Ruan Xi held the empty glass of cold brew rose and tilted her head. “Anything else on your mind?”
The last ray of sunset faded from the sky, like rose petals soaked too long and losing their color in a glass cup.
The pool water was getting chilly.
Cheng Daichuan braced both hands on the edge of the pool and nimbly sat up onto it.
He reached out a dripping hand. “Come up.”
Ruan Xi shook her head and refused.
If she tried to get out like that, she might end up pulling him down too, and swallowing pool water was no fun. Even now, her nose and throat still hurt.
“I’ll just take the steps.”
She paddled over with her float, grabbed the handrail, and climbed the last step—then suddenly realized:
This Cheng Daichuan guy had just changed the subject!
But it wasn’t a big deal.
In Ruan Xi’s view, Cheng Daichuan was just putting on a brave face.
According to intel from Shi Chao’s little team (the early edition):
Cheng Daichuan was as popular in college as he was in high school, living a vibrant and colorful life.
Attending classes, playing soccer, joining all sorts of clubs, going cycling with his roommates, learning guitar, camping at a desert RV site… @Endless good stories, all on Jinjiang Literature City
In his spare time, he’d check out funds and ways to manage finances, make a few small investments, earn some pocket money.
Shi Chao had visited Cheng Daichuan’s school during the holidays to tour and play soccer, and even caught some girls secretly taking photos of him by the field.
In Shi Chao’s own words, “For my Bro Cheng, love must come easy— if he wants it, it’s right there.”
Love is easy, career thriving, studies solid.
That’s not just double harvest, that’s triple harvest!
Ruan Xi thought indignantly:
Aside from that awful trouble at home, what else does Cheng Daichuan have to worry about?
And yet he’s trying to trick her. Liar!
Ruan Xi put on her bathrobe, pulled the collar together, and tied the belt into a bow.
She turned to look at Cheng Daichuan— @Endless good stories, all on Jinjiang Literature City
The liar was also in a bathrobe, towel-drying his hair, with two obvious nail marks on his neck, thin and red.
Could it be…
Was that from when she flailed in the water earlier, and accidentally scratched him?
Ruan Xi simply couldn’t open her eyes underwater.
She’d tried before at outdoor pools, wanting to take beautiful underwater photos like in the movies.
Not only did she fail, she got keratitis, and woke up the next day with bloodshot eyes.
The boys in her class said it looked like she had a Sharingan.
Before Cheng Daichuan hugged her, Ruan Xi even recalled something her grandma once warned her— don’t get careless just because the water is shallow; those short videos always say even one meter of water can drown someone…
So when she fell in just now, she was terrified, squeezed her eyes shut, flailed with both hands and feet, and didn’t even care to look at anything else.
Cheng Daichuan had already returned the float, picked up Ruan Xi’s straw bag, and nodded his head toward the cabin. “Back to the room?”
“Wait… Cheng Daichuan, I think I scratched you.”
“Where?”
Ruan Xi pointed. “There, just under your neck, a bit further down— yeah, right there.”
Cheng Daichuan touched the wound with his index finger, frowned, and hissed.
Ruan Xi panicked. “Does it hurt?”
Cheng Daichuan chuckled. “I can’t feel a thing.”
“Then what was that hiss for?!”
“Check for me, I think there’s a scratch on the back of my neck too.”
Ruan Xi’s bravado vanished. “…Turn around.”
She tiptoed, pulled aside Cheng Daichuan’s bathrobe collar, and sure enough, there was another wound on his nape, skin scraped off and blood oozing.
“I’m so sorry, Cheng Daichuan, I was too scared.”
She was afraid.
But the first thing she did after surfacing was comfort him.
Cheng Daichuan straightened his bathrobe and turned back, his gaze gentle. “Sorry, but it’s not as bad as when Ais claws me.”
“Do you want to go to the medical bay?”
“No need, there’s iodine swabs in the room, I’ll take care of it.”
As he spoke, Cheng Daichuan draped a dry towel over Ruan Xi’s head. “Let’s go.”
“Oh.”
Ruan Xi, towel on her head, responded dully, and followed after Cheng Daichuan’s steps, her mind already floating far away.
Why did she scratch the back of his neck?
Did she hug him?
After he pulled her out, did she keep clinging to him for a while?
A staff member took away their empty glasses, passing by with a tray and glancing at Ruan Xi.
Ruan Xi’s heart was in a mess.
She still hadn’t recovered from that soaking wet embrace in the pool, her mind full of wild guesses: @Endless good stories, all on Jinjiang Literature City
Did I… Did I wrap my legs around his waist?
They passed a transparent glass tube, inside which someone was experiencing the Vertical Wind Tunnel.
The participant wore a suit like a night outfit, spread their arms in the rising air current, and floated inside like a feather, simulating flight.
Right now, Ruan Xi was feeling a delayed rush of anxiety, her heart soaring like the person in the glass tube.
Cheng Daichuan carried Ruan Xi’s straw bag. “Shower and then dinner?”
Ruan Xi didn’t hear him.
He knocked on her head as if knocking on a door. “Do you have other plans?”
Ruan Xi looked up blankly. “What plans?”
“I asked if you want to eat after showering or if you have other plans. Spacing out?”
“Oh.”
Cheng Daichuan’s bathrobe was loosely tied, his broad shoulders propping up the soft terry cloth.
He pressed the elevator button.
But she couldn’t say what she was thinking to Cheng Daichuan.
Ruan Xi’s whole head was red. “I want the spaghetti with tomato sauce in the restaurant!”
