Once the butler left, Lin Wan’s face immediately showed distress. “Such an expensive suite, you’re really burning money!”
“Relax, relax!” Lu Zheng put his arm around her and led her to the living room’s floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the stunning sea view. “It’s a rare trip, don’t worry about the cost. This is pocket change compared to the interest on my savings. Tell me, is it worth it?”
“Worth it! Totally worth it!” Lin Wan’s heart was secretly thrilled.
…
They started with a ride on the Ferris wheel, and by noon, they returned to the hotel, heading up to the “ship” for a lavish seafood feast at the rooftop restaurant. They toured the sky garden, and in the afternoon… the infinity pool, you know how it goes…
In the evening, they admired the night view of Gardens by the Bay, then enjoyed authentic local seafood barbecue at the old pier. Lu Zheng glanced around; tourists and locals were evenly split, lively but polite, with no troublemakers giving him a chance to show off.
Back at the hotel, after devouring several oysters, Lu Zheng’s eyes gleamed. He cheerfully followed Lin Wan into the bathroom.
…
Standing before the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the city’s dazzling lights outside while catching their reflections rising and falling, was quite a unique thrill.
…
The next morning, sunlight slipped through the curtain gaps onto Lu Zheng’s face. He slowly opened his eyes, but as he stirred, Lin Wan woke too.
“Still early, want to sleep more?” Lu Zheng asked.
“No need, let’s make the most of it!” Lin Wan shook her head.
“So eager?” Lu Zheng feigned surprise, his hand already sliding down. “Alright, let’s make it quick!”
“You’re incorrigible!” Lin Wan swatted his hand away. “I meant eat breakfast and go explore!”
Lu Zheng laughed, dodging her playful punch, and got up to wash. When he returned, Lin Wan was sitting on the bed, scrolling through her phone, her fair skin glowing.
“What’re you looking at?”
“Social media,” Lin Wan waved her phone, beaming.
“What’s the buzz?” Lu Zheng, ever curious, sat beside her and leaned in. He’d been too busy to check his phone yesterday, but Lin Wan had managed a post-coital scroll.
As expected, Lin Wan had posted a nine-photo grid: the Ferris wheel, the sky deck, the infinity pool, the garden at night, the seafood feast, with a selfie of them in the sky garden at the centre, tagged with the location.
Singapore · Marina Bay · Marina Bay Sands
A proper flex, a textbook boast.
Li Jinglin: Eat well, drink well, have fun
Huang Xiumin: Argh, I’m so jealous I’m splitting apart!!!!!
Liang Yuandong: Envious [envious.jpg]
Su Mengmeng: So romantic
Liu Leng: Sis, posting this late at night when I’m stuck with instant noodles, you’re too much
Lin’s Mum: Heard it’s chaotic abroad, stay safe, don’t just focus on photos [smiley.jpg]
The rest were names Lu Zheng didn’t know, but the post had racked up over five rows of likes, showing Lin Wan had pulled off a major flex. She rarely posted otherwise.
“Any fake friends’ comments? Let me see,” Lu Zheng teased.
“Shoo, what fake friends?” Lin Wan pushed him away, set down her phone, and went to wash up.
…
The second day was a Sentosa Island tour. They visited the aquarium and Universal Studios during the day, then the night zoo in the evening, making it their busiest day.
Back at the hotel, Lin Wan posted another update, predictably earning a “box of lemons” from her friends.
They also bought plenty of souvenirs, including an Egyptian-style AKS dress that kept them exploring its “details” well into the night.
…
On the third day, they took a leisurely tour, visiting the iconic Merlion Park, snapping photos with the Merlion statue to fulfil a childhood dream.
“It’s not that special,” Lin Wan said as they strolled through Singapore’s streets. “Doesn’t seem much more bustling than Haicheng.”
“Haicheng’s a top-tier global city, don’t take it for granted,” Lu Zheng laughed. “Worldwide, there are probably fewer than ten cities that can compete with it.”
Lin Wan counted on her fingers, realising there might not even be ten.
They visited the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, then returned to the hotel in the afternoon to explore the Marina Bay Sands ArtScience Museum before heading back to the sky garden and infinity pool.
It was, after all, the hotel’s signature feature. Swimming on a rooftop dozens of stories up was something you’d only see in movies before.
With such an expensive room, they had to make the most of the perks.
Capitalist society, so damn friendly to the rich!
Lu Zheng, in a floral shirt, shorts, and oversized sunglasses, lounged by the pool with a fresh juice in hand.
In the pool, Lin Wan, in a sapphire one-piece swimsuit, glided like a mermaid.
“Splash!”
She broke the surface, gracefully tossing her hair, and asked Lu Zheng, “Not coming in?”
He raised his juice. “I’ll join after I finish this.”
Lin Wan smiled, beckoned him with a finger, threw a flirtatious glance, and arched back into the pool like a mermaid.
“Whoa—”
Lu Zheng couldn’t help himself, chugging the entire glass of juice in one go.
Off came the clothes, and into the water he went!
…
That evening, after an afternoon of activity, Lu Zheng and Lin Wan had dinner and strolled arm-in-arm into the famous Marina Bay Sands Casino.
“Singapore has two such places: this one, run by the Las Vegas Sands Group, and another in Sentosa, controlled by Malaysia’s Genting Group,” Lin Wan said. “Didn’t we miss it in Sentosa yesterday?”
Lu Zheng nodded. “Sentosa’s huge, but we only hit the aquarium, Universal Studios, and skipped places like Resorts World. I figured they weren’t as interesting since Phuket’s got sun and sand, so I left them off the itinerary.”
“Fair enough,” Lin Wan nodded, eyeing the rows of machines in the casino with a puzzled look. “What’s fun about these?”
“You ever played?” Lu Zheng asked.
“Nope,” Lin Wan shook her head.
“Me neither,” Lu Zheng said. “Let’s try and find out.”
They exchanged some chips, dabbling with this machine and that.
After the machines, they hit the main floor, losing everything at blackjack and Texas Hold’em, left with just one chip.
“Ugh, I thought you’d turn into a gambling pro,” Lin Wan giggled behind her hand. “Even Hu Fei wins every hand. Can you keep up?”
“Who says I can’t? You know best,” Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow, stopping at a dice table.
“One chip left,” he tossed it up and caught it. “If Hu Fei can do it, so can I. Watch me win it all back and cover this trip’s costs!”
…
Over an hour later, despite the low chip limits at the main tables, Lu Zheng casually won nearly 200,000 SGD.
Couldn’t help it—rolling a few triples with dozens-to-one odds did the trick.
Declining an invite to the VIP room, Lu Zheng and Lin Wan cashed out their chips, celebrated at a nightclub, and returned to their room to sleep.
The next morning, they flew straight to Phuket.
