Chapter 130: Chapter 129: The Ploy on the Beach

Since diving isn’t recommended right after a flight, the afternoon was for free time and a yard party.

Everyone was free to do as they pleased; there were no mandatory activities.

Of course, anyone leaving the premises had to be accompanied by someone. This was a strict order from Lin Chu.

Although Bohe Island was a tourist destination with many visitors and was considered quite safe, it was better to be safe than sorry. You only have two kidneys and one life, after all.

At first, some people were dismissive. They only brought bodyguards along when they went out out of deference to Lin Chu.

However, after two girls went out on the town and returned to share what they’d experienced, many others started to take the rule more seriously.

—Guns weren’t banned here!

The owner of a roadside tobacco shop actually had a shotgun under his counter!

And in the drawer for small change, there was a handgun!

The girl recounted her story with a slightly panicked look on her face. It was her first time here, and she was genuinely a little spooked, as if she had just witnessed some bizarre spectacle.

The other girl, who had visited once before, seemed quite used to it. She just smiled and casually tossed two packs of foreign cigarettes she’d just bought to the men. "Marlboro Black Ice only cost twelve yuan a pack here. So cheap! It’s less than half the price in Peng City. A little something for you guys."

Lin Chu couldn’t help but smile and take a second look at her.

’She gets it.’

’An attitude like that is good enough.’

The topic of guns, however, piqued Lin Chu’s interest. He made a mental note to try shooting one if he got the chance.

Guns are a man’s romance.

To be precise, they’re the romance of men from a powerful, safe nation.

It wasn’t about being forged in blood and fire; it was just a tourist experience born from a lifetime of safety.

He’d heard that if you went to Russia, you could even drive a tank or fire a howitzer just to hear the boom, like setting off fireworks. If he ever got the chance, he definitely had to experience that.

...

Swimming, massages, water fights, barbecues, drinking, playing cards, rolling dice...

The afternoon flew by. The place was like a paradise, where they could completely forget the real world and lose themselves in happiness.

Better yet, they didn’t have to worry about a thing. Everything was arranged for them; all they had to do was enjoy it.

As dusk began to fall, Lin Chu was strolling along the beach. He was barefoot, wearing only a pair of swim trunks. The clean sand was still toasty with the lingering warmth of the sun. A vast, brilliant sunset spread across the sea, dyeing both sky and ocean a crimson red in a dreamlike vista.

"It’s so beautiful."

Gu Jiayan sighed as if in a dream, pulling out her phone and snapping a picture. CLICK.

Lin Chu glanced at her, and a sudden impulse struck him. "Come on, let’s take a picture together."

She hesitated for a moment but didn’t refuse. She raised her phone and switched to selfie mode. But just as she was about to press the shutter, Lin Chu suddenly threw his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in.

Lin Chu wasn’t even wearing a T-shirt; his chest was bare. The sudden contact made Gu Jiayan’s face flush red all the way to her ears. Her hand trembled, and the phone slipped from her grasp, falling onto the sand.

"Hey, what are you so nervous for?"

Lin Chu bent down to pick up the phone, held his pose with his arm still around her, and raised it. CLICK.

’Perfect.’

’Her body was stiff, but she didn’t fight back.’

’Slowly boiling the frog.’

"Here you go."

He casually stuffed the phone back into her hand and ambled forward on his own. Spotting a perfectly shaped stick on the beach, he suddenly snatched it up and performed a set of the Dugu Nine Swords. Then, as if struck by another whim, he started hopping and skipping about like a monkey just freed from Five Finger Mountain, running in a bizarre fashion toward the sunset.

It was completely undignified, yet it had a certain boyish charm. Besides, there was no one else on the beach; the bodyguards were just watching from a distance.

When he was tired of jumping, Lin Chu took a great leap and dived headfirst into the sand, landing spread-eagled.

’So refreshing.’

’A grand display of bizarre human behavior.’

Gu Jiayan watched the entire spectacle, her expression shifting from astonishment to barely suppressed laughter. It was hard to imagine this man acting so childishly. ’Is this what they mean when they say men are boys their whole lives?’

But then again, he was only twenty-four years old.

’At twenty-four, a lot of guys are still immature, with nothing to their name.’

"Don’t you dare tell anyone about this when we get back. Otherwise, I’ll have to silence you. Rape first, then kill."

