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墨書 Inktalez
Because lunch did not suit their appetites, almost everyone only managed to eat half-heartedly.
Everyone picked up their bags containing swimsuits and other items and headed towards the elevator.
Chen Rui noticed the waterproof bags in their hands and suddenly realized he had forgotten to bring his swimsuit. With a wry smile, he returned to his room, grabbed a clean outfit, and put it into a waterproof bag before catching up with the others.
Li Xue looked at Chen Rui's distressed expression and tilted her head with a laugh. "Do you want me to lend you my swimsuit?"
"That would be great..." Chen Rui started to respond but immediately felt he had said something wrong. He noticed that everyone in the elevator was looking at him, which made him curiously ask, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"
"Ahem..." Li Li pretended to cough a couple of times, and Chen Rui could clearly see he was trying to suppress his laughter.
"Cough cough... cough cough..." Everyone began to cough, the sounds echoing back and forth, causing Chen Rui to lose his composure completely.
"What exactly is the problem?" Chen Rui relaxed a bit, reminding himself that they were his clients after all.
"Here!" Li Xue tossed a transparent waterproof bag to Chen Rui, inside which was a light purple bikini that landed directly in his line of sight.
Chen Rui initially did not react, but soon realized he had misstepped in the conversation. With a wry smile, he said, "Oh come on... what's so funny about this?"
"Pfft..." Zhou Yan finally burst out laughing.
"My... it's just... this little thing... Brother Chen, truly impressive. I admire you," Zhou Zhi said as he performed a fist salute towards Chen Rui, pretending to lift his robe and kneel on one knee.
Chen Rui sighed; he really had no way to deal with this group. He couldn't treat them like he would his office subordinates—he couldn't and didn't want to. Yet these people didn’t care about his feelings at all and kept teasing him relentlessly, which was extremely frustrating for Chen Rui.
"It was just a slip of the tongue; do we have to take it so seriously?" Chen Rui shrugged helplessly while maintaining a smile.
"Alright, alright, stop teasing him," Li Li said with a laugh to Li Xue. Li Xue then pulled out a box from the waterproof bag and tossed it to Chen Rui.
Chen Rui caught what turned out to be a pair of men's swim trunks. Judging by Li Li's tone, it seemed they had specifically bought them beforehand, likely anticipating that he wouldn't bring his own.
"What's wrong? Are you reluctant to return them? In that case, you wear this one, and I'll go buy another..." Li Xue said with a mischievous smile, seemingly imagining something inappropriate.
Chen Rui handed the waterproof bag to her, his gaze at Li Li carrying a deeper meaning.
The group exited the hotel and made their way to the parking lot. Although the drive would only take about five minutes, walking would take much longer—at least half an hour. To save time, they decided to drive.
Early autumn in Los Angeles meant the city had just escaped the peak tourist season. Perhaps due to three months of continuous hustle and bustle, the streets were sparsely populated with pedestrians and vehicles. The entire city felt like a construction worker who had just finished work, lazily sprawled on the bed, unwilling to move.
The five-minute drive was fleeting—so brief that it felt shorter than the time spent parking.
Even though the tourist season had ended, the number of visitors at Santa Monica Beach remained high. Many locals took advantage of this lull to enjoy the beach, resulting in a lively atmosphere that still buzzed with activity.
This liveliness meant crowds, which explained why the time spent driving was less than the time spent finding parking. There were plenty of parking lots near Santa Monica Beach, but those closest to the beach were mostly full. Li Li raised an eyebrow and drove around for a while before finally locating a parking lot relatively close to the beach where they could get out.
"Honestly, this is hardly any different from walking here," Chen Rui joked, noting how Li Li had insisted on driving to save time, which now seemed pointless.
"Maybe so. I actually haven't been here before," Li Li shrugged, completely unfazed by Chen Rui's eye roll in response to his statement.
Li Li had no reason to lie to Chen Rui; it was hard for him not to believe it. However, how could a big boss like him have never visited such a famous place without feeling embarrassed?
"Come on, let's go have some fun!" Li Xue exclaimed as she grabbed Chen Rui's hand and ran toward the beach. Li Li sighed and followed suit with a wry smile.
Li Xue always sought thrills; even if she was scared, she wanted to challenge herself. Under Chen Rui's persuasion and encouragement, she finally headed toward the amusement park at the pier.
Don't underestimate the amusement park at the pier; this historic pier was established in 1989. It featured an amusement park along with several scattered restaurants and rental bicycles for leisurely rides along the beach and pier. A historically significant carousel sat deep within the pier's expanse.
