The larger the tonnage of the cruise ship, the steadier it sails at sea. In this respect, the salesperson probably wasn’t lying.
Just now, that sensation of swaying as if stepping on ocean waves felt like an illusion, fleeting and gone in a flash.
What was even harder to ignore was Cheng Daichuan’s body heat.
The distance between them was too close, almost like an embrace.
Ruan Xi could clearly feel the warmth in Cheng Daichuan’s palm at her fingertips.
Obviously, just like her, he had just held a Klin Cup filled with ice, yet his palm was still hot.
The Dance Hall was soon filled with a crowd of laughter and chatter. Ruan Xi saw a girl in a white dress waving at Cheng Daichuan from within the crowd.
Then…
Ruan Xi stepped on Cheng Daichuan’s foot.
Cheng Daichuan raised an eyebrow. “That seemed a bit on purpose.”
Ruan Xi really hadn’t done it on purpose.
Maybe it was the effect of the cocktail, but she just blurted out the reason: “That pretty girl who tried to chat you up outside just now is waving at you in there. I saw it and got distracted. Didn’t you see?”
Cheng Daichuan said, “I didn’t see.”
Ruan Xi tilted her head, peering over Cheng Daichuan’s shoulder. “Eh? She was just over there…”
“You can’t dance and you’re still getting distracted.”
Ruan Xi retorted, “And you can dance?”
“I guess I can dance a little.”
Ruan Xi wanted to ask, then why had she never seen him dance before? But after thinking about it, she suddenly fell silent.
Some things didn’t need to be asked.
Unlike in high school, where every day was spent sitting in classrooms listening to lectures and doing exercises, college life was colorful, and they hadn’t been a part of this side of each other’s lives.
Ruan Xi pressed her lips together, tasting the sweet and sour flavor of cocktail lingering on them.
If she had known it would be like this, she would have chosen an enthusiastic Rumba for her PE elective too.
Why did she pick Taijiquan and Badminton!
Still, she couldn’t help but ask, “So your dance partner must’ve been a girl, right?”
“Yeah, a girl.”
“…A college classmate?”
Cheng Daichuan said, “A Kindergarten classmate, I think.”
Ruan Xi looked up in surprise and suddenly realized Cheng Daichuan was lowering his eyes to look at her.
She caught her breath.
The presence she’d worked so hard to ignore surged back up again, like the arm behind her back.
Cheng Daichuan’s hand had always been gentlemanly, but after all, dancing wasn’t a still activity; there was always some movement.
Before leaving the room, Ruan Xi hadn’t found a suitable jacket, so she was only wearing a backless dress. There was no avoiding moments of skin brushing against skin.
They kept looking at each other.
The cocktail she’d drunk felt like flowing fire, burning in Ruan Xi’s blood.
With no sunset to hide behind, Ruan Xi was afraid of being seen through.
She was barely managing herself, and so didn’t notice her dance partner was also pressing his lips together, even turning his gaze away before she did, clearing his throat.
Luckily, the next song was even livelier, and the crowd in the dance floor began to form a circle.
Ruan Xi was no longer facing Cheng Daichuan directly, just lightly holding hands and following the steps of those who danced better.
It wasn’t until the dance ended and they returned to the Guest Room that Ruan Xi still felt her skin was burning.
She washed her hands with cold water, patted her cheeks, and tried to act casual as she asked Cheng Daichuan, “Isn’t it even hotter wearing a shirt?”
Obviously, it was.
Cheng Daichuan called the Service Desk to ask for a bucket of ice, poured the ice into a glass, and seemed ready to mix it with Mineral Water.
Ruan Xi was about to change out of her dress, hugging her short-sleeved pajamas as she headed to the Bathroom.
She was drawn back by the clinking sound of ice cubes dropping into the glass, grabbed a new glass, and handed it to Cheng Daichuan. “Pour me one too!”
After drinking the ice water, she felt refreshed.
Ruan Xi was finally able to speak to Cheng Daichuan normally. “Cheng Daichuan, did you really learn to dance in Kindergarten?”
“Madam Shang’s idea. I wasn’t interested, only lasted two months.”
