Chapter 491. By the Sea
Due to the time spent playing mahjong, by the time the group arrived at the beach, it was already evening.
The sky was a cloudy gray, and at the horizon, the sun’s afterglow was quickly fading. The pedestrian street by the beach had lit up, brightening the surrounding area.
The evening sea breeze hit Ning Chu, who shivered from the cold and tucked herself behind Wen Yang, seeking refuge from the biting wind.
“It’s so cold…”
In May, the daytime temperature here could reach twenty-five or six degrees Celsius, and at night, it would just exceed twenty. Usually, a jacket would suffice, but being close to the sea, she could clearly feel it was a bit chillier than usual.
However, Yan Xinya’s enthusiasm was undeterred. As soon as they got off the car, she eagerly pulled Lily toward the pedestrian street. “Where can we rent a tent? Let’s hurry and get one!”
Lily, being dragged along, almost stumbled but helplessly followed the frantic pace of the wolf girl. Qian Qian, looking at their backs, turned to glance at the two pairs of couples behind and without much hesitation, quickened her steps to catch up.
Staying here munching on dog food was less appealing than joining Yan Xinya and the others.
The pedestrian street was built along the beach, and from here, it only took two steps down to reach the sand.
Ning Chu curiously surveyed this unfamiliar environment and murmured, “This beach looks no different from the one back home~”
She looked up at Wen Yang, only to find him entranced, staring at the coastline.
“Not seen it before, huh? Pretty, right?”
“Mm, it’s quite nice.”
“When I was little, Grandpa would often take me to the beach to collect shells and crabs. We’d fill up a bucket, and when we went back at night, we would cook it, but there wasn’t much meat, just the freshness.”
Ning Chu hooked her arm around Wen Yang’s, rambling on about her childhood: “I think when I was five or six, my mom also took me camping by the sea. I think my brother and a neighbor’s aunt were there too… I can’t remember clearly. I just remember it was quite cold at night.”
“Sounds interesting?”
“Well, after that, my mom went to work, so she rarely took me out to play anymore.”
From this perspective, Ning Chu’s childhood lack of fun was all thanks to that suddenly disappeared father.
If it weren’t for that, her mother wouldn’t need to run off to work, busy all day without a trace.
“How about I take you to the beach when summer vacation starts?” Wen Yang asked with a cheerful tone.
“You just want to see beautiful women in swimsuits, right?”
Ning Chu gave him a suspicious glance and shook her head. “Forget it, I’m not interested in that right now.”
Night soon fell. Outside the pedestrian street, the beach area was already plunged into darkness, and all that could be seen was the ink-black sea, resembling an abyss.
The sea breeze was quite strong, making Ning Chu cling to Wen Yang, using him as a windbreak.
The pedestrian street felt a bit deserted. One could easily see from the beginning to the end, and she quickly spotted Yan Xinya’s figure.
She jogged over, and Yan Xinya noticed her arrival and excitedly pointed to the tent rental inside the shop. “Ning Chu! Let’s rent a super big tent! All five of us can sleep together!”
“Ah this…”
“You want to sleep with Wen Yang?”
Ning Chu hesitated for a second, and the wolf girl teased as she leaned closer. “Oh~ doing that kind of thing on the beach does sound thrilling~”
Her face instantly turned crimson as she leapt forward, flailing her arms. “What nonsense! How could I think of such a thing!”
“You said the same thing last night! You came back with Wen Yang in the morning!”
“I was just out shopping with him!”
“No one believes that!”
After some playful banter, they decided to rent three tents—a big one and two small ones, worried about the evening chill, they also rented sleeping bags.
On the beach, near the pedestrian street, there was a designated camping area. At the moment, only a few tents were pitched here, providing ample space to enjoy.
The three tents were quickly set up, arranged in a circle, and in the center lay a waterproof and fireproof picnic mat with a portable stove set up, taking out the premade skewers they had bought earlier.
In truth, the pedestrian street also offered self-service barbecue, with tables and chairs set up on the beach and ample lighting… but it was hard to resist Yan Xinya, who was currently enthusiastic.
“The fire’s too small.”
Lily sat in front of the portable stove, watching the flames flicker wildly in the sea breeze and shook her head. “Can’t cook with that.”
“How could it be!” Yan Xinya grew anxious upon hearing this, immediately rushed over to block the direction of the sea wind with her body. “Will it help if I block it? Qian Qian, you come help block the wind too!”
Turning her head, she saw Qian Qian had already run off in her flip-flops to play in the sand.
“What’s so fun about sand? Childish…” She muttered, glancing at Ning Chu and Wen Yang. “Come over and help block the wind! If not, we won’t have dinner tonight!”
“Coming.”
Ning Chu wasn’t too worried about dinner, with the pedestrian street right beside, they could get whatever they wanted, just pricier than usual.
She sat down next to Wen Yang, entirely blocking the sea wind, which stabilized the flames of the portable stove.
Only then did Lily take out the grill and place it on the portable stove, leisurely brushing oil and putting the marinated meat on it.
The sizzling sound of the oil and the gradually wafting aroma of the grilled meat spread through the campsite, and Yan Xinya couldn’t help but eye the meat, urging, “Is it ready yet? Why’s it taking so long?”
“Is it done?”
“So slow.”
Lily was quite patient though, not finding the wolf girl bothersome at all, answering calmly, “The fire’s small, no rush.”
“You all start grilling, I’ll go tidy up the tent.”
Seeing the grilled meat would likely take some time, Ning Chu stood up and headed toward her tent.
The tent was shaking a bit in the wind, making her worry as she circled around to check if it was securely anchored before pulling the zipper and poking her head inside.
Once she entered the tent, escaping the wind, she felt much more comfortable. She plopped down onto the sleeping bag and began rummaging through her backpack.
The inside of the triangular tent wasn’t spacious. It was just enough width for Ning Chu and Wen Yang to lie down, and the height only allowed her to bend down to enter, barely able to stand up straight.
She pulled out the fully charged mosquito lamp, mosquito repellent spray, a power bank, and a small lamp… all the handy items she prepared in advance.
These were all borrowed from Lily’s house, not costing her a penny, though she’d have to return them tomorrow.
“Is it a bit small?”
Wen Yang crawled in from outside too.
He was a tall guy, and the cramped space was hardly enough for him to move freely, so he had to be careful with each movement.
“Isn’t it okay? The big tent is pricey~”
Ning Chu said this while applying mosquito repellent spray on her neck and arms exposed to the air. “Later, you give the mosquito spray to Lily and the others; don’t let them get bitten.”
“Sure.”
“I’ve already booked tickets for the 3 PM train tomorrow.”
She paused for a moment, looking down, and continued with a slightly flushed face, “I guess I won’t sleep well in the tent tonight… Maybe we should get a hotel room tomorrow morning for a good rest?”
“Also to check on your health; you better not tire yourself out to the point you can’t even fight that person.”
Upon hearing this, Wen Yang understood right away: the Little Demoness was stressed and needed to vent!
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