***
Bonus chapter! Thank you to JustSomeOne for the donation! ^^
***
The inspection team arrived quickly. Rather than barging in rudely, they knocked on the door first.
"Good day, sir/madam. Sorry to disturb you, but we’re conducting a sweep for stowaways. Would you mind cooperating with us for a moment?"
The staff member’s words were polite, but anyone could tell this was a statement, not a request.
No guest from the third to the sixth floor had the right to refuse the inspection.
Ran Jia panicked at the sound of the knock and the staff’s voice, her nervous gaze darting toward Ruan Qing, who sat calmly on the sofa.
Ruan Qing tilted his chin slightly, signaling for Ran Jia to open the door—while making no move to hide himself.
Only after seeing his composure did Ran Jia steady her breathing. She walked slowly toward the door.
But before she could even touch it, a sharp beep sounded from the lock.
It was the noise made when a keycard was swiped.
The next second, the door swung open.
The staff member slid the access card back into his breast pocket, then gave a polite nod to the stunned Ran Jia. "Pardon the intrusion."
Every word dripped with courtesy and respect, yet it was clear the guests meant nothing to them—because without waiting for a response, the man strode in, followed by the rest of the team.
Ran Jia instinctively glanced toward the sofa, her nerves spiking again.
The sofa sat right in the middle of the living area, impossible to miss upon entering. Even from the doorway, the figure of the young man should have been plainly visible.
Yet the staff acted as though they were blind, sweeping their eyes right past it as they began searching the room. Not a single one looked toward the sofa.
As if no one was sitting there at all.
Ran Jia froze. Bewildered, she whipped her head toward the wall where Ruan Qing had been drawing earlier—only to find the strange circles and symbols had completely vanished.
When she looked back at the sofa, even the person who had been sitting there was gone.
This time, no matter how she shifted her position, the figure did not reappear.
A stunned realization hit her: Of course. A true expert could fool everyone’s eyes with just a few strokes.
The search was thorough. They checked every possible hiding spot—under the bed, inside the cramped ventilation ducts—leaving no corner unexamined.
But they found nothing. No traces, no clues.
After completing their search, the investigators signaled to their leader one by one, reporting their findings.
Yet even after the last investigator had finished, the leader showed no intention of leaving.
He smiled at Ran Jia. "May I ask what you were looking at earlier?"
"Was there something on the sofa?"
The air froze instantly—along with Ran Jia’s expression. Her entire body tensed up.
Just as she was about to answer, Qi Yi silently walked over to the sofa, picked up a pen from beneath it, and placed it on the table in front. Then he sat down on the sofa himself.
His actions made it clear: Ran Jia had been looking at the dropped pen. And in doing so, he proved there was nothing else on the sofa.
Perhaps because Qi Yi had sat down too abruptly, he nearly ended up right on Ruan Qing’s lap. Fortunately, he shifted slightly at the last moment, settling beside him instead.
Still, the two were now uncomfortably close—so close that their legs pressed together.
The warmth of another person’s body made Ruan Qing uneasy. He lowered his gaze but didn’t move an inch, nor did he make a single sound.
The investigators were far too observant. The hypnosis he’d set up could deceive their eyes, but not their minds or judgment.
Sure enough, the excuse wasn’t convincing enough. The leader tilted his chin toward the investigator on his right, who immediately stepped toward the sofa.
Ran Jia’s heart leapt into her throat as she watched them. Unconsciously, she leaned forward slightly, her body betraying her tension.
Noticing her reaction, the leader narrowed his eyes and slowly followed.
Ruan Qing watched the two approach from the corner of his eye but remained perfectly still, showing no trace of nervousness.
Qi Yi, however, lifted his head expressionlessly. Darkness pooled in his gaze, edged with a faint but unmistakable killing intent.
Just as his fingers twitched—ready to act—someone unexpectedly grabbed his hand.
Normally, Qi Yi wouldn’t hesitate to kill anyone who dared touch him. But this time, not only did he refrain, his entire body locked up in shock.
In truth, Ruan Qing’s grip was light—barely even a hold. Yet Qi Yi’s hand stiffened as if it no longer belonged to him. The warmth and softness of that touch seemed to melt straight into his core.
Pursing his lips stiffly, Qi Yi sat frozen on the sofa, his mind blank with stunned stillness.
As if someone had cast a paralysis spell on him…
The staff member glanced at the sofa where Qi Yi sat, even bending down to inspect it. He checked beneath the couch, confirming there was no possible way a person could hide there, before straightening up and shaking his head at the lead investigator.
Nothing unusual.
The sofa was custom-made—sturdy, solid wood to prevent shifting with the ship’s motion. No space for a person to conceal themselves.
Ran Jia had been frantic earlier, but seeing that the two men hadn’t discovered Ruan Qing, she forced herself to calm down. Flustered, she explained to the staff, "I—I was just looking for my pen."
"Right before you came in, I dropped it. My brother and I were searching for it."
The lead investigator nodded as if understanding, yet the next moment, he smiled and said, "Ma’am, the distance from the sofa to the door is five meters. An average person takes about thirteen seconds to walk that far."
"Factoring in reaction time and standing up, thirty seconds at most."
