Culinary God in Wilderness

Chapter 446: Chapter 280: The Bet

Outside, small hot spring pools dotted both sides of the path, shielded by thick shrubbery.

In the center of the courtyard was a huge swimming pool, flanked by two medium-sized hot spring pools. By now, quite a few people were already soaking inside.

Erica glanced around, then pulled him down a small path to find a more secluded, smaller hot spring pool.

These small pools were tiny, only big enough for about four people at once. They were basically designed for couples.

Since they were already here, he couldn’t be too fussy. Besides, he’d much rather choose a secluded little pool like this than soak with a bunch of strangers in a large one.

Just as he was wondering where to put his bathrobe, Erica had already slipped hers off. She casually tossed it onto a nearby branch and turned to face him without a shred of self-consciousness.

’A b-bikini?!’

The classic, solid black bikini she wore made her already fair skin seem even more radiant.

She struck a few poses, casually brushing back her short hair.

"So? Do I look good?"

He could already tell her legs were incredibly long when she wore denim shorts, but the bikini made them look even more striking. It created the illusion that she was all legs from the neck down.

The lighting by the pool was very dim, its faint yellow glow only illuminating the steps at the edge.

He could hear the sounds of children playing nearby. Behind them, lights were on in many rooms of the tall building, and some people were even sitting on their balcony lounge chairs, enjoying the moon.

In an environment where they could be seen at any moment, Erica wasn’t the least bit embarrassed. On the contrary, she was confidently showing off her figure.

Honestly, Lin Chen admired the girl from the bottom of his heart.

He could never do that, anyway.

"It looks good. It makes you look even fairer."

He didn’t dare look for too long. At 172 centimeters tall, her long legs had a destructive power that far exceeded his imagination. Just a single glance made his heart inexplicably start to race.

He quickly averted his gaze, took off his bathrobe, hung it on a branch as well, and swiftly submerged himself in the pool.

The steaming hot spring was even hotter than he’d imagined. The moment he stepped in, he had the fleeting sensation of being scalded.

Once he was submerged up to his neck, the scalding feeling gradually transformed into warm currents flowing through his body, as if every pore had opened up.

Seeing that Lin Chen didn’t dare look at her, the corners of Erica’s mouth lifted slightly, a hint of amusement flashing in her eyes. She strode gracefully into the water and sat down beside him.

"Phew... This feels amazing."

The tips of her hair were dampened by the spring water, and a fine layer of sweat soon beaded on her smooth forehead.

She leaned her head back, resting her elbows on the marble edge of the pool and enjoying the gentle evening breeze.

"It is pretty nice."

Lin Chen nodded, his body unusually stiff. He didn’t dare to move an inch.

He stared intently at the water’s surface, but his peripheral vision could still catch a glimpse of a large expanse of white skin.

He knew he shouldn’t look, but a voice deep inside his mind kept tempting him.

In just three or four minutes, his face was covered in sweat, the beads constantly trickling down his cheeks and into the pool.

Seeing him as stiff as a stone statue, Erica’s lips curved into a smile. She suddenly got up and moved to sit across from him.

"This won’t do, Lin. You’re so shy. How are you going to deal with female customers in the future? You’re a diver, so you’re definitely going to expand into marine services. Are you just going to avoid eye contact with female clients forever?"

"People wear wetsuits when diving. Who wears a bikini like you?"

"So what? Wearing a bikini is totally normal. Everyone wears them on the beach. It’s a sign of confidence. Come on, let’s train your courage. How about a staring contest? First one to look away loses."

"What are the stakes?"

Even though he knew it was a trap she’d set on purpose, Lin Chen felt compelled to jump in.

She was right. He really needed to change his personality of being so helpless around women. If this were posted on the internet back home, countless people would be clamoring, ’If you don’t want to look, plenty of others would kill to!’

He probably wouldn’t have the guts in a public place, but right now it was just the two of them. Given how dim the lights were, the people on the hotel balconies probably couldn’t see what was happening below anyway.

After this quick assessment, his courage grew, and he looked up at the girl across from him.

"The stakes... The winner gets to ask the loser to do one reasonable thing?"

"Deal."

"Alright then. 3, 2, 1, start!"

As the countdown finished, their gazes met mid-air.

Erica gazed at him with a gentle smile, exuding an air of complete ease, as if she could keep looking at him forever.

Lin Chen was a little nervous at first, but he adapted after just a few seconds, quickly adjusting his mindset.

He had never admired her features in such detail before. They were defined and deep, yet softened by gentle lines—a mix of Western dimensionality and a touch of Asian delicateness.

Her pupils were clear and bright, their faint blue as brilliant as azure glass.

A faint smile played in her eyes as she stared straight at him.

Ten seconds...

Thirty seconds...

