Chapter 11: Dance Partner

Cheng Daichuan choked badly.

Until they stepped outside, Ruan Xi secretly glanced at the skin of Cheng Daichuan’s neck under the collar of his black shirt, and it was still covered with a thin layer of red.

His Adam’s apple slid up and down, inexplicably sensual.

Just like when Ais was caught scratching the genuine leather sofa, she hurriedly averted her gaze and busied herself looking at the already-explored areas of the cruise ship on the map.

The elevator stopped at several floors, and a few groups of passengers also got in, all heading to the welcome ball.

The sound of conversations interrupted the certain atmosphere flowing between the two of them.

Those unfamiliar voices said that before the ball started, the Captain would give a speech, and there would also be some performances dedicated to the passengers.

It sounded like it would take a long time.

The elevator reached the floor, and Ruan Xi went to the restroom so she wouldn’t miss the show after the opening.

When Ruan Xi came out drying her hands, Cheng Daichuan, just as he was when they boarded, was sitting with his eyes closed, arms lazily folded, leaning back on the sofa in the waiting area.

A girl about their age, dressed in a white dress, sat next to Cheng Daichuan.

There was an empty seat between them.

The girl held up a small mirror and applied lipstick, occasionally glancing at Cheng Daichuan from the side in the gaps between fixing her makeup, trying to look casual.

Ruan Xi puffed out her cheeks.

Cheng Daichuan had always been like this.

Back in high school, Cheng Daichuan was the kind of boy who stood out for his height, looks, and grades, but because he was too smart, he could never quite be the model student who strictly followed the rules and buried himself in books.

Sleeping in class, sneaking out during self-study periods to play soccer— Cheng Daichuan did these things no less than Shi Chao.

The teachers both loved and hated him, but ultimately had no choice.

To the girls, it wasn’t a lack of discipline, it was called being carefree.

Once, on the way home after school, Ruan Xi was chewing on a popsicle and watched as Cheng Daichuan was stopped by a girl from his class, asking to borrow his notes.

Cheng Daichuan said, “Ask the class rep. I was asleep, didn’t take any.”

Everyone knew the notes were just an excuse. Shi Chao teased Cheng Daichuan, saying he was “beating around the bush.”

Cheng Daichuan didn’t even react, his expression calm, as if he didn’t understand.

Shi Chao took the popsicle out of his mouth, lowered his voice, and gossiped with Ruan Xi: “Our Daichuan is super popular with the girls.”

By then, Ruan Xi had already been to Cheng Daichuan’s house two or three times and was pretty familiar with them.

So after chatting about this, they naturally asked her if she wanted to go to the stadium to watch them play soccer.

After dropping off her backpack at home, Ruan Xi waited outside Cheng Daichuan’s house for them to get their soccer gear.

Shi Chao spoke to the Maine Coon at Cheng Daichuan’s house: “Ais, stop staring, okay? You’re not coming with us today.”

Ruan Xi tugged at Cheng Daichuan’s sleeve: “Do you usually bring Ais when you go play soccer? Is it because of me that you’re not bringing him today? Won’t he get bored at home?”

Cheng Daichuan said, “Ais went to the little garden with Madam Shang this morning. It’s fine, he won’t get bored.”

Ruan Xi knew it was still because of her.

She was afraid of small animals, but she couldn’t bear to leave the big bear… No, the big cat, watching them with longing eyes, left behind as a stay-at-home cat.

Ruan Xi insisted several times that as long as she didn’t have to touch it, she’d be fine, and only then did Cheng Daichuan agree to put a leash on Ais and bring him along.

Cheng Daichuan led Ais, not needing to bend down, able to flick the soccer ball up with just the tip of his foot.

He warmed up by juggling the ball with his feet or knees, casually playing with the ball all the way to the stadium.

Ruan Xi and Ais sat on the grass next to the field, about half a meter apart.

She held her book, reciting her homework, while Ais quietly licked his fur.

Her eyes would occasionally drift to a tall figure, watching him intercept the ball, his movements crisp and sharp, dribbling past others, and when the opportunity was right, simply lifting his foot and scoring a goal.

Ruan Xi was easily fired up by this kind of sports atmosphere.

At home, watching the Olympics with her grandma and the others, she could shout herself hoarse.

This time, before she could cheer, someone was already screaming.

Ruan Xi turned around and saw a few girls sitting behind her.

Maybe they were classmates, maybe not, but Ruan Xi heard them talking about Cheng Daichuan.

Back then, Cheng Daichuan liked to wear light colors— clean, fresh, but not very enthusiastic toward outsiders.

The girls said he had a kind of “keep your distance” coolness.

“Coolness is so attractive!”

“Yes, yes, super attractive!”

“His short, tousled hair is so handsome, I really want to ask for his WeChat…”

The girls nudged each other, joking around.

“Why don’t you go?” “Why don’t you?” “I don’t dare.” This kind of chatter kept drifting into Ruan Xi’s ears.

After the game, Shi Chao and Cheng Daichuan came back, and Ruan Xi kept her head down, still holding her book.

Cheng Daichuan asked, “Waited too long? Tired?”

Ruan Xi stared at Cheng Daichuan’s sweat-dampened short hair for a few seconds and took a deep breath: “This text is so hard to memorize!”

Compared to high school, Cheng Daichuan, now dressed in all black, looked more steady, and even more attractive.

The girl fixing her makeup put away her lipstick, pressed her lips together, and snapped her compact shut with a “click.”

She tapped the empty spot on the sofa between the two of them: “Are you traveling alone?”

Cheng Daichuan slowly opened his eyes and tilted his head slightly toward the women’s restroom: “No, waiting for someone.”

