SBAB Chapter 15

“Wow! So many people!”

As Lin Xin entered the water park, he exclaimed the stereotypical country bumpkin statement, mouth agape and unable to close for a long moment.

“Is this your first time here?” Cheng Shiyin asked, gently placing her hand on Lin Xin’s chin to close his mouth.

“Mm-hmm!” Lin Xin eagerly nodded, already regretting not knowing how to swim and missing out on so much fun.

Cheng Shiyin laughed and ruffled Lin Xin’s hair, saying, “Well, when you learn to swim, we can come back together.”

“Deal, it’s a promise!” Lin Xin took Cheng Shiyin’s hand from his head and firmly gripped it, saying, “You guys go change clothes, I’ll watch the bags for you here.”

“No need, we’ll just do it right here.” Cheng Shiyin replied, then performed a jaw-dropping move.

Cheng Shiyin stood in front of Lin Xin and began unbuttoning each one of her front buttons, revealing a solid black bikini. Not a dream; it was a solid black swimsuit.

The scene was exactly like Lin Xin had imagined in his dreams.

Lin Xin felt as if he were reliving that dream, standing there with a dazed look, already expecting Cheng Shiyin to pull him into an embrace.

Lin Xin just stared at her, not averting his eyes. He watched as she slipped out of her top, her skirt, and even the black triangle bikini bottoms that looked more like underwear in Lin Xin’s eyes.

Lin Xin wiped away a nosebleed, struggling to control the sudden surge of excitement within him.

With some of his red blood cells lost, Lin Xin’s mind wandered, unconsciously shifting his body until he slipped into the pool, barely managing a muffled splash.

To his surprise, the first person to notice the accident was Ying Lun.

Ying Lun held a slippery, wet bar of soap in his hand, intending to drop it at Lin Xin’s feet and watch him slip into the pool, taking revenge for the earlier incident. But before he could even drop the soap, Lin Xin walked straight into the pool on his own.

The soap naturally went to waste, so Ying Lun simply tossed it aside, signaling he had nothing to do with it.

By coincidence, the half-used soap hit Gu Nian on the head. Gu Nian saw Lin Xin fall into the water and rushed over to help. But the soap seemed to have a mind of its own; it rolled away and ended up at Gu Nian’s feet. In his hurry, Gu Nian didn’t notice it, and before he could react, he was airborne and crashing into the pool too.

The huge splash hid his fall, but Cheng Shiyin noticed Lin Xin’s situation. Remembering Lin Xin’s tweet saying he couldn’t swim, she immediately dived in and pulled Lin Xin back up.

Cheng Shiyin sat beside Lin Xin’s “corpse.” It was the first time she had seen Lin Xin without any expression, and without hesitation, she pressed her lips to his pale ones, breathing into him mouth-to-mouth.

Lin Xin felt his consciousness gradually returning, but he didn’t realize he had teetered on the brink of death. He thought he was still in a dream, cradled in Cheng Shiyin’s arms, experiencing the warmth of her presence as if it were real.

The illusion was stubborn, not fading but changing in unexpected ways. Lin Xin even felt Cheng Shiyin kissing him, over and over. He assumed this was a dream, so he didn’t try to wake up.

After a moment, Cheng Shiyin noticed something odd. Lin Xin’s complexion had returned to normal, and his heartbeat was steady—not in any danger. Yet, Lin Xin still hadn’t woken up. Cheng Shiyin stopped the rescue breathing, lifted her head to catch her breath, and considered other methods to rouse Lin Xin, like maybe slapping him.

But just then, Cheng Shiyin noticed Gu Nian climbing out of the pool on the other side. She was about to check on him when Rose and Peony anxiously gathered around Gu Nian’s side, getting to him faster than she did, the official girlfriend.

Rose and Peony glanced around, and saw no one near the Student Council President, clearly yearning for his attention and not bothering to keep a safe distance. They once again draped themselves over Gu Nian’s chest.

This time, Gu Nian didn’t back away or brush them off; he even wrapped his arms around Rose and Peony. Whatever he whispered in their ears made them laugh repeatedly.

Seeing this, Cheng Shiyin raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Lin Xin, waking up from the cold, followed Cheng Shiyin’s gaze and saw something he wasn’t meant to see: a tattoo of a peony on Peony’s chest.

He realized he might have figured out the origin of the names Rose and Peony, and possibly even their connection to Gu Nian. Lin Xin believed Cheng Shiyin must have noticed it too, so he sneaked a look at her reaction.

Sure enough, Cheng Shiyin not only caught on to Gu Nian’s odd behavior but also saw Lin Xin had woken up. Cheng Shiyin’s eyes stayed on Gu Nian and those two women, but she spoke to Lin Xin, saying, “Tonight, I need you to look into something for me.”

At that moment, Cheng Shiyin was unusually calm.