Math professor returns to routine

Chapter 448 The Shy Southerner

Five p.m.

The sun is westward.

Looking at the elegant and exquisitely designed building in front of him, Deng Rui asked in disbelief: "Is this a bathing center?"

"What else? What do you think it is like?" Li Yu asked back.

"What I imagined was flashing neon lights, bright lights, extravagance and luxury, with two rows of receptionists at the door to greet guests."

Lu You, who was one step behind, heard this and laughed, "I can say that those places you mentioned do exist, but I definitely won't go there, and I certainly won't take you there."

Deng Rui turned around and greeted Lu You with a smile.

"haven't seen you for a long time."

Lu You also smiled and replied: "Long time no see, how is your college life going? Is it okay?"

"It's pretty good, much more interesting than high school!"

"The pace of life in high school is so overwhelming that it's hard to breathe. It would be strange if it could be interesting."

"Ha!" Li Yu sneered at the words and said unhappily, "You idiot, you left halfway through your second year of high school. You haven't experienced the most difficult part of your third year of high school at all. How dare you say that?"

"Look at what you said. I'm traveling outside, running around, wandering around, and having no fixed place to live. It's also very hard!"

The three of them smiled at each other, and the awkwardness between them disappeared, and they regained the long-lost sense of familiarity.

Deng Rui also greeted Tang Wan, Xu Nian and Wang Linghua respectively, and noticed that everyone, including Lu You, was carrying a white shopping bag, but the one in Lu You's hand was the largest.

"What did you take? Snacks?" Deng Rui asked curiously.

"What are you talking about?" Lu You shook the shopping bag and explained, "These are towels for bathing and slippers for later use. They are brand new, one for each person."

"Logically speaking, towels, slippers and the like shouldn't be standard equipment in a bathing center. Do we need to bring our own?" Deng Rui asked again.

"The bath center does provide it, but it's best to bring your own if you can."

"Why? Isn't it troublesome to bring it yourself?"

Li Yu took over the conversation and replied, "I know a friend from Northeast China. He said that when he first went to a bathhouse, he didn't bring his own slippers and wore the ones given to him. He came back with athlete's foot."

Deng Rui: …

“It’s a bit scary.”

"Okay, stop standing here stupidly, let's go inside and talk."

After saying that, Lu You led everyone forward.

As we entered the lobby, a waitress immediately came up to us warmly.

"Sir, how many people are there?"

"Six." While replying, Lu You looked around and silently gave a good evaluation in his heart.

The waiter glanced at Tang Wan and the others one by one, and asked, "Are you here together?"

The five people nodded in unison.

"plz follow me."

The waiter bowed slightly, made a gesture to lead the way, and led the group to a counter.

Due to the need to stay overnight, everyone presented their ID cards and handed them to the staff behind the counter for registration. Then everyone received a wristband from the staff.

The bracelet is made of rubber and looks like a men's watch, with a sensing chip in the middle.

The waiter introduced the purpose of the bracelet to everyone.

Although there are many words, it can be summarized into two points: one is to serve as the key to the luggage storage box, and the other is to record consumption.

Consumption in the bathing center is divided into admission tickets and additional consumption.

The entrance ticket, as the name suggests, costs money to enter, which includes a series of basic services such as bathing, soaking, sauna, buffet, etc.

Additional consumption includes other manual services and entertainment items, such as scrubbing, massage, foot massage, game consoles, cinemas, etc.

After the introduction, the waiter took the group to the second floor by elevator.

The elevator door opened, and warm, moist air mixed with fragrance blew in.

When we got out of the elevator, the waiter pointed to the door in front and said, "You can go in by swiping your wristband. The men's bath is on the left and the women's bath is on the right. Have fun."

Then the waiter quietly left.

Lu You looked around at everyone and asked, "How long do you plan to soak for?"

"Aren't they connected inside?" Tang Wan asked.

Lu You glanced at Tang Wan and said, "Do men and women take baths together in your family?"

"Tsk!" Tang Wan curled her lips and muttered quietly, "It's not like we haven't showered together before."

Lu You ignored Tang Wan and said, "If no one speaks, then I will make the decision?"

"Wait, let's discuss it first." Xu Nian pulled Tang Wan and Wang Linghua away for a distance.

The three of them gathered together and whispered, glancing at Lu You and the others from time to time.

Two minutes later, the three came back.

Tang Wan said, "After discussion, we think one hour is the most appropriate duration. It is enough for us to experience the whole bathing process without affecting dinner."

"Okay, let's meet at the restaurant on the third floor in one hour."

The group passed through the gate one after another and then split into two teams, with the men going to the left entrance and the women going to the right entrance.

Lift the door curtain, step into the locker room, and turn the corner.

The scene in front of him instantly made Deng Rui's brain freeze.

A row of white bodies stood on the ground, with dark and dense weeds like hair algae growing everywhere, and a giant dragon faintly emerging among them.

Such a scene was too shocking for Deng Rui, who grew up in the south and had a conservative personality. Its power was comparable to the explosion of a little boy on an island.

Lu You and Li Yu were fine. They had been to bath centers many times when traveling with their families. They had gained more experience and their resistance was stronger.

The two of them successfully found the corresponding storage cabinet based on the code on the wristband, unlocked it with the wristband, opened the cabinet door, and put their personal luggage in.

Turning around, Lu You found that Deng Rui was standing stiffly with his head lowered, his body stiff, and an extremely complicated expression on his face.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"You feel uncomfortable?" Li Yu had just taken off his shirt, revealing his well-dressed upper body. Upon hearing this, he looked at Deng Rui and asked with concern, "Where do you feel uncomfortable? Your stomach or your head? Do you want me to call an ambulance for you?"

"I'm not feeling unwell, it's just..." Deng Rui pursed his lips, seeming to find it difficult to speak.

