After the story was told, everyone sipped their wine and reminisced before diving into the topic of singlehood, dragging Zheng Jinjin and the others into the conversation.

"For girls, what kind of man is your ideal type?"

Lan Hui, who was slacking off, blurted out her list: "Super handsome, with an eight-pack, brave, intelligent, owns a car and house, and has savings."

Wang Xuchun chuckled: "Be serious."

It had a kind of "Stop kidding around" tone, like coaxing a child.

Lan Hui fake-smiled: "I am being serious. Just because you can’t meet those standards doesn’t mean they’re fake, right?"

Wang Xuchun was awkward for two seconds.

Zheng Jinjin poured a bit more wine into his glass, interrupting his mood, then picked up the topic.

"I don’t really have a clear ideal type, but girls often fantasize from adolescence, right? That their future boyfriend should be handsome, tall, cool to others but especially attentive to them—"

Ling Yan cut in: "This sounds a lot like..."

Yu Xia glanced at her coolly.

The name wasn’t mentioned, but everyone had similar thoughts.

Qian Ling: "Isn’t that exactly like Xie Qingci? Zheng Jinjin, do you like the Xie Qingci type?"

Enjoying the drama, Liu Yicheng added: "No wonder you’re so uninterested in us; you like someone like Xie Qingci."

"Don’t get it wrong, this is just a theoretical description," Zheng Jinjin maintained her sweet, innocent smile, "Besides, this kind of description is pretty cliché, right? Haven’t others thought the same? Who doesn’t want a boyfriend who’s good only to them? Shuangyin, don’t you want that? Zhou Yu, Ling Yan, don’t you want that?"

When the heat turned on them, Liu Yicheng and the others shut their mouths, and Lin Shuangyin and the others quickly waved their hands.

Yu Xia spoke to ease the awkwardness, agreeing: "I don’t have an ideal type either, just some requirements. Hands, feet, a brain, a mouth, ears, and eyes."

Zhou Yu chuckled, covering her mouth: "What kind of requirements are those? Selecting for health? So simple?"

"Hands and feet to earn a living, a brain to reflect on whether their behavior is right or if there are issues in the relationship, ears to listen to explanations, eyes to see things clearly before speaking, a mouth to communicate and resolve conflicts. Do you think this is simple?"

Anyway, Liu Yicheng didn’t meet any of these points.

Zhou Yu also realized this, swallowing her words.

While people were contemplating if their boyfriends met these criteria, Xie Qingci lifted his hand from the water, placing it on the edge of the hot spring pool behind her, making it look like he was holding her.

Then his hand started to caress her shoulder.

"Trying to generate heat with friction?" She nudged him with her elbow. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Xie Qingci leaned in and whispered: "I’m guessing your swimsuit design. No fabric on the arms."

"...Boring."

"When are we going out for fun? I’ll buy you a swimsuit in advance."

She rolled her eyes at him: "No need for you to buy one."

Xie Qingci raised an eyebrow, moving closer and insinuating: "Oh—got some at home, right? I want to see."

"See what, you garlic head."

He wanted to keep teasing, but Mo Yunchu interrupted him.

"What about you, Xie Qingci, is there a difference between Yu Xia and your ideal type?"

"No difference," he said lazily, "My ideal type is her."

Liu Ji’s eyes flashed: "Is your ideal type only because you met her? Didn’t you have fantasies about a future girlfriend before?"

Xie Qingci: "No. Have you? What type of girl do you like?"

Several single women were rather fond of Liu Ji; he seemed artistic and charming, a vibe many girls went for. Plus, he enjoyed listening to others’ stories, being a confidant, gentle, standing out compared to Liu Yicheng and Wang Xuchun, making him quite desirable.

This question had the eyes of several women fixed on him.

Liu Ji smiled sheepishly: "My ideal type is someone who can conquer me. Whether she is gentle or strong, as long as she can conquer me in some way, I’ll convince myself to love her."

This condition was full of infinite possibilities, sparking thoughts like "Could it be me?" or "If it could be anyone, why not me?" for those daring enough to imagine.

Yu Xia looked at Liu Ji in surprise, then at Zheng Jinjin, realizing she had misread the situation.

There was clearly a competitor here who could play along with Zheng Jinjin.

But Xie Qingci leaned in, whispering in her ear, using a barely audible tone to say: "I dislike this guy, don’t look at him."

Yu Xia was a bit puzzled, whispering back: "What did he do to you?"

"His moral sense isn’t high."

The letter with "You’re charming" was likely from Liu Ji, and hearing these words, it felt like a challenge in disguise.

Yu Xia didn’t know the full story and assumed he noticed something when chatting with Liu Ji yesterday.

She refrained from commenting and turned back to listen to the others’ conversation.

Soaking in the hot spring for too long isn’t good. Xie Qingci occasionally squeezed her hand to check the skin on her fingers. Once he saw they were a bit wrinkled, he pulled her out of the water.

The production team arranged a group meal with some special Japanese dishes, and the seafood aroma could be smelt from afar.

They sat in groups, and Liu Ji thoughtfully served a plate of sashimi to Zhou Yu. But the moment Zhou Yu took a bite, she felt a wave of nausea and almost spit it out.

Liu Ji promptly grabbed a napkin and held it to her mouth, the gesture intimate as if they were an actual couple.

"Maybe from soaking too long, are you okay, Sister Zhou Yu?"

Liu Yicheng’s eyes blazed at the sight, gripping his chopsticks tightly, wanting to stand, yet remaining stiffly seated.

Yu Xia pretended not to see the tension, serving a bowl of rice in front of Xie Qingci.

"Don’t be shy, eat more, didn’t you say you wanted to grow?"

Xie Qingci reciprocated by serving her a bowl of soup.

After eating, they strolled around the resort, taking photos, until it was almost time to leave.

Yu Xia carried a bag to the car, and Xie Qingci eyed it for a while, raising his eyebrows and curiously asked: "Swimsuit?"

"None of your business, I just don’t like leaving worn intimate clothes at other people’s places."

"I’ll keep it for you." He took the bag, placing it by his leg, pressing down with his hand as if to feel for something inside.

As the car started, he turned to her, ready to say something: "Can I..."

"Shut up, no, you can’t."

The staff wanted to listen too, with cameras edging closer. But faced with a threat, Xie Qingci shrugged, staying silent.

Yu Xia exasperatedly snatched the bag, placing it properly herself, patting his leg: "Shift over, aren’t you hot sticking so close?"

"There’s so little space, any small move results in this, can’t blame me." He said, then moved even closer.

Yu Xia: "...Do you think I’m blind?"