After a whole day of running around, Ruan Xi was a bit tired too. “Dancing is so exhausting. And you haven’t slept well the past two nights. Tomorrow night I want to stay up late and watch the stars on the Deck, so let’s sleep early tonight, okay?”
Cheng Daichuan seemed lost in thought for a couple of seconds.
He finished the ice water in one gulp, and replied briefly, “Okay.”
Ruan Xi hugged her pajamas and happily bounced into the Bathroom.
Five minutes later, she poked her blushing face out, “Um… Cheng Daichuan, I think the zipper on my dress is stuck…”
The dress from Aunt Shang’s Family was a very fitted S Size, and it had been easy enough to zip up before dinner.
Now she was starting to regret it.
They’d had dinner at the dance.
Ruan Xi’s eyes had sparkled as she tried the Tuna Crab Stick Tart, Black Sesame Matcha Tart, Nut Butter with Mini Croissant, Cheesecake, Yogurt Cream Canelé, Pork Chop Mini Burger…
Cheng Daichuan walked over. “Let me see.”
Ruan Xi turned her back to Cheng Daichuan, grumbling, “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have eaten so much.”
She’d tried for ages but couldn’t see the zipper herself, and both her hands behind her back were useless.
With the Central Air Conditioning not covering the bathroom, she soon broke out in a thin sweat.
The more anxious she got, the less she could manage.
Ruan Xi sucked in her stomach, but was still a bit uneasy about Cheng Daichuan helping.
After all, it was a Travel Gift from Aunt Shang’s Family.
“Cheng Daichuan, be gentle, gentle, don’t break the dress.”
Cheng Daichuan looked at the bit of sweat on Ruan Xi’s neck, and reached up to pat the back of her head. “Stop talking.”
“…Oh.”
It wasn’t Ruan Xi’s fault for eating so much; she was just distracted and forgot that there was a pair of Feather Hooks sewn inside the Fabric at the top of the zipper, meant to prevent wardrobe malfunctions.
Cheng Daichuan couldn’t really help, and after finding the reason, told Ruan Xi she could undo it herself.
After coming out of the bathroom, the two of them sat on their beds and had another round of ice water.
Seeing that it was almost eleven o’clock, they finally got ready for bed.
Ruan Xi took out the Prop she’d rushed to buy before boarding and said to Cheng Daichuan, “Here’s a gift for you!”
Cheng Daichuan was unimpressed. “Is it cat litter again?”
“I’m almost twenty, not sixteen anymore. You think I’d fall for Shi Chao’s tricks when giving gifts? This time you can really look forward to it!”
Cheng Daichuan gave Ruan Xi plenty of face. “I’ll look forward to it.”
Then…
Ruan Xi dragged two vacuum-packed bags out of her suitcase with great effort. “Ta-da! Bet you didn’t expect this!”
Sleeping Bags.
Single-person Sleeping Bags, two of them.
Ruan Xi had found this idea in a Strategy Guide— essential for clean freaks when traveling.
She was quite proud of her thoughtfulness, spinning her wrists in a flourish to give herself a “grand entrance.”
Cheng Daichuan nodded with little emotion. “Not bad.”
“Of course they’re good, and expensive too.”
There were two types of Sleeping Bags at the Mall, and one kind was cheap, but she didn’t pick it.
She didn’t even need the salesperson’s introduction, she decided in a few seconds.
Cheng Daichuan sensed something ominous. “How much did they cost?”
Ruan Xi gave a number. “There’s a reason expensive things are expensive…”
She tore open the bag, and before she could finish saying “okay,” she was stunned by how the Sleeping Bag expanded as it filled with air.
Cheng Daichuan said, “Congratulations, expensive things do have a reason— these are Outdoor Thermal Sleeping Bags.”
He checked the tag. “Down-filled.”
Ruan Xi forcibly defended her choice, saying the cruise’s Central Air Conditioning was pretty cold anyway, so these would keep them warm.
As she spoke, she led by example and crawled into the Sleeping Bag herself.
She closed her eyes. “Good night!”
Cheng Daichuan’s voice held a smile. “Good night.”
Ruan Xi heard Cheng Daichuan go to wash up, and knew he turned off the lights in the Guest Room when he came back.
Was he using the Sleeping Bag?
She opened her eyes in the darkness, secretly peeking over at the single bed next to her—
Cheng Daichuan wasn’t asleep.
