As the ferry left the dock, many people went up to the deck to watch the sea view, take photos and whatnot. Li Yan wasn’t very interested and started reading the promotional material for Carefree Island that was handed out on the bus.

This Carefree Island is a large-scale tourism project developed in recent years. Island tourism has always been very popular, so the local government teamed up with some developers to invest heavily in turning an originally deserted island into a tourist resort, renamed as Carefree Island.

Carefree Island was originally a deserted island, simply because no one lived there, not actually barren. On the contrary, the forest and vegetation are very dense, and there are many rare flora and fauna. Even though it’s been developed for years, only a small part of the island has been developed. The preservation of natural resources is one of the main projects, and there can’t be too much artificial development. So now, only a resort is established, with facilities for hotels, dining, entertainment, and basic transportation.

The reason for choosing to come to Carefree Island was that it was just launched not long ago, giving a sense of freshness. After reading through the materials, Li Yan felt a bit bored and thought it wouldn’t be too fun. Even though Wen Qianyi, Yurong, and Hai Fu were there, but with so many people from the company around, there was no chance to hang out together individually, it wouldn’t be too interesting.

He closed his eyes to rest and then took a nap; when he woke up, he was already on Carefree Island.

This newly developed tourist spot wasn’t widely advertised or opened yet, so they were fairly early visitors. After disembarking at the dock, a bus waited to take everyone to the resort to check in. This aspect was well arranged by the administrative department, usually setting up double rooms, with men and men, and women and women staying together. Perhaps it was Xu Ping’s special arrangement; sharing a room with Li Yan was not a Heavenly Film employee, but Xu Ping.

After everyone settled in, they began their free activities. Typically, familiar groups would plan outings together, whether to the beach, hiking, into the forest, or within the various entertainment activities at the resort.

When Li Yan was about to go out, Xu Ping had just returned. His girlfriend was also part of the company, so he wouldn’t join Li Yan and the others; he planned a romantic outing with his girlfriend.

But even if that’s the case, he wouldn’t mind. With Xu Ping busy and Wen Qianyi and the others not convenient to contact, Li Yan of course went to find Sun Hui.

Sun Hui was also a tacit buddy, having reserved a spot for Li Yan in his activities. As HR, he knew many people, and being a cheeky wolf, he knew almost every pretty girl. His organized activity was hiking, aside from him being male and having reserved a spot for Li Yan, there was another guy who often hung out with them from the planning department, Wang Lei (who appeared in the earliest volume, Chapter 8 as a background character). The rest numbered about four or five, all pretty ladies.

After Li Yan joined them, Wang Lei was naturally familiar, while he thought the female colleagues were all strangers, but unexpectedly, there was a familiar face, Jiang Lele from the planning department, similar to Wang Lei.

"Hiking? Why did you think of such a lackluster activity? All these girls are delicate, yet you want us guys to take them hiking?" Li Yan initially thought Sun Hui would organize some water activities, but given the current weather, aside from natural hot springs or sauna, other water activities weren’t suited.

Sun Hui immediately started educating him in a serious tone: "I say, old Li, your macho mindset is absolutely inexcusable! Nowadays, girls interested in sports outnumber us men greatly, and they’re all actively participating; otherwise, how would they have such great figures? You shouldn’t underestimate them; I’m afraid you’ll end up being outperformed!"

"..."

A few pretty ladies immediately protested collectively: "Exactly! We’re not delicate at all. Are you the one who’s too limp to hike? If you can’t handle it, don’t go, lest you slow us down!"

Li Yan shrugged: "Alright! I admit I was wrong. Is there a route planned? Let’s head out then?"

"Onward!" Sun Hui made a grand gesture, "Follow me closely, I guarantee you won’t get lost."

Indeed, they were well prepared, having changed into sportswear, each carrying a small backpack. As they set out, Li Yan seized an opportunity to ask Sun Hui: "How come you find hiking so fun? It seems quite out of character for you!"

Sun Hui lowered his voice to reply: "These are female colleagues from the company. Unless there’s real mutual affection and like, it’s better not to flirt excessively."

"..." Li Yan was surprised that despite his appearance of hitting on girls, Sun Hui had his principles.

"For just hanging out, hiking can be quite amusing; think about it, after hiking for a long time you’ll get warm, and then what happens? You’ll start taking off clothes! Everyone’s wearing several layers now, taking off the outer ones will make them more pleasant to the eye; plus, what’s next? Fatigue! When tired, you can offer help by holding their hands; if anyone accidentally sprains their ankle, you might even carry them or bring them back..."

Li Yan was speechless; this guy truly was unchanged in his predatory nature, even during a hike he had so many naughty ideas.

They rented an electric cart to take them to the foot of the mountain, after which they found their own way. Besides recent construction, previously there was no permanent residence, nor standard paths.

Everyone was young, regularly engaging in sports; however, hiking usually involves paved roads and steps, and often going up means battling crowds. Here, seeing almost no one else, surrounded by quiet forests, breathing nearly unpolluted fresh air feels vastly different.