Chapter 229 Foolproof?

Chapter 229: Chapter 228: Foolproof?

The Lake and Mountain Lodge clubhouse was said to be in the South Suburb of Binhai, but it was a seriously long way away.

Yu Zhiming, leading a small army of women—Yu Xiangwan, Fu Xiaoxue, Gu Qingning, and Zeng Yan—had set out before seven in the morning. After driving for over two hours, they finally arrived at the Southern Mountain Area, a vast expanse of lush, green mountains known as the region’s "oxygen bar."

Yu Zhiming glanced at the navigation map and was surprised to see they were already approaching the border of the neighboring Zhe Province.

Following a smooth asphalt road wide enough for two cars to pass, Yu Zhiming drove for ten to twenty minutes under a canopy of trees. At last, at a fork to the left, he spotted a large marble archway inscribed with the words "Lake and Mountain Lodge."

He turned directly onto the side road and drove for another ten-odd minutes before reaching a security gate blocking the way. Only after their identities were verified was Yu Zhiming’s group allowed to enter.

After another minute or two of driving, Yu Zhiming rounded a mountain pass, and the view suddenly opened up, like finding a hidden village beyond the willows and flowers.

A stunningly beautiful landscape painting unfolded before their eyes.

Before them lay a vast, open valley spanning at least several thousand acres.

A little less than half of the valley was a shimmering lake, while the rest was a carpet of lush green grass.

A few small, silvery-white boats drifted on the lake’s surface.

On the far side of the lake stood a large, beautifully designed complex of buildings of varying heights.

On the small mountain behind the complex, ten or twenty villas of various styles could be faintly seen, scattered artfully along the slope.

The surrounding forested hillsides were predominantly green, but dotted with small patches of red, purple, brown, and yellow, creating a particularly delightful sight.

"Wow, it’s so beautiful..."

"Ah, it’s gorgeous."

"What a feast for the eyes! I’m so glad we came!"

The visually stunning scenery drew one gasp of amazement after another from Yu Xiangwan, Fu Xiaoxue, and Zeng Yan in the car.

After her initial awe, Fu Xiaoxue asked in confusion, "How can Binhai have such a beautiful place? Why have I never heard of it?"

Gu Qingning smiled and explained, "This is a private, members-only clubhouse. Ordinary people can’t get in."

"The owner doesn’t want this place to become some internet-famous tourist spot, attracting hordes of people and disturbing the tranquility."

Fu Xiaoxue pouted. "Fencing off such a beautiful place just for rich people to enjoy."

"I’m really starting to understand the power of money."

Zeng Yan chimed in, "And influence, probably."

"You can’t just fence off a whole beautiful valley like this with money alone."

Gu Qingning explained, "As far as I know, it’s not as complicated as you two are making it out to be."

"This whole mountainous area is privately owned, apparently due to historical reasons."

She elaborated, "They say an industrial magnate back in the day donated massive amounts of supplies during the War of Resistance and the Liberation War."

"Shortly after the founding of the country, he was wrongly denounced, and many of his enterprises were nationalized."

"Later, his name was cleared. His family didn’t ask for any other compensation; they just wanted this valley..."

As the girls chattered on, Yu Zhiming drove slowly, enjoying the refreshing scenery.

They followed the road along the lake to the opposite shore, where they discovered a large, silvery beach.

There was also a sizable artificial swimming pool.

A dozen or so handsome men and beautiful women in swimwear were frolicking in the pool.

Gu Qingning added, "All the sand here is from the ocean. It was transported all the way from the coast to the south at great expense."

"We can come here to swim and sunbathe. It feels almost like being at the real beach."

Fu Xiaoxue pouted in disappointment. "But we didn’t bring swimsuits."

"Sister Qingning, you should have reminded us sooner."

Gu Qingning laughed sheepishly. "Ah, it slipped my mind. But they offer a lot of different styles of swimsuits here."

Yu Xiangwan interjected, "They won’t be too expensive, will they? Didn’t Fifth Brother say everything here is ridiculously expensive?"

Yu Zhiming declared magnanimously, "A swimsuit is just a tiny piece of cloth. How much could it possibly cost?"

"If you want to go swimming, just buy them!"

Yu Xiangwan wanted to remind her naive little brother that things like swimsuits and lingerie, despite using little fabric, could indeed be outrageously expensive.

But when she saw the excited looks on Xiaoxue’s and Zeng Yan’s faces, the words died on her lips.

’I shouldn’t spoil their fun.’

’We’ll see what the prices are. Fifth Brother did just get an unexpected windfall of 200,000 yuan a few days ago. Even if the swimsuits are one or two thousand yuan each, we can afford it.’

’Hehe, I’ll pick out a designer swimsuit for myself, too...’

Yu Zhiming drove up to the lakeside complex and parked. A beautiful woman with an oval face, dressed in a professional skirt suit, immediately came over to greet them.

"Dr. Yu, distinguished guests, welcome to the Lake and Mountain Lodge. I am your private housekeeper, Yan Ling..."

Under Yan Ling’s guidance, Yu Zhiming and his group quickly completed the check-in procedures.

Afterward, Yan Ling got into a six-seater canopied tour cart and led the way toward the mountain behind the main complex.