His Sleeping Bag was folded beside him, and he was sitting on the bed, looking at his phone, the dim glow from the screen falling on him.
Just like before.
It wasn’t their first time spending the night in the same space. It had happened in high school too.
Back then, under the influence of Cheng Daichuan and Shi Chao, Ruan Xi had gradually adapted to the new environment, started eating, chatting, and making weekend plans with her classmates.
Influenced by popular topics among her peers, Ruan Xi learned to shop for niche Vintage Clothing on Second-Hand Websites.
She found a Hoodie she liked and wore it after school to show Cheng Daichuan and Shi Chao.
Shi Chao said, “It looks good, but Xi, does this kind of clothing have any guarantees? What if it’s Foreign Garbage?”
Ruan Xi opened her Takeaway Box. “What’s Foreign Garbage?”
Shi Chao stuffed his mouth with Spicy Hot Pot. “I saw it in the News. Some second-hand clothes have questionable sources, maybe from dead…”
Cheng Daichuan immediately gave Shi Chao a smack on the back of the head. “Can’t the Spicy Hot Pot shut you up?”
Dead… what?!
It just so happened that Ruan Xi’s parents were on a business trip those days, and she was home alone.
At night, Ruan Xi started making up words with “dead” as the first character, but no matter what, none of them were auspicious.
Even with the Small Desk Lamp on, she couldn’t fall asleep.
The Spicy Hot Pot from their favorite place was tasty but salty, and in the middle of the night, her mouth was dry, but she was too scared to go to the Kitchen for water.
At 2 a.m., Ruan Xi finally couldn’t take it and called Cheng Daichuan.
Cheng Daichuan’s voice was hoarse with sleep. “Mm?”
“Cheng Daichuan, it’s me. Please don’t hang up!”
Cheng Daichuan was smart. He didn’t even need to ask the reason. “Shi Chao was talking nonsense. Did he scare you?”
“Not really… Just suddenly wanted to ask how you were sleeping.”
Ruan Xi, holding her phone, walked toward the Kitchen and saw a round, mysterious object on the Dining Table.
She froze for two seconds and let out a scream.
Cheng Daichuan quickly came downstairs and knocked on the security door of Ruan Xi’s house.
Ruan Xi, tears streaming down her face, rushed to the door, clutching Cheng Daichuan’s arm, unable to speak clearly: “…someone… head!”
When the lights came on, it turned out to be a Green Coconut she’d finished drinking and forgotten to throw away.
Cheng Daichuan tossed the coconut into the Trash Bin and stayed, sleeping on Ruan Xi’s Sofa.
That night, Ruan Xi looked out from her bedroom door and saw Cheng Daichuan, just like now, looking at his phone in the dark.
Her fear of Foreign Garbage gradually shifted into another emotion, similar to how she felt now.
It tangled her heart and kept her awake.
Ruan Xi was sweating inside her Down Sleeping Bag, wanting to get out but too embarrassed to move.
She wondered if Cheng Daichuan had fallen asleep.
Cheng Daichuan was having insomnia.
The cruise ship’s windows were soundproof enough that he could barely hear the ocean, but the faint rustling from the other single bed reached his ears clearly.
The darkness made willpower weak, and even scrolling through his phone he found himself thinking of all kinds of Ruan Xi—
Ruan Xi draped in sunset light, asking if he was feeling better;
Ruan Xi bickering with a Seagull;
Ruan Xi in a backless little black dress, sipping a cocktail;
Ruan Xi with her zipper stuck, sweating anxiously at her neck…
Cheng Daichuan even remembered the high school days when Ruan Xi, terrified by a coconut, ran to him sobbing.
Even if Ruan Xi wrapped herself up in a shiny black Down Sleeping Bag like a glossy bug…
He still couldn’t convince himself to be completely pure-minded.
Three days.
If he didn’t sleep soon, he might just drop dead.
Cheng Daichuan sighed silently, locked his phone, didn’t look over, and rested the back of his hand on his forehead.
After a long time, when his mind finally began to blur, Ruan Xi’s voice suddenly came from beside him.
She said, “What should I do, Cheng Daichuan, I can’t sleep.”
It really was enough to kill him.