"I should have booked a double room..." The two of them had been sleeping in separate rooms for some time now, but Chu Yi had learned to lock the door from the inside. Qiao Anchen was so angry at her complaints that he laughed.
"Chu Yi, have you ever seen anyone go on their honeymoon and still need a double bed?"
"Who goes on a honeymoon a year after getting married!" Chu Yi said confidently, reciting the information she found online.
"A honeymoon, as the name suggests, refers to a trip taken by newlyweds immediately after the wedding to their loved one, as the beginning of their loving marriage and growing old together."
"I'm sorry, Qiao Anchen, we've already missed the point of honeymoon forever."
Qiao Anchen remained silent. Ever since the two of them came out, Chu Yi had been like a little kitten showing her sharp claws, scratching him from time to time, stinging him, but he could only endure it.
After Chu Yi finished speaking, she got angry and turned over in a huff, ignoring him. Qiao Anchen silently watched her figure, and after a while, he sighed in his heart.
He slept very well.
When the annoying alarm clock rang in her ears, Chu Yi burrowed deeper into the blanket and covered her ears.
Qiao Anchen opened his eyes, got up and went to turn off the alarm clock. After a few seconds, he reached out to help her.
"Chu Yi, stop sleeping, it's getting dark."
There was no reaction; she even moved further away from him.
Qiao Anchen called out a few more times, but to no avail. He then sat up, propped his forehead up, and glanced at the person sleeping soundly beside him who refused to get up.
After a pause, he lifted the covers, got out of bed, went around to the other side, picked up Chu Yi from the bed, and carried her to the bathroom.
"What are you doing!" Chu Yi woke up immediately, kicking her legs while patting him, struggling and thrashing in Qiao Anchen's arms. When she was put down in front of the bathroom mirror, she was wide awake.
She glared at Qiao Anchen with intense anger and resentment.
"You can't sleep anymore, or you'll have insomnia tonight." Qiao Anchen calmly fetched water and squeezed toothpaste for her.
"Hurry up and finish washing up so we can go eat seafood."
Chu Yi reluctantly and angrily took the toothbrush he was handed, put it in her mouth and made a fuss.
Qiao Anchen smiled, the corners of his mouth curving upwards, and began brushing his teeth and washing his face next to her.
By the time the two finished, the sun had completely set outside, and the evening breeze was cool. Not far from the hotel was a beach and the sea, where many people were taking a stroll.
The sky was dark blue, tinged with black and orange. Waves crashed against the beach, making a splashing sound. Tall coconut trees cast silhouettes, and the restaurants nearby lit up their lights.
Qiao Anchen had checked the travel guide in advance and booked the location on the way, so the two of them went straight there.
The restaurant had a great atmosphere with soft music and warm orange lighting. Looking out the window, you could see the vast ocean. You could peel crabs while enjoying the sea breeze.
Chu Yi felt that, in this situation, Qiao Anchen across from her looked much more pleasing to the eye.
After finishing the crab, there was still a large bowl of shrimp in front of her. Just as Chu Yi was about to reach for it, Qiao Anchen seemed to be instantly awakened and immediately put down what he was holding to stop her.
"I'll do it."
"???" Chu Yi was completely confused. Then she saw Qiao Anchen start peeling shrimp. His movements were clumsy and stiff. After finally peeling one and putting it on her plate, he continued to peel the second one with great difficulty.
Chu Yi was speechless.
"What are you doing? I can eat it myself. I have hands." She rolled her eyes at Qiao Anchen, then put on gloves, picked up a shrimp, peeled it, and removed the head with practiced ease, finishing it off in no time.
It's much easier than Qiao Anchen's clumsiness.
Qiao Anchen: "..."
Why do these things become inapplicable when students are in the first year of junior high school?
He was a little sad.
After they finished eating, the two took a walk on the beach to digest their food. Chu Yi walked ahead, and every now and then she would bend down and dig out two ugly seashells from the sand. She would look at them for a couple of seconds and then throw them away with regret.
Qiao Anchen followed behind, watching her movements, and began to pay attention to his surroundings.
After wandering aimlessly for a while, Chu Yi took off her shoes and stepped into the seawater at a deserted beach. As the tide came in, a wave kissed the instep of her feet, tickling and cool, like a unique kind of kiss.
She looked down and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Not far away, Qiao Anchen jogged over, seemingly holding something in his hand. He walked up to Chu Yi and called out to her.
"The first day of the year."
"Huh?" She looked up. The dim light reflected off him, making Qiao Anchen's face appear incredibly calm as he smiled gently at her.
“I found this.” He opened his hand, and in his palm lay a seashell.
Pure white, fan-shaped, with a complete and beautiful pattern on top.
Completely different from the defective items she had just picked up.
Chu Yi looked at it quietly for a while, then suddenly looked up and said in a very soft voice, "Where did you find it?"
“It’s just ahead.” Qiao Anchen scratched his hair, seemingly a little embarrassed, smiled slightly, and then extended his hand forward again.
"for you."
"These are sold everywhere outside, why do we have to go looking for them ourselves..." Chu Yi muttered, looking down, and obediently reached out to grab the shell from his palm. The hard edges of the shell hurt her palm a little.