After his moment of foolishness, Lin Chu reverted to his "President Lin" persona, threatening her with a mock-fierce expression.

Gu Jiayan was speechless.

"Oh."

She was trying very hard not to laugh.

"You didn’t take any pictures just now, did you? Let me see your phone," Lin Chu said.

She froze for a second, but with a swift movement, Lin Chu had already snatched the phone from her. He then darted ahead, randomly trying to guess the password.

She scrambled after him to get it back. She managed to grab it, but Lin Chu deftly tripped her, sending her falling onto her back on the soft sand.

She swallowed hard.

Staring at the face just inches from her own, she could even feel his breath on her cheek, carrying the faint scent of tobacco. Her face turned as red as the evening clouds, and for a moment, she was completely stunned.

Lin Chu pinned her arms down with his hands. "Tell me the password, quick. Or else I’m going to kiss you. Three... two... one..."

She struggled with all her might, her knee instinctively coming up and bumping against Lin Chu’s thigh. There wasn’t much force behind it, and he barely felt a thing, but Lin Chu immediately clutched himself with a pained expression and rolled onto his side in the sand.

Gu Jiayan froze.

She immediately grew tense.

Scrambling to her feet, she was genuinely scared. "President Lin, are... are you all right? I didn’t mean to, I’m so, so sorry."

"It hurts..."

Lin Chu clutched his crotch with both hands.

All shyness forgotten, she took a deep breath. "I’ll go get a doctor. The hotel definitely has one."

Lin Chu was speechless.

’Seriously, you silly girl. What the hell is a doctor going to do about this?’

"It just hurts. I’ll be fine in a minute. A doctor can’t do anything," Lin Chu said irritably. "It’s like when you get period cramps. Does a doctor help with that?"

She stood there blushing, completely at a loss. After a moment’s thought, she squatted back down, looking at Lin Chu with concern.

"What are you looking at? You want to give it a rub for me?" Lin Chu snapped.

Startled, she shuffled back half a step and fell onto the sand with a plop.

"Go get me a bottle of water!"

Lin Chu didn’t tease the young woman any further. He knew when to quit while he was ahead.

’This feeling of slowly taming her is actually pretty fun.’

’I’m in no rush, anyway.’

Lin Chu drew a clear distinction. An assistant was different from other women. She would eventually learn many of his secrets, so there needed to be some genuine feelings involved. Otherwise, if she turned traitor, the consequences would be dire.

Gu Jiayan hurried over and met up with two bodyguards who were running toward them. She got a bottle of water, and after Lin Chu took a couple of sips, he dropped the act and got to his feet. "Let’s go back."

On the way back, Gu Jiayan glanced at Lin Chu suspiciously. She had a feeling President Lin was just messing with her.

But she couldn’t be entirely sure.

Still, that momentary flutter in her chest, the emotional rollercoaster she’d just been on, made her feel as if... she was finally getting into the vacation spirit.

Right now, she felt great. She felt happy.

...

"President Lin, I need to report something. Uh, it’s not a big deal, but I thought about it and decided I should tell you."

Before the evening banquet, Lin Chu took a shower and had just finished changing when he heard a knock at the door. He thought it might be one of the girls coming for a "private lesson," but when he opened the door, he was surprised to see Gao Haitao. After stepping inside, Gao Haitao spoke, his tone somewhat serious.

"Hm? Go ahead," Lin Chu said casually. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"It’s like this. A couple of my guys just reported in. Four of them were escorting four of the girls who went out shopping. There was a banana stand on the side of the road run by a middle-aged man. One of my men spotted him but didn’t pay him much mind. But my guy might have been walking with his usual military gait, because as soon as the banana seller saw him, he abandoned his whole stand and took off running down a narrow path along a wall."

"My guy suspects that for someone to act so spooked, he must have committed some crime back home and is hiding out here."

Gao Haitao reported in detail.

Lin Chu glanced at him, his expression calm. "What do you think?"

He pursed his lips and smiled. "Of course, it’s better to let sleeping dogs lie. We’re a tour group right now, and protecting you and your friends is our top priority. I’ll just tell the men to be more vigilant when they’re out."

Lin Chu waved his hand. "All right, we’ll leave it at that for now. I’ll mention it to Da Xiong later."

...

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