"But when I knocked and entered after forty seconds, you were still a meter away. Care to explain why?"
"I… I was looking for the pen," Ran Jia stammered, her nerves tightening again. "I thought I’d find it quickly, so I kept searching before answering the door."
The investigator countered, "Then why did you change your mind?"
"I couldn’t find it after a while," she murmured, biting her lip. "I didn’t want to keep you waiting, so I gave up."
Again, the man nodded amiably. "Since we entered, you’ve glanced at the wall twice—totaling twenty-two seconds—and the sofa four times, for one minute and twenty-three seconds."
"Notably, your emotional fluctuations spiked each time you looked at the sofa. Would you explain that?"
Before she could respond, he added smoothly, "If it were just a dropped pen… surely that wouldn’t make you nervous, would it?"
Ran Jia froze. She hadn’t realized how many cracks in her story there were—or that the investigator had been scrutinizing her every move. Cornered, her mind went blank under the pressure.
“I... I, because I... my brother and I were…” Ran Jia was so nervous that cold sweat broke out on her forehead. She stammered for a long time but couldn’t get the words out. In the end, her mind went blank, and she blurted out instinctively, “We... we were having an affair!”
Staff: “...?”
The lead staff member’s expression went blank for a moment. The other staff members also turned to look at Ran Jia, their usually stern faces showing a hint of shock and subtle awkwardness.
The words were already out. Ran Jia closed her eyes, her expression one of reckless determination as she spoke, "When you knocked, I was... with my younger brother. That’s why I couldn’t answer the door right away."
The staff member was probably too stunned to react properly, their earlier composure completely gone. "O-oh. I see."
"Sorry for the disturbance."
They had come quickly—and left just as fast. The room fell silent once more.
Ran Jia let out a heavy sigh of relief. But just as she was about to speak, Ruan Qing shook his head at her, then tilted his chin slightly toward the door.
They hadn’t left.
This kind of excuse wouldn’t easily fool them.
After all, Ran Jia and Qi Yi didn’t seem like the type to do that—not to mention their clothes were still perfectly neat. Anyone with half a brain would see through the lie.
Ran Jia immediately understood Ruan Qing’s meaning and froze in place, not daring to move a muscle for fear of giving anything away.
But because of that, it only made things more suspicious—as if the people inside knew the staff were still lingering.
Ran Jia wasn’t much of an actress. Even if told exactly what to do, she might still slip up.
Ruan Qing didn’t pin his hopes on her. Instead, he stood up swiftly and soundlessly, moving in front of Ran Jia before deliberately letting his footsteps become audible as he walked toward the couch.
Her excuse was absurd, but now, they had no choice but to sell it.
As he walked, Ruan Qing spoke—in Ran Jia’s voice. "Qi Yi, they’re gone."
"Let’s… continue."
His tone dripped with implication. After speaking, he sat down on the sofa, the sound of fabric rustling accompanying the movement.
Then he spoke again—but this time, in Qi Yi’s voice, breathless and slightly hoarse. "S-Sister, don’t…"
Qi Yi stared at Ruan Qing in shock, his lips parting as if he wanted to say something.
But Ruan Qing didn’t give him the chance. He pressed a hand over Qi Yi’s mouth, then used his voice again to let out a low, stifled sound.
"Mm…"
With nothing but sound, Ruan Qing painted a vivid, scandalous picture—the kind that made ears burn. To anyone listening, it would seem like something indecent was unfolding inside the room.
Qi Yi lowered his gaze to the hand covering his mouth. Though his face remained expressionless, the tips of his ears turned red, and his entire body stiffened even more than before—so much so that he didn’t even know what to do with his hands and feet.
But Ruan Qing’s attention wasn’t on Qi Yi. While keeping his hand over Qi Yi’s mouth, he tilted his head slightly, listening intently to the sounds outside the door.
Just as Ruan Qing had guessed, the staff hadn’t left. They stood outside Ran Jia’s door, straining to hear the noises inside. Though the voices within were hushed, they could still faintly make out… those kinds of sounds.
That absurd excuse—it turned out to be true.
The staff exchanged glances, their expressions subtly awkward, before finally looking toward their leader. The lead staff member coughed lightly into his hand and was about to call for them to withdraw when a respectful voice sounded from down the hall.
"Mr. Lin."
The leader and the others startled, immediately bowing toward the approaching man. "Mr. Lin."
Hearing the title "Mr. Lin," Ruan Qing paused. He pulled his hand away from Qi Yi, stood up, and moved silently toward the door.
Qi Yi, still dazed from the lingering warmth of Ruan Qing’s touch, stared blankly at the other’s retreating figure. The way Ruan Qing withdrew so indifferently made the darkness in Qi Yi’s eyes deepen, an unsettling black seeping into his pupils.
But Ruan Qing didn’t notice. He leaned against the door, listening carefully to the conversation outside.
Lin Zhiyan’s cool voice carried through the door. "Have you found him?"
The lead staff member lowered his head. "There’s no sign of anything suspicious on the third floor."
At that, Lin Zhiyan’s expression turned icy. His voice was sharp, commanding. "Keep looking."
"Tear this place apart if you have to—but find him."
Ruan Qing: "…"
