Liu Chen had stayed in a villa with a hot spring before, so although she was somewhat surprised that the room at the Marriott Hotel in Yalong Bay was a suite, she soon realized it was no wonder, as it was booked by Chen Long.
Compared to Liu Chen’s composure, Liu Fang was truly curious about the room. After her mood was interrupted by Jiang Di’s crying, she took a deep breath of the sea-scented evening breeze and then turned back into the room in her sandals.
Liu Chen was hanging clothes from her suitcase in the wardrobe one by one, and then placing her toothpaste and toothbrush on the washbasin.
Liu Fang, on the other hand, had returned to the entrance, found the hotel’s complimentary slippers, and put them on. She then explored the entire room.
“Chen Chen, look, although the living room of this hotel isn’t as big as ours, for some reason, it feels more comfortable to stay in than our home?
Wow! Look, the door between the living room and the bedroom is hidden. It's usually concealed within the TV background wall, so you can’t see it from the outside.
This bathroom is so big? It feels as large as two bathrooms combined!”
As she listened to her mother’s exclamations, like an explorer, Liu Chen took the opportunity when her mother wasn't paying attention to pretend to take out a full set of cosmetics from her suitcase. They were all obtained from the system, and she now had a complete set.
There were also skincare products. Although her mother's face no longer had many blemishes and was not as sallow as before, there would definitely be professional DSLR cameras at the wedding. So, Liu Chen planned to give her mother a “bride’s emergency rescue” over the next few days!
At this moment, Liu Fang was opening the glass partitions of the toilet and the shower one by one. She still turned back and smiled as she shared with her daughter:
“Chen Chen, look, their hotel also has a niche inside, just like ours.”
Liu Chen started filling the bathtub, which was placed independently in the center of the bathroom. By the time the water reached two-thirds of the tub’s height, her mother had finished touring the entire suite.
Liu Fang, now sitting on the sofa in the suite’s living room, skillfully turned on the television to the show “Super Girl” and exclaimed, “Chen Chen, Mom will work hard to earn money, and strive to bring you and Grandma here to play every year!”
“Okay! Mom, you work hard, and I’ll work hard too! We’ll stay in a hotel in Sanya every year and try out all the five-star hotels in Sanya!”
As Liu Chen spoke, she tossed the bath salts she was holding into the bathtub, then put her arm into the water to stir it. Once the water turned a uniform orange-yellow, she got up to call her mother from the living room to come and take a bath.
When Liu Fang came in and saw the orange-yellow water in the bathtub, she was a little stunned:
“The water quality at this hotel isn’t good, is it? It’s yellow? Are the pipes rusty?”
“I added bath salts. This way, you can sweat out some of the dampness. Mom, you often go in and out of the cold storage, so you have a lot of dampness in your body. Sweating it out will help.”
Liu Fang was touched that her daughter had thought of so many things even when on vacation. She happily kissed Liu Chen’s forehead fiercely before closing the glass sliding door of the bathroom and sitting down to soak.
After the mother and daughter finished their baths and washed up, it was already past eleven o’clock at night when they got into bed. Liu Chen had expected to sleep until noon the next day.
However, when she opened her eyes the next morning and picked up her phone from the bedside table, she saw that it was only six o’clock!
Her mother was sleeping soundly beside her. Liu Chen got out of bed quietly, went to the living room, turned on the TV to her mother’s favorite channel, China Economic Channel, and then opened the floor-to-ceiling window to walk out onto the balcony.
She began to practice the Eight Brocades of the Qigong toward the sunrise.
For the past two months, whenever Liu Chen had something on her mind that she couldn't resolve, she would practice the Eight Brocades in her bedroom. Usually, after a good sweat, she would take a shower and wouldn’t dwell on it anymore.
As Liu Chen practiced the Eight Brocades on the balcony, she was unaware that her movements were being observed by an elderly man on the opposite balcony, across the hotel lobby.
…
The old man watched the young girl’s movements on the opposite balcony, initially with curiosity, then with amusement, he followed her movements and mimicked a set.
“Huh?”
After completing a set of movements, the old man’s cloudy eyes lit up!
“What is this set of movements? Why do I feel so much more comfortable after practicing it, as if a blocked area in my body has been cleared?”
As people age, their bodies are full of ailments, with aches and pains here and there, or sometimes all at once!
The old man was not short of money; he had dedicated his life to his career. He couldn’t boast about much else, but he certainly wasn’t lacking in wealth!
However, as one grows old, even with wealth, one still has to endure the physical suffering. After practicing this set of movements, he felt much lighter, and excitedly hurried back to the living room to find his phone to brag about it.
Though old, he was still proficient with his phone. He opened QQ. Although typing Pinyin was slow, it didn’t hinder his communication. He shared the matter of encountering this boxing exercise, and the QQ group named “Old Friends’ Group” became lively.
