“Ahem!” I coughed twice to break the awkward atmosphere and quickly said, “Well, uh… how about we go to the beach?”
“Sure! I don’t mind. I’ll go wherever Sister Mengdie wants!” Tang Shuyao chirped, wrapping her arm around Qin Mengdie’s arm.
‘Damn, show-offs like this deserve to die, don’t they?’
Wang Ziyan smiled. “The beach sounds great! I’m in.”
“I’ll follow the crowd!” Xu Xin chimed in.
Only Sister Lin hesitated, mumbling, “Can we… not go to the beach?”
“No!” The rest of us shouted in perfect unison—except for Sister Lin, of course.
As for why I wanted to go to the beach? Well, it had always been a dream of mine—watching the sunset alone, and the sunrise with a group.
But, of course, the ‘real’ reason was… ‘Bikinis on the beach, hell yeah!’
The main attraction was definitely the eye candy!
“Are you sure you want to go now?” I asked Tang Shuyao, rubbing my temples.
After deciding on the beach trip, this little girl actually wanted to leave ‘immediately’. Wasn’t it already too late?
“Yeah! If we go now, we can still catch the sunset! The sky will be all red—so pretty!” Tang Shuyao was practically vibrating with excitement.
I sighed. “But there aren’t any beaches near Beijing, right?”
“We can go to Beidaihe! It’s not that far!” She glared at me. ‘Damn, this girl’s got attitude.’
“It’s still kinda late, isn’t it?” It was already afternoon, and getting there would take a while. Not everyone could ‘fly’ like me!
Tang Shuyao smirked. “It’s not too late. I can just call someone to pick us up—by helicopter!”
‘…Okay.’ I take back what I just thought. ‘Damn it! Flying means nothing in front of rich people, does it?!’
Suddenly, this whole cultivation thing felt pointless. No matter how strong I got, one well-placed rocket and I’d be meeting the King of Hell in no time.
“Helicopter? Wow, Yao Yao, your family must be loaded!” Sister Lin wrapped an arm around Tang Shuyao with a teasing grin.
“Oh, we do alright,” Tang Shuyao replied casually.
Sister Lin sighed dramatically. “Too bad I’m a girl—otherwise, I’d marry you!”
“Your chest has already evolved to a man’s level. At this rate, you’ll fully transform soon! Keep it up!” I joked, grinning mischievously.
“Ahhh!” Sister Lin shrieked and lunged at me, ready for a fight.
Eighteen years of singlehood had forged my extraordinary arm strength, and now that I was on the cultivation path, I was unstoppable. Did this little girl really think she could challenge me?
‘Time to teach her a lesson!’
“Enough. Stop fooling around. It’s not too late to go now,” Qin Mengdie said coolly.
The room instantly fell silent.
“Hey, did you even make the call?” I asked Tang Shuyao impatiently. It had been half an hour since she supposedly called—where was the Tang family’s helicopter? ‘Don’t tell me she’s renting one last-minute!’
Tang Shuyao planted her hands on her hips. “I ‘told’ you to wait a bit!”
“It’s been half an hour! Are you messing with me?” I shot back.
Her face twisted in anger, and she was about to argue when Qin Mengdie pulled her back. “There’s no point arguing with someone so uncivilized.”
“Hmph! I won’t waste my breath on a pervert like you! I’m ‘way’ too classy for that!” Tang Shuyao stuck her tongue out at me and turned away, waiting for the helicopter.
Before long, three helicopters arrived, their deafening roar making my ears ache.
“Each one only seats three people. The last one is specially reserved for our ‘only’ male!” Tang Shuyao grinned at me, but I had a bad feeling about this. ‘She’s definitely up to no good.’
Once inside, I sat alone, feeling a little uneasy. The pilot didn’t even glance back or say a word—’what a stuck-up guy.’
The flight was uneventful, so my worries seemed unfounded.
I closed my eyes, circulating my True Qi to calm my mind, preparing myself for the glorious sight of ‘b!kini-clad beauties’ on the beach. ‘Hell yeah!’
Suddenly, the helicopter lurched violently. My eyes flew open. “What’s going on?!”
“S-Sir, the young lady’s helicopter… seems to be malfunctioning!” the pilot stammered.
“Malfunctioning?!” My heart dropped. ‘Sh!t! Qin Mengdie and Tang Shuyao are on that one!’
“It’s… out of fuel…” The pilot swallowed hard, sweat dripping down his face.
“Get us closer!” I ordered, frowning.
The pilot hesitated, looking at me in disbelief. “But the helicopter’s already unstable! Even if we get closer, we won’t make it in time!”
