Xue Rui was also taken aback by Lin Ruoxi’s actions. She wanted to join him in the hot spring?

’Could there really be such a good thing?’

Too bad the hot spring was separated into men’s and women’s pools.

He thought for a moment. Worried that something might happen to Lin Ruoxi if she was alone, he took out another three hundred yuan and handed it to the female attendant. "What’s your name? Help me look after her. I’ll have someone call you on the walkie-talkie later, and you can bring her over then."

He couldn’t help but sigh. Without Yu Minlan around to watch her, he just wasn’t at ease leaving the girl by herself.

The attendant was stunned for a moment. "Just call me Xiaoli."

’Why is Xue Rui so smooth about this?’ she wondered. ’It’s like he even knows our work procedures...’

"But... I have to stay in the lobby," Xiaoli said, looking conflicted.

A three-hundred-yuan tip was right in front of her, but she hesitated to take it. Accepting it meant leaving her post, which would result in a fine.

Xue Rui stuffed the money into her hand. "Just tell your supervisor that it was a guest’s request. Then buy your colleagues some milk tea, and you’ll be fine. Don’t be so inflexible."

"You go soak for a bit. Come over when I call for you," Xue Rui said, patting Lin Ruoxi’s head.

"Okay," Lin Ruoxi nodded obediently.

"Alright," Xiaoli murmured with a nod, leading Lin Ruoxi to the other side.

As she passed by her colleagues, she announced, "A guest gave me a tip to help look after this young lady. I’ll treat you all to milk tea."

The other female attendants exchanged surprised glances, then smiled and said, "Go on, go on. I’ll let the supervisor know."

"I want a hot one!"

After Xiaoli left, someone muttered, "College students are really different. They learn so fast. Hasn’t she only been here a few days? And she already knows how to do this?"

Xiaoli was amazed. That boy’s advice had worked like a charm. She had been worried they wouldn’t agree, but to her surprise, no one had objected.

It was completely different from school, where you had to follow the rules to the letter.

"Hey, beautiful, is that guy your boyfriend?" Xiaoli asked.

"Um, I’m still chasing him," Lin Ruoxi said.

"???" Xiaoli was floored. ’You look like that and you still have to do the chasing?’

"Let’s get you changed first. This way, please."

...

On Xue Rui’s side, an attendant also guided the two of them to the hot springs. To be precise, they were a series of individual pools, all gaudily colored. Signs on either side provided informational tidbits about hot springs.

The prices here weren’t cheap, and not many people visited the hot springs in the summer, so it seemed a bit deserted.

Xue Rui and Qiu Mengze found a random pool and got in to soak.

"Hold on, let’s discuss something first," Xue Rui said.

He suddenly remembered—what if Qiu Mengze called him by his name and attracted the attention of an acquaintance?

"Oh?" Qiu Mengze smiled. ’Xue Rui is always so decisive,’ he thought. ’What could he possibly need to discuss with me?’

He thought back. The last time Xue Rui had wanted to "discuss" something with him, he had ended up leading the morning exercises in Xue Rui’s place for a whole year.

Even though he got to see Qin Tong, thinking about it now, he had definitely gotten the short end of the stick!

"No discussion," Qiu Mengze said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Second Junior Brother, with our years of friendship, is there anything we can’t discuss?" Xue Rui said with a smile.

Qiu Mengze froze. Since when did he have the nickname "Second Junior Brother"?

Isn’t that Zhu Bajie?

"Let’s use codenames. You call me Senior Brother, and I’ll call you Junior Brother. It wouldn’t be good if an acquaintance recognized us. What if Qin Tong finds out you came to a place like this?" Xue Rui warned him earnestly.

Qiu Mengze froze, suddenly growing nervous. What if Qin Tong found out he came to a place like this...

Xue Rui held back a laugh. ’You haven’t even done anything, what’s there to be nervous about?’

Didn’t he see that he’d even brought Lin Ruoxi along?

