Cheng Daichuan was silent for a few seconds, turned on a night light, and asked, “Do you want to go out on the deck to look at the stars?”
He really sounded a bit tired, lazy, and even after drinking so much ice water, his voice still carried a trace of hoarseness.
Cheng Daichuan probably really needed sleep, right?
Maybe if he just lay down, he could still fall asleep. At this hour, if they went out again and fooled around, he’d only be less sleepy.
She couldn’t just wear him out as soon as they boarded the cruise ship— the trip had only just begun, and there were still more than ten days left…
Ruan Xi tossed and turned in her sleeping bag. “Let’s not go. You should get some sleep. You can see the stars any night, can’t you?”
“Ah.”
“…Cheng Daichuan.”
“Mm?”
“That girl in the white dress, is she pretty?”
“Which one?”
“The one who was flirting with you!”
“She was wearing a white dress?”
“Forget it, just pretend I didn’t ask.”
Ruan Xi closed her eyes, vaguely hearing the sound of Cheng Daichuan sitting up in bed.
It seemed he was also having trouble falling asleep…
Was it because of his father? Had Cheng Daichuan been sleeping poorly all this time because of that?
Unlike Ruan Xi, Shi Chao, and Shang Auntie, who were outgoing, lively, and loved to share, Cheng Daichuan was much quieter.
He was calm when faced with problems and could handle things on his own, so he rarely took the initiative to talk about himself.
The more serious something was, the less he liked to mention it.
Just like that day when Ruan Xi was frightened by the “Foreign Garbage” Shi Chao mentioned and the Green Coconut on the dining table, Cheng Daichuan hadn’t said anything.
He just asked to borrow her phone charger and decided to stay downstairs to keep her company.
The next day, Cheng Daichuan’s Mother realized Cheng Daichuan hadn’t come home and called to ask what was going on.
Cheng Daichuan only mentioned it lightly.
It was early morning. Ruan Xi had just gotten out of bed and walked out of her bedroom when she heard Cheng Daichuan talking to Shang Auntie on the phone, and also heard hurried footsteps in the hallway.
Cheng Daichuan, holding his phone, opened the security door. Shang Auntie rushed into Ruan Xi’s home, her face full of worry, and hugged Ruan Xi tightly. “Xixi, you must have been so scared, right?”
Ruan Xi hugged Shang Auntie back, and hand in hand, they recounted the thrilling night, then went over to the trash bin to look at the culprit— the Green Coconut.
Shang Auntie stroked Ruan Xi’s head. “That thing is pretty scary if you see it at night with the lights off. Don’t be afraid, Xixi. Let’s go eat some sweet rice wine egg at the street corner to calm down!”
“Okay, okay! My treat, I have allowance!”
They excitedly chatted about everything under the sun.
Even while brushing her teeth, Ruan Xi carefully held the foam in her mouth and told Shang Auntie about her new hoodie.
Cheng Daichuan, who had finished washing up and changed into his school uniform, came downstairs, leaned by the entryway, glanced at his phone, and helplessly reminded them, “You two, if you don’t get ready to leave, we’re going to be late for school.”
Back then… although it was always the others chattering away, since they spent every day together, Ruan Xi and the others always knew what Cheng Daichuan was doing.
Even if he didn’t take the initiative to say something, she could naturally ask about it.
But now, after not seeing each other for a whole semester, Ruan Xi didn’t know how to bring up his family matters with Cheng Daichuan, or even if she should bring them up at all.
She stretched her hand out of the sleeping bag and scratched her head.
What could she do to help Cheng Daichuan stop thinking about those things?
A few minutes later, Ruan Xi heard the crisp sound of ice cubes clinking against the inside of a glass.
She opened her eyes and, in the dim night light, saw Cheng Daichuan’s silhouette.
He leaned against the cabinet next to the minibar, drinking ice water again. His figure in pajamas was cast on the wall —thin, tall, broad-shouldered. He set the glass down with a sideways motion…
She could clearly see his Adam’s apple moving as he swallowed.
