Jiang Mo looked at the two hands extended toward her and, without hesitation, grabbed one in each of hers, using their support to effortlessly pull herself onto the shore.
Gu Ye took the water gun from Jiang Mo’s hand and asked, "Fun, right? There’s a changing room up ahead—do you want to go change?"
"Sounds good. You really know how to plan trips. This place you found is great," Jiang Mo replied, glancing down at her soaked clothes clinging uncomfortably to her skin.
Luckily, she had brought a spare set of clothes.
"I’ll go change first. You two wait outside, and once I’m done, you can go change too."
With that, Jiang Mo walked off, leaving Gu Ye and Li Zheng standing awkwardly together, unsure of what to say.
They stood side by side in silence, the air thick with slight embarrassment.
Gu Ye pulled out his phone to check the group photos they had just taken and turned to Li Zheng. "We haven’t added each other as friends yet, right? Let’s do that."
"Oh, sure," Li Zheng replied, surprised. A big celebrity was asking to add him as a friend! He wondered if he’d get to see any juicy gossip on Gu Ye’s social media.
After adding each other, Li Zheng quickly scrolled through Gu Ye’s feed—the first post was a nine-photo grid.
Almost immediately, a notification popped up: several red envelopes had been sent to him.
Li Zheng turned to Gu Ye in confusion. "Bro, why are you sending me red envelopes?"
"Thanks for taking those photos earlier, and also—good luck with your college entrance exams. Just a little token," Gu Ye said, patting Li Zheng’s shoulder like an old friend.
Li Zheng shook his head. "No way, this is too much. I didn’t do anything special, and you already paid for the rafting tickets today."
Gu Ye swiftly tapped a few more times on his phone screen. "Done. No need to be polite about it."
When Jiang Mo returned in fresh clothes, she said, "Alright, you two can go change now."
Gu Ye shrugged. "I’m not that wet, and I didn’t bring extra clothes. It’s fine—I’ll just dry off in the sun."
The rafting trip had been his last-minute idea, after all.
"My brother brought extra clothes. You could wear his," Jiang Mo suggested—she’d come prepared.
Five minutes later, Jiang Mo glanced up from her phone as the two emerged from the changing room and burst out laughing.
Everything else was fine, but the sweatpants were noticeably too short, ending above their ankles like capris.
Gu Ye flushed with embarrassment and shuffled over to Jiang Mo’s side. "Stop laughing."
Jiang Mo composed herself. "It’s actually not bad. Just… slightly shorter than usual."
Li Zheng, still playing the role of the dutiful bag carrier, admired Gu Ye’s outfit. "Gotta admit, Bro Ye pulls it off way better than I do—just a tiny bit cooler."
The three boarded the shuttle bus back to the rafting starting point, sitting in the last row. A few girls in front kept turning around, eavesdropping on their conversation.
Jiang Mo followed their gaze and realized—they were staring at Gu Ye.
Finally, one of them spoke up. "Excuse me… are you Gu Ye? Your voice and face look just like his."
She paused, then added, "But the outfit… his style isn’t like this."
Gu Ye & Li Zheng: "…"
Well, that one comment managed to offend both of them.
Jiang Mo forced an awkward smile. "You’ve got the wrong person. My friend does resemble him a bit—people say that a lot."
The girl nodded to herself. "Yeah, he probably wouldn’t come to a place like this for rafting anyway."
Li Zheng frowned. "What’s wrong with this place? Seems pretty nice to me."
The girl shrugged. "It’s too cheap—meant for regular folks. Celebrities like him would only go to high-end spots. They’d never bother with somewhere like this."
Gu Ye: Slander. Absolute slander.
Since when couldn’t he enjoy a place like this? Was this girl even his fan?
"It’s not that serious. This place is great," Gu Ye muttered, offering a half-hearted defense.
After that little incident, the three kept their voices low for the rest of the ride. Once they reached the entrance, they checked the time—it was about right to head back for dinner.
"I’ll treat you both to dinner. What do you feel like eating?" Jiang Mo asked on the way to the car.
Li Zheng grinned. "You know me, Sis—I’ll eat anything."
Gu Ye nodded. "Same here."
In the end, Jiang Mo took them for hot pot. After dinner, Gu Ye drove them home.
When they reached the neighborhood gate, Li Zheng politely asked, "Bro Ye, do you wanna come up and hang out for a bit?"
It was almost 10 PM—no way he’d actually take the offer.
Li Zheng was already fantasizing about buying a watermelon on the way home, showering, then gaming while eating chilled slices. Perfect night!
"Sure," Gu Ye replied. "Might as well—I’ll just park inside."
Jiang Mo froze. Wait, this wasn’t how things were supposed to go.
Before she could react, Gu Ye was already following the siblings to their doorstep.
This was Gu Ye’s first time visiting Jiang Mo’s home. The apartment wasn’t large, but the living room walls were covered in a photo collage—snapshots of the siblings at different ages, along with family portraits.
The couch was lined with plush toys, and a knitted flower bouquet sat on the coffee table, giving the space a cozy feel.
"Make yourself at home," Jiang Mo said, tidying up the scattered items on the couch and table. "Li Zheng, go cut the watermelon we just bought."
Gu Ye settled onto the couch, taking in his surroundings. So this was where Jiang Mo lived.
Meanwhile, Jiang Mo wheeled her suitcase into her room.
Li Zheng returned with half a watermelon and handed it to Gu Ye, a spoon sticking out of the flesh. "Here you go, Bro Ye."
"Uh… this much?" Gu Ye stared at the massive portion in his hands.
"Summer’s all about eating watermelon like this!" Li Zheng declared, carrying out the other half. "My sis and I will share this one."
Gu Ye hesitated, then turned to Jiang Mo as she re-entered the room. "Do you want some? You can have this—I don’t think I can finish it."
Jiang Mo shot Li Zheng a look. "Little bro, why didn’t you cut it properly?"
Who in their right mind could eat half a watermelon right after dinner?
Well, a growing teenage boy could.
Li Zheng dug his spoon in. "We do this all the time."
Jiang Mo sliced the watermelon into manageable pieces, and only then did Gu Ye take a wedge.
As the three sat around eating, Gu Ye said, "I’ll wash these clothes and have your sister return them to you later."
"Sounds good," Li Zheng agreed, then turned to Jiang Mo. "Sis, are you staying home tonight or going back to the Gu residence?"
Jiang Mo gave him a sidelong glance. "I’m already home—of course I’m staying. I’ll head to work tomorrow."
"Oh, okay." Li Zheng looked at Gu Ye. "Bro Ye, it’s kinda late. Will your family mind you getting back at this hour?"
Gu Ye wiped his hands with a tissue. "Nah, I could even stay out overnight if I wanted."
Li Zheng immediately regretted asking. What if he actually took the hint and decided to stay?
