***
Bonus chapter! Thank you to JustSomeOne for the donation! ^^
***
Lin Zhiyan radiated a sinister aura, completely different from his usual gentle and composed demeanor.
Midnight was fast approaching - and any guest without an invitation by twelve would never see another sunrise.
No one understood this better than Lin Zhiyan himself.
In the past, he wouldn't have cared about some fool who came seeking death. But now, the thought of that person dying was unbearable.
Dying in some unknown corner. Dying... just when he'd begun to feel something for the other.
The dark intensity in Lin Zhiyan's eyes made everyone present shiver involuntarily.
The staff members hastily bowed before scattering to search their assigned areas again - this time not with their previous polite methods, but with thorough determination to turn the entire cruise ship upside down.
Even the restricted floors above sixth floor.
Just as the team leader for the third floor was about to leave, Lin Zhiyan's calm voice stopped him: "One more thing."
"What exactly were you doing here just now?"
"This isn't the designated meeting point."
The third floor was indeed not the meeting point - that was on the sixth floor, where Lin Zhiyan had personally led the search team. His presence here now clearly meant all other floors had reported in, leaving only the third floor unaccounted for.
Failure to report on time typically indicated they'd found something... or someone.
But in their case...
The team leader stiffened before turning with a trembling bow. "Mr. Lin, we encountered... a minor situation here."
"The guest in room 301 was acting suspiciously. We thought she might be hiding someone, but it turned out she was... was with her younger brother... engaging in... in illicit relations." Normally efficient with his words, the staff member now stumbled awkwardly, visibly embarrassed by the explanation.
Lin Zhiyan's expression remained cold, his eyes turning frostier. "So you were watching them have sex?"
The team leader's hands began shaking under Lin Zhiyan's gaze. All embarrassment forgotten, he rushed to clarify: "No, Mr. Lin! We weren't watching! We only investigated because their suspicious behavior made us think they were hiding someone! That's why... why we were delayed."
There was a crucial difference between voyeurism and legitimate suspicion. If they'd truly abandoned their duties to watch such activities, they'd be thrown overboard to feed the fish before dawn.
The staff were well aware of this, and so was Lin Zhiyan. That’s why he didn’t really suspect that the staff had disobeyed his orders to secretly spy on someone having an affair.
“Room 301?” Lin Zhiyan seemed to suddenly realize something. He looked up toward a room not far from him and spoke slowly, “Are there still guests on this cruise ship who don’t know about the 10 PM inspection?”
The staff also realized something and quickly responded, “The ship’s broadcast covers the entire vessel—every area has been accounted for.”
Anyone who knew about the inspection at 10 PM wouldn’t typically choose this time to engage in that sort of behavior.
The occupant of Room 301 was indeed suspicious.
Lin Zhiyan started walking toward Room 301. Seeing this, one of the staff members immediately stepped forward and kicked the door open hard.
The back of the sofa faced the entrance, blocking the view of what—or who—was on it. From the doorway, one couldn’t see the person being pinned down, but it was clear that a young man was on top of someone, engaging in something rather intimate. The entire room echoed with unmistakably suggestive sounds.
Not just kissing, but also the noises of certain movements—and a woman’s voice, strained and breathy, hinting at her inability to endure what was happening.
The loud crash of the kicked-in door startled the people on the couch. A sultry and seductive female voice rang out, tinged with panic and confusion. “What’s going on? Didn’t they already check this room?”
Her voice was laced with panic, as if terrified of being seen in a compromising situation. But her breath was hurried and seductive, even slightly gasping, clearly indicating she had just been in the midst of something unspeakable.
The boy also looked toward the door, his expression blank—but his cheeks were flushed red.
The sounds previously muffled by the closed door now spilled out clearly. Lin Zhiyan, who had been about to step inside, paused mid-step. A flash of disgust crossed his eyes, and he turned away without a word.
The staff nearby watched Lin Zhiyan walk off and turned to the lead staff member, then asked quietly, “Boss, should we still go in and investigate?”
“Investigate, my ass!” the lead staff member rolled his eyes. Most people wouldn’t be doing that kind of thing at this time—but clearly, the two inside were not most people.
People who could commit incest with a blood relative probably weren’t “normal” in the first place.
“Let’s go. Start the inspection from the top again.” By the time they circled back to this room, the two would probably be done.
***
As they left, one staff member closed the door behind them. This time, they really walked away for good.
And the one being pinned down wasn’t Ran Jia—it was Ruan Qing.
When Ruan Qing heard Lin Zhiyan mention "Room 301," he immediately knew trouble was coming. Silently but swiftly, he moved to the sofa, grabbed Qi Yi by the collar, and yanked him down on top of himself.
