Chapter 62: Fun at the Seaside

The next day was clear and bright, with gentle winds and beautiful sunshine—the perfect time for an outing. Even with the National Day holiday peak, it could not dampen people's enthusiasm for travel.

At eight in the morning, the group was fully prepared, having packed their tools, and set off in high spirits.

The original plan was for Shen Yan and the two other young people to go to the seaside, but after Yu Chengdong and his wife found out, they wanted to tag along, using the excuse that "you kids go have your fun, we two will be in charge of logistics," and promised a barbecue feast.

Thus, the trio became a group of five.

Just as they went downstairs, a blue tricycle was parked in front of the convenience store, stacked with crates of beer arranged in an orderly fashion. A middle-aged man was moving them into the store one by one, while the convenience store owner counted them on the side.

Seeing the group, Li Shen curled her lips and said with a smile, "Oh! Xiao Yan and Youwei are back for the holiday! Who is this girl? She's even prettier than those female stars on TV."

Wu Yue'er lifted her chin slightly, like a proud little swan, while Yu Youwei explained that she was a classmate who had come to visit.

Then Li Shen started rambling about how university students have such a refined temperament.

It must be said that Li Shen was truly a businesswoman; even though her character wasn't great, her social pleasantries were endless, making people feel favorably toward her before they even realized it.

Noticing the group walking straight toward the black BMW that had appeared out of nowhere, Shen Yan handed the car keys to Yu Chengdong. Yu Chengdong pressed a button, and the BMW went "beep, beep," leaving Li Shen astonished.

"Chengdong, did you buy a new car again?"

Yu Chengdong said, "The car was bought by Xiao Yan; I'm just taking it for a spin."

Li Shen was completely bewildered. Everyone knew the Shen Family's financial situation; how could Shen Yan, a student who had just started university, have the money to buy such a nice car?

Several neighbors nearby were equally incredulous and hurriedly asked what was going on. Shen Yan said, "Everyone, you'd better ask my grandma. We're in a hurry to leave, so let's not chat anymore."

After saying this, Shen Yan put the things in his hands into the trunk and climbed directly into the car.

Yu Chengdong didn't want to waste any more breath on the neighbors either; he said, "Let's talk later," and immediately started the car.

Watching the car gradually drive away, the neighbors looked at each other, then all walked toward the Shen Family home together.

With such big gossip, they wouldn't feel right if they didn't get to the bottom of it.

Yuliao Resort is a national-level scenic spot (AAA grade) that integrates summer retreat, vacationing, leisure, and entertainment. It is known as the "Oriental Hawaii." The Yuliao beach is 2,000 meters long and 800 meters wide, making it one of the largest and flattest beaches on the continental shelf of southeastern China.

Caught in the National Day peak, the journey was full of traffic jams and stops, and after a full two hours, the destination finally came into view.

Adult tickets were 30 each, with half-price for students. Of course, since they were out with Yu Chengdong and his wife, the juniors didn't even have the chance to pay.

The boundless, crescent-shaped golden beach, waves lapping at the shore to stir up white foam, seagulls circling in the air—admiring the picturesque scenery, one could see temporary tents everywhere, with tourists playing to their hearts' content on the sand, dotting this azure beach to form a vivid picture.

Looking at everything before her, Wu Yue'er couldn't help but be mesmerized. Indeed, seeing it with one's own eyes was a completely different concept from videos on the internet.

It's so beautiful!

She hurriedly started filming with her phone.

Shen Yan also took some photos with his phone to tease Xiao Qiqi.

The group quickly set up their tent and then couldn't wait to dash toward the sea.

The beach has two high and low tides every day, about 6 hours apart. At this moment, it was during the ebb tide; the tide danced lightly under the breeze and then gradually receded, revealing the wet, glistening sand.

Whenever this happened, many beautiful seashells were always left on the beach, along with many tiny crabs scurrying about busily. Just then, Yu Youwei set her sights on a little crab, chasing after it, wanting to catch it but afraid to, terrified of being pinched by its claws.

