That does sound pretty sweet.”

On one hand, knowing that she and Lin Yang had once been so in love made her feel satisfied.

On the other hand, because she had no memories, she felt sour.

It was her two halves fighting each other.

After they got home, Xu Zhitong started preparing for the hot spring trip.

This was, in a sense, her and Lin Yang’s first very formal date outing.

The farthest they had ever gone together before had been a class spring outing to an amusement park in the suburbs.

Thinking about it that way, they had actually ridden the Ferris wheel together before; they just hadn’t kissed at the top.

Back then, they were both still clueless about love.

No, wait.

Lin Yang had said that from the first time she saw her, she liked her.

So when they rode the Ferris wheel together before, had Lin Yang been secretly in love with her? Did Lin Yang want to kiss her then?

Xu Zhitong thought hard about it and finally realized that it had apparently been she herself who had dragged Lin Yang onto the Ferris wheel.

She had run through the amusement park’s roller coasters like crazy; she had even ridden the most thrilling one three times.

But for some inexplicable reason, she had come to a dead stop in front of the Ferris wheel and shyly wanted to go up with Lin Yang.

Lin Yang probably thought she was tired, so after they got on, she opened some snacks and looked at the scenery with her.

As for her younger self at the time—she had thought her racing heartbeat was from the roller coaster. Only now did she realize that back then, she had already been feeling a little restless without even knowing it.

But she still hadn’t understood anything yet; in the end, she only finished half a bag of spring outing snacks before getting off the Ferris wheel.

Xu Zhitong: “……”

This time, she absolutely wouldn’t be that foolish.

Xu Zhitong wanted to deepen her relationship with Lin Yang wholeheartedly, so she was especially serious when preparing for the trip.

She almost packed a whole suitcase.

Lin Yang took one look and wanted to say that the hot spring resort would definitely provide many of those things.

But she wasn’t about to dampen Xu Zhitong’s enthusiasm.

Seeing Xu Zhitong, who had never been the type to make plans, being so earnest and meticulous this time, Lin Yang was inevitably influenced too.

In the few days before departure, Xu Zhitong even restrained her affection a lot.

There was a distinctly shy kind of self-control about her.

The hot spring resort was located at the junction of Jiangshi, Hai City, and several nearby cities; driving there took more than two hours.

Built into the mountains and hidden from view, it took the driver a long time to register at the entrance with the security guard.

Before long, a resort driver came to take them to the main hotel.

Once inside the hotel, a dedicated butler took over and checked them in, then led the two of them to a secluded stand-alone courtyard.

Along the way, he introduced the facilities: everything was available here, from a gym, pool, and bar to a children’s playground, not to mention all sorts of sports venues.

Xu Zhitong was amazed.

So this was what adults’ vacations looked like.

Their simple luggage had already been placed in the room. After the butler briefly explained how to use the facilities in the room and left contact information along with a small vehicle for getting around, he took his leave.

Inside the courtyard room were two beds.

It was still afternoon; the room was bright and spotless, scented candles were lit, and the temperature was just right.

As soon as Lin Yang came in, she sat on the sofa and yawned while watching Xu Zhitong look around everywhere.

Not only was there a private hot spring bath, there was also a small steam room and sauna.

The courtyards were spaced far apart, the scenery was excellent, and it was a very suitable place for a getaway.

After looking around, Xu Zhitong came back and saw Lin Yang looking worn out, and she couldn’t help feeling distressed.

Although the hot spring trip had been planned long ago, Lin Yang had suddenly run into something at work. Apparently, with the product her side was developing together with Yan Ci and the others, some of the new competitor’s features overlapped. A lot of things needed to be redone, and the market window had also shortened.

Lin Yang had stayed up late; she had only slept a little in the early morning, and dark circles showed under her eyes.

Xu Zhitong had suggested rescheduling for another day, but Lin Yang didn’t like changing plans. She set an alarm, got up, and came with Xu Zhitong.

On the car ride, she had slept the whole way with her head on Xu Zhitong’s shoulder.

Adding that to the sleep she got in the morning, she barely managed six hours, enough to make up for the missing rest.

But she still wasn’t in great shape.

Xu Zhitong touched her eyes and leaned in to kiss her.

“Do you want to sleep?”

Lin Yang shook her head.

At noon, because she was sleep-deprived, her appetite had been poor and she only ate a few bites.

Xu Zhitong called room service and ordered some sweet afternoon tea, then dug out a few board games from the room and played two-player games with Lin Yang.

