"Brother Chu, how’d it go?"

Zhang Peng swam over, raising an eyebrow with a grin.

He hadn’t noticed that Lin Chu had just made a fool of himself, albeit a minor one.

Pressing his lips into a smile, Lin Chu said nonchalantly, "I don’t know how to hit on girls."

"Hahaha, trying to pick up a girl at a pool is definitely tough. In a place like this, everyone’s wearing so little, so their guard is way up. But if you’d actually gone for it, she definitely would’ve been happy about it deep down."

"That’s just how women are."

Zhang Peng said casually, sounding like he had a wealth of experience.

"Then you go."

"It’s your time to shine."

Lin Chu said with a casual laugh.

He... 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Uh...

He hesitated for a moment before swimming toward the other side again. But just as he got halfway, they were both stunned to see that the girl in the white swimsuit had already gotten out of the pool, wrapped herself in a white towel, and left.

Zhang Peng froze in the middle of the water.

With a wry smile, he swam back to Lin Chu.

He explained helplessly, "You can’t blame me for this. She’d probably been swimming for too long. I saw her here over an hour ago."

Lin Chu: ...

"Just admit you suck. You have so many damn excuses."

"Forget it. Let’s work out a bit more, then leave."

"We’ll come back and wait for her tomorrow."

Zhang Peng teased with a laugh, "No need for that, really. ’Wait for her’? Sounds like we’re stalking her."

Lin Chu shot him a glare.

He immediately gave an awkward laugh.

"Alright, next time I run into a beauty like that, I’ll say I’m an agent for a livestreaming company and ask if she’s interested. I’ll use that as an opening. As long as I can get her WeChat, the rest will be easy."

In a flash of inspiration, he’d already come up with a whole routine.

Lin Chu: "Sure."

The two of them swam for over half an hour. Feeling like he’d had enough, Lin Chu got out of the water.

Exercise really does put you in a good mood. He felt great right now.

He glanced at his phone.

Before they got in the water, Zhang Peng had sent him a photo.

It was of the beauty in the white swimsuit.

With the 50x zoom on his Huawei phone, you could basically use it as a telescope. The picture was very clear. He had no idea when Zhang Peng had sneakily taken it. No wonder he’d gotten into the water later than him.

"Holy shit, you took a candid?"

Lin Chu laughed.

Zhang Peng: "Uh. The timing and angle were just right, so I quickly snapped one."

"You’re really quick on the draw!"

"Don’t worry. If you ever get locked up for it, I’ll be sure to bring you... Vaseline."

Zhang Peng: ...

’What an asshole.’

After smoking a cigarette and chatting about nothing in particular, Lin Chu started to feel hungry. He took a shower, changed his clothes, and headed to the Chinese restaurant for a bite.

He didn’t have any plans for today yet.

There was no word from Liu Junfeng.

Nor from Li Kai, whom he’d just met.

As for Lu Ming, he was probably still on his way back from dropping off the two girls at their school.

After partying hard for the past two days, Lin Chu felt his body faintly resisting alcohol. But his heart still felt an itch—a slight restlessness. He couldn’t settle down and wanted to find some fun.

When he was poor, he’d just stay cooped up at home, not wanting to move or go out. He wouldn’t even want to go if someone invited him.

But now, as soon as it got dark, it was like a conditioned reflex kicked in. His kidneys would tell his brain, ’Hey, it’s time to go out and play! Find me something to do!’

Lin Chu had been to the restaurant at the Wanhao twice before. It was a buffet that cost 350 RMB per person.

Needless to say, he had come with his girlfriend.

He remembered it being pretty good. It was probably the best value for money you could get in a five-star hotel. All-you-can-eat seafood and crayfish, a high-class environment, and very photogenic.

Now, returning to this familiar place...

Lin Chu did his best to forget his ex and think about the girl in the swimsuit instead.

"After eating at Ensue a few times, I’m suddenly realizing how great the value is here!"

"Bro, don’t stop me, this one’s on me!"

Zhang Peng said with a smile, proactively buying a voucher on his phone.

Lin Chu glanced at him and nodded. It was just a few hundred RMB; he really couldn’t be bothered to fight him over the bill.

Lin Chu got a steak and a plate of oysters, and felt that was about enough. The steak was filling, and the oysters "reloaded his ammo." Both were high in protein and wouldn’t make him gain much weight.

’I really need to control my portions and work on my physique.’

Zhang Peng came over carrying a huge plate piled high with seafood. Seeing Lin Chu’s simple selection, he looked at him, slightly speechless. ’What a waste of money. It’s over three hundred RMB, aren’t you going to try and eat your money’s worth?’

However, even though he was the one treating, he didn’t say it out loud.

’Oh well, Brother Chu is probably used to it. Even his appetite is benchmarked against Ensue now.’

As they ate, Zhang Peng suddenly passed his phone to Lin Chu. "Bro, look."

Hmm?

Lin Chu took the phone and glanced at it, freezing for a moment.

’You’ve really got some fucking nerve!’

It was a WeChat chat screen. Zhang Peng had sent the candid photo of the girl in the white swimsuit to Li Xiaoguang, the Guest Rooms Department Supervisor.

"Manager Li, if it’s convenient, could you help me look this person up?"

Li Xiaoguang: "Hello, we can’t very well disclose the private information of our hotel guests."

Zhang Peng: "I lost a gold necklace. There weren’t many people in the pool at the time, and I wanted to ask this lady if she happened to see it."

Li Xiaoguang: "Mr. Zhang, how about this? Let me first confirm the lady’s identity, and then we can talk. Is that alright?"

He must have known Zhang Peng’s excuse was bogus. ’When have you ever worn a gold necklace?’

But in this situation, he still had to save face for the guest.

Looking at the chat log, Lin Chu couldn’t help but exclaim, "You’re really something else."

’Isn’t this a bit much?’

Zhang Peng: "Who am I doing this for? Isn’t it all for you? Don’t worry, I might not be good at other things, but my execution is absolutely top-notch. It’s professional habit—all about being results-oriented. Just watch. I’ll definitely get all the info on her for you today."

Lin Chu: ...

A strange feeling stirred in his heart, but he didn’t stop him.

A few more minutes passed.

Zhang Peng once again handed his phone to Lin Chu.

Li Xiaoguang: "Hello, Mr. Zhang. I’ve confirmed it for you. The lady in white from your photo is a hotel employee. However, she happens to be on leave today, so she was using her employee benefits to swim in the pool."

He stated it tactfully.

Zhang Peng: "Alright, we can talk about it later then. That puts my mind at ease. What department is she in? Don’t tell me it’s the spa, right?"

Li Xiaoguang: "Sorry, I can’t disclose that to you. However, I can assure you that this lady is not from the spa department."

Zhang Peng: "OK. Thanks for the trouble. I’m not looking for the gold necklace anymore. You don’t need to alert her either."

Looking at the rest of the chat log...

A smile involuntarily tugged at the corner of Lin Chu’s mouth. ’Truly... brilliant...’

’I feel like applauding you.’

Zhang Peng said with a smile, "Now we don’t have to be in a hurry. Since she’s a hotel employee, she’s not going anywhere. I figure we’ll probably run into her again. As long as she’s not the boss’s secretary, we’re good."

Lin Chu nodded. He felt a strange sense of anticipation for his stay at the hotel, but at the same time, he kind of wanted to roast his friend.

This feeling... it was just like being back in his school days, racking his brains to analyze a girl he’d randomly met on the sports field.

...

...