A minute passed.

Both of their eyes were starting to sting, irritated by the swirling steam and the smell of sulfur.

"We can’t just keep this up forever. How about we call it a draw?"

Erica didn’t say anything, but a mischievous smile played on her lips.

The moment Lin Chen saw that smile, he inwardly cursed.

In an instant, Erica’s hand reached behind her neck and gave a gentle tug. The two thin, taut straps came loose immediately.

"Oh my, it’s so hot~"

’Hot my ass!!!’

In a flash, Lin Chen lunged forward, pressing his hands against the two shoulder straps that were about to slip down.

Thank goodness he was fast. The straps had only slipped to her collarbones. If he’d been a second or two later...

"You lost."

Her delicate, cherry-pink lips parted, her voice melodious and laced with obvious triumph.

"That’s cheating!"

"How did I cheat? It’s hot from soaking, am I not allowed to take off my clothes? What, have you never seen a woman’s body before? What’s there to panic about? It seems your courage still needs some work~"

Lin Chen was speechless. For a moment, he couldn’t think of a single comeback.

She was right. For Westerners, this was nothing, but it was particularly effective on him.

But in his twenty-five years of life, he had already formed a fixed set of values. It was unrealistic to expect him to become a man who could face this kind of situation with composure in such a short time.

He’d probably be like this for decades to come, unless he encountered some life-altering event.

"Fine. A bet’s a bet. Go on, what do you want me to do?"

"Hmm... let me think."

She leaned back, assuming her previous pose with her elbows propped on the marble edge.

But this put Lin Chen in an incredibly awkward position.

For a moment, he couldn’t let go, but he couldn’t hold on either. He could only stay frozen in place.

’Wait, that’s not right. Can’t I just tie it for her?’

After a moment of his brain short-circuiting, he snapped back to reality. He quickly grabbed the two thin straps and reached around her neck, preparing to tie them.

But with Erica leaning her head back, he couldn’t see the back of her neck at all. The straps were also short, so he had to lean his entire upper body forward just to reach.

Erica had only thought of this surefire way to win on a whim, but she never expected Lin Chen would actually try to tie the straps for her.

It wasn’t until Lin Chen had tried and failed twice that they both realized just how close they were.

Erica blinked and turned her head. Her warm breath sprayed across Lin Chen’s face, tickling him like little ants crawling on his skin.

In Lin Chen’s eyes, her supple, smooth skin glistened. A fine layer of water droplets clung to the surface of her nearly invisible pores. Her delicate, cherry-pink lips were slightly parted, making him subconsciously recall the scene from last night.

At almost the same moment, both of their breathing grew ragged.

Erica stared straight at him for a few seconds, her eyelids slowly closing. At some point, her slender, snow-white fingers had come to rest on his shoulder.

GULP.

The sound of him swallowing was painfully obvious to his own ears.

The girl was making it so obvious. As a man, if he didn’t react at a time like this, he’d probably hurt her feelings.

But the two of them weren’t in an official relationship. Setting the show aside, they had only really spent three days together in private.

They didn’t even understand each other’s personalities or habits yet. In his view, making such an intimate move so rashly was inappropriate.

’No. I can’t be a scumbag.’

He stopped trying to tie the straps, let go, and immediately backed away and turned around.

Sensing him pull back, Erica slowly opened her eyes. Though she felt a little disappointed, she quickly composed herself.

’That’s right. This is the Lin I know.’

If his resolve could be shattered by temptation in just two or three days, she probably wouldn’t have been interested in him in the first place.

She tied her straps herself, then walked up and tapped him lightly.

"Okay, you can turn around now."

"Sorry, I..."

"I’m the one who should be sorry," Erica said, shaking her head with a radiant smile. "Don’t worry, I’ll try to control myself from now on. I don’t know why, but whenever we’re alone, I just want to tease you. Your reactions are just too much fun. It makes me want to keep going."

Lin Chen breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "So, have you decided what you’re going to ask for?"

"Have a drink with me."

"Uh... okay."

He had just rejected her advances. It would be too unreasonable to refuse her request now.

’Drinking... She should be able to control herself, right?’

They soaked for another ten-odd minutes, only getting out of the hot spring when their faces were flushed and their heads felt a little dizzy.

The cool sea breeze instantly cleared their heads.

The two of them quickly returned to their hotel room. Not long after Erica hung up the phone, a room-temperature bottle of Ace of Spades and a bucket of ice were delivered to the door.

"Ace of Spades again? You seem to really like champagne."

"Mhm. It’s easy to drink, like a soft drink, and the alcohol content isn’t high. I can finish a whole bottle without worrying about getting drunk."

"Oh, right! I almost forgot, we still have those two big bags of delicious bread. They’ll go perfectly with the champagne!"