This really was affecting his sleep.
Ruan Xi shifted, and her sleeping bag rustled with a “swish swish” sound.
Cheng Daichuan looked over. “Did I wake you?”
Ruan Xi squeezed her eyes shut in a panic. “No, you… stop drinking so much ice water, go to sleep. If you keep staying up late, you’ll get mouth ulcers.”
Cheng Daichuan gave a low “mm.”
The single bed next to hers gradually quieted down, and Ruan Xi opened her eyes several more times.
Cheng Daichuan didn’t seem to move again.
On nights at sea like this, with the dim lighting, Ruan Xi couldn’t help but think of Titanic.
But then she thought it wasn’t very lucky— after all, that award-winning film revolved around a disaster with an iceberg. Besides “romance,” its genre tags also included “disaster.”
Ah, she couldn’t sleep!
Wrapped in the stuffy warmth of her down sleeping bag, she forced herself to close her eyes again and try to sleep.
Half-awake, half-asleep, she seemed to feel the rocking of the cruise ship.
She fell asleep in that rocking.
Even her dreams felt like they’d been soaked in cocktails, with an indescribable sense of confusion and dizziness.
In her dream, there was the day she watched Titanic with Shi Chao and Cheng Daichuan.
That day, Ruan Xi had dinner alone at a small restaurant near home, then walked back carrying her backpack.
Just as she stuck her key into the lock, she suddenly heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs.
She could pretty much guess who it was.
After unlocking the door, Ruan Xi didn’t hurry inside. She looked down and, sure enough, saw Shi Chao, dripping with sweat.
Shi Chao said his building’s elevator was broken again. He really didn’t want to climb sixteen floors to go home, so he biked over instead and planned to watch a movie with Cheng Daichuan.
Ruan Xi asked, “Are you guys going to the cinema?”
Shi Chao said, “Nah, Chuanduo bought a projector a while ago but hardly ever used it. It’s just been collecting dust at home, and it was expensive. I’m going to help him get some use out of it.” Then he reached out and grabbed Ruan Xi’s backpack strap. “Why go home? Come on, let’s go together!”
Ruan Xi struggled. “Wait… Shi Chao, let me lock the security door first.”
The two of them slipped into Cheng Daichuan’s place like it was nothing new. As soon as Cheng Daichuan opened the door, Shi Chao grinned and said, “Hey, Boss Cheng, we came to hang out with you.”
Cheng Daichuan said, “Hang out? Aren’t you going to do your homework?”
Ruan Xi liked lively crowds and said happily, “We’re here to watch a movie with you.”
Cheng Daichuan raised his eyebrows calmly.
Shi Chao made a sharp squawk. “Xizi! It’s a movie! We’re here to watch a movie, you can’t say it like that!”
Cheng Daichuan laughed too, shaking his head as he did.
Ruan Xi’s whole face turned bright red. To ease the awkwardness, she hid behind Cheng Daichuan and, for once, even waved at Ais. “Hi~”
Ais was very aloof and didn’t even acknowledge her.
After visiting Cheng Daichuan’s home so many times, Ruan Xi could even coexist peacefully with Ais.
As long as Ais didn’t come over to lick her, she was fine sitting on the same couch as long as there was some distance.
Cheng Daichuan’s house had a four-seater sofa— one cat and three people just barely fit.
Cheng Daichuan held the iPad.
Ruan Xi and Shi Chao craned their necks to get closer to him.
Cheng Daichuan opened a video streaming app and moved the tablet a bit closer to them. “What movie do you want to watch?”
Shi Chao said, “School is so tough, there’s too much homework, we’ve got to watch a romance.”
Cheng Daichuan teased, “Doesn’t sound like it’s tough enough for you. How about you do your homework first, then watch?”
Shi Chao shook his head in horror. “No way!”
Cheng Daichuan stopped looking at Shi Chao and turned to Ruan Xi. “What about you, Ruan Xi? What do you want to watch?”
Ruan Xi glanced over the movie library—war films, action movies—and said, a bit embarrassed, “I agree with Shi Chao.”
