The temperature on the island at night is much colder than on the coast closer to the mainland.
The wind had picked up, causing the palm trees to creak and whine, seemingly carrying a bit of moisture from the depths of the sea.
The girls were still soaking in the hot spring.
Xu Musen, having nothing else to do, was fishing by the seaside.
It had to be said, the variety of fish in the sea is indeed vast, and most of what he caught were large carnivorous fish.
If He Qiang were here, he'd probably settle down and never leave.
There was the sound of wheels rolling behind him.
The damp sea breeze suddenly mingled with the faint scent of roses.
Xu Musen turned around and saw Yao Mingyue had already come up behind him.
"Your fishing skills are far inferior to He Qiang's,"
Yao Mingyue said, wheeling herself up to his side, glancing at his fish basket with only one or two fish caught and let out a mocking scoff.
"What do you know? The wind and waves are a bit strong now, and since we are at a sharp angle, of course, there are no fish."
Xu Musen stubbornly retorted. Who would admit that they are part of the "air force," anyway?
If you go out fishing all day and don't catch a single fish, even if you end up buying a couple of fish from the market to take home, you still pretend that you caught them yourself.
"Why didn't you continue soaking in the hot spring?"
"It's too much of a hassle; I always need them to look after me, so I won't bother them anymore."
Yao Mingyue shook her head. As someone who prides herself, she always felt a bit uncomfortable allowing others to take care of her.
"Yo, Miss Yao, when did you become so considerate? Why didn't you mention feeling embarrassed when you used to order me around?"
Xu Musen laughed heartily.
Yao Mingyue held her delicate chin in one hand, the corners of her mouth lifting into a smile.
"We're husband and wife, can things we do for each other even be called ordering around?"
At this, Xu Musen reeled in his fishing rod, as he genuinely had no retort.
"Not fishing anymore?"
"Now that you're here, if I continued to fish, wouldn't that show a lack of emotional intelligence?"
Xu Musen released the fish he had caught, as fishing was all about enjoying the sensation of the catch and the struggle.
Yao Mingyue's lips curved into a smile, clearly pleased with Xu Musen's sweet-talking that day.
Xu Musen came up beside Yao Mingyue: "Want to do something fun?"
"Aren't you the one with high EQ? Only a straightforward man would foolishly ask a girl what she wants to do."
Yao Mingyue lightly flicked her left foot on his leg.
Most girls actually prefer being passive; they like the feeling of being led and guided.
Don't ask them where they want to go, just take them there and then tell them why.
Of course, this also requires a certain level of observational skill and emotional intelligence.
If you take your girlfriend to work in the fields on a date, you can pretty much prepare for a breakup.
"Then leave everything to me."
Xu Musen slowly pushed her towards the beach.
The beach here was not as refined as the backyard of the villa; the sand was quite hard, and there were many small stones, shells, and such.
The sky gradually darkened as the tide receded, creating the perfect opportunity for sea foraging.
Xu Musen pushed Yao Mingyue, carrying a plastic bucket in his hand filled with tweezers and a fishing net, and wore a headlamp for lighting at night.
"You brought me to watch you forage at sea?"
Yao Mingyue looked at the bucket in his hand and her wheelchair, thankful for the firm texture of the primitive beach.
If the sand had been softer, she probably wouldn't have been able to move at all.
"You're not entirely correct,"
Xu Musen said with a smile, passing the tweezers to Yao Mingyue, "Today, you are the one sea foraging."
Yao Mingyue took the tweezers in a daze.
Her hunting for sea treasures while in a wheelchair was no different from asking Hawking to be a goalkeeper on a football field.
When the tide came in, she could be mistaken for a mermaid and swept away.
"You can't only sunbathe on such a rare trip to the seaside; you have to experience the unique pleasures of the beach."
Xu Musen looked at Yao Mingyue, who really hadn't had much fun in the half a month they had been at the seaside.
Most of the time, she would sit silently, sunbathing, staring at the sea, lost in thought.
Although everyone had been very attentive to her, Yao Mingyue didn't want her presence to dampen everyone else's mood for fun.
Although she didn't have many friends before, this feeling was still hard to bear, especially now that the number of people around Xu Musen seemed to be increasing.
The time she could truly spend alone with Xu Musen was becoming less and less.
Xu Musen looked down, stretched out his hand, and gently pinched Yao Mingyue's chin: "Since they didn't include us in their bath, let's secretly go sea foraging, just the two of us."
Just the two of us...
Yao Mingyue felt her heart lighten considerably, as if injected with a shot of adrenaline, bursting with vitality once again.
The time spent alone together used to be like a passive skill; they had grown accustomed to it.
But now, it had become a powerful move that might refresh only once every ten days or so.
"Don't just stand there, the tide won't wait, and if we go back empty-handed, that would be embarrassing. Come on, I believe in my Miss Yao!"
Xu Musen cheered her on.
Yao Mingyue's eyes brightened, she looked up at Xu Musen: "What am I to you?"
Xu Musen looked down at her, mimicking her usual haughty tilt of the head: "Only the strong can be my wife, and you still have to work hard."
Yao Mingyue burst into laughter, unable to hold back; this man's skin was getting thicker by the day.