WHI – Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The Wanye Club’s hot springs offered four types of pools: male, female, mixed, and private.

As soon as Gu Yi suggested separating by gender, Tian Xuewei was the first to whine in protest, “No way! I finally get to see Zhou Jing, let’s do the mixed pool.”

Zhou Jing chimed in, “We finally got out to play, it’ll be so boring if we split up. Everyone together? If you think it’s too crowded, we can book a small private pool? I’ll go ask?”

Gu Yi nodded, and Zhou Jing, as if given a command, walked towards the service desk.

Lin Ting thought his acting was too poor.

Even in big cities, reserved Chinese people still couldn’t accept being completely open with strangers. Everyone first entered small shower cubicles to clean their bodies, then changed into bathrobes similar to swimsuits in the cubicles. After blow-drying their hair, they emerged.

Lin Ting was quick when it came to showering. Just as he was about to lift the curtain, Han Ziqiu, the seemingly frail and fair-skinned boy, stumbled into his cubicle.

He closed his eyes tightly, “Sorry, I went into the wrong one.”

“Did you see someone inside?” Lin Ting asked, stepping back and crossing his arms.

Hearing Lin Ting’s relatively calm tone, Han Ziqiu slowly opened his eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t see.”

“You didn’t see, or you didn’t even look?”

Lin Ting observed his stiff back, which was trembling slightly. Even after Lin Ting had passed by, Han Ziqiu remained rooted to the spot, not moving an inch.

Lin Ting sighed without looking back, “Go ahead and wash.”

.

Lin Ting waited outside the shower area for more than ten minutes. The rest of the group finished washing and came out one by one. The women wore two-piece bathrobes, while the men wore simple white shorts. The seven of them faced each other, and Lin Ting subtly averted his gaze.

“Let’s go up,” Gu Yi said.

The private small pools were located on the upper section of the 52nd floor. The ceiling height here was very high, divided into two levels but with a connected central area, linked by two curved staircases that formed a semicircle. Although it was all part of the 52nd-floor hot spring area, to distinguish them, people referred to them as the 52nd upper and lower levels.

“The Sea Pavilion Room,” Zhou Jing said to a man wearing a black, buttoned-up cotton work uniform.

The staff member bowed slightly to the seven people and led them slowly up the stairs. The walls on the 52nd upper level were rough stone. Small clusters of moss occasionally emerged from between the stone bricks underfoot. Lin Ting’s rational mind told him they were likely fake, but the strong, salty, humid air unique to the seaside forcefully invaded his nostrils.

As the group crossed a small arched bridge made of stone bricks, the attendant said, “We’ve arrived at the Sea Pavilion Room,” and then retreated.

Sea Pavilion Room. At first, Lin Ting thought it was just a name.

After all, being in the center of S City, even with a small bay nearby, it wasn’t the kind of place that evoked thoughts of ‘being by the sea’.

It wasn’t until they entered the private hot spring pool that Lin Ting truly understood the meaning of exquisite craftsmanship.

The scenery inside the private pool was almost identical to the path they had walked. Large black rocks protruded unevenly from the four corners of the walls, faintly reflecting a dark green. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was moisture seeping from the cracks in the rocks, giving rise to a thin layer of moss.

The pool was irregularly shaped, with a dark bottom. Only upon careful observation could one discern that it was made of several large rocks of varying shapes, roughly pieced together and then smoothed. The feel of the bottom underfoot reminded Lin Ting of his childhood summers, when he returned to his grandfather’s old house in the countryside with his parents. Near the house was a small stream with clear water where children would splash and play upstream. The rocks underfoot then were rougher. Adults washed clothes downstream, the rhythmic thudding of laundry sticks against large stones on the bank creating crisp sounds.

Thud, thud.

The bird scarer at the edge of the pool, filled with water, struck a stone in front with a dong, and then quickly lifted its head, its tail connected to a crisp sound that followed, producing a second equally crisp sound.

The black rocks extended from the floor to the walls and crawled up to about a meter high in front of his field of vision before stopping. This was a semi-open-air pool. The upper part of the front wall was open, but it perfectly blocked out the dust and noise of the city below, revealing a corner of the distant bay. Between the bay and the wall, several rocks were visible, making it unclear whether they were indoors or by the sea.

Nature and the man-made blended seamlessly, their boundaries blurred by the steaming white mist.

“Ye Shanwen, go attend to my brother,” Gu Yi’s obnoxious tone shattered everything in front of them.

Lin Ting leaned against a stone that was slightly uncomfortable but one he quite liked, his hands resting naturally on either side. Hearing this, he tilted his head back and smirked.

The girl named Ye Shanwen seemed unaccustomed to such a situation. In her bathrobe, she appeared particularly reserved, her back slightly hunched. Her young, innocent face was flushed red from the hot spring. After hearing Gu Yi’s words, she suddenly looked up at him, her face full of shock, but her body moved uncontrollably towards Lin Ting.

Her eyes, however, were fixed on the distant, high bay.

As Ye Shanwen got within twenty centimeters of Lin Ting, he could already see the fine beads of sweat on her hairline.

“Sorry, I don’t really like people getting that close to me,” Lin Ting said with a reassuring smile.

Ye Shanwen suddenly turned her head, her large eyes slightly red as she looked at Lin Ting.

