chapter15 Prepare for a short trip

Scarlett was stunned by his gesture, quickly turning her head to avoid him.

"Get cooking. I'm still waiting to eat," she said.

"Mm. Rest for a bit. Once the dishes are ready, we'll eat," Scarlett rushed into the kitchen, bustling about preparing lunch.

During the meal, she felt guilty. Asher's right hand was injured, and she worried it might affect his eating. She kept serving him food and refilling his soup bowl.

She picked up some beef and added it to his already full bowl. "Eat more beef. It's high in iron, good for your blood."

"Okay," Asher replied softly, looking at her with deep eyes. "You should eat more too. You're so thin, it's like I'm mistreating you."

"Tonight, I'll make some red date, wolfberry, and black-bone chicken soup to replenish your blood. Rest more. Sleep helps wounds heal faster."

Asher actually wanted to say that such a small injury didn't require so much fuss, but seeing her add another spoonful of garlic pork to his bowl, he remained silent.

The next afternoon, Scarlett took a nap and woke up to find Asher in the swimming pool. Worriedly, she ran down and exclaimed, "Why are you in the water? Didn't you say you shouldn't swim these days?"

Upon hearing her voice, Asher slowly approached the pool edge, a faint smile on his lips. "It's okay, I wanted to swim."

Scarlett's face filled with concern. "The wound can easily get infected if it gets wet, and we don't have any medicine! Come up quickly."

Asher chuckled again, his right arm still wrapped in yesterday's yellow bandage, showing no intention of getting out of the water.

Scarlett grew anxious, reaching out to grab his arm. "Come up quickly!"

She couldn't move Asher, but he leisurely sat at the edge of the pool. Scarlett quickly fetched a dry towel and gently dried his right arm. "It's all wet. Let me change it."

Yesterday's bandage was tied in a knot. Scarlett gently untied it, expecting to see the wound swollen and pale from being soaked, but to her surprise, there was no wound at all. The skin there was just like the skin elsewhere, natural and without any signs of injury.

She couldn't believe her eyes, gently touching the skin with her fingertips, flipping it over and over again. Astonished, she asked, "How did it disappear? Is it healed?"

Her mouth slightly opened, her eyes full of questions.

Proudly, Asher said, "I told you it's fine."

"Huh?" Scarlett looked puzzled, not understanding his meaning.

"Do you think my healing speed is similar to yours?"

Suddenly, Scarlett understood. He was special indeed, even his tail could turn into legs, so it wasn't strange that his physical healing ability was strong. She just noticed she was still holding his hand, quickly letting go, and awkwardly said, "It's good that it's healed. You can continue swimming."

Asher retracted his arm, watching her go through various expressions of worry, shock, doubt, and understanding. His lips couldn't help but curve into a smile.

Watching his long tail freely stretch out and sway in the water, Scarlett couldn't help but be amazed by its length and the scales on it. If seen alone, the tail would be intimidating, but the fact that it could transform into legs was strange.

Asher glanced at her, noticing her staring at his tail with a puzzled expression. He asked, "Do you have a question?"

Scarlett quickly averted her gaze, although she wanted to ask why he looked like this, she felt it inappropriate. So she asked, "Asher, can you turn into a human anytime? How long can you stay like that?"

Asher smirked slightly, his tail swinging even more, causing ripples on the water surface. He replied, "Anytime, and I can stay like this as long as I want."

"Then..." Scarlett changed the subject, "Do you not like walking on two legs?"

"Of course not," Asher smiled, "It's because turning into a human means wearing pants, and I don't like wearing pants, they're uncomfortable."

He said it casually, not like joking. Scarlett was taken aback, realizing that he kept this form because he liked being bare.

Asher glanced at her, leisurely lifting his tail. "I don't feel like swimming anymore. Wipe it for me."

Scarlett continued to feel awkward, picking up a towel to wipe the snake's body.

When Jack drove in, he brought many things, not just food and medicine, but also clothes and daily necessities for Scarlett. While going through them, Scarlett found a set of blue and yellow floral bikini, sweet and generous. She remembered Asher mentioning taking her to the beach last time, and now that her period was over, she couldn't wait. During dinner, she timidly hinted, "The weather has been nice these days, it's suitable for playing."

Asher continued eating, not saying anything for a while. The dining room fell into silence, and Scarlett thought he might have forgotten what he said. Disappointed, she lowered her head and played with the food in her bowl until he spoke up, "Yes, the weather is nice. So I thought we could go out tomorrow."

Scarlett was surprised, as if she couldn't believe what she heard. She looked at him, "Really?"

"Really!" Asher continued eating, then said, "After breakfast tomorrow, get ready."

It was as if countless birds were singing, and Scarlett's inner joy was soaring like a rainbow.

Scarlett was particularly attentive that night, after washing the dishes, she proactively asked if Asher needed help making the bed or if the room needed cleaning. Asher couldn't help but smile as he watched her fidgeting around, sometimes wiping this and sometimes that, her lips always carrying a faint dimple.