Lin Yang had always been very good at card counting, but after staying up all night her mind was hazy, and she actually ended up evenly matched with Xu Zhitong.

Of course, Xu Zhitong also secretly cheated.

Several times, she tried to use affectionate behavior as an excuse to put back the card she had just bought, or to muddle the board game rules when Lin Yang wasn’t paying attention.

“Wait, wait, let me look again.”

Then she would sneakily, taking advantage of the fact that there was no wager, put back two of the cards she had just laid down.

Not very energetic, Lin Yang propped her cheek on the small table and glanced at her, helpless. “Cheaters turn into puppies.”

Xu Zhitong held her cards and looked utterly innocent. “Mm? Mm-mm.”

She was very bad.

After a few rounds, most of the desserts on the table were gone and they were both getting tired. Lin Yang pushed aside the cards Xu Zhitong had messed up into complete chaos.

“I’m going to sleep for a bit.” She yawned.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have any energy left for dinner or soaking in the hot spring at night.

Xu Zhitong almost jumped in guilty alarm, then nodded repeatedly.

She told Lin Yang to change into pajamas while she tidied up the board games and put them back in the cabinet.

It was only a little after three in the afternoon; there was still plenty of time.

Xu Zhitong had been looking forward to this for days, and with a full night’s sleep behind her, she had a bit too much energy.

When Lin Yang curled up under the blanket and prepared to sleep, Xu Zhitong went to report in: “Then I’m going out for a walk.”

Lin Yang’s slender hand reached out from under the covers and waved. “Go on.”

Xu Zhitong had something on her mind.

She went first to find the staff and ordered some flowers and red wine to be delivered to the room that evening.

After wandering around the place a few times and breathing in the fresh air, she found she still couldn’t burn off her excess energy.

So she simply went to the gym.

The gym was on the second floor of the resort, and from there she could see the wide, pale-blue pool below. Sunlight glimmered on the water, which rippled invitingly.

Xu Zhitong hadn’t swum in a long time. Her hands itched with anticipation as she watched for a while, then decided to go back to the room and get her swimsuit.

Might as well get used to the water in advance.

She rode a small golf cart back to the entrance of the courtyard, where the butler dropped her off.

Inside the room, the white tea scent belonging to Lin Yang had already mixed with the original fragrance of the incense.

The curtains had been drawn; daylight filtered through them, creating a quiet afternoon that seemed to belong to someone.

There was no partition in the courtyard house, and the luggage was all in the corner of the bedroom. Xu Zhitong opened her suitcase as gently as possible and dug out her swimsuit.

Which one should she wear...?

She had brought both two-piece swimsuits she’d bought. After hesitating for two seconds, Xu Zhitong chose the more conservative one with more fabric.

Her wife wasn’t looking anyway.

There was no real need to show off too much.

She glanced at the small white bundle on the bed, stayed quiet for a moment, and could almost hear Lin Yang’s even breathing.

Xu Zhitong smiled and started changing into the swimsuit as quietly as she could.

But she was too clumsy, and still made a little noise.

On the bed, Lin Yang gave a drowsy, muddled “Mm?”

“Xiao Tong?”

Her sleepy voice came softly through the blanket as she asked.

Xu Zhitong also lowered her voice. “It’s me. I’m changing clothes.”

The fabric rustled softly.

Xu Zhitong tugged at the hem of her swimsuit and walked over to meet Lin Yang’s gaze as she half lifted the blanket, eyes narrowed.

She showed Lin Yang the swimsuit she was wearing. “I’m going to swim for a bit. Go back to sleep?”

Lin Yang: “Mm, okay.”

Her voice was soft and sleepy; she was still not fully awake, and her gaze at Xu Zhitong was a little dazed.

The room was warm, and although she had only slept for less than an hour, Lin Yang’s face was already a little red, with a few marks left by her hair pressing against her skin. She looked very groggy.

But she still looked very carefully at the swimsuit Xu Zhitong was wearing.

Only after confirming that it wasn’t the sexy one did she sink back under the blanket.

So cute.

Xu Zhitong couldn’t help leaning in and kissing Lin Yang’s warm cheek.

Her sleep had been interrupted; Lin Yang opened her eyes and gave Xu Zhitong a blurry, reproachful look, then turned over and continued sleeping with her back to her.

Xu Zhitong looked at the back of Lin Yang’s head and felt that even every strand of hair was adorable. She stared happily into space for a long while.

How lucky. Just how long had her amnesiac self gotten to live this kind of good life?