mental note to self | meteor garden [REVAMPING]

07 | 树

A face full of salty ocean breeze was a hundredㅡno, a thousandㅡtimes better than a face full of coursework.

Lounging aboard one of the Daoming family yachts, Yuxin was, as others would call it, ninth-wheeling.

Meizuo and Ximen had each brought a girl(friend?) One could never be too sure with them. Yuxin was pretty sure they'd met them at a bar in the weeks before the trip, but the rest of their introduction was lost on her. She just hoped no situations would arise where she'd have to know their names. Jing and Lei were seated together, talking quietly. That left her and one Daoming Si, who had one leg up on the deck like some exuberant sea captain, staring into the distance. He didn't count though. While his physical body was on the yacht with them, Yuxin would bet all her chops that his mind was with Shancai, wherever she was. 

She didn't mind the solitude; she was used to being alone. She could watch the waves (Mental note to self: Do an ocean study soon.), read, and not talk to people. All very enjoyable activities.

Eventually, she abandoned her book in favor of watching the Sanya coastline get closer and closer and closer. The harbor started looking less like a painting and more like, well, actual boats.

It was no Hawaii, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It's actually rather peaceful here.

"Hey! HEY!"

Nevermind.

Everyone's heads spun toward the source of the noise. Chen Qinghe? Yuxin spotted Shancai's familiar head of hair at his side.

"We were right," Jing whispered as she came to stand beside her with Lei in tow, evidently having noticed the same thing.

"I told you. I'm always right," Yuxin joked.

She got a scoff from Jing and an amused eyeroll from Lei.

‒∙◇❀◇∙‒

Jing had invited Shancai and Qinghe to the party on the beach that night, even going as far as volunteering to help her new friend get ready. With great amusement, Yuxin noted that more than half of their little group now had a soft spot for the freshman, even if some (ahem, Ah Si) wouldn't admit it.

Yuxin stayed with them for a while, offering Shancai the 'extra dress' she had packed, assuring the younger girl that it was no problem. 

She had actually anticipated the situation and brought a dress that was obviously not in her size. Shancai didn't seem to notice, though. 

She couldn't wait to see the look on Ah Si's face after Jing worked her magic.

‒∙◇❀◇∙‒

She was dancing with Meizuo to some Top 40 pop song that she didn't recognize when Shancai and Jing's unmistakable figures made their way onto the beach. And if they were moving a bit closer to each other than friends normally would, well, she'd blame it on the alcohol and tight crowd.

"Hey, I'm going to check on Shancai!" she yelled.

Meizuo's mouth moved in what might have been a "What?", but she couldn't hear anything over the loud beats pulsing through speakers as big as her entire body.

Letting out a huff of frustration, she tugged on his wrists so they were pressed up against each other. His hands immediately flew to her hips to steady her. "Let's go back to the others," she said in his ear, "I want to see the look on Ah Si's face when he sees Shancai."

He stared at her dazedly for a beat after she pulled back, lips slightly parted. Alcohol, blame the alcohol! Then, his handsome features morphed into the devilish grin he sported so well, matching her own. He nodded and took her wrist, using his tall frame to guide her back to the row of beach chairs where the rest of their group was sitting.