A chill crept up Yu Xia's spine.

"What's wrong with you, why are you so distracted while eating?" Xu Ke asked as he looked at the untouched food in front of Yu Xia.

"Are you feeling unwell? You don't look quite right; perhaps we should go to the hospital for a check-up after eating?" Lin Mengyao said, concerned about Yu Xia's overly pale lips.

"No, no need, I'm fine," Yu Xia forced a smile at Xu Ke and Lin Mengyao.

"But you don't look like everything's fine. What's going on with you? Are you not adjusting well to the environment in Xizhou?" Lin Mengyao shook her head, looking worriedly at Yu Xia.

Xu Ke also put down his cutlery and said, "If you're not adjusting to the environment here, we could go somewhere else. I'm still on vacation, we can go wherever you want."

"Really, there's no need, I'm okay."

"But you look so pale," Lin Mengyao commented as she looked at Yu Xia's face.

"It's probably because I accidentally put on too much powder this morning. Isn't it trendy now to make yourself look fairer?" Yu Xia touched her face and said.

Instinctively, she chose to conceal what happened yesterday. Without knowing the other party's intention, Yu Xia didn't want this matter to affect their rare outing.

The two didn't probe further seeing that Yu Xia didn't want to talk, but they kept it in mind.

Learning from yesterday's lesson, Yu Xia didn't wear traditional attire to walk on the streets, partly to avoid random extremists like yesterday and also because it was too hot today, wearing so much might cause heatstroke.

As Lin Mengyao stepped out of the hotel, a wave of heat hit her, making her take a step out and retreat half a step back.

"It's way too sunny." With just that moment, Lin Mengyao felt like the skin on her legs was almost roasted. She even felt like the asphalt road in front of her was melting, though it might just be an illusion.

"Shall we not go today?" Yu Xia said as she looked at the glaring sun above.

"We already promised yesterday to go, how can we give up halfway? It's okay, let's go. If you feel too hot, we can go back and change into long pants," Lin Mengyao pondered and said.

Yu Xia looked at today's temperature and shook her head.

Even in a short skirt, she felt a bit hot, changing into long pants might well lead to heatstroke.

"No need, it's quite nice like this, it's cooler," Yu Xia declined Lin Mengyao's proposal with a shake of her head.

They sat in the car with the air conditioning on, relishing the coolness in secret, enjoying it so much that they squinted their eyes, but this joy didn't last long as they soon reached their destination, Furong Garden.

The timing of their arrival at Furong Garden was neither great nor terrible. The good thing was the garden was lush, but the bad thing was the outside temperature soared again, and around them was neither a place to buy drinks to quench their thirst nor a place that provided shade.

All three of them had a blush of red on their fair skin, and sweat dripped relentlessly down their temples, presenting an uncommonly disheveled appearance.

"Tomorrow, definitely don't go out during the day. The daytime in Xizhou is just too hot. I feel like I'm now in Flame Mountain; I might need Princess Iron Fan's Palm Leaf Fan. I've never liked air conditioning this much," Lin Mengyao said, flicking her hair with her hand as Xu Ke tried to wipe her sweat but was quickly avoided by Lin Mengyao.

"Don't touch me, keep your distance, I'm rejecting any heat source right now."

Xu Ke was amused by Lin Mengyao's heightened caution and said, "Don't worry, I won't touch you. Wipe your sweat with a tissue, otherwise, your makeup might melt." He handed a tissue from his hand to Lin Mengyao, and gave another to Yu Xia.

"Sister, if you can't bear it, let's go back. It seems this place doesn't look too different after seeing it enough, and there's nothing particularly special," Yu Xia advised upon seeing Lin Mengyao appearing so miserably unable to withstand the heat, as if she might faint any moment.

But oddly, Lin Mengyao became more stubborn; hearing Yu Xia's words not only didn't make her leave, it ignited some inexplicable resolve.

"I don't want to give up like this, we're already here, and already sun-soaked, who knows when we'll come back to Xizhou again. Leaving this place unfinished—can you really feel comfortable with that?" Lin Mengyao provocatively raised an eyebrow as she asked Xu Ke and Yu Xia.

"Sister is right. I'll listen to Sister. I wouldn't want to leave a regret here either," Yu Xia immediately voiced her agreement after listening to Lin Mengyao's words.

"If you two aren't afraid of the sun, then I, the man, will accompany you with no regrets," Xu Ke had no opposition, and the trio set off again.

Maybe it was their resilient spirit that moved the heavens, for they soon spotted a drink stall not far away. Originally worn down by the sun, the two's eyes instantly sparkled again, and with long strides, they quickly reached the drink stall.

"Do you have ice cream?"

"Do you have ice cream?"

Yu Xia and Lin Mengyao's voices sounded in unison.

The owner, who seemed to have been there for a long time, looked up at Yu Xia and Lin Mengyao and nodded, as if not inclined to talk much.

"We would like three ice creams, what flavors do you have left?" Xu Ke asked, glancing at the ice cream machine inside.

"Only the original flavor left, and the remaining amount is only enough for one serving," the owner rasped, shaking the palm leaf fan in his hand.

"I'll just have a drink then, save the ice cream for Xiaxia," Lin Mengyao said as she again reached for a tissue to wipe the sweat on her face.

"We can share it after we buy; I can't finish a whole serving by myself," Yu Xia said quietly, a shy smile appearing on her face upon hearing Lin Mengyao's words.

Seeing the affectionate interaction between the two sisters, Xu Ke felt like he was chaperoning children, "Three iced lemon waters and an ice cream, please." While saying this, Xu Ke scanned and paid for the items.

Once the payment was received, the owner's actions became brisk. Having just been seated like a sloth, he now moved quickly; in the blink of an eye, he had prepared three cups of lemon water, with only the lids left to be pressed on.

Since the machine needed a moment to warm up, the owner efficiently used the waiting time to prepare the last ice cream.

"Here's your ice cream," the owner said as he extended the ice cream.

Before Xu Ke could reach out to grab it, a tanned hand quickly snatched the ice cream from the owner's hand.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.