“Is there a parachute up there?” If there was a parachute, they probably wouldn’t be in any real danger, and I wouldn’t need to worry.
“I think there was supposed to be one…” The pilot replied uncertainly.
I frowned. “If there was supposed to be one, why aren’t they using it now? Damn it! Get us closer, now!”
“Y-Yes! I’ll move closer right away!” The man hastily maneuvered the helicopter toward them, but it seemed too late.
“D*mn it! This isn’t funny!” I cursed under my breath before leaping out of the helicopter. I plummeted toward Tang Shuyao’s helicopter, using True Qi to blast through the door, tearing it off and forcing my way inside.
“Ahh! Mommy!” Tang Shuyao was sobbing uncontrollably while Qin Mengdie tried to comfort her.
‘What the hell? Why is Wang Ziyan in the pilot’s seat?!’ The original pilot was lying unconscious on the floor.
“What’s going on?” The moment I spoke, Tang Shuyao stopped crying and stared at me in excitement. “Narcissist, how did you get here?!”
“I jumped from my helicopter. No time to explain—what’s the situation here?” I pointed at Wang Ziyan in the pilot’s seat.
Qin Mengdie remained eerily calm, even in this life-threatening situation, and said coolly, “The pilot was bribed to kill me and Yao Yao. Luckily, Sister Ziyan subdued him, but now no one knows how to fly the helicopter. She’s trying to figure it out…”
I glanced at the unconscious pilot—his right hand had thick calluses. ‘This guy wasn’t just bribed; he was likely an assassin sent for Qin Mengdie.’
‘Could the Tang family be behind the assassination attempt? Is that why Qin Shousheng took it so seriously?’
‘But the Qin and Tang families have always been on good terms. Besides, the Tang family’s young mistress is on this helicopter too! That makes no sense!’
This wasn’t the time for speculation—I had to get the helicopter under control, or things would get ugly!
“Let me try!” I said to Wang Ziyan.
Sweat beaded on Wang Ziyan’s forehead, her hands trembling uncontrollably. When she saw me, her eyes instantly reddened.
“Hurry up, or we’re all dead!” I barked at her. Only then did she snap out of it and quickly move aside.
I took the pilot’s seat, but staring at the controls, I had no idea what to do. ‘D*mn it! Where’s the damn steering wheel?! Why are there only two joysticks?!’
‘Screw it, I’ll wing it!’ I grabbed the joysticks and started yanking them around, but the helicopter showed no signs of ascending.
In my panic, I used too much force—’crack!’
‘What the hell?! This thing’s made of paper?! It just snapped! How am I supposed to fly now?!’
“Narcissist, have you fixed it yet?” Tang Shuyao’s anxious voice rang out.
I waved her off. “I’ve got some bad news…”
“AHHH!!!” Before I could finish, she screamed. “You broke the joystick?!”
“Waaah! I don’t wanna die! I haven’t even fallen in love yet! I’ve never had a boyfriend, and I haven’t even had my first kiss! How can I die like this?!” She wailed dramatically.
Gritting my teeth, I roared, “Shut up!”
She immediately fell silent—but then said something that nearly made me spit blood.
“Narcissist, since I’m gonna die anyway… I’ll give you my first kiss!” She puckered up and leaned in.
I jerked back. “Do you trust me or not?”
“I do!” Wang Ziyan looked at me with unwavering determination.
Qin Mengdie nodded silently, though her eyes were full of doubt. In this situation, she had no choice but to rely on me.
“I don’t!” Tang Shuyao burst into tears again.
“Enough!” I snapped. “Ziyan, get on my back!”
She nodded and climbed onto my back. Then I turned to Qin Mengdie and Tang Shuyao. “You two, come here!”
“What are you doing?” Tang Shuyao asked suspiciously but stood up anyway.
‘Quit yapping!’ I cursed inwardly before grabbing both of them in a tight embrace.
“Hold on tight!” I clenched my jaw, preparing to jump. I’d only just learned how to fly, but I had to take the chance!
“Are you jumping?! Even if you’re an early-stage Profound Rank expert, you won’t land safely!” Wang Ziyan guessed my plan and panicked.
“Do you believe in me?” I turned my head, locking eyes with her seriously.
She took a deep breath, then suddenly kissed my cheek. “I believe in you!”
“Narcissist, I believe in you too!” Tang Shuyao tiptoed and planted a kiss on my other cheek.
I instinctively glanced at Qin Mengdie, but the girl just glared at me.
‘So unromantic.’
“Close your eyes!” I ordered the three beauties.
Once they did, I took a deep breath, steeled myself, and leaped out of the helicopter.