The beach volleyball match was in full swing, lively and intense.
Kiana leapt high into the air, and after scoring with a beautiful spike, she excitedly high-fived Raiden Mei and Van in celebration.
Sirin stood across from them with puffed cheeks, a few grains of sand still stuck in her hair.
Clearly, our Miss Pufferfish had just missed the ball again.
Just as she was thinking about what excuse to use to deflect blame this time, a familiar voice called out from the sidelines.
"Yo, looks like you're having fun?"
Everyone turned to look and saw Otto walking over with Kallen and Yae Sakura.
Kallen was wearing a white one-piece swimsuit, while Yae Sakura wore a white-and-brown two-piece swimsuit. The two of them standing together were particularly eye-catching.
"What brings you here?" Van wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked with a smile.
Otto shrugged. "Kallen said she wanted to play beach volleyball, and we happened to see you all here."
As he spoke, his gaze swept back and forth between Yae Sakura and Kallen, obviously with a hint of wariness.
Ivana immediately saw through his thoughts and mischievously suggested, "Since you're here, why not join us? We were just about to take a break."
"Sure!" Kallen clapped her hands happily and turned to Yae Sakura, "Sakura, let's be on the same team?"
Otto's expression instantly stiffened, as if he had something to say but held back.
Van suppressed his laughter, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "How about this, Kallen and Yae Sakura join different teams? That'll make it more fair."
Otto looked as if he had received a royal pardon and gratefully glanced at Van, nodding quickly, "Kallen, I think that's a great suggestion!"
So the new teams were quickly decided, Kiana, Raiden Mei, and Yae Sakura on one team; Fu Hua, Sirin, and Kallen on the other.
Otto, Van, and Ivana sat at the sidelines acting as both referees and spectators.
The match restarted.
Yae Sakura moved cleanly and sharply, scoring right away with a beautiful serve.
Kallen didn't fall behind either, skillfully receiving Kiana's spike.
Otto watched intently from the sidelines, cheering loudly every time Kallen scored, completely disregarding his image.
"Hey, isn't your voice a little too loud?" Van couldn't help but complain.
Otto retorted confidently, "What's wrong with cheering for my wife? Unlike you, don't even know who you're cheering for, huh?"
Van shot back, "Well, that's true. But even though Kallen and Yae Sakura are on opposing teams, why does it seem like they're still in sync?"
Ivana jumped in quickly, "Yeah, kinda feels like they're flirting with their eyes."
Listening to the two next to him go back and forth, Otto's expression became quite complicated.
At this point, he was finding it hard to focus on the rivalry between Kallen and Yae Sakura on the court.
The match was unusually fierce.
In the end, Kiana's team won by a narrow margin.
Sirin stomped her foot in frustration, "Not fair! We had a deadweight on our team!"
She said this while pointedly glancing at Kallen.
Little did she know, the real deadweight on their team was Sirin herself.
Throughout the whole match, she had way more mistakes receiving the ball than Kallen did.
Kallen may not be a powerhouse like Fu Hua on the court, but she could handle basic receiving and bumping, at least she didn't end up face-first in the sand like Sirin often did.
But facing Sirin's blame-shifting, Kallen didn't argue back. Instead, she stuck out her tongue a little sheepishly.
"Sorry~ I'm really not very good at this."
Yae Sakura immediately spoke up in defense, "Kallen already did great."
Otto quickly jumped in as well, "Yeah, yeah, Kallen played really well!"
On the other side, seeing Kallen actually admit it, Sirin felt a bit embarrassed.
Mainly because she knew deep down the words she'd just said were just heat-of-the-moment complaints from losing to Kiana.
Now that her emotions had cooled, reason returned.
Thinking this, Sirin walked over to Kallen with a flushed face and said awkwardly, "Um... sorry. I got a little too emotional just now. It was clearly my fault, but I still..."
Kallen shook her head upon hearing that, her silver hair shimmering under the sunlight.
She gently patted Sirin's head and said, "It's fine~ I also had a part in the loss, so you don't need to apologize."
Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the tree leaves, casting a soft glow on Kallen.
Sirin looked up at her and, in a daze, seemed to see the figure once called a "saint."
That warm and accepting aura made one want to get close without realizing it.
Sirin had only ever felt this from two people.
One was Cecilia, and the other was Van.
Thinking this, Sirin instinctively turned to glance at Van standing not far away.
Remembering what Ivana had said earlier that morning, Sirin's face instantly turned bright red.
Just as Sirin started letting her imagination run wild, Kallen's concerned voice suddenly came from the side.
"Sirin, why did your face suddenly turn so red? Did you get heatstroke?"
Hearing this, Sirin quickly lowered her head, "N-No! I'm just a little hot... Anyway, now that the match is over, let's go rest!"
With that, Sirin hurriedly walked off, afraid someone might notice her abnormality.
Everyone headed under the shade to rest.
Ivana's eyes suddenly lit up. She pulled a bottle of sunscreen from her bag and handed it to Van.
"Old man, help us apply sunscreen! The sun is so strong, getting sunburnt would be bad."
Before Van could react, Kiana had already undone her swimsuit and lay face down on the beach towel.
"Yay yay! Van, come put it on me!"
Seeing Kiana like that, Raiden Mei seemed a little tempted too, but in the end, blushing, she quietly said, "Um... I think I'll just do it myself..."
"Come on~ Mei~ What about your back? You can't reach it on your own, right?"
Without giving him a chance to refuse, Ivana shoved the sunscreen into Van's hands. "Old man, start with Kiana!"
Van had no choice but to kneel beside Kiana.
As he squeezed out the sunscreen, he clearly felt his hand tremble a little.
Kiana's skin glowed with a healthy sheen in the sunlight, and the curve of her back was too beautiful to look away from.
"Van, hurry up~ Don't you still have to help Mei after me?" Kiana urged, completely unaware of Van's awkwardness.
When his palm touched Kiana's back, both of them instinctively shivered a little.
Kiana's skin was even softer and more delicate than he imagined, warm with the heat of the sun.
Van tried to keep his movements professional, but the slightly ragged sound of his breathing betrayed his nervousness.
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