Chapter 203: Chapter 203: Mantis Shrimp, Let’s Go
"Hah’Er, this is your bag. Go on, put it on." So Hah’Er could swim with them, Shen Yibin had even bought it a special swimsuit; otherwise, the little guy would probably be too embarrassed to get in the water.
"Gah?" Egg tugged on the backpack with its mouth, seeming to wonder why no one had given it one, too. Meanwhile, Cheeky stood leisurely on Sun Qian’s shoulder, occasionally snatching a Jabuticaba from her hand for a few bites.
"Hah’Er, you look like you’ve gotten fatter again, huh?" Before long, Xu Ye pulled up in his Mercedes with Qiao Wenqi and Mo Xiaomo. Mo Xiaomo immediately hopped out and went right up to Hah’Er, kneading its chubby cheeks as she spoke.
"Hmph!" Hah’Er turned its head away, clearly displeased with Mo Xiaomo’s comment. ’My figure is just as amazing as ever,’ it thought.
"Sun, Sylvie, Miss Sakai, good morning!" Qiao Wenqi was much more polite than Mo Xiaomo. She greeted the three women first, though she was a little confused. ’Why doesn’t Bin seem ready to get in the car? Is someone else still not here?’
"Hey, how come those two girls I recruited for you aren’t here?" Xu Ye asked as he got out of the car. It was entirely his fault that Shen Yibin’s shop was now staffed only by women. Upon receiving the résumés, he had immediately weeded out all the men before filtering the remainder for young, pretty women to call in for interviews. Things wouldn’t have turned out this way otherwise.
"Li Shiqing has to attend her thesis defense, and Gao Shu went back to his hometown, so they couldn’t come this time." Just as he said that, Bai Yanni arrived in a taxi and walked over. "Alright, that’s everyone. Let’s get going. If you want to ride in the Mercedes, go with Xu Ye. If you want to ride in the Wuling Hongguang, come with me."
Sun Qian, Sylvie, and Sakai Kaori were Shen Yibin’s employees, so naturally, they would go with him. As for Bai Yanni, she had come for Shen Yibin in the first place, so it was no surprise she made the same choice. But when even Qiao Wenqi and Mo Xiaomo wanted to get in Shen Yibin’s car, Xu Ye felt crushed.
He glanced at his own Mercedes, then at Shen Yibin’s Wuling Hongguang, his face a mask of misery. ’Is the "divine chariot" really that popular?’ he wondered. ’Maybe I should buy one when we get back.’
Of course, Qiao Wenqi and Mo Xiaomo would never admit they chose this vehicle because of Shen Yibin. Instead, they used Hah’Er as an excuse. "I want to ride in the same car as Hah’Er!"
"In that case, Xu Ye, why don’t you lead the way for us?" One, two, three, four, five, six girls... ’Good thing I bought a Wuling Hongguang,’ Shen Yibin thought. ’Otherwise, we’d never fit everyone.’ But even so, it seemed like the van still might not be big enough.
Bai Yanni hurried forward, hoping to claim the front passenger seat, but alas, that spot belonged to Hah’Er—no one could take it. She had to settle for the next best thing and sat right behind Shen Yibin. Since Sakai Kaori had to hold Egg, she took the other remaining seat in the second row, leaving the last four girls to squeeze into the very back.
Fortunately, all four of them had slender figures, so it wasn’t too unpleasant. Looking at the jam-packed Wuling Hongguang and then at his own empty Mercedes, Xu Ye was at a loss for words.
After locking up the shop and exchanging greetings with the officer at the nearby police post and Li Zhen, who was supervising the construction site, Shen Yibin hopped into the driver’s seat. With a forward wave of his right hand, he started the car and yelled, "Mantis Shrimp, let’s roll!"
The Wuling Hongguang’s powerful engine system roared to life as it followed closely behind Xu Ye, heading for the suburbs. In the back, Sylvie and Sakai Kaori were completely bewildered. What on earth did "Mantis Shrimp" mean?
They had gotten an early start, so most of the other day-trippers hadn’t even left home yet. It didn’t take them long to get out of Yunzhong City and onto the open suburban roads. Shen Yibin reached for the sound system, thinking he’d put on a song to liven up the atmosphere, but then he had another thought. ’With Cheeky here, I can have any song I want. Why do I even need this?’
"Cheeky, how about singing a song for us? Give us your best one," Shen Yibin said, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Uh, let me think... what should I sing?" Cheeky tilted its head, pondering for a moment. "I’ll sing you a folk song I just learned! Nothing’s tastier than mineral water— Mmph! Mmph!"
Before Cheeky could finish the first line, Sun Qian clamped a hand over its beak. She slapped her own forehead in exasperation. ’How does this bird learn every song under the sun?’ she despaired. If it finished, she would die of embarrassment. "You are not singing that one. Pick another. Just sing the theme song from the promo video."
"Qianqian, that’s a great song! Why won’t you let me sing it?" Cheeky looked pitifully at its owner, not understanding why she had ruined its fun.
From the front seat, Shen Yibin was desperately trying to stifle his laughter. The others hadn’t heard the song and didn’t know why Sun Qian had stopped Cheeky, but he had. It wasn’t anything too out there; the song was just a bit... R-rated.
"Fine, if you don’t want me to sing it, I won’t. I’m sick of hearing your theme song these days anyway. I’ll just sing a different folk song." With that, Cheeky began to sing again. "Old driver, give me a ride— Mmph! Mmph!" Once again, Sun Qian’s hand clamped over its beak.
This time, however, she was a bit too slow. Both Sylvie and Sakai Kaori had heard this song before, and they immediately burst into laughter. Their giggles were infectious, causing Bai Yanni, Qiao Wenqi, and the others to start laughing as well. The sound spilled out of the windows and reached the ears of Xu Ye in the car ahead.
Hearing the peals of laughter from the car behind him and then glancing around his own empty vehicle, Xu Ye felt that crushing feeling again. He made up his mind then and there. Next time they went out, he wouldn’t drive no matter what. He was going to squeeze into Shen Yibin’s Wuling Hongguang with everyone else!
Since they were out for fun, no one was in a hurry to get to their final destination. Whenever they passed a particularly scenic spot, they would pull over, get out to look around and play for a bit, and snap a few beautiful selfies to post on their social media feeds.
Hah’Er had at least gotten to travel around with Shen Yibin and Director Kong a while back, but Egg had been miserably cooped up in the store. As a result, every time they stopped, the little creature would play with wild abandon. If Sakai Kaori hadn’t been keeping a close eye on it, there was no telling where it might have run off to.
With all their stops and starts, a journey that shouldn’t have been long at all ended up taking them over three hours. It was nearly lunchtime when Xu Ye finally led them onto a side road, following its winding path into the mountains.
After another half-hour drive through a tunnel of lush trees and vibrant flowers, the two cars finally reached their destination for the day. When they stepped out of the vehicles, everyone—with the exception of Xu Ye—looked at the sight before them and gasped in amazement. "Wow, this place is absolutely gorgeous!"