Lin Ting made a gesture of waving his hand with his palm facing outward. The girl then darted away like a loach slipping into water.

Gu Yi’s gaze flickered back and forth between Lin Ting and Ye Shanwen. “Lin Ting, don’t worry, I won’t tell Mom and Dad.”

“I don’t really like…”

Before Lin Ting could finish, Gu Yi’s face contorted into an enormous, terrifying grin that stretched to his cheeks. “You like guys? Han Ziqiu!”

Ever since their “chance encounter” in the shower room, Han Ziqiu had not dared to look Lin Ting in the eye. His body had been trembling slightly. When Gu Yi suddenly called his name loudly, he reflexively stood up in the pool. However, whether it was the slippery rocks under his feet or the heat making him dizzy, he lost his balance and fell straight into the water.

Lin Ting was the closest, but he couldn’t reach him in time to help him up. He could only pull him out of the water immediately after he hit the surface.

But Han Ziqiu was startled and was now coughing incessantly, trembling all over.

“You shouldn’t swim anymore, you should go out,” Lin Ting’s expression was now colder than the black rocks.

“Okay,” Han Ziqiu said, uttering only these words. He then got up, ignoring the gazes of the others behind him that felt like they could pierce his back.

Dong!

A dull thud, accompanied by a huge splash as the boy hit the water, carrying the distinctive scent of the hot spring and an anger that exploded from his heart to his limbs, struck Lin Ting.

The first time Han Ziqiu hit the water, he was standing on the bottom. But the second time, he was standing on the small stone steps.

And he was pulled into the water by a hand on the edge of the steps.

Compared to the first time, this was higher and more unexpected.

Lin Ting lunged forward, grabbed Han Ziqiu’s arm, and hoisted the vacant-eyed boy, who looked like a doll, onto his shoulder. He then stepped onto the stone stairs step by step.

Finally, as he turned to leave, he didn’t forget to say to Zhou Jing, who was standing by the stone steps, disdainfully flicking his hand, and to Gu Yi, who had been grinning the whole time, his eyes shining like a beast feasting,

“I, a modern person, don’t quite fit in this primitive mountain cave. I won’t disturb your regression to your ancestral roots.”

With that, he dragged Han Ziqiu away without looking back.

Behind the thick stone door, Gu Yi’s angry roar could be faintly heard, mixed with countless vulgar curses, and the sharp, short screams of girls, as if they were forced to swallow their sounds as soon as they were uttered. Lin Ting’s heart sank.

But he couldn’t afford to worry about that; he had to settle Han Ziqiu first.

Two boys, wearing only shorts and still dripping water, suddenly appearing in the crowded 52nd lower-level lobby were quite conspicuous. It was nearing evening, and the club was getting busier. Lin Ting ignored the stares of others and simply said to the flustered attendant who rushed over, “He’s been startled. Please bring bathrobes and hot tea.”

The attendant quickly brought two large bath towels, bathrobes, and two cups of hot tea, placing them in front of them. He repeatedly asked if they needed an ambulance. Despite receiving a negative answer, he still stood by them, his right hand pressed to his ear, seemingly speaking into an earpiece.

“It’s okay, you can go. Let him have some time alone,” Lin Ting said.

The attendant left, looking back repeatedly.

Han Ziqiu had no major physical injuries, and Lin Ting knew he didn’t want this incident to escalate.

“Thank you,” Han Ziqiu said, taking a sip of hot tea. The bath towel draped over him was already soaked by the water dripping from his hair, but he made no move.

From the moment Lin Ting brought him to the lobby, sat him on a sofa chair with his shoulders held, to the attendant draping him with a towel, he had been motionless. His eyeballs hadn’t even moved until he reached out to drink the tea just now.

It was only late October, and S City was still hot. The club kept the air conditioning in the lobby very low so guests could enjoy the hot springs.

Lin Ting also reached for the towel draped over the back of the sofa to wipe the water off himself. It was only then that he felt the chill emanating from his pores. He then wrapped the large bathrobe around himself and cupped his hands around the hot tea, blowing on it.

The steam from the hot tea fogged his vision, which was somewhat similar to the scene in the hot spring just now.

He just wondered what those wild monkeys were doing now with their unintelligent, regressive behaviors.

“It’s okay, you were implicated because of me,” Lin Ting said.

Han Ziqiu looked up from his teacup and gave a bitter smile. “It has nothing to do with you.”

“Bullying?”

“Probably. I don’t know.”

“Why?” Lin Ting regretted asking as soon as the words left his mouth. Wasn’t it obvious? Besides, did bullies need a reason?

Sensing Lin Ting’s silence, he quickly added, “It’s okay, don’t say it if you don’t want to. I’m a bit of a blabbermouth…”

“It’s fine. You probably can guess, right? I like guys. I accidentally posted something on Weibo that got sent to them…” Han Ziqiu paused for a moment. “It’s my fault too, for using Weibo like a diary.” He then put down his teacup, covered his eyes with both palms, and rested his head on his knees, becoming quiet.

Lin Ting remained silent, slowly sipping his tea. He was terrible at comforting people, and furthermore, comfort was meaningless; what was meaningful was ‘resolution.’

Clearly, he couldn’t resolve it, and Lin Ting couldn’t help him resolve it either.

“Are you guys starting your date already?”