But boys Qiu Mengze’s age were just this easy to fool.

"Fine, but I want to be Senior Brother," Qiu Mengze said, feeling he couldn’t let himself be taken advantage of.

"Whatever you want," Xue Rui chuckled.

With that, he found a towel and draped it over his head, covering most of his face.

Though he had nothing to hide, he wasn’t familiar with this establishment and couldn’t be sure if there was some kind of "hidden menu" for regular customers.

What if someone got the wrong idea?

The pool water was warm, making them feel cozy all over. The two of them soaked in the pool for a good while.

"I’m getting sleepy..." Qiu Mengze yawned, feeling like he was about to fall asleep in the pool if this kept up.

"Come on, let’s rinse off and then go to the steam room for a bit."

Xue Rui climbed out of the pool and led Qiu Mengze toward the sauna.

"Huh? A sauna in the middle of summer?" Qiu Mengze looked shocked.

He had never experienced any of the places Xue Rui had taken him today, but he found going to a sauna in the summer particularly strange.

"What do you know? This is called ’wellness’," Xue Rui said.

Qiu Mengze was speechless. Xue Rui was just like one of those middle-aged men, into all these weird wellness activities.

Seeing Qiu Mengze was still hesitant, Xue Rui raised an eyebrow. "There’s more excitement to come."

Qiu Mengze’s heart started pounding. ’I knew it, this place isn’t what it seems.’

He couldn’t quite describe his feelings. His childhood friend had brought him here.

An image of Qin Tong flashed through his mind, and he suddenly felt a little guilty.

"Fine!" Qiu Mengze shouted through gritted teeth after a moment of internal conflict.

The corner of Xue Rui’s eye twitched. ’This kid...’

The two of them sat in a corner of the sauna. The heat and humidity inside were extreme, making it a little hard for Qiu Mengze to breathe.

"I think we should be at an internet cafe right now. How awesome would it be to play games in the A/C?" Qiu Mengze said.

He had glanced at the price list; the cost was enough for him to spend a long time at an internet cafe.

Besides, he wasn’t enjoying this at all.

Just as Xue Rui was about to speak, he suddenly saw two people enter and quickly slapped the towel over his face.

"Cover your face," Xue Rui whispered.

Qiu Mengze glanced toward the door and hastily covered his face with his towel.

He saw Xue Rui’s dad...

’Holy shit!’ Qiu Mengze’s heart was pounding with panic. ’We ran into our parents?’

Xue Rui peeked out and saw another person beside him...

Gu Muxue’s father was here too...

"Muxue said she did alright on her exams. How about Xiaorui?" Gu Qingshan asked as he sat down.

"I haven’t asked Xiaorui, but Xiaying said his grades at school are quite good," Xie Jianfeng said with a smile.

"I can’t believe it. In the blink of an eye, the kids are all grown up," Gu Qingshan lamented.

"Qingshan, back in the day, Fangfang and I combined didn’t even score as high as you did alone on the college entrance exams."

...

Xue Rui was also very nervous now. ’Mom and Gu Muxue’s mother went on a trip. How did you two end up getting together?’

And of all the luck, they had to run into him here.

Now, he and Qiu Mengze were sitting in the corner with their heads down, towels covering their faces.

Fortunately, the two men were absorbed in their own conversation, completely oblivious that someone else was listening.

Men, for all their seemingly casual behavior, actually maintain a great deal of distance from strangers. Especially when peeing or bathing, even if there’s an open spot right next to someone, they’ll never take it. It was like an unspoken rule everyone abided by...

Plus, Xue Rui and Qiu Mengze were intentionally hiding their faces.

So, the two men didn’t recognize Xue Rui.

"If Xiaorui doesn’t do well on his exams, we’ll just send him to study abroad. I see everyone else doing it," Xie Jianfeng said.

"We should still consider the child’s opinion," Gu Qingshan said.

"Everyone else is studying abroad, why shouldn’t he?" Xie Jianfeng said casually.