Shi Chao shouted, “See! That’s the People’s Voice! Right, Ais?”
Ais was staring blankly at the cat food area. “…Meow.”
Cats, well, they only ever thought about fish treats and canned food.
People, the less they had, the more curious they were.
But that day, slow-witted Ruan Xi and Shi Chao were too absorbed in the love story James Cameron had created to notice that something was off with Cheng Daichuan.
Before the movie was halfway through, Cheng Daichuan had already closed his eyes and fallen asleep.
When the male lead was drawing the female lead, Shi Chao cried out, “Oh my god!” so loudly that both Ruan Xi and Ais were startled, but it still didn’t wake Cheng Daichuan.
To create the right movie atmosphere, all the curtains in the living room were drawn tight.
In the darkness, Ruan Xi turned her head and saw Cheng Daichuan, head tilted back, sleeping on the sofa.
She quickly tugged on Shi Chao, who was discussing the plot with her, and pointed at Cheng Daichuan, making a “shh” gesture.
Shi Chao nodded and covered his mouth.
But when Ruan Xi turned her head again, her gaze couldn’t help but fall on Cheng Daichuan’s slightly parted lips.
Down from there was his jaw, his Adam’s apple…
They all looked like they’d be nice to touch.
Had she actually touched them before?
Probably not.
She didn’t have that kind of nerve, did she?
Anyway, she remembered hearing later that Shang Auntie had come down with a fever, and Cheng Daichuan stayed up all night taking care of her…
That must’ve been what Shang Auntie said.
Cheng Daichuan would never bring up things like that himself.
But… if she hadn’t touched him, why did she feel so hot, so very hot, like she was about to evaporate?
Just like that first Eclipse they spent together.
That scorching summer, they went to Shi Chao’s house and ran into an elevator breakdown.
Ruan Xi and Cheng Daichuan carried snacks from the convenience store and climbed sixteen flights of stairs in the sunset.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead and slumped weakly over the stair railing. “Cheng Daichuan, you go ahead. I’ll just eat a grilled sausage here in the hallway.”
Cheng Daichuan said, “Want me to carry you?”
Ruan Xi was stunned. “…No need.”
Cheng Daichuan reached out, his clean palm bathed in the sunset.
He took her wrist, and the warmth of the sun seared her racing pulse. “A sausage won’t fill you up. Come on, let’s go up together.”
Were they back in that Eclipse again?
Did they have to climb the stairs again?
Didn’t Shi Chao say they’d won the lawsuit and the developer finally agreed to pay to fix the elevator?
No more stairs, please, it was really too hot.
Ruan Xi worried in her muddled state, when suddenly she felt a cool, soothing sensation on her forehead.
She instinctively pressed her forehead up against it, feeling very comfortable.
“Ruan Xi.”
Fragments of time in her dream slowly faded away. Ruan Xi opened her eyes in confusion.
It was still summer, but she was on a cruise ship.
Cheng Daichuan was bent over, one hand braced beside Ruan Xi’s pillow, the other hovering near her face.
A faint crease between his brows, he asked, “Do you want some water?”
Ruan Xi had just woken up and was still a bit dazed.
She saw the glass of mineral water with ice cubes on the nightstand but didn’t react right away. “My grandma says drinking ice water right after waking up is bad for your health.”
Cheng Daichuan said, “Get out of your sleeping bag first. You’re about to get heatstroke.”
Only then did Ruan Xi realize she was drenched in sweat.
This sleeping bag was just too good!
If Cheng Daichuan hadn’t woken her up, she probably really would have gotten heatstroke.
She propped herself up and sat on the bed, her upper body instantly cooled as she left the down sleeping bag.
She glanced at her phone. It was past two in the morning.
“Cheng Daichuan, have you not slept at all?”
Cheng Daichuan didn’t answer.
Suddenly, he raised his hand, and the pad of his index finger gently touched the skin above Ruan Xi’s brow bone. “You’ve been sweating a lot. Do you want to take a shower before going back to sleep?”