Chapter 222: Something’s Wrong, Miss Young Lady
No surprise, after not too long, the four ladies’ lunch finally arrived.
Correctly said, they didn’t have to go anywhere; they could eat right on shore.
The moment the food cooked in the hotel was delivered to the swimming pool, someone inside began setting up tables and tablecloths, chairs, and such on the shore, making the dining scene ready for some dry food fun.
At the same time, four maids brought over four clean and soft white robes. Inevitably, Jiang Ke’ai’s crew of girls would need these for their upcoming meal, so they couldn’t catch a cold.
Thus, the four ladies wrapped themselves in the bathrobes, sat in their seats, and were ready for lunch～
Maybe because of all that swimming and splashing around, Jiang Hanhan and Xia Ling had huge appetites and were devouring their meals nonstop.
Jiang Kekai herself was rather mischievous too, and had specifically asked someone to bring her a bottle of wine. She usually didn’t drink all at once but still managed not to overdo it.
She took a sip from the wine glass, and noticed Xia Yu looking a bit upset and just biting her chopsticks without eating much.
“What’s wrong, Xia Yu? Is there something you dislike about this food?”
“Huh?”
Xia Yu quickly snapped out of it and replied hastily, “No, it’s just that I’m not hungry.”
Seeing Xia Yu’s distraught face, Jiang Kekai felt something was definitely amiss. She couldn’t just let it slide. Thus, she embraced Xia Yu’s neck, pressed their foreheads together, and guessed, “Are you feeling sick?”
Xia Yu: “…”
“The temperature is normal. How can you not be hungry after playing in the water for so long?”
While Jiang Kekai wasn’t a food critic or medic, she couldn’t tell if Xia Yu was genuinely not in the mood to eat or truly ill. Disappointed, she thought for a second and then got a wicked idea. “Xia Yu, do you want to try another drink?”
“Another? What is it?”
“Wine. Recognize it?”
“Nope.”
“If you don’t know it, give it a shot. It’ll warm you up.”
Since Jiang Kekai was so insistent, Xia Yu couldn’t refuse and was also curious about the taste. She accepted the highball glass handed to her and gulped down the wine in one go… gulp!
Immediately, a bitter taste enveloped her tongue, making Xia Yu regret her decision and wish she could spit it back out.
But since they were beside the pool, throwing up here was a bad idea — it just would create an unpleasant mess. So Xia Yu forced herself to swallow, and it tasted bitter as sin.
Watching Xia Yu’s pained expression, Jiang Kekai found this comical and rubbed Xia Yu’s slightly red cheeks. “Xia Yu, have you never seen someone drinking wine on TV? They do it little by little.”
“It tastes bitter. This stuff isn’t good.”
After a moment, Xia Yu mustered the words to express her distaste.
Luckily, Xia Yu was now less sensitive to her surroundings; otherwise, she would have noticed everyone trying to suppress laughter because of how ridiculous she looked. But considering Miss Jiang’s status, none of them would dare laugh, unless…
“That bitterness is because you don’t know how to drink it yet. Feel better? Warmer in your stomach now?”
Realizing that she did feel warmer, Xia Yu confirmed Jiang Kekai’s point. Warmth not only spread to her stomach but also to her cheeks.
Unbeknownst to her, her cheeks turned completely rosy — any onlookers would recognize that she was well and truly buzzed.
Predictably, the other three ladies observed this change in Xia Yu, surprised by her quick loss of tolerance for wine. However, Jiang Kekai remained unruffled, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to relax a bit and swim after dinner to clear her system.
Interestingly, wine apparently was quite nutritious — Jiang Kekai poured herself another glass and savored it slowly.
Seeing Xia Yu this way inspired Jiang Hanhan to join in. “Sis, I want some too.”
Jiang Kekai glanced at a maid nearby, who promptly fetched another highball glass and filled it for Jiang Hanhan.
Clearly, Jiang Hanhan was no amateur either, sipping with flair as though born to it. After all, growing up in a prestigious family meant she was accustomed to the ambiance of fancy dinner parties since childhood.