Excited, Scarlett couldn't sleep until late at night. She woke up early the next morning, full of energy, and prepared a hearty breakfast. As she ate, she kept glancing at him, afraid he might change his mind. Her eyes were full of eager anticipation, like a rainbow filled with seven colors.

Asher felt uncomfortable being stared at by her. Finally, he said, "Hurry up and eat. Once you're done, go pack."

Hearing Asher speak, Scarlett quickly finished her meal, got up, and pulled out a chair, "You take your time eating, I'll go pack first, then I'll wash the dishes later."

Asher watched as she ran upstairs, as light and graceful as a swallow.

Scarlett took out her new swimsuit, the pattern looked better and better, and the style was beautiful. She packed her essentials into a handbag and put on a sun hat. When she was ready to go out, she hesitated for a moment, then directly changed into her swimsuit in the room. She put on a short-sleeved checkered long shirt over it, which covered the swimsuit shorts underneath. It looked simple and elegant, and after looking in the mirror, she felt it was appropriate, so she went downstairs.

There were leftover dishes on the table, Scarlett quickly cleaned them up. She packed towels and other things into a bag, sitting on the sofa waiting for Asher.

After a while, Asher came downstairs unhurriedly, wearing casual shorts and a simple short-sleeved shirt, holding a bunch of keys in his hand. Seeing the things next to her, he said, "Aren't you bringing any food? Are you planning to eat when we come back in the afternoon?"

"I'm getting it ready now," Scarlett didn't wait for him to speak, immediately got up and went to the kitchen.

Hearing Asher enter the house, he said, "Don't bring so much, just bring some seasoning and a small pot. We can catch some fish and shrimp in the sea for lunch. Since we're going out, we might as well eat something different."

Scarlett was even happier when she heard they were going for a picnic. She sorted out the tableware and seasonings, not being good at cooking outdoors, she still brought a lot of dry food and snacks, categorizing them in the trunk.

Asher brought a large bucket of drinking water and put it in the car, then put folding chairs, mats, and other outdoor supplies on the roof of the car. The two of them finally got into the car.

As the car left the yard, Scarlett looked back at the metal gate getting farther and farther away, couldn't help but smile, even the nearby villa seemed cute.

The villa's location was relatively high, so it was all downhill when they left. Scarlett sat in the passenger seat, rolled down the car window completely, watching the bright sunlight dancing on the trees on both sides of the road. The ground looked like it was covered with a green velvet carpet, dotted with various colored flowers. Vines climbed up a large rock, wrapping around the nearby trees, red berries dotted them. The wind blew through the distant trees, and the layers of leaves swayed gracefully, sometimes revealing a glimpse of the sea, like a blue gem dropped by the gods.

The wind blew, carrying no dust or dirt, just a slight coolness. Her hair was blown loose by the wind, a few strands falling on her face, tickling her, but she didn't bother to brush them away. She kept looking outside, at the ordinary grass and green trees stretching their bodies under the sunlight, shining with tempting brilliance, seemingly endless in their allure.

She kept looking outside, not even sparing a glance at Asher, who felt ignored. He called her name, "Scarlett."

His voice dissipated in the wind, Scarlett was still lost in her dream.

He had to raise his voice again, "Scarlett."

Finally snapping out of her reverie, Scarlett looked a bit dazed, "Huh?"

"The wind is strong," Asher reminded.

"Oh," Scarlett had to roll up the car window a bit, leaning back against the seat, looking at the white road ahead and the trees passing by, palm trees spread their fan-shaped leaves, swaying gently in the breeze, like a girl's skirt. She looked straight ahead, silent, with a serene expression and a slight smile on her lips.

Asher glanced at her strangely, then looked ahead, "Do you have a driver's license?"

Scarlett's eyes widened in surprise, "You're driving?"

Asher smiled, "Of course, if you can drive, it's fine."

"Drive slower, this is a downhill with many curves."

"It's fine, if the car breaks, we can just get another one."

Scarlett broke out in a cold sweat, frowned, "But what about people?"

Asher looked at her nervously, his eyes earnestly meeting hers. He suddenly felt like he had swallowed a mouthful of cold water in midsummer, with no obstruction at all. His lips curved into a smile and he said, "Don't worry, I'm pretty good at driving, I won't let you fall."

The car drove all the way to the beach, kicking up white dust. The crescent-shaped beach was as flat as a grindstone, and the boundless blue sea stretched out endlessly. A white line of foam slowly approached from afar, the meeting of water and sky in the distance, accompanied by a few strands of delicate white clouds, with a slightly drunken demeanor, drifting casually like clusters of white fluff.

The car stopped under the shade of a tree, and Scarlett couldn't wait to get out, breathing in the salty sea breeze, looking at the vast blue sky, her heart becoming moist and ethereal. She had only been to the beach to play before, where there were people everywhere. How could there be such a beautiful scenery? The sky was as blue as if it had been washed, seagulls freely soared in the sky, and the waves splashed joyfully against the shore, bursting into brilliant silver flowers.