"I just happened to see it," Qiao Anchen said casually, glancing around.
"There seems to be a night market up ahead, shall we go check it out?"
The night market was brightly lit, a stark contrast to the quiet atmosphere just moments before. It was bustling with people, and the narrow streets were lined with all sorts of handmade products.
Chu Yi saw seashells of all sizes, shapes, and colors, some of which were made into exquisite and unique shapes.
Qiao Anchen let out a soft "Ah," and sighed slightly, "There really are a lot of seashells for sale here."
He glanced at Chu Yi and sighed, "It's much better looking than the one I just found."
Chu Yi remained silent, but held the small seashell in her hand tightly, not touching anything else.
There were many kinds of food on both sides of the market, some I'd seen before and some I hadn't, some boiled, some fried, some roasted. I ate a lot for dinner on the first day of the Lunar New Year and didn't have the appetite to digest anymore, so I just bought a glass of fruit wine from the side.
There were long queues there. It's often said that when traveling, you can't go wrong by buying what's popular with a lot of people.
Chu Yi didn't care about anything else and bought one just because everyone else was doing it.
The fruit wine tastes sweet with a hint of sourness, and seems to have a combination of kiwi and plum flavors—it's hard to describe.
It tasted pretty good, and Chu Yi drank most of it without realizing it, which made Qiao Anchen a little worried.
Does this contain alcohol?
"No, I don't think so." Chu Yi shook his head. "I didn't taste any alcohol at all."
She even gestured with her fingers, the tiny distance between her index finger and thumb, squinting her eyes and drawing out her words.
Qiao Anchen felt something was off, so he took the glass of fruit wine from her hand.
"I'll give it a try."
Chu Yi obediently gave it to him, since she couldn't drink any more anyway.
Qiao Anchen took a couple of sips and found that it tasted pretty good. The two walked back like that, enjoying the night breeze and watching the bustling street scene. By the time they reached the hotel, Qiao Anchen had finished the rest of the fruit wine.
After walking for about ten minutes, Chu Yi felt incredibly tired. Her head was spinning, and her limbs felt weak. She had to cling to Qiao Anchen to steady herself when they entered the elevator, she muttered to herself.
"How come I'm already exhausted after only walking for a short while? Looks like I haven't exercised in too long. No, no, I need to sign up for a gym when I get back in a few days..."
Looking at her slightly tipsy face, Qiao Anchen wondered if she was drunk.
Once inside the room, Chu Yi wanted nothing more than to collapse onto the bed, but Qiao Anchen struggled to pull her back and pushed her into the bathroom.
"Go to sleep after you take a shower." He turned on the shower and reached out to take off Chu Yi's clothes. Chu Yi struggled and covered herself tightly.
What are you doing!
"rogue!"
"Okay, okay, I won't touch you, you do it yourself, okay?" Qiao Anchen raised his hands in surrender, and Chu Yi glared at him again before slowly letting go.
"Get out!" she shouted with a strong voice. Qiao Anchen felt that Chu Yi didn't seem drunk at all at this moment; on the contrary, she was more powerful than anyone else.
He very consciously went out and closed the door for her, not forgetting to say something.
"You wash it yourself, call me if you need anything."
Qiao Anchen waited outside, keeping track of the time, afraid that she might accidentally fall asleep inside. Fortunately, Chu Yi came out wrapped in a bath towel not long after.
She was pressing down on the corner while yelling at him.
"Why didn't you get me my pajamas?"
Qiao Anchen: "...I'm sorry."
"Never mind," she said again, taking out her nightgown from her suitcase and then untying her bath towel.
Qiao Anchen: "!"
He immediately turned around and covered his forehead.
"First day of the month," Qiao Anchen called out patiently, controlling his tone and volume.
"I'm still here."
"Okay." She said crisply, followed by the sound of footsteps approaching. Qiao Anchen turned his head and saw that she had already changed into her nightgown, burrowed into the covers, and looked at him innocently with her eyes open.
"I'm going to go to bed."
Qiao Anchen: "..."
He didn't know what to say, so he silently found his pajamas and went to the bathroom. When he came out, Chu Yi had his eyes closed and seemed to be asleep.
Qiao Anchen stood by the bed and watched her for a while, then turned off the light and fell asleep with her.
In the middle of the night, Qiao Anchen was woken up by someone pushing him, and he could hear a distressed voice in his ear; it was Chu Yi.
He opened his eyes immediately.
"Qiao Anchen, I'm thirsty..." When the light was turned on, Chu Yi's eyes were still closed, her face buried in the pillow, and she kept pushing him. Her feet under the blanket were still kicking, and they hurt him a little when they hit him.
"I'll get you some water," Qiao Anchen said, his voice hoarse and heavy with sleepiness.
He immediately threw off the covers and got out of bed, only to find that the hotel only had bottled water. He opened it and handed it to Chu Yi, who gulped down two big mouthfuls, and then her expression changed instantly.
"Why is it cold..." she said, her voice trembling with tears.
"It tastes awful."
"I'll go boil some water for you, just a moment." Qiao Anchen immediately withdrew his hand, found the kettle, filled it with water, and plugged it in.