Chapter 179: Ouyang Aili's Caprice

Anyone who claims not to know how to swim is just pretending; what they are really after is the body.

Hunters often disguise themselves as prey.

Cheng Yao was well aware of how irresistible his charm was to women. Older ones were somewhat manageable, but younger ones could be easily seduced with a mere flick of his finger.

He wasn’t bragging; it was simply a fact.

Look at those handsome celebrities in the entertainment industry right now—even among the top few, eighteen-year-old high-value girls had never stopped surrounding them.

Girls used to be timid little lambs, but nowadays they were like spider spirits, eager to devour you until not even your bones were left.

In their eyes, Cheng Yao was a tender piece of Monk Tang's flesh.

Chen Xingyan looked at Cheng Yao and said, "Didn't you say you can swim? Show me..."

"What is this? Do you take me for a piece of eye candy?"

Without another word, Cheng Yao put on his swim goggles and dived into the pool. The scenery was breathtaking. He kicked his legs rapidly, quickly swimming a lap before surfacing and asking, "Tell me, can a toad really eat a swan?"

Chen Xingyan rolled her eyes and smiled.

Lin Sujiao couldn't help chiming in, "I suppose it can, though usually, it's a swan shot dead by someone else."

"..."

Cheng Yao gave a thumbs-up. That made sense.

The part about it being shot dead was the real essence.

Though they claimed to be exhausted from the day, they had mostly just been playing around. Zhou Qing and the others had already arranged to go out for a late-night snack. Cheng Yao soaked in the pool for a little while, took a shower, changed his clothes, and left the room.

No matter where you are in the country, there are always local specialty foods, which in itself is a kind of pleasure.

When it comes to cuisine, which place has more to offer than China?

And when it comes to culinary techniques, Chinese cuisine utterly eclipses every other country.

At the food stalls, the group bought plenty of snacks, supposedly items that couldn't be found anywhere else.

Qinghai liangpi: cold skin noodles are a local specialty of Qinghai, made from wheat flour and served with gluten, minced garlic, vinegar, and other seasonings, making them exceptionally delicious.

Cheng Yao took a bite and remarked, "The flavor is similar to ordinary cold noodles, but the texture is different. Not bad."

"Let me try."

Gamianpian (hand-rolled noodle pieces), old Qinghai yogurt, lamb intestine noodles, butter Zanba...

They were all local specialties, covering the entire table.

Food is the paramount necessity of the people, and tasting local cuisine is a major feature of traveling.

Under the night lights, the group ate and chatted.

Shen Yeye looked at Cheng Yao. He was extremely curious about this young man. He had recently paid some attention to Summer Interactive Entertainment and Summer Technology, which were growing at a tremendous pace, supposedly backed by local government support.

Naturally, those in this circle knew that certain connections must have been leveraged.

"Cheng Yao, that smart toothbrush of yours—how long did your researchers take to develop it?"

Cheng Yao was sensitive to such questions, so he directly sidestepped it and replied, "I'm not too sure about that. It was developed by family members over in the United States, and they just let me bring a small product over to test the waters."

"You even have a research institute abroad? Damn, your family must be seriously awesome."

"It's nothing much, just some minor stuff not worth mentioning."

Cheng Yao shook his head. Compared to what was to come, a smart toothbrush was still far too low-end.

Whenever he managed to roll out some high-end products, that was when he could really flex.

Qin Haoran teased, "That's way better than us. In a few years, the guy sitting right here is going to be a multi-millionaire, if not a multi-billionaire tycoon. Anyone looking to cozy up to him better do it now."

"You're the real big shot here, with so many storefronts on Xinjiekou."

After a bout of mutual flattery, Cheng Yao quickly stopped them: "Alright, alright, blowing smoke like this is getting pointless. Let's finish up and head back to rest. We've got a long trip tomorrow, and the competition is the day after."

Mentioning the competition, Chen Xingyan cautioned Cheng Yao, "It's an unrules match, so you should be careful."

"I know what I'm doing."

Cheng Yao nodded. Although he had boosted his abilities using gene capsules, his control over his own strength was still remarkably precise.

He wasn't going to beat anyone to death.

Unrestricted combat matches were indeed prone to trouble; after all, once the adrenaline starts pumping, it's not always easy to rein it in.

Free-style combat had no concrete rules to speak of. Almost all international free-style combat competitions adopted unrestricted fighting methods, placing no restrictions on the qualifications of participating athletes.

The rules were similar to Muay Thai: both competitors were bare-chested (or wearing short-sleeved shirts/tank tops), wore long trousers, boxing gloves, and protective gear on their feet (or sometimes none at all), engaging in full-contact combat.

During a match, for instance, if an opponent provoked you, the surge of adrenaline could make you want to crush them to death.

Never mind the competitors; even the spectators listening from the audience would want to annihilate the opponent right there on the ring.

After finishing dinner and returning to the hotel, Cheng Yao called Zhang Ya, chatting affectionately.

At this hour, even Lu Mengya and Lin Ketong were getting ready for sleep.

After hanging up, just as he finished washing up and wanted to go to sleep, he received a call from Ouyang Aili. For this clingy young girl, Cheng Yao rather enjoyed her clinginess.

Especially late at night, when she clung to him to learn wind instruments—his feelings at those moments were indescribable. Although her older sister had the same temperament, she still maintained a degree of rationality.

But the truly adorable ones often found it harder to remain rational, pulling off abnormal stunts like sneaking into your bed late at night.

Though Cheng Yao enjoyed this treatment, he still felt obliged to issue a stern reprimand.

