Chapter 36

Hot Spring

Lin Hanxing’s teahouse was backed by a thousand-year-old Pu’er tea hill. The tea garden spanning at least ten thousand acres was lush and green. As it had just rained, the teahouse was veiled in clouds. It looked just like a fairy realm.

“You look so young but it turns out you’re extremely capable,” the woman could not help but exclaim in praise once she saw how expansive the teahouse was with her own eyes!

Lin Hanxing smiled as though she did not see the admiration in the eyes of the woman and served the tea which had just been brewed.

“If it pleases you, Mrs. Tan, you could just stay here.”

On the way back, the woman had mentioned that her husband’s surname was Tan. Hence, Lin Hanxing had started to address her as Mrs. Tan.

“That wouldn’t be too appropriate.”

Mrs. Tan somehow had a persistent wary feeling in her heart. For her to be so friendly and hospitable when they had just become acquainted?

“Mrs. Tan, didn’t you want to teach your husband a lesson? Why not spend the night here? The tea garden is full of fireflies and there’s even a hot spring nearby. The view is unbeatable! All of this—”

Lin Hanxing calmly tasted the year’s newest tea, “—is never open for visitors!” She did not urge her to stay but her words were extremely persuasive!

“In that case, I’ll have to trouble you for the night!”

Mrs. Tan smiled radiantly like a flower but did not notice the dangerous glint in Lin Hanxing’s eyes, which she hid through the motion of taking a sip of tea…

…

Lin Hanxing stepped out of the house and subconsciously scanned the area with her eyes. Only when she saw Lei Xiao—who stood in front of bamboo, each as thick as a man’s arm—did her expression flutter slightly.

He was smoking.

His head in its half-lifted state allowed one to see his throat clearly. With a cigarette between his fingers, faint white smoke veiled his stern cold features. There was no way to tell what he was thinking about.

As though he felt Lin Hanxing’s gaze, Lei Xiao turned his head. Once he saw her, he waved his hand at her.

Lin Hanxing hesitated for a moment but in the end, she walked over. As soon as she approached, Lei Xiao’s large palm landed on the top of her head. Before Lin Hanxing could react, he got the upper hand once again.

“Can you stop messing with my hair!” Hair was extremely important to a woman, coming second to her own life.

“Did you say earlier that there’s a hot spring here?” Lei Xiao narrowed his eyes to look at her. His voice was low and deep.

“Yes. When I first bought this place, I didn’t expect that there would be a hot spring. I guess I lucked out.”

“Do you want to go for a dip?”

Lin Hanxing was momentarily mute.

“I’ll ask Uncle Dumb to take you there.” Just as Lin Hanxing was about to turn back to call for Uncle Dumb, her arm was caught by Lei Xiao.

“You can take me there.”

His eyes were deep and dark. There seemed to be an expression within them that Lin Hanxing could not decipher at that moment.

Staring at his expression which seemed to say that he would not release his hand if she did not agree, Lin Hanxing decided to compromise. In the end, she responded, “Let’s go then.”

Lei Xiao’s lips unknowingly curved into a smile. She did not seem to notice. She was starting to be more and more patient with him now.

…

Up on Tea hill, the temperature seemed to be cooler than it was at the bottom of the hill. After the rain, Tea hill was enveloped by mist. Lin Hanxing and Lei Xiao walked together, with one walking ahead and the other following behind. Their figures were hazy and indistinct.

“It won’t be peaceful here tonight.”

All of a sudden, Lin Hanxing could hear Lei Xiao’s voice coming from behind her. Her footsteps stopped but quickly resumed.

“That was what I wanted,” she responded.

They were close to reaching the hot spring. Even though it was an open-air hot spring, the planner still cleverly designed it to achieve ultimate privacy. A couple of flowering trees were planted at the side. Once the wind blew past, flower petals fully covered the area.

“Didn’t you say that you wanted to take a dip in the hot spring?”

Lin Hanxing said but she saw that Lei Xiao had already reached out to remove his top, lifting it over his head as he did so. Carelessly, he tossed it aside.

“You…” Lin Hanxing frantically turned around, frightened that she might see something.

“Don’t you want to have a look?” a deep, amused voice rang out from behind her, triggering Lin Hancing to turn bright red with fury.

“Who’d want to look at you!” Lin Hanxing could not stop herself from making a snarky reply.

After quite some time, there was no sound of movement from behind her. She pondered internally… A second later, all Lin Hanxing could feel was both her feet leaving the ground. Her entire body was suspended mid-air!

She hugged Lei Xiao’s neck as part of a conditioned reflex. Once she lifted her head, Lin Hanxing saw that his lips were curled into an evil smile.

“Hold on tight. If not, I’ll drop you!”

Cradling her, Lei Xiao walked toward the hot spring. After a while, he sat at the bottom of the spring while carrying her.

“Mr. Lei, why are you so immature?”

Lin Hanxing’s bluntness brought him to tears of laughter.

“Just relax. This will help you sleep,” he said softly next to her ear.

“Mr. Lei…”

“Shush…” Lei Xiao pressed his finger against her lips and rested his chin against the top of her head, enjoying the warmth of the hot spring.

Lin Hanxing could not be bothered to respond to him. Since she could not move, she used all her body’s weight to lean against Lei Xiao.

Lei Xiao chuckled. The vibrations in his chest from his chuckling were felt clearly by Lin Hanxing. Lin Hanxing’s fingers trembled but she said no more. Surrounded by the heat, her entire being felt heavy and drowsy.

The wind blew past. Tiny flower petals fell in a flurry from the tree, falling into the hot spring. The light pink petals mischievously landed between Lin Hanxing’s hair and shoulders. Lei Xiao gazed upon Lin Hanxing who had closed her eyes.