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Bonus chapter! Thank you to JustSomeOne for the donation! ^^
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The tenth floor of the cruise ship was Lin Zhiyan's territory—no guests, no searching staff—now eerily silent.
So silent that Ruan Qing could hear that composed voice with perfect clarity.
It belonged to Lin Zhiyan.
A chill shot down Ruan Qing's spine. His entire body locked up, his grip on the window handle tightening instinctively.
The deck was right there. Just open the floor-to-ceiling window, and he could escape—could stage his "fall." The voice was still near the office entrance. There was enough time to rush out.
To maintain Xia Qing's identity for the "accident," Ruan Qing had changed back into Xia Qing's clothes beforehand. Xia Qing wouldn't commit suicide, but...
The office held only him and Lin Zhiyan now. Even if he broke character, the penalty would be just 100 points.
A hundred points. He could afford that.
In an instant, Ruan Qing made his choice. He twisted the handle with force—
It didn't budge.
No matter how hard he strained, fingers aching from the effort, the handle refused to turn.
The window was sealed shut.
As Ruan Qing froze again, footsteps sounded behind him from the doorway, growing closer until they halted at his back.
The office chandelier hung at the center, leaving the window area in dim periphery. Now, the tall figure blocked what little light remained, casting Ruan Qing entirely in shadow—a suffocating, oppressive darkness.
Ruan Qing didn't turn. Didn't move. He stood rigid, his slender frame dwarfed by Lin Zhiyan's imposing presence, trembling faintly like a cornered creature.
Lin Zhiyan gazed down at the young man, his calm eyes glinting with something dangerous. "Where were you earlier?"
His tone was light, almost conversational, yet it made Ruan Qing's scalp prickle. He instinctively shrank back.
The flinch seemed to provoke Lin Zhiyan. Before Ruan Qing could answer, Lin Zhiyan seized his wrist—the one still clutching the handle—and yanked him forward, slamming him against the wall face-to-face.
Ruan Qing shuddered violently, panic flashing in his eyes as he tried to retreat.
But the window pressed against his back. Nowhere left to run.
Lin Zhiyan looked down at the visibly frightened young man before him, not easing his oppressive aura in the slightest. His voice was calm as he said, "I believe I told you to wait for me in the office."
Ruan Qing paled and lowered his head, his slender frame trembling slightly. "I... I did wait," he said softly, his voice small. "But not long after you left, someone kicked the door in. I... I was scared."
"So... so I..."
Lin Zhiyan paused, suddenly recalling the broken door and the surveillance footage he had reviewed earlier.
The boy had indeed shown no intention of leaving the office at first—it was only after the door was forced open that he fled.
The oppressive air around Lin Zhiyan lessened slightly. He released his grip on Ruan Qing, his tone softening. "Where did you go just now?"
Ruan Qing's long lashes fluttered. "I wanted to go back to the second floor," he murmured, his voice pitifully quiet. "But I couldn't operate the elevator, so I just... wandered around this level."
Every elevator on the entire cruise ship required either an ID card or a guest invitation to activate. For floors six and above, only specially authorized ID cards would work.
And Lin Zhiyan had never given the original owner permission to access the tenth-floor elevator—meaning there was no way he could have left this level on his own.
The search team had focused their efforts on floors two through six, completely overlooking Lin Zhiyan's private tenth floor. Even Lin Zhiyan himself had forgotten that he hadn’t granted the boy access.
Lin Zhiyan seemed to accept Ruan Qing’s explanation. Without pressing further, he extended his hand and commanded, "Give me your phone."
Ruan Qing obediently took out his phone, unlocked it, and handed it over.
Lin Zhiyan entered a number and dialed it.
A second later, the default ringtone sounded from Lin Zhiyan’s pocket.
He ended the call and returned the phone. "Next time something like this happens, call me."
The ship had long since sailed into open waters, where no signal could reach the outside world—or anyone else on board.
But apparently, that wasn’t entirely true.
Ruan Qing glanced down at his still signal-less phone and gave a small nod.
Lin Zhiyan watched the boy’s obedient gesture, feeling something unnameable take root in his chest, spreading rapidly through him.
His gaze darkened. He reached out, brushing aside the strands of hair that had fallen over Ruan Qing’s forehead, then said quietly, "You know about the stowaway search happening outside, don’t you?"
Ruan Qing stiffened slightly. After a brief hesitation, he nodded again—looking utterly helpless and pitiful.
Lin Zhiyan let out a quiet sigh. "Though I was the one who brought you aboard, you're truly not on the list of winners. If others find out, I won't be able to protect you."
His tone carried regret, as if he were helpless in this situation.
Ruan Qing turned to look at him, panic creeping into his voice. "But... aren't you the person in charge of the cruise? If you just add me to the list, then I wouldn't be a stowaway anymore, right?"
Lin Zhiyan shook his head slightly. "I'm only an acting manager with little real authority. The true owner of this ship is still that Mr. Qi."