"Jianfeng, there are major problems with your parenting methods," Gu Qingshan said.

He had heard from Gu Muxue before about a student at school from a very poor family...

But he never would have imagined that it was Xie Jianfeng’s child.

For others, "raising a child in poverty" was a necessity. Xie Jianfeng was just blindly copying others, and he even thought he was doing the right thing...

"’Raising a son in poverty’ isn’t about material deprivation; it’s about teaching resilience through hardship, fostering independence..." Gu Qingshan rambled on for a long time.

Xue Rui couldn’t help but nod slightly. ’Being well-read really makes a difference. No wonder he’s a leader.’

"Jianfeng, are you even listening?" Gu Qingshan said through gritted teeth, seeing that Xie Jianfeng was about to fall asleep.

"I don’t get it. I think Xiaorui is doing great," Xie Jianfeng said, rubbing his face.

Gu Qingshan was silent for a moment. "That’s because you got lucky. Xiaorui turned out that way on his own. Don’t think it has anything to do with your parenting."

Xie Jianfeng sighed. "I don’t even know if he listens to me anymore. And now he has money."

"See? To put it bluntly, you’re not confident in your own parenting," Gu Qingshan said with a smile.

"You’re the impressive one. Your girl is certainly well-raised," Xie Jianfeng said, giving him a thumbs-up in admiration.

Hearing this, Gu Qingshan felt a strange unease. Why did the conversation turn to his daughter again?

Although he knew Xie Jianfeng was praising him, his daughter liked Xie Jianfeng’s son...

The daughter he had raised for eighteen years had her heart stolen by a little rascal like that.

He wiped his face, stood up, and left the sauna, his figure looking somewhat desolate as he departed.

After the two men left, Qiu Mengze gasped for air. "How could they talk for so long? I was about to suffocate!"

The two of them had talked about everything from education in their youth to their children...

He hadn’t even dared to breathe too loudly just now, terrified they would discover something.

He didn’t even know what he was so nervous about, but now he felt like he’d been steamed alive.

"Let’s wait a bit longer. They might not have gone far. I’ll treat you to ice cream when we get out," Xue Rui said.

Qiu Mengze gritted his teeth. "For ice cream, I’ll endure it."

...

Meanwhile, in the women’s hot spring pool.

"Why hasn’t Xue Rui called for me yet?" Lin Ruoxi had been waiting for a long time. Her phone was in a locker, and she was bored.

Xiaoli also found it strange. How long were those two planning to soak?

Lin Ruoxi was about to turn into a prune over here. Xiaoli had tried to persuade her to get out.

But Lin Ruoxi insisted that Xue Rui had told her to soak, and she wouldn’t get out until he called for her.

Feeling a little unhappy, Lin Ruoxi dunked her head into the water and blew bubbles. "BLUB BLUB BLUB."

Xiaoli couldn’t help but laugh. ’This girl has an amazing figure, as mature as a professional model’s, yet she talks and acts just like a child.’

Suddenly, her walkie-talkie crackled to life again. "Xiaoli, Xiaoli, the guest asks you to bring the guest named Lin Ruoxi over to the buffet restaurant."

When Lin Ruoxi heard the walkie-talkie, her ears perked up. Hearing her name, she knew it was Xue Rui calling for her.

"Alright, we’re on our way," Xiaoli replied.

Lin Ruoxi scrambled out of the pool and rushed to get dressed.

"Slow down, the floor is slippery!" Xiaoli hurried after her.

...

The club’s third-floor restaurant.

Qiu Mengze stared at the dazzling array of food, much more lavish than any buffet he’d ever eaten at before...

"Junior Brother, you said you’d treat me to ice cream?" Qiu Mengze said through gritted teeth.

He thought Xue Rui was going to pay for it out of his own pocket, but it turned out to be a buffet—the kind where the cost was deducted from Lin Ruoxi’s card.

Xue Rui handed him an ice cream. "What, am I not treating you?"