“Wu Zhi, you’re just bragging!”
“Didn’t you want to leave Emei Mountain after eating vegetarian for a week last time?”
“Exactly!”
Seeing that his old comrades didn’t believe him, Old Man Wu became anxious. He pondered for a long time, thinking of recording a video of himself doing the boxing and having them practice along. However, the phone always failed to record the whole thing. In a fit of pique, he directly said in the QQ group:
‘You guys, come to Sanya for a holiday, and I’ll cover all your flights and accommodation expenses! If it doesn’t work, I’ll do a set for you in person! My name is Wu Zhi, and I’ll change my name to ‘Wuzhi’ (ignorant) for the rest of my life!’
These words were quite emphatic. A group of elderly people who were retired and had nothing to do but enjoy their grandchildren were piqued with curiosity.
‘We’re coming!’
…
Ren Yu was opening her laptop, checking if there were any issues with the data sent by Shen Hong, when she received a video call from Shen Hong.
“What’s wrong?” Ren Yu asked with a serious expression, thinking there was a problem with the project.
The video connected, revealing Shen Hong’s significantly gaunt, chubby face.
“My old man said that their comrades saw a young girl practicing boxing at the Marriott in Yalong Bay, Sanya. He followed along and practiced it once, and his blood and qi became smooth. Now he’s insisting that his comrades come along.
I remembered you were in Yalong Bay recently, boss. Could you help keep an eye on my old man? His health is already very poor, and he goes to the hospital every other day, yet he still insists on going out. He refuses to bring family members and only takes a bodyguard.”
Ren Yu nodded, “Don’t worry, I’ll accompany him and observe the situation. If there are any problems, I’ll handle them.”
Shen Hong on the other end of the video finally breathed a sigh of relief. His father's health had been deteriorating in recent years, but his temper had become even more stubborn. Especially this year, several times his family had found him not taking his medicine, secretly flushing it down the toilet.
“Boss, all the data has been tested and will be launched by the end of the month.”
“Penguin has also confirmed with us. The promotional fee of two million can be used for channel-wide promotion for two days.”
After Shen Hong finished speaking, he also took a deep breath.
“Boss, although I have great confidence in our online game, two million for just two days? Isn’t that a bit too much of an investment? Moreover, we are a free-to-play online game. If players don’t purchase our released skins, we will have to continue supporting the server operation for free.
If we were to implement a point card system like XX Journey, then we…”
Ren Yu shook her head.
“Shen Hong, although our online game is fun, we need to attract enough players to give paying players a good gaming experience. And for the long-term operation of the game, believe me, free players are what paying players truly desire.”
…
Liu Chen was unaware that during the time she was practicing the Eight Brocades, so many events had unfolded. All she knew was that the buffet breakfast restaurant was finally open!
After notifying them in their small group chat of four, Liu Chen put on a white cotton slip dress and went downstairs to the restaurant with her room card.
The hotel’s buffet breakfast restaurant also had outdoor seating. Liu Chen, carrying her meal tray, sat at a table under the corridor. Beyond the chairs was a small artificial river, and beyond the river were dense coconut groves, neatly manicured lawns, and in the distance, the beach and the vast sea.
The morning sun had not yet risen. She ate beef noodles freshly prepared by the chef, drank iced orange juice, and, with the sea breeze blowing from afar, Liu Chen couldn't help but squint her eyes.
It was so comfortable~
After breakfast, Liu Chen walked from the restaurant terrace towards the sea. Unlike other hotels, the lawns at the Hilton Marriott had undulating slopes. As she walked, she saw the swimming pool located to the right of the hotel from a higher vantage point.
Liu Chen then remembered that her plan to learn to swim had not yet begun. She estimated that the hotel would definitely have swimming lessons and put this matter on her agenda.
Walking towards the beach, the sun gradually rose. The waves on the sea surface seemed to hide countless diamonds, sparkling and emitting a dazzling glow.
Liu Chen, in her long dress, slowly walked into the sea and stopped when the water reached her waist.
Standing in the seawater, Liu Chen could feel the waves coming and going, and on her feet as she stepped on the sand, countless fine grains of sand were carried back into the depths of the sea.
Just as Liu Chen was savoring the moment, her dress pocket vibrated.
“My phone!”
Having been too excited by the sight of the sea during breakfast, she had rushed to see the ocean and forgotten that she had her phone in her pocket. The vibration jolted her, and she quickly took her Nokia out of her pocket.
She gripped the Nokia tightly in her right hand, raised it high, and then forcefully swung it down!
After a few tries, she pushed the keypad upwards to answer the call.
“Hello? Chen Chen, where did you go? The hotel called saying we won a prize, some travel photography service. Come back and take a look!”
Liu Chen understood immediately. It was likely that Chen Long’s arranged itinerary had begun.
“I’m coming back!”