"Your stay on the second floor was already reported to him by the staff. Mr. Qi believes you're a stowaway who snuck aboard."
His voice took on a troubled note. "It was Mr. Qi who ordered the shipwide search. There's nothing I can do."
Ruan Qing seemed at a loss, his pale lips pressed together, his face a picture of distress and unease.
After a brief pause, Lin Zhiyan spoke again, hesitantly. "Though... it's not entirely impossible to resolve..."
Ruan Qing immediately lifted his gaze, hope and entreaty flickering in his eyes.
The young man's beautiful eyes shimmered with unshed tears, catching the light like precious gems. Combined with the pleading in his expression, few could resist such a look.
At least, Lin Zhiyan couldn't.
His gaze darkened further. Lowering his eyes to conceal his thoughts, he continued calmly, "Mr. Qi shows no mercy to stowaways. But if you were mine... he would have no reason to pursue the matter."
Ruan Qing's eyes brightened. He nodded quickly. "Then I'll go explain everything to Mr. Qi right now—"
Just as he moved to leave, his wrist was caught again, and Lin Zhiyan's tall frame blocked him against the floor-to-ceiling window.
Looking down at him, Lin Zhiyan chuckled softly. "You seem to have misunderstood. Our current relationship... isn't enough."
As he spoke, he reached out to brush back the stray strands of Ruan Qing's hair—but this time, his fingers didn't withdraw. Instead, they trailed slowly down the side of his face.
The gesture was laden with intimacy... and unmistakable implication.
Finally, his fingertips came to rest beside Ruan Qing's pale lips. His gaze darkened as he stared at them, his voice dropping to a husky murmur.
"Only if you truly belong to me... might Mr. Qi be persuaded to let this go."
"After all," he added, his tone deliberate, "as acting manager, it's only natural I'd bring family aboard."
The meaning couldn't be clearer. Ruan Qing stiffened, his expression freezing. His lips parted slightly.
"I..."
"Of course, you could also choose to pay to become an official guest of the cruise ship. That way I can add you to our VIP list." Lin Zhiyan observed the resistant young man but didn't press further, instead withdrawing his hand with perfect gentlemanly manners.
"The choice is yours to make."
Lin Zhiyan turned to leave, but paused mid-turn as if remembering something. He glanced back at Ruan Qing and offered a friendly reminder:
"Oh, and Mr. Qi isn't known for his patience. If he discovers any stowaways... well, let's just say he might toss them overboard to feed the fish."
"Don't entertain any false hopes either. While we live in a society governed by law where most wouldn't dare kill casually, you should understand perfectly well that Mr. Qi operates under... different circumstances. Throwing people to the fish is exactly the sort of thing he would do."
Lin Zhiyan continued calmly as he watched the youth's face pale further, "And in the end, it would simply be recorded as an unfortunate... accidental drowning."
Rumors said the owner of the Malegobi cruise was some foreign prince. The original owner was just an ordinary college student from a small mountain village - completely powerless against such an entity.
Just as Lin Zhiyan said, even if the original owner died, the official record would only show he had "slipped and fallen overboard by accident."
Ruan Qing's delicate face turned even whiter. His slender fingers clenched tightly, eyes flickering with visible struggle and hesitation.
As if this decision weighed heavily on him.
And it truly was difficult. Lin Zhiyan appeared to offer two choices, but in reality there was only one - the original owner could never afford those exorbitant fees.
His only real option was to become dependent on Lin Zhiyan.
While the original owner had chosen to attach himself to wealthy patrons, he'd never actually intended to fully commit himself, nor had he ever crossed that final line with any of them.
Taking this step today would mean no turning back.
All his envisioned futures would be irrevocably altered.
Even the real Xia Qing standing here would undoubtedly be torn with anguish over this choice.
But the final outcome would inevitably go as Lin Zhiyan wished - when measured against survival, one's future plans meant nothing.
Ruan Qing wasn't actually struggling - that performance was solely for Lin Zhiyan's benefit.
He was waiting.
Waiting for Lin Zhiyan to leave.
The original owner truly stood no chance against the cruise ship's owner, but Ruan Qing wasn't the original owner. From the very beginning, he'd never needed to oppose the ship's owner at all.
He just needed to wait for Lin Zhiyan to leave, then proceed with his plan to "die" tonight as intended.
Yet, to Ruan Qing’s dismay, Lin Zhiyan didn’t leave after turning around—nor did he show any intention of leaving at all.
Lin Zhiyan sat down in the chair behind his desk, leaning back as he silently watched Ruan Qing, as if waiting for his answer.
This time, Ruan Qing truly froze in place.
There was no way he could force open the floor-to-ceiling window under Lin Zhiyan’s watchful gaze.
And even if he recklessly tried, Lin Zhiyan would undoubtedly stop him before he could "fall" into the sea.