“Girlfriend?”

Cheng Daichuan paused for two seconds: “Friend.”

That’s right, they were good friends.

But when she saw Cheng Daichuan reject the girl’s invitation to go to the ball together, Ruan Xi still felt uncomfortable inside.

She wore her little dress, hands behind her back, walking silently beside Cheng Daichuan, her mind wandering.

Ruan Xi could recall many moments involving Cheng Daichuan, but in his memories, did she ever appear in a more positive light?

Sweating buckets, yelling that she couldn’t climb the sixteen floors to Shi Chao’s home…

Hospitalized with appendicitis, not having washed her hair, lips paler than paper…

Fighting with Shi Chao over spicy snacks, trying Ais’s jerky treats, getting punished to stand in the school hallway for not finishing her homework…

No wonder he only saw her as a friend!

How many foolish things had she done?

These past two days, Cheng Daichuan hadn’t said much either.

Ruan Xi couldn’t tell if Cheng Daichuan’s silence was because he was tired, or because of his family troubles.

Before entering the ballroom, they ran into a family of three traveling together.

The little boy held his dad’s hand with one hand and his mom’s with the other, innocently asking his parents if there would be Ultraman at the ball, then ran in front of them to perform some Ultraman transformation moves.

Most passengers were interested in the welcome ball, and as the start time approached, the hallway on this floor grew lively.

When Ruan Xi noticed the family, Cheng Daichuan had already been looking over there for who knows how long.

Ruan Xi thought of what Cheng Daichuan had said—

“If you really have to treat me, buy me a drink?”

The ballroom was spacious, with a complex Crystal Chandelier hanging from the ceiling, the layers of lights stacked upon each other, extremely ornate.

She looked around the tables and chairs decorated with fresh flowers and quickly spotted the liquor cabinet and bar in one corner of the hall.

“Cheng Daichuan, I’m going over there for a bit.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Ruan Xi tried to lighten the mood: “Oh, all right. Since I’m treating you to a drink anyway, you might as well pick what you want.”

They only sold cocktails here.

Ruan Xi picked a pretty, low-alcohol one, rested her arm on the bar, and cupped her face, watching the bartender pour colorful liquors into a slender Collins glass.

Cheng Daichuan leaned beside her: “You can drink?”

Ruan Xi said, “Of course, it’s not like we haven’t drunk together before.”

That was better left unmentioned.

The first time they drank together was the day after watching them play soccer, on Children’s Day.

Ruan Xi’s parents had to work, so Ruan Xi was invited upstairs.

Cheng Daichuan’s Mother opened a bottle of red wine and smiled, saying a little bit was fine.

Ruan Xi thought it was fine too.

She just couldn’t get used to the sour taste of red wine, but other than that, she didn’t black out, didn’t act crazy, and didn’t feel sick.

But Shi Chao and Cheng Daichuan both told her not to drink alcohol in the future. Shi Chao even said, “That’s the first time I’ve met someone who talks more than me.”

Ruan Xi still couldn’t remember what she’d said, only that Cheng Daichuan once helped her recall.

He said she had talent, could do Single-Person Crosstalk.

Ruan Xi held her head in her hands: “Blame my grandpa, he used to watch crosstalk on TV all the time…”

Cheng Daichuan played along: “Oh, isn’t that so.”

She thought Single-Person Crosstalk was the whole thing, but he suddenly leaned in and asked, “Ruan Xi, do you have a problem with my hair?”

She looked at him, confused.

Cheng Daichuan said, “What, is my short, tousled hair not as nice as curly hair?”

Ruan Xi was so embarrassed.

She didn’t know why she said such things, and there was no way she could compliment his “short, tousled hair” to his face when he was so close.

And so, the matter was left unresolved.

Remembering this lesson, Ruan Xi lay on the bar and raised three fingers to swear: “I promise, my alcohol tolerance has improved. I won’t go around commenting on your hairstyle anymore.”

Cheng Daichuan asked, “Do you drink often after starting university?”

Ruan Xi shook her head and said, not really.

She wasn’t very into drinking, only having a little at club events or when celebrating a roommate’s birthday.

She said, “Now I can handle about one and a half bottles of beer, but I haven’t tried cocktails yet.”

Cheng Daichuan smiled: “It’s fine if you drink too much. I’d like to hear what else you’ll say.”

Before the ball began, the Captain really did arrive.

He wasn’t the bearded old man who’d spent his life at sea like in the movies. This Captain looked more like someone from their parents’ generation.

The Captain enthusiastically introduced the facilities on Dusk and finally ended his speech amid a round of applause.

There were song and dance performances one after another, and even a magician who made doves appear.

After the last performance, a lively dance tune began to play, and the actors who had performed earlier stepped off the stage and pulled the audience into the dance floor.

Partners were casual— whether you knew each other or not, it didn’t matter.

The dance steps were also casual. Whether you knew how to dance or not, you could follow the cheerful rhythm and do a simple polka.

Ruan Xi finished her entire cocktail and, amidst the sweet blend of citrus fruit and alcohol, felt the rocking of the cruise ship.

Was it getting windy?

She spotted the figure in the white dress in the crowd, and, feeling tipsy, grabbed the person beside her: “Cheng Daichuan, I can’t dance. I… can’t dance with anyone else. If I step on someone’s foot, I’ll have to pay for it. Dance with me, okay?”

Cheng Daichuan didn’t refuse. He set down his glass and reached out his hand.

Ruan Xi gently placed her hand in his, and her other hand rested on his shoulder.

At the same time, she felt Cheng Daichuan move closer, his arm loosely encircling her back.