While the search party couldn't see him, they would clearly witness Qi Yi pinning someone down. Combined with the hypnotic patterns and his earlier vocal misdirection, there was a chance this ruse might work.
The tactic proved effective. As the footsteps outside gradually faded, Ruan Qing exhaled sharply in relief. He released his grip on Qi Yi's collar, allowing himself to collapse limply onto the sofa.
Ruan Qing's cap was pulled unusually low. Even lying supine on the couch with his head tilted back, observers could only glimpse a smooth, pale chin and the elegant curve of his swan-like neck. The delicate lines stood out vividly against his blue-and-white high school uniform, creating an image of fragile beauty.
His current prone position suggested complete vulnerability - as though he might permit anything to be done to him. Like... fulfilling the very scenario they'd just pretended was occurring.
Qi Yi's Adam's apple bobbed imperceptibly. His gaze fixed on the shadowed junction where Ruan Qing's cap obscured his features. Almost unconsciously, he reached toward that concealed face.
As Qi Yi's hand neared its target, his wrist was abruptly intercepted. Ruan Qing caught the advancing limb, delivering a cool, impassive look before shoving Qi Yi away with an air of detached indifference.
Watching Ruan Qing's retreating figure, Qi Yi's eyes darkened into fathomless pools. The intensity of that stare alone could freeze blood, carrying the predatory focus of something inhuman lying in wait.
Emerging from the shadows, Ran Jia couldn't suppress a shudder upon witnessing Qi Yi's expression. Her lips parted soundlessly before she averted her gaze, electing to pretend she'd seen nothing.
***
Deep night found the cruise ship anything but tranquil. The renewed search operation proceeded with markedly greater aggression, shedding even the pretense of courtesy.
Staff dispensed with knocking altogether, now using keycards to forcibly enter cabins without warning. This abrupt shift in tactics drew murmurs from disturbed guests congregating in hallways.
"What's going on? Didn't they just finish searching? Why again?" one passenger whispered.
A nearby man voiced his irritation, "Exactly! And now they're barging in without so much as a 'by your leave.' Basic human decency shouldn't disappear just because we're not paying customers."
"Strange," another mused, "They were perfectly polite earlier. What changed?" He glanced around conspiratorially. "You don't think they failed to find whoever they're after?"
A skeptical neighbor frowned. "Even if they didn't catch someone, this level of urgency seems excessive. I'm starting to think that stowaway might actually be the murderer. Rumor says another body turned up tonight - probably their handiwork."
"But wasn't it said that person died of heart disease? What does that have to do with stowaways?"
"You'd believe that heart disease story? If they said someone got transported into a novel, would you believe that too?" someone sneered. "I'd say there's an eighty percent chance terrorists have snuck aboard."
Ruan Qing stood in the shadows of a corner, pressing his pale lips together as he quietly listened to the guests' conversation outside.
With such a thorough search underway, there was almost no chance he could hide. This time, the staff were combing through every inch of the rooms—even places where no human could possibly conceal themselves.
Even the solid sofas had been dismantled.
This went beyond what ordinary people could evade. Xia Qing couldn't manage it, and neither could Ruan Qing.
Hypnosis was just hypnosis after all. His power wasn't strong enough to rewrite people's brains and perceptions—true deception on this scale was impossible.
Ran Jia and Qi Yi's room was no longer safe either. After what just happened, those two would definitely become primary targets for inspection.
Now he only had two options: either "die" publicly in front of everyone right now, or obediently let Lin Zhiyan find him.
Ruan Qing lowered his gaze slightly, calculating methods and possibilities for his death in his mind.
The passage from the second deck to the outer deck had been sealed off—except for one place.
Lin Zhiyan's office.
Lin Zhiyan was currently occupied with the shipwide search and definitely wouldn't be in his office. Moreover, the office door had been broken by that Mr. Qi's men, allowing free access.
More importantly, Lin Zhiyan's office had surveillance cameras that could record his entire "fall overboard."
Time to gamble.
Ruan Qing turned and left the corner, heading straight for the stairwell to the tenth floor.
The cruise ship did have stairwells, tucked away in remote corners known only to the crew.
Perhaps because all staff were busy searching the cabins, no one had come to inspect this area. Ruan Qing easily reached the tenth floor.
The tenth floor housed Lin Zhiyan's office space, now devoid of personnel. Ruan Qing walked directly toward the office.
Just as he predicted, the office was empty.
Without hesitation, Ruan Qing moved toward the floor-to-ceiling windows. Just as his hand touched the window handle, a familiar, cool voice spoke behind him.
"Where do you think you're going?"