Seeing Xia Ling staring at her, Jiang Hanhan smirked and wagged the wine glass in front of Xia Ling’s face, “How about some for you?”
“Well, okay.”
In contrast to Xia Yu, Xia Ling didn’t hesitate before accepting.
To avoid a repeat of the earlier mishap with Xia Yu, Hanhan decided to be considerate and feed Xia Ling herself. Thus, she gently brought the glass close to Xia Ling’s lips and tilted it slightly, letting a trickle of wine enter Xia Ling’s mouth. “What do you think of the taste?”
Xia Ling: “Still bitter.”
Hanhan: “…”
“Don’t worry, not everyone likes it from the start. Remember when we first tried it as kids?”
Jiang Kekai couldn’t help but tease, realizing they each had their own preferences.
After ten minutes of eating, the trio was nearly half-full, but Xia Yu had barely touched her food, despite being hungry.
Checking her watch, Jiang Kekai quickly formulated a plan, “It’s best to take it easy after eating. Later, why not soak in the hot springs? I’ll play in the deep end.”
Indeed, it was just the shallow end with added hot water. For children. Once up, the water only reached mid-waist. Yet, Jiang Kekai found the shallow area unsatisfying, deciding to test the deeper waters where no heating was applied.
“I want to go too!”
Jiang Hanhan immediately opposed, indicating she also wanted to swim in the deeper end.
“No, who’ll keep Xia Ling company?”
“Why can’t Xia Yu stay with her?”
“No, I want Xia Yu with me. Jiang Hanhan: “…”
In the end, with reluctance, she muttered, “Sis, you’re mean.”
Jiang Kekai chuckled, patting her sister’s head gently before taking Xia Yu’s hand. “Come on, Xia Yu.” Xia Yu was compliant, complying with Jiang Kekai’s every request unless it was too absurd.
Thus, Jiang Kekai led Xia Yu to the deep end.
Here, the water was cool, and the shallowest part was already 1.65 meters deep, far higher than their heights. Standing up to breathe was impossible.
Naturally, Jiang Kekai became playful again, suggesting to Xia Yu. “Xia Yu, you said you can swim, right? Let’s compete!”
“How?”
“If we stretch horizontally, it’s too long. So, we race vertically. The first to reach the end wins, and the loser has to kiss the winner. How about it?”
Nothing seemed amiss until the reward was mentioned; Xia Yu blushed, embarrassed. “W..why that reward?”
“Oh? Don’t you like it?”
Jiang Kekai draped her arm over Xia Yu’s shoulder, laughing at her bashful response. She enjoyed seeing Xia Yu this way.
Moreover, Jiang Kekai had cleverly figured that Xia Yu would agree anyway, regardless of the outcome. Sure enough, Xia Yu agreed to the challenge, feeling shy but eager nonetheless.
So, Xia Yu and Jiang Kekai moved to the shore since jumping was unnecessary.
“Three!”
“Two!”
“One!” Plop! Splash!
As counting ended, Xia Yu and Jiang Kekai plunged into the water simultaneously.
The deep end water was naturally colder than the shallow, affecting Xia Yu during her period, making her uncomfortable. The cold water slowed her down as Jiang Kekai swiftly passed her.
Only the maids on shore noticed Xia Yu bleeding again; the bl**d quickly colored the surrounding water a light pink. However, uncertain about interfering, the maids hesitated.
But in mere seconds, Xia Yu, already frail and weak, fell dizzy and disoriented from bl**d loss and lack of proper nutrition, stopping abruptly.
Gulp!
(More sounds of Xia Yu drinking water.)
This was no surprise, given the extent of her recent injuries and the current amount of bl**d loss. She needed rest, which made sense.
Bad news!
The maids hurriedly noticed but were helpless as they couldn’t swim to save her, lacking the training of bodyguards.
Yet, merely watching Xia Yu struggle wasn’t an option, so one brave maid addressed Jiang Kekai, who could swim. “Miss Young Lady, something’s wrong.”
