What Are Your Tastes? chapter 66
Strange Glances
Buying a house couldn’t be decided immediately. After discussing it, they spent two consecutive weekends looking at houses without making any substantial progress.
Some of the developments Zhou Yanchuan had previously checked out had good conditions but were located in remote areas with low foot traffic, making it almost impossible to get around without a car; there were plenty of high-end neighborhoods in the city center, but they tended to the other extreme, with either too much noise or inadequate security; some villas looked shiny on the outside, but had chaotic internal structures and unreasonable room layouts…
Finally, Zhou Yanchuan thought of the community where Mo Ziyang lived—a relatively new development built in the past two years, with well-equipped supermarkets and convenience stores nearby, and a few specialty restaurants; the community was conveniently located near the entrance to the overpass, making it easier for both of them to get to work.
“Sure, you guys should come,” Mo Ziyang encouraged him, “our developer might still have some units available, so you wouldn’t even need to buy a second-hand one. Want me to check for you?”
“Okay, thanks.”
They were getting tired of house hunting, and the Dragon Boat Festival holiday was approaching. Ning Ruowei and An Yuan had invited them to go to the reservoir together, so the house decision was postponed until after the holiday.
Since Ning Ruowei found out they were together, she had wanted to hang out with them, but An Yuan’s irregular schedule always made it hard to find a suitable time. Ning Ruowei herself had also enrolled in a driving school, dedicating her spare time to practicing driving. Finally, they managed to relax during the Dragon Boat Festival.
The northern reservoir had become a popular little scenic spot in Sen City, offering fishing, barbecuing, camping, and a newly built forest park nearby for enjoying lush natural scenery.
On the second day of the short holiday, the four of them drove over in two cars, with Lu Yunchu and Zhou Yanchuan arriving ten minutes later. From the parking lot, they saw Ning Ruowei in a sports outfit waving at them from afar.
“Why didn’t you go ahead?” Lu Yunchu asked.
“An Yuan is over there. We were worried you wouldn’t find us.” Ning Ruowei’s gaze turned to Zhou Yanchuan, cheerfully greeting, “Mr. Zhou, nice to see you again!”
“Yeah,” Zhou Yanchuan smiled, “it’s hard to arrange a time with you two being so busy.”
“I’m learning to drive. It will be better once I finish.”
At their feet was a clear stream with rocky banks and bottom. Some children were playing in the water nearby. Following the stream upstream for about ten minutes, their view opened up to a vast water surface.
The reservoir covered a large area, surrounded on three sides by mountains with lush vegetation, casting grassy reflections on the water that swayed gently with the wind.
This place was known for its rich fishing grounds, attracting most visitors for fishing. The group of 4 also brought fishing gear to join in the fun.
An Yuan had set up a picnic mat on the grassy area by the water, waiting for them. The four of them, all attractive, drew some attention and whispers from young onlookers, likely assuming they were two couples.
An Yuan wasn’t particularly interested in fishing and was mainly there to accompany Ning Ruowei. After sitting for a while, she retreated to the picnic mat to rest, still within clear view of the others.
Lu Yunchu came under a tree for a drink of water midway and saw her sitting cross-legged, staring intently at the water’s edge.
“Not fishing anymore?”
“No, I’m good,” she took off her sun hat and wiped the sweat from her forehead, “this is fine too.”
Ning Ruowei, quite experienced in fishing, and Zhou Yanchuan, confident in his skills, were still engrossed in their activity, with some initial success already in the red bucket beside them.
“Mr. Zhou, looks like you got something?”
“Oh oh—” Zhou Yanchuan hurriedly reeled in the line, splashing water on his face as he scooped up the fish, quickly shaking his head to dry off.
“Mr. Zhou seems different from before.” Bored, An Yuan started chatting with Lu Yunchu.
“Really?”
“Just a feeling,” she said, “but I never really knew him well.”
Lu Yunchu felt that An Yuan had changed more, no longer exuding the strong indifference she had when they first met.
“How are you getting along with Ruowei?”
“Good,” she rarely smiled, “she’s very interesting.”
“Hey!” Ning Ruowei shouted back at them, “Come and see, Mr. Zhou caught a big one!”
“Let’s go, have a look,” Lu Yunchu said.
“Okay.”
The fishing area had a restaurant where they could cook their catch. They had grilled fish for lunch on the restaurant’s terrace, choosing a garlic flavor as Zhou Yanchuan and An Yuan couldn’t handle spicy food, accompanied by some seasonal vegetables.
The sky had been slightly overcast in the morning, but by midday, the clouds had cleared, and the sun was scorching. By the end of the meal, all four were sweating profusely, each opening a bottle of iced cola.
They were only out for the day and hadn’t planned to camp, but Ning Ruowei brought a hammock she had bought online for fun and never had the chance to use. She hung it between two trees and lay down to rest after lunch, finding it very enjoyable.
Zhou Yanchuan and Lu Yunchu sat on the ground looking at photos, not particularly interested in the swaying hammock.
“Yunchu, why don’t you try it?” Ning Ruowei jumped off and waved at him.
“Go ahead,” Zhou Yanchuan said, but then felt a sudden unease, as if something was stuck to his back. He instinctively looked around, but only saw other tourists like them.
Lu Yunchu sat on the hammock and struck a simple pose, “Take a picture for me.”
“Okay.” Zhou Yanchuan immediately aimed his phone camera at him and took a few photos. Afterward, he felt uneasy, sensing someone was watching them.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Yunchu felt uncomfortable lying on the hammock, so after taking the photos, he jumped down and noticed something was off with Zhou Yanchuan.
“It’s nothing.”
Even though his suspicion was baseless, Zhou Yanchuan felt anxious and secretly looked around. All he saw were unfamiliar faces, nothing noteworthy.
So why did he have this strange feeling of being watched by prying eyes?
Initially, there were some young people making faces and whispering about them, but the current situation was different. He felt an unsettling sense of being spied on.
Lu Yunchu came back with four ice creams and asked him which flavor he wanted.
“Whatever, let the girls choose.”
The two girls chose strawberry and vanilla, leaving the two chocolate ones.
Zhou Yanchuan took one, still feeling dazed. Maybe he was just tired recently and hallucinating. He didn’t want to worry the others, so he brushed off Lu Yunchu’s second inquiry.
“I’ll drive us back later,” Lu Yunchu said.
“Alright, sounds good.”
In the afternoon, they walked around the nearby forest park. The park was built on a hillside with gentle winding paths. From a higher point, they could see the reservoir below, with the afternoon sun casting a mix of green and golden light.
It was relatively cool in the forest. After walking most of the way, Zhou Yanchuan’s anxiety subsided. He no longer felt watched, convincing himself it was just heat-induced hallucinations. He relaxed and caught up with the others.
..
After the Dragon Boat Festival, Zhou Yanchuan and Lu Yunchu didn’t immediately find time to look at houses again because Zhou Yanchuan received an important meeting invitation in S City and had to leave for a few days.