"Hey, why aren't you asleep this late? Did you miss me?"

"Mmm, I missed you. When are you coming to see me? Big sis misses you too; she was muttering your name before going to sleep tonight."

Cheng Yao: "..."

Wait, wait, wait. You two aren't rubbing against each other while whispering my name, are you?

For a moment, Cheng Yao felt flattered yet bewildered.

He knew that Ouyang Aili and Ouyang Zhenli frequently engaged in such activities.

"Let's wait until mid-November. I'm busy right now, but I'll contact you when I get back. How about we go look at the ocean then?"

"I want to eat seafood."

"No problem."

As they chatted, Cheng Yao could sense that deep sense of attachment in Ouyang Aili's tone.

"Still, I miss you," Ouyang Aili asked. "Are you in Nanjing right now?"

"I'm in Qinghai."

"Qinghai?"

"Yeah, near the desert."

The desert...

Ouyang Aili exclaimed excitedly, "Big sis and I will come find you!"

"I'm with my friends."

"Girls?"

"Guys."

"Then it's fine, we won't get in your way."

Ouyang Aili's tone made it extremely difficult to refuse.

She sounded cute and timid, yet seemed to have mustered all her courage to make the request.

Post-00s kids really acted on whims. Cheng Yao sighed and said, "Alright, I'll buy your plane tickets for tomorrow, but I probably won't be able to go out with you guys right away. I have a competition to attend, so you and your sister need to be good and listen to instructions."

Cheng Yao hadn't deliberately restricted the twin sisters' movements; in truth, they were completely free, but he was also worried about their true relationship being exposed.

Still, since she had put it that way, it should be fine.

"Mmm, I'll be a good girl and listen. You have to give me a reward."

"Alright, alright, go to sleep."

"Goodnight, my love."

After hanging up, Cheng Yao was left crying and laughing. He lay flat on the bed, questioning his life choices.

He suddenly felt that his life was becoming somewhat inextricably intertwined with these girls. It wasn't that he was being overly sentimental...

Never mind, he was being overly sentimental.

Just think of those guys without girlfriends, while he had twin sisters in his embrace—what more could he possibly complain about?

Lin Ketong was unlikely to make the first move; unless they were already in bed, someone of her type would never be proactive.

Lu Mengya might have it in her, but she wasn't so willful and was always sensible.

Even though they were around the same age,

their personalities were worlds apart,

yet that was precisely their charm.

As expected, only oxen worked to death!

If they all shared Lu Mengya's personality, he reckoned life would be much easier.

Amidst these racing thoughts, Cheng Yao slowly drifted off to sleep.

...

...

Early the next morning, just as Cheng Yao woke up, Ouyang Aili and Ouyang Zhenli had already packed their luggage and boarded the plane.

The group grabbed a casual breakfast at the hotel. They had originally planned to go sightseeing today, but everyone looked listless and worn out.

Cheng Yao spread his hands: "Isn't this just what going on a trip is all about?"

"It is, but it's genuinely exhausting. Cheng Yao, you should drive."

"I'm totally fine with that."

"Let's go."

Today's destinations were Chaka Town and Heima Lake—just cruising around locally for some casual sightseeing without any grand agenda.

During lunch, Ouyang Zhenli called him.

"I need to take this call. You guys go ahead and eat."

Walking outside the door, Cheng Yao answered, "You guys arrived?"

"Mmm, we're here."

"I'll have someone pick you up at the hotel entrance. Do whatever you want after you get there; I'll be back around five or six in the evening."

"Okay."

After hanging up, Cheng Yao suddenly felt that this trip wasn't quite as tedious anymore, filled with anticipation and a dash of excitement.

By the afternoon, he actually lost all interest in wandering around outside. The scenery was repetitive, and pre-planned tourist spots were all pretty much the same.

Only the scenery of Qinghai Lake left a somewhat lasting impression.

They had intended to play until nightfall, but by two o'clock, everyone couldn't take it anymore.

Thus, Cheng Yao took the lead in driving back to the hotel ahead of the others.

Just as he arrived at the hotel entrance, Qin Haoran's gaze fell upon two girls standing by the roadside: "Are they twins? Damn, they're gorgeous."

The others turned their gaze over. Cheng Yao took a glance and was too speechless to make a sarcastic remark.

He figured Ouyang Aili wouldn't just brazenly approach him.

His worry proved unnecessary; the two sisters merely glanced in their direction and then carried their shopping bags straight into the hotel.

Shen Yeye smiled and said, "I had two classmates who were twins back when I was in school, but they weren't this pretty. This is my first time seeing twins this stunning. What was the name of that singing twin duo from before—the ones whose careers tanked because of plastic surgery?"

"By2?" Lin Sujiao asked.

"Right, them. You never see them around anymore."

Chen Xingyan nodded softly: "They were quite popular back when we were kids."

With beauties around, though they were curious, Qin Haoran and Zhou Qing instinctively maintained their gentlemanly demeanor and refrained from making overly crude remarks.

"Cheng Yao, going for a swim later?"

"Forget swimming. I've got some things to take care of, and I need to start prepping for tomorrow's match."

Qin Haoran asked, "Then we're heading off to Dunhuang on our own tomorrow."

"Go ahead."

Cheng Yao nodded. Taking a bus from Xining to Dunhuang took six hours; he had no interest in it whatsoever, viewing it purely as self-inflicted torture.

After the competition ended, he might consider heading over to check it out.

Of course, he definitely planned to take a stroll through the desert.

After parking the car, he didn't return to his own room, but instead headed toward the upper floors where Ouyang Aili and her sister were staying.

...

...