"I'm glad you're okay." At this moment, Lu You caught a glimpse of the beginning outline of Li Yu's abdominal muscles from the corner of his eye, and immediately exclaimed, "Fuck, brother! You really have abdominal muscles!"

"That's right! Your brother always keeps his word!" Li Yu patted his belly vigorously and said, "Do you want to touch it? Come on! Touch it boldly, I won't mind!"

"No thanks. I don't want to make you feel good. Besides, your abdominal muscles are just rudiments, and they are far inferior to my full-fledged abdominal muscles. They are not worth my effort at all."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu You also took off his upper body clothes, revealing an even more muscular body.

"Fuck, don't be too proud! Things change over time. You just started earlier than me. Let me train for another half a year. By then, it's hard to say who will have a stronger body!"

Deng Rui took a deep breath and forcefully interrupted the conversation between the two. "I say! Don't you feel embarrassed?"

"What's so embarrassing?" Li Yu asked puzzled.

"It's, it's..."

Looking at Deng Rui's hesitation, Lu You vaguely realized something.

"Hey, isn't it just being honest with each other? We are all men, there's nothing to be embarrassed about!" Lu You said with a smile.

"But at least leave a pair of underwear on, right? I really can't accept it if you take it off completely." Deng Rui said with a twitching face.

Lu You patted Deng Rui's shoulder with his right hand and said, "Be bold, get rid of the shackles of the world, and you will find that your mind will completely evolve."

"I'd rather not evolve!"

Finally, under the repeated encouragement of Lu You and Li Yu, Deng Rui finally took off his clothes. However, he did not break the bottom line and still had the dignity of only one piece left.

ten minutes later.

The three of them washed themselves, tied towels around their waists, and headed to the bathhouse.

The moment he stepped into the bathhouse, thick, hot mist quickly enveloped his entire body, and Lu You felt as if he had crossed a season.

If it is the cold and dry deep winter outside, the hall is the cool and humid early spring, then the bathhouse is the steamy midsummer.

The three of them continued walking and came to an oversized bathing pool.

Lu You was the first to tear off the towel and walk out of the bathtub, followed closely by Li Yu.

The warm pool water is like countless pairs of small hands, gently caressing every inch of skin, squeezing out all the fatigue and soreness buried deep in the muscles.

"Huh..." Lu You let out a long sigh, relaxed his body, let his back naturally lean against the edge of the bathtub, and said with emotion: "It feels so good! Heaven on earth is just like this!"

Li Yu also took the same stance and responded: "Perhaps, people live for this moment!"

"And the wedding night."

"That's two minutes."

Deng Rui, who was still on the shore, gritted his teeth and had a fierce ideological struggle in his heart.

He really wanted to go into the water and experience it, but the strong sense of shame kept him where he was.

Lu You rolled the towel into a strip, wrapped it around his head, and tied a simple knot behind his head. He said, "If you really can't let go of your face, just take the towel with you into the water."

"Is this possible?"

"why not?"

With the steps built by Lu You, Deng Rui no longer hesitated and went straight into the pool.

The first feeling was hot, very hot, extremely hot, so hot that I wanted to jump up.

But once the skin gets used to it, there's a feeling of comfort that goes straight to the depths of the soul, making you unable to help but shout out loud.

"Ah~" Deng Rui sighed uncontrollably and said, "Is this the extravagant life of the rich? It really corrodes people's will!"

"This is just the beginning." Lu You disagreed.

Judging from the price, the bath center is a very popular entertainment venue. For a few hundred yuan, you can not only take a comfortable bath, but also get a buffet and a variety of recreational facilities. It is very cost-effective.

"By the way, what national affairs are you usually busy with? Nine times out of ten I ask you out, you say you don't have time."

During the entire semester from September to December, Lu You would occasionally ask Deng Rui and Li Yu out for dinner.

Li Yu basically agreed to everything, but Deng Rui was just the opposite. He basically refused to agree to anything, like a dragon that can only be seen from the head but not the tail.

Deng Rui raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead and replied, "Besides studying, what else can I do?"

"Are you kidding me? Can the little knowledge you learned in your freshman year keep you so busy that you don't even have time to come out for a meal?"

Deng Rui looked up at the ceiling. The sweat on his face mixed with the pool water and slowly slid down the curve of his face and dripped into the bathtub.

After a long silence, Deng Rui spoke again: "I signed up for the school's 'work-study' program, and I will go to the library to work after class."

[Also, if I go out to eat with you, it will always be you who pays, and I don’t want to owe you too much.]

Deng Rui just repeated the second half of the sentence in his mind without saying it out loud.

Human relationships come and go, human relationships come and go, there must be give and take.

Friendship is a reciprocal relationship. If one party unilaterally accepts the kindness of the other party without giving anything in return, it will cause an imbalance in the long run and lead to the breakdown of the relationship.

Deng Rui has self-esteem and wants to maintain a friendship with Lu You, so every time Lu You makes an invitation, Deng Rui will weigh the pros and cons for a long time.

This time, Deng Rui agreed to come out because he had saved a lot of money this semester, which was enough to support his consumption.

Lu You was unaware of Deng Rui's thoughts and said to himself, "If I remember correctly, the standards for the 'work-study' program are the same as the standards for scholarships, right? Is your family's financial situation so bad?"

"Well, the situation is quite complicated and I can't explain it in a few words. What I can tell you clearly is that my family's conditions do meet the standards."

Seeing that Deng Rui didn't mean to say anything, Lu You didn't ask any further questions. Sometimes, asking questions is not a good thing.

"If you need help, just ask. Brother Fu doesn't have much of anything except money."

Deng Rui felt warm in his heart and replied with a smile: "Okay, I will."

(End of this chapter)