Of course, none of this was really Li Xue's goal; her true aim was that miniature roller coaster. Anything with a hint of excitement held the same allure for her as a drug does for an addict.
"Alright, it's more fun to play at night. It's still the middle of the day; what are we going to do now? Why don't we go swimming first? I'll come back to play with you tonight," Chen Rui suggested kindly, doing his best for this 'big sister.'
"Yes, that's settled then. Once a promise is made, it can't be taken back, so don't go back on your word," Li Xue said with a triumphant smile. Chen Rui immediately felt he had been tricked. How could such a clever girl not understand this? It was obvious they would swim now and visit the amusement park later. He really was foolish, always forgetting to think things through.
Chen Rui rubbed his forehead; his melancholic expression paired with the gesture should have conveyed a sense of oppression, but it only drew laughter from Li Xue.
"You two! Want to take out a yacht?" Zhou Yan suddenly popped up from behind Li Xue, startling her. She reacted like a frightened rabbit, her eyes and ears twitching momentarily, looking quite adorable.
However, once she regained her composure, Li Xue quickly shattered that cuteness by adopting an authoritative tone. "Hurry up and take me over there!"
And there was also the excitement of a wild girl...
People from different backgrounds entertained themselves in different ways. Although this saying had been established long ago, Chen Rui found it hard to believe that the gap between people could be so vast.
As he looked around the beach, it was mostly filled with tourists sunbathing and swimming; there were hardly any windsurfers in sight. But it wouldn't be long before these four speedboats became the center of attention on the beach because they were simply too eye-catching!
"Since there are only four boats, let's split into teams..."
Li Li said helplessly. It seemed she had originally planned for each person to have their own boat. Did she even know how to drive one? Just like that, they were setting off? No, was it really safe in Shanghai?
"This is the coach; let her take everyone for a spin first before you all play freely. We don't want any accidents," Li Li pointed to a beautiful woman on one of the black speedboats.
Chen Rui immediately recognized that this girl was the one from the plane—Li Li's 'secret lover.' However, he noticed that she had removed her ring, probably to avoid being recognized.
Perhaps this worry was unnecessary; as the saying goes, those in high places often forget things easily. The five people around him perfectly embodied this old adage.
No one recognized that the girl was the same one who had sat beside Li Li yesterday. Perhaps they simply hadn’t paid her any mind, which is why they forgot. But couldn’t they at least recognize her familiar face?
Li Xue was the first to step up and experience it. After the girl helped her put on a life jacket, she started the engine. The roar of the engine grew louder, and soon the two became a small black dot in the eyes of the crowd.
In fact, the so-called circle wasn’t very far at all. From here, if you drove north along the beach until you reached the end and then turned around, heading south until you reached the entrance of Mary Andel Bay before turning back, the total distance would be about nine kilometers. A round trip would be eighteen kilometers, but for a speedboat that could reach five knots, it would only take five minutes.
“Brother Chen, tell us how you conquered Miss Xue,” Zhou Zhi quickly leaned over to Chen Rui with a mysterious smile while Li Xue was away.
Chen Rui forced a smile. Had he pursued Li Xue? It seemed not. No! Not at all! It was Li Xue who had been clinging to him, making their relationship unclear. Breaking off all ties would hurt Li Xue’s feelings too much, but if he didn’t break it off, he would end up with a pretty girlfriend who was also wealthy.
At first glance, it seemed like there was no need to think about it; this kind of benefit was like winning the lottery. Why wouldn’t he be happy?
The most important thing was still that Chen Rui felt guilty towards Li Xue. He had taken advantage of her ex-boyfriend’s face to make his move, while the girl liked not him but her former boyfriend instead.
Eventually, she would come to realize this reality. As for Chen Zijing, although this group hadn’t mentioned him directly, Chen Rui could probably guess what was going on. After all, being in the Air Force was a high-risk job; its danger level during turbulent times was even higher than that of special forces.
“Come on, let’s go fishing. Let them play for now,” Li Li said with a smile as she patted Chen Rui on the back and pulled out two fishing rods from somewhere, handing one to him.
The two slowly walked to the end of the dock where many people were fishing alone, enjoying the quiet environment to relax and relieve stress.
“Where’s the bait?” Chen Rui asked as he looked at his bare hook.
Li Li cast her rod forward with force and smiled at Chen Rui. “Like Master Li fishing—those who are willing can take the bait.”
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