Yu Zhiming followed Yan Ling’s cart, climbing several hundred meters up the mountain road before finally stopping in front of a three-story villa with cream-colored outer walls and a modern architectural style.

Yu Zhiming entered the elegantly decorated villa and went straight to the large terrace on the third floor.

Looking out, he had a panoramic view of the entire valley’s beautiful scenery.

Yu Zhiming closed his eyes...

The sound of the wind, the chirping of birds, the calls of unknown insects, and the giggling of Xiaoxue and Zeng Yan...

Yu Zhiming opened his eyes, turned to Gu Qingning who had come to his side, and nodded in satisfaction.

"This place is great. It’s even quieter than my old home in the village. I should be able to sleep tonight."

Gu Qingning patted her chest with an exaggerated expression. "That’s the best news I’ve heard all day. It means we can have a good time here for a few days."

"Zhiming, this villa has five bedrooms in total. The master bedroom is on the third floor."

"Which room do you want?"

Yu Zhiming pondered for a moment. "I’ll take the room on the first floor. It should be a bit quieter, relatively speaking."

The group briefly toured the villa, moved their belongings into their chosen bedrooms, and quickly freshened up before gathering again in the first-floor living room.

"It’s a quarter past ten. Let’s get a general tour of the clubhouse from Housekeeper Yan, and then we’ll have lunch."

Yu Zhiming announced, and they all boarded Yan Ling’s tour cart to go down the mountain.

Yan Ling first drove down the mountain road to the base, then took them along a trickling stream, heading deeper into the mountains. After a few hundred meters, they arrived before a cliff twenty to thirty meters high.

A dozen or so streams of varying sizes gushed from crevices in the cliff face, merging into a small creek that meandered away.

Yan Ling told them this was the source of the valley’s lake and warned them that it was extremely slippery and they absolutely must not try to climb it.

There had been serious accidents in the past.

After seeing the lake’s source, Yan Ling drove them back the way they came, then proceeded slowly along the scenic path by the lake.

"The lake covers an area of over forty acres, with an average depth of three to four meters. It’s home to more than a dozen species of fish, including carp, mandarin fish, and silver carp."

"You can go fishing!"

"Any fish you catch can be given to the kitchen to be cooked..."

Yan Ling drove around half the lake, arriving at a large grassy area on the eastern side.

"This is a small golf course. Due to space limitations, it’s not a standard course; it only has twelve holes."

"But it’s more than enough for practice."

As Yan Ling spoke, Yu Zhiming saw people in twos and threes scattered across the vast lawn, either strolling with their clubs or swinging at a ball.

He asked casually, "Qingning, do you know how to play golf?"

Gu Qingning, sitting beside him, nodded. "I took lessons from a professional coach and practiced for a while."

Yu Xiangwan, sitting next to Yan Ling, turned back and asked, "Qingning, is playing golf a required skill for every socialite?"

Gu Qingning chuckled. "Not really."

"I learned because I thought I might go into business someday, and I might need to discuss deals on the golf course."

Recalling that she had once confessed her ideal type was a business elite, Yu Zhiming couldn’t help but shoot her a sidelong glance.

Gu Qingning noticed his side-eye, leaned closer, and giggled. "Zhiming, want to learn how to play golf?"

"I can teach you."

Yu Zhiming shook his head. "No. Golf seems like a pretentious sport to me."

"I’d rather go skip stones on the lake."

Fu Xiaoxue jumped in, announcing loudly, "Sister Qingning, I’m telling you, my uncle is amazing at skipping stones."

"He can make a stone skip dozens of times in one throw."

Gu Qingning chuckled. "Is that so? Then I’ll have to see it for myself."

Just then, Gu Qingning suddenly noticed Yu Zhiming’s gaze was fixed on two men several dozen meters away.

She noticed his ears twitch slightly, and his expression turned grim.

She looked at the two men again.

One was a balding, middle-aged man of average height with a small potbelly, dressed in a light-colored tracksuit. He looked to be in his fifties or sixties.

The other was dressed in dark casual wear, stood about 1.8 meters tall, and looked to be in his thirties or forties with a buzz cut.

The balding man was leaning on his golf club, speaking in a low voice to the man with the buzz cut beside him.

From this far away, there was no way Gu Qingning could hear what they were saying.

’Maybe Zhiming can hear them?’

She leaned closer to Yu Zhiming again and asked in a mock-conspiratorial whisper, "Zhiming, did you overhear some huge secret?"

Yu Zhiming pulled his gaze back and shot her a glare.

"How could I possibly hear them from this far away?"

"Do you know them?"

Gu Qingning shook her head. "No."

"But everyone who comes here has some status, so it should be easy to find out who they are."

Gu Qingning then gestured with a finger toward Yan Ling, who was driving the cart.

Yu Zhiming shook his head.

He took out his phone and, pretending to take photos of the scenery, adjusted the zoom and snapped a few close-up shots of the two men.

Yu Zhiming had indeed overheard a shocking secret.

First, the phrase "we have to make sure it’s foolproof," carried on the wind, had caught his attention.

Straining to listen, Yu Zhiming heard another sentence.

"Diving is already a high-risk sport..."

P.S.

Thank you to reader "dchan168" for the tip!