Showbiz Scandal: The Official Announcement of My Ex and Myself-Chapter 379: The Honest, Good Son of the Middle-Aged Couple
After wandering around the crowd for a while, Xie Qingci dusted off the crumbs of sesame cake from his hands and got up to head back.
Yu Xia was talking with Fang Yuanzhou.
Earlier in the afternoon, they had speculated whether some overconfident fool would buy fishing rods and nets; now that person had actually appeared. Fang Yuanzhou had obtained a shovel and a net by completing a task.
Seeing Xie Qingci approaching, she quickly waved for him to hurry over.
"Come quickly, Fang Yuanzhou says he lives by the sea and knows how to dig for seafood!"
Xie Qingci paused in his steps, thinking indeed, his home is by the sea with wide waves.
He smiled, "Can we dig for seafood here too?"
Fang Yuanzhou, a bit dense, excitedly replied, "As long as there’s a sea, it’s possible. Whether there’s anything there, we just have to try. Besides, it’s not dark yet, and it’s still early, we can give it a shot!"
Yu Xia was also quite interested, looking up at him.
He chuckled, nodded, and said, "Sure, let’s call everyone to join in. Perhaps there’s hope."
Everyone readily agreed, very interested in this post-dinner activity. Carrying buckets and shovels, they headed to the beach. Most of the boys took off their shoes, rolled up their pants, and waded into the water, discussing how to use the fishing net.
Yu Xia also took off her shoes, stepping barefoot on the wet, soft sand, which brought a slight itch but mostly comfort.
In a good mood, she donned a straw hat and crouched at the edge where the waves gently lapped at the sand, digging.
Following Fang Yuanzhou’s instructions, any suspicious small holes and protruding areas might have something underneath, so she specifically pried at those spots. Since there weren’t enough shovels, she used a stick, giving the shovels to Lan Hui and them.
After digging in one area, all they found were some shells and coral stones, none edible.
Yu Xia washed the coral stones in the seawater till they were clean, raised them to the sunlight for a closer look, and found them quite pretty.
One in particular, a crescent-shaped white coral stone, small and jade-like.
She shook off the water from the coral stone, holding down her windblown hair as she stood up.
The sun was already kissing the distant horizon, with the male participants moving around, disturbing the tranquil sea. The orange-red afterglow of the sunset scattered on the water like a layer of golden fragments on a beautiful woman’s face.
As she squinted at this breathtaking grand scene, she wondered if Xie Qingci would like the crescent coral stone if she gave it to him.
Coincidentally, Song Xi emerged from the sea, noticed their nearby bucket was empty, and jokingly asked, "Didn’t find anything?"
Yu Xia snapped back to reality, showing him the clean coral stones.
"Didn’t find anything edible, but found some beautiful ones."
Song Xi wasn’t a fan of describing something as "beautiful", crouching down, he said, "Shall I give it a try?"
Lan Hui, holding a shovel, handed the tool to him and crouched nearby to watch. Yu Xia also rested her chin on her hand, crouching by the side, still exploring the small shells in the sand, washing them clean for closer admiration.
"Could it be you weren’t digging deep enough?" Song Xi, without much experience himself, tried to find a problem and then started digging in a new spot.
In the sand he dug up, there were also coral stones, which Yu Xia followed behind, picking up. Before long, she had gathered a handful.
Just then, Lan Hui exclaimed, "It’s a clam!"
She immediately looked up to find that Song Xi had unearthed five or six clams beside him, along with a sea snail.
What did this mean? They found nothing through their digging, yet this person managed to find something right away. Did clams favor this human variant?
Unconvinced, Yu Xia used a stick to dig around that area. Song Xi observed for a while, adjusted his glasses to hide a smile, and handed her the shovel.
"Use this, it’s more convenient."
Yu Xia initially didn’t want to take it, but Song Xi pressed the shovel into her hands and pointed next to her foot, saying, "Seems there’s something under the sand, dig quickly."
She couldn’t focus on anything else now, crouching down to dig fervently.
After digging quite a deep hole, she pulled out a razor clam, with an accompanying clam nearby.
Though the meat was too scant to be exciting, she felt a sense of "career success" and "unexpected windfall" satisfaction.
Having made some gains, she became more enthusiastic in her digging, holding the shovel and carrying the bucket, digging the beach with Lan Hui until it was full of holes, eventually accumulating nearly half a bucket, even catching a crab along the way.
The female participants who initially joined them found it boring and ran off to the sea to pull nets with the boys, their laughter echoing through the air.
Feeling tired from digging, Yu Xia sat on the sand, washing the shells, while looking towards the commotion with a smile.
A mix of boys and girls, their conversations and laughter were normal, common among such variety shows where romance often blossoms after, unlike romantic reality shows which only lead to breakups.
She pondered who might develop feelings for whom, observing that two female celebrities seemed quite popular with the guys.
The boys were proactive, saying something that amused the female participants into laughter. However, Xie Qingci stood quietly in the shallow water, beside Tan and her husband.
While everyone else was engrossed in a young singles’ dating program, he resembled the dutiful eldest son from a middle-aged couple’s household.
Unable to hold it back, she chuckled.
Sitting across from Lan Hui, Song Xi extended a hand to the two girls.
"I picked these up while digging, they look quite nice. Would you like them?"
In his palm were washed clean shells, coral stones, and a few empty sea snails.
Not sure how long he had been holding them, his damp fingers bore marks from pressure.
Lan Hui exclaimed, "They’re so beautiful! Are you giving them to us?"
Song Xi nodded, "Girls seem to like pretty things like these, don’t they? I noticed you were collecting them."
Yu Xia picked some well-shaped sea snails and smiled at Song Xi, "Didn’t expect you to be such a detailed-oriented warm guy. Thank you."
Song Xi smiled warmly, "It’s just a small thing. Don’t you want the rest of the coral stones, Yu Xia?"
"No need, I have my own finds. You can keep the rest for other girls; they probably like them too."
This played right into Song Xi’s plan, as he never intended to give them to her alone, making sure to keep up appearances on camera was a must.
Although, when thinking about it, it seemed quite pitiful that he had to rely on a flimsy excuse to openly offer her something.
Unaware of his thoughts, Yu Xia made polite small talk with a dismissive smile.
The sun dipped below the horizon, leaving the light dim, and everyone, having had their fun, returned from the water. The net dragged in had only a few crabs and shrimp, not nearly as many clams as Yu Xia and the others had unearthed.
As the livestream footage was no longer needed, everyone turned off their drones and sat on the sand, washing the sand from their legs.
Yu Xia crawled into her tent, trying to flatten the uneven areas at the bottom, then laid out the shells she had collected on a leaf to dry.
The crescent coral stone she had specially kept with her, preparing to sneak it to Xie Qingci as she climbed out.
As she crawled out, she noticed a man and a woman still walking by the sea, very close, while others subtly watched from a distance.
Was this... truly developing into something? So openly, they were starting a date right in front of everyone?
