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Bonus chapter! Thank you to Zzz for the donation! ^^
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It was currently afternoon tea time on the cruise ship. Since it was the passengers’ first day aboard—and their first time witnessing the ship’s luxury—nearly everyone was busy exploring its various areas.
As a result, the accommodation zone was nearly empty.
Except for Ruan Qing, Mr. Lin… and the man who had just walked over.
The man had originally been passing through, but upon hearing a certain tea-like remark from nearby, he turned toward the source of the voice.
The boy speaking had his back to him, so the man could only see a slender, elegant figure. But the man sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper was fully visible.
He recognized him at a glance.
Lin Zhiyan.
The person in charge of this seven-day voyage on the Malegobi cruise.
The man’s lips curled into an unconscious sneer. He’d never pass up a chance to see Lin Zhiyan humiliated.
But—that sneer froze the moment the boy turned around.
As the boy glanced back at him, his disheveled bangs shifted slightly, revealing a face so breathtaking it seemed painted.
His delicate features were exquisite, his jade-like skin almost translucent under the light, like a beauty who’d stepped out of an ancient scroll.
The boy’s eyes sparkled with an innocent, guileless purity—as pristine as white magnolia petals—yet the teardrop mole at the corner of his left eye added a touch of alluring decadence. His beauty was so striking it blurred gender, so flawless it felt surreal.
And now, those gem-like eyes were fixed on him.
The man’s voice caught in his throat, as if someone had choked off his words. After a long pause, he finally managed to force out:
“…You’re… right.”
Ruan Qing: “…?”
Ruan Qing blinked at the unfamiliar man, confusion flickering in his eyes.
The moment the stranger spoke, Lin Zhiyan also looked up. Noticing the man’s gaze wasn’t on him but fixed intently on the boy beside him, Lin Zhiyan turned slightly, his indifferent glance sweeping over the youth.
Then his gaze stilled.
His dark eyes sharpened.
By then, the man had already approached. He stood over the boy, looking down at him, and before he could stop himself, he murmured—voice uncharacteristically soft, as if afraid to startle the other—
“You’re right. Procrastination really isn’t a good habit.”
Instead of appreciating the support, Ruan Qing frowned slightly and shook his head. “You shouldn’t say that.”
Ruan Qing smiled gently at Lin Zhiyan. "Brother Xu must have been delayed by something. I’m sure he wouldn’t keep Mr. Lin waiting on purpose."
Both the man and Lin Zhiyan froze—not because of the boy’s words, but because of his smile.
When Ruan Qing smiled, he was breathtakingly beautiful, like the delicate winter plum blossoms in full bloom against a world of ice and snow. Even the luxurious cruise ship seemed to fade into the background.
Yet the boy seemed utterly unaware of his own charm. His expression carried a hint of caution and hesitation, his eyes carefully studying Lin Zhiyan’s reaction as if afraid of displeasing him.
He cared about Lin Zhiyan’s response. He was trying to please him.
The standing man’s gaze darkened, an unreadable danger flickering in his eyes.
Ruan Qing couldn’t see the man’s expression—he stood behind him, silent and looming. Instead, the boy turned back to Lin Zhiyan with an understanding tone. "I really don’t think Brother Xu is that kind of person."
His voice was soft and earnest, brimming with trust for Xu Jinyan. But then, as if slipping up, he added in a murmur,
"Though… when I saw Brother Xu earlier, he didn’t seem busy at all."
Realizing his mistake, Ruan Qing hurriedly backtracked, "Ah—Mr. Lin, please don’t misunderstand! I was just curious about what Brother Xu could be doing."
"After all, we haven’t had any assignments or exams lately…"
Xu Jinyan was just a college student, with no pressing work obligations. And once aboard this cruise, cut off from the outside world, there was hardly anything that could demand his attention.
A skilled green tea would know to hint at this—and though it was Ruan Qing’s first time playing the role, he embodied it flawlessly.
But…
Under the weight of the man’s increasingly shadowed gaze, Ruan Qing’s scalp prickled. Every instinct screamed at him to run.
Yet he couldn’t. There was nowhere to go.
The cruise ship had become an isolated island, a prison on the waves. No one could leave until it safely docked—and this ship was now under the control of the man before him: Mr. Lin.
The two men remained silent, their gazes fixed on Ruan Qing, casting an inexplicably oppressive weight over the air.
Ruan Qing’s slender, pale fingers, resting on his knees, tightened almost imperceptibly. As if suddenly recalling something, he turned to Lin Zhiyan, his voice tinged with hesitation. "Oh, right… Mr. Lin, someone mentioned earlier that you were looking for me?"
Lin Zhiyan withdrew his gaze, his expression cooling once more. "Mm."
Ruan Qing paused, then ventured cautiously, "Was there… something you needed?"
"BANG—!!!"
Before the words fully left his mouth, a deafening crash erupted in the distance, followed by screams and chaos.
"Ah—!!"
"Someone’s dead!!"
"Help—get help!!"
"What’s happening!?"
Startled, Ruan Qing instinctively turned toward the noise, but the wall blocked his view, leaving him blind to the commotion beyond. His lips pressed into a thin line, his delicate frame radiating unease.
The man standing behind Ruan Qing rushed toward the disturbance the moment the sounds broke out. Lin Zhiyan, however, merely flicked a glance in that direction before tilting his chin toward a shadowed corner, his voice icy. "Too noisy."
"Handle it."
Ruan Qing’s gaze subtly followed Lin Zhiyan’s—and his pupils constricted.
There, in the corner, stood a figure he hadn’t noticed at all.
As if the man had no breath, no heartbeat, no presence whatsoever.
Like… a ghost.
"Understood, Mr. Lin." The shadowed figure stepped forward, bowed, then melted back into the darkness—vanishing as soundlessly as he’d appeared.
Within moments, the distant uproar ceased. Silence reclaimed the space.
This time, Ruan Qing dared not speak again. He sat rigidly, frozen beside Lin Zhiyan, as if thoroughly unnerved.
The original owner had already feared this man. And what just happened?
That fear had just deepened.
The commotion just now was extremely loud, and since it wasn’t far away, Ruan Qing could clearly hear the cry of "Someone’s dead!"—yet all he got from the man was a cold "Too noisy."
This man simply didn’t care about human life.
Ruan Qing even suspected that the man knew about the terrible events that were about to unfold on this cruise ship.
What was even stranger was that, despite always being the first target, this time, he wasn’t the first to die.
And that only made Ruan Qing even more uneasy.
Just as the silence grew unnervingly thick, Lin Zhiyan set down his newspaper and looked at Ruan Qing, speaking indifferently, "Are you settling in alright on the second floor?"
As Ruan Qing was about to nod, Lin Zhiyan continued, "You’re not staff. Staying on the second floor is against the rules. The crew have already filed complaints about you."
Ruan Qing stared at Lin Zhiyan in stunned silence, as if unable to grasp what he meant.
Lin Zhiyan: "You can’t stay on the second floor."
Ruan Qing’s face instantly paled. He opened his mouth, then replied in a small voice, "But… you said I wasn’t a guest who won the lottery, so I can’t stay on floors three to six…"
Lin Zhiyan gave a cold "Hn," confirming Ruan Qing’s words. "You can pay to stay."
Ruan Qing hesitated again, fingers tightening around his own slender, pale hands before he lowered his head in resignation. "I… I don’t have the money…"
The expenses on the cruise ship were exorbitant. Even the staff quarters on the second floor were far beyond what a poor student like him could afford.
"That’s your problem." Lin Zhiyan’s voice was icy. Without waiting for a response, he stood and walked away.