Wu Yue'er, a newborn calf not afraid of the tiger, grabbed the crab's shell after hearing Shen Yan explain the technique for catching them. Watching the little crab struggling desperately in her hand but unable to break free, she revealed a smile as bright as the stars.

"Giggle!"

"Shen Yan, hurry up and take a picture for me."

"Shen Yan, there's a huge seashell here!"

"Someone over there dug up an octopus!"

The two young girls arrived at the sea as if some switch had been flipped; they began to completely let themselves go, running here and looking there.

Yu Chengdong and his wife were much more elegant, walking barefoot hand-in-hand along the beach, watching the three young people with smiles in their eyes.

It was as if they were saying, "Youth is truly wonderful!"

Seeing her daughter playing too wildly, Sun Bixia called out, "Youwei, slow down, watch your step, and don't fall."

"Got it!" Yu Youwei replied without even turning her head.

At this moment, Wu Yue'er discovered a novel scene in a shallow water trench and exclaimed, "Wow! Why are this little crab's eyes standing up?"

Shen Yan went over to take a look. Ha! A sentinel crab was bathing in the water pool, its 1cm-long, cartoonish eyes standing high up, a pair of claws pinching the base of its left eye as if cleaning off dirt. It kept switching between vertical and horizontal eye positions, and its drinking motion was also very cute, using both claws to pinch water and feed it to its mouth.

Shen Yan hurriedly used his phone to record this scene.

After Hao Anqi received the video, her girlish heart was completely melted, and she typed: "Stinky Yan, if you don't take me to the seaside in the future, I... I will never be friends with you again."

Shen Yan: "That's a bit extreme..."

"Hmph! Who told you to keep sending videos to tempt me."

Shen Yan said fine, then I'll play by myself from now on so you won't have to see it and get annoyed. Upon hearing this, Hao Anqi wasn't happy again, saying the videos still had to be sent, as good things should be shared.

Shen Yan: "......"

A woman's face is like the weather in June; it changes as soon as it says it will, making it truly hard to fathom.

After digging for seafood for several hours until they were famished, Yu Chengdong began to set up the barbecue grill, taking out various seasonings, ingredients, and fruitwood charcoal from the storage box, while Shen Yan helped out on the side.

As the red charcoal fire in the grill burned vigorously, the aroma of roasted meat gradually permeated the air, making one's mouth water. Nearby adults and children glanced over frequently, swallowing their saliva from time to time.

This is damn good.

Yu Chengdong flipped the meat skewers while glancing at Shen Yan, saying, "Ha! Xiao Yan, your skills are quite practiced; you must have done this a lot before."

Shen Yan said that when going out for late-night snacks, there were barbecue stalls everywhere, and since the movements weren't complicated, he learned just by watching more.

Yu Chengdong nodded in appreciation; being able to do it so well after just watching a few times showed his practical ability.

Brushing oil, sprinkling spices...

On the golden, shimmering beach, with the breeze blowing, the group ate barbecue while watching the various scenes of laughter and play on the beach—people playing beach volleyball, building sandcastles, flying kites—everyone was enjoying their rare holiday time to the fullest.

Taking out his phone to scroll through, Shen Yan discovered that Wu Yue'er had posted several updates, including videos like the one of the sentinel crab, as well as various beautiful seaside sceneries.

There was a pile of comments below.

Lin Yang: No one told me, otherwise I would have gone too (sad).

Luo Qiqi: The beach is even bigger than ours, and there are even sea activities; I really want to play.

Yuan Mingqing: There are crabs with eyes this long? First time I've seen one.

Yu Youwei: You didn't even take a good picture of me.

Chen Shanni: You guys really know how to have fun, you even got a barbecue going.

Tang Song: Old Shen actually knows how to barbecue, the technique looks pretty good.

Zhu Baoping: So the beautiful Wu went to Cangnan too, I really want to see the ocean.

Huang Shuren: Happy holidays! The ocean is beautiful!

There were also various expressions of longing from other classmates, who all decided to go see the ocean during their university years.