GLIHBN Chapter 20
by VolareThe room was on a high floor, the 28th, with a large terrace that overlooked most of the resort.
A beautiful lake stretched out before them, its water a clear green. In the middle of the lake was an island inhabited by a flock of White Herons, hence the name of the place: White Heron Resort.
Su Shi stood on the terrace for a while, feeling a sense of freedom with the world at his feet.
On the terrace, there was a large parasol, under which sat a small rattan round table and four rattan chairs.
Su Shi sat down and squinted his eyes.
Chi Ye brought over the fruit platter and snacks that the hotel had just delivered and placed them on the small round table. “Su Shi, have something to eat.”
“Okay, you sit down too. You must be tired from driving?”
“I’ll put away the luggage first.”
After a while, Chi Ye came over and sat next to Su Shi, noticing that Su Shi had his eyes closed and a piece of tangerine still in his mouth.
After a few seconds, Chi Ye looked away and began to study the resort guide in his hand.
The resort was large, with half of it consisting of vacation villas, available for both rent and sale, with expensive prices. The other half was entertainment facilities, including hot springs, a water park, an exploration kingdom, a farm, a golf course, a shooting range, a “foreign street,” and a shopping center.
Chi Ye took out paper and pen and began to make a simple plan.
They could have dinner in the “foreign street,” which had some unique restaurants with outdoor seating, allowing them to enjoy the view of White Heron Lake while eating.
After dinner, they could stroll through the shopping center and buy some souvenirs. Then, they could return and soak in the hot springs, which were located downstairs in their hotel.
As for what to do tomorrow, they could make a plan when they got back in the evening.
Chi Ye quickly figured out the layout and facilities of the resort.
After a while, Su Shi opened his eyes and immediately spat out the tangerine slice in his mouth. “It’s so sour.”
Chi Ye couldn’t help but joke, “It’s sour, and you still kept it in your mouth.”
“Hehe.” Su Shi laughed sheepishly. “Should we go out now, or rest first?”
Chi Ye looked at the bright sun outside. “The sun is too strong right now; we won’t enjoy ourselves if we go out. We should rest at the hotel and go out when the sun goes down.”
“Okay, then you go to sleep for a while.”
“What about you?”
“I’m not sleepy; I’ll find a movie to watch.”
He said he wasn’t sleepy, but who was it that was dozing off just now?
Chi Ye didn’t say these words out loud, but Su Shi could tell what he was thinking and added, “I wasn’t asleep just now; I just felt comfortable and was resting my eyes.”
Su Shi walked inside.
Chi Ye picked up the unfinished fruit platter and snacks and followed him. “I’ll watch a movie with you, okay?”
“Aren’t you sleepy?”
“No, I’m not.”
Su Shi found the remote control, sat on the sofa, and turned on the TV.
“Chi Ye, what movie do you want to watch?”
“Anything is fine; whatever you like.”
“Then let’s watch this one, the shark one.”
“Okay.”
Su Shi was brave, in a way. He liked watching disaster movies, like those with mythical creatures, giant snakes, crocodiles, sharks, and dinosaurs.
The only movies Su Shi couldn’t watch were horror movies. When he was a child, he watched one with his classmates and had nightmares for days afterward.
Su Shi always felt like something would crawl out from under the bed, and any strange noise outside the window would make him think it was something supernatural, scaring him so much that he couldn’t sleep alone.
Su Shi wanted to go sleep with Chen Jingtian, but he found the room empty, only then remembering that Chen Jingtian was staying in Chen Cheng’s room because he was sick.
Su Shi stood outside Chen Cheng’s room, listening to the harmonious and loving scene inside.
Su Shi missed his mother even more, and in the end, he had to pull out one of Su Zhi’s clothes from the closet and hug it to sleep.
After Su Zhi passed away, all of her belongings were burned. This piece of clothing was secretly hidden by Su Shi; he felt that it held his mother’s lingering scent.
But as time went on, the scent faded until it could no longer be smelled.
Su Shi had to buy Su Zhi’s favorite perfume and spray it on the clothes, which accompanied him through the period when he was traumatized by the horror movie.
So Su Shi wasn’t a staunch materialist. On the contrary, he believed that the universe was so vast that there must be mysteries that humans had not yet explored. Perhaps parallel worlds really existed.
Chi Ye watched the movie quietly, only speaking when Su Shi spoke.
Su Shi was completely different from Chi Ye. He would directly complain about ridiculous scenes. “This is too fake, deliberately sending people to their deaths.”
“Forced IQ reduction, the screenwriter is terrible.”
Afterward, Su Shi stuck out his tongue and asked Chi Ye, “Am I being too annoying?”
Chi Ye shook his head. “No, I think what you’re saying makes a lot of sense.”
Su Shi thought Chi Ye was a very tolerant person.
Even though it was a terrible movie, Su Shi saw it through to the end. After watching it, he said, “I’m going to write a movie review, a scathing review of this movie. The prospects for our country’s film industry are really worrying.”
“Okay.”
So Su Shi left a long, elaborate movie review online.
Chi Ye told Su Shi about the plans he had made for the evening. Su Shi usually worked as a curator, so having someone else take care of the planning while he was on vacation was something he welcomed. “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”
For dinner, they chose a Southeast Asian restaurant. The food was sour, and Su Shi said he would never come again.
Chi Ye just smiled and didn’t say anything. He noticed that Su Shi was different when he was out having fun than he was at home. He seemed more relaxed and a bit more lively.
This might be the real Su Shi. If his mother was still alive, Su Shi would always be this happy, able to be willful, able to act spoiled, able to be childish.
Thinking of this, Chi Ye felt even more disgusted with the boy named Chen Cheng.
Occupying the nest of another, truly detestable.
After dinner, the two went to the shopping center.
The most famous souvenirs here were fan surfaces made of White Heron feathers, which could be displayed in the house as decorations, exquisite and beautiful.
Su Shi originally liked them quite a bit, thinking they were very pretty, but then he thought, “Are these feathers shed by the White Herons, or were they plucked artificially?” Thinking about it, he decided to pass. In the end, he chose an artistic sculpture of a White Heron.
Su Shi also bought some snacks for his colleagues at the studio.
Seeing that Chi Ye was holding only his own things, he asked him, “Chi Ye, pick something, and I’ll buy it for you.”
“No need, there’s nothing I particularly like.” Chi Ye really didn’t have anything he particularly liked.
“Hey, that’s what it’s like to go out and have fun. The tourist souvenirs you buy are really just a state of mind.”
In the end, Chi Ye chose a public doll pendant that only cost 10 yuan. It was a cute and obedient kitten. “Then I’ll take this one.”
Su Shi smiled when he saw the kitten. “Chi Ye, are you trying to save me money, or do you really like this kind of cute thing?”
There was a bell on the pendant that jingled when shaken. “I think it’s pretty good.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll buy it for you.”