Before the elevator doors opened, Cheng Daichuan suddenly leaned close.
He looked her straight in the eyes and smiled. “Then let’s go have spaghetti with tomato sauce. Come on, Tomato.”
“Tomato?”
“You’re blushing, and it’s not the first time you’ve scratched me.”
Ruan Xi’s face burned. She stiffened her neck and retorted, “I’m not blushing.”
Then she added, “Cheng Daichuan, why do you always bring up old stuff? That time… it was all Shi Chao’s fault!”
Back in high school, probably near finals, the wind outside howled and it was freezing cold.
Ruan Xi and Shi Chao spent winter break at Cheng Daichuan’s house.
She forgot what she was fighting Shi Chao over—probably the TV remote, a phone, or snacks.
They ended up “wrestling,” and as the battle escalated, both jumped off the sofa for a final showdown—using couch cushions as weapons.
Cheng Daichuan usually didn’t join in on such childish fights, calmly sitting on the carpet under the sofa, playing on his iPad.
That rascal Shi Chao even pulled a sneak attack during the fight.
To dodge Shi Chao’s sudden swing, Ruan Xi kept stepping back.
She accidentally stepped on the small blanket Ais used on the sofa, slipped, and fell right off.
She landed straight in Cheng Daichuan’s arms.
Shi Chao, victorious, gloated, “Whoa, Young Hero Ruan’s got some moves! That was the legendary ‘Mount Tai Presses Down!’ As for me, this is ‘Cow Through the Mountain’—hahaha!”
The iPad fell onto the carpet.
Cheng Daichuan must’ve been hurt by the impact, letting out a muffled grunt.
At the time, Ruan Xi scrambled off him in a panic, only seeing Cheng Daichuan tilt his head back. “Definitely a good move.”
Ruan Xi always felt she’d given him internal injuries, and kept poking around his body to check for damage…
Cheng Daichuan probably remembered too. He leaned in the elevator, lips curling. “Tomato, your towel’s slipping.”
Ruan Xi didn’t know how red her face was. She took off the towel. “You’re the tomato, your whole family—”
Wait, that won’t do. Shang Auntie can’t be dragged into this.
As for Cheng Guangkai, that jerk, he’s not worthy—calling him tomato would be an insult to tomatoes.
She couldn’t think of a comeback, so she childishly repeated, “You’re the tomato!!!”
The pool and their room were only a floor apart; the elevator dinged as it arrived.
At the elevator entrance, a staff member was handing out something. Cheng Daichuan took it, but the staffer looked at Ruan Xi.
Ruan Xi craned her neck next to Cheng Daichuan. “What’s written on it?”
Every evening on Dusk, a Dusk Program List would be handed out to passengers—a little surprise.
Tonight’s surprise had arrived as promised:
Dear passengers, the Magic Acrobatics Show, previously postponed due to extreme weather, will resume tonight.
The chef team has also prepared Seafood Night—Abalone, Boston Lobster, Peony Shrimp, Sea Cucumber, North Arctic Clam, Oyster… all kinds of seafood, all you can eat.
Ruan Xi looked it over. “There’s also a Bluefin Tuna Cutting Show.”
Cheng Daichuan teased, “Didn’t you want spaghetti with tomato sauce? Should we skip Seafood Night?”
There was a decorative mirror on the corner wall of the corridor, vintage in style, the frame like a medieval antique with intricate patterns.
As Ruan Xi said, “Of course we’re going to Seafood Night,” she passed the mirror and glanced in absentmindedly—then froze as if under a spell.
She leaned closer in disbelief, then, dark circles under her eyes, gave Cheng Daichuan a mournful look. “Did you see my mascara smudged?”
“I saw.”
“Why didn’t you tell me…”
“It’s cute.”
Ruan Xi couldn’t care less about whether she’d wrapped her legs around Cheng Daichuan’s waist. She grabbed his arm, shaking it and protesting, “Cheng Daichuan! Cute my foot! No wonder everyone was looking at me—why didn’t you tell me my makeup was ruined sooner…”
Cheng Daichuan, still carrying Ruan Xi’s straw bag, didn’t dodge, smiling as she hit him.
He pulled out the room card to open the door, voice tinged with laughter. “Even cuter.”
“I’m showering first!”
Ruan Xi dashed into the bathroom and gave herself a stern talking-to in the mirror.
Ruan Xi, what is wrong with you?
Can’t you manage your image in front of your good friend?
At least it’s not as bad as before.
These days, she’d never had a good image—if she wasn’t seasick, she was falling into the pool like a drenched, flailing chicken, scratching someone, and now her mascara was smudged…
Ruan Xi made up her mind. From this moment, she’d work hard to redeem her image.
–
Afterward, Cheng Daichuan once again lamented that he shouldn’t have provoked Ruan Xi.
The cruise after the stormy seas was actually quite nice.
Seafood Night was lively.
The Bluefin Tuna Cutting Show was impressive, the Boston Lobster in typhoon shelter style was crispy outside and tender inside, and the North Arctic Clam, Oyster, and Abalone were all fresh and plump.
As Cheng Daichuan predicted, Ruan Xi filled their schedule to the brim. After dinner, they watched the Magic Acrobatics Show.
After the show, they went stargazing as planned.
The night sky was deep and starry, and there was even a singer-guitarist leading passengers on the deck in a little dance party with their phones in hand—it was all very nice.
The trouble came after they returned to their room—
They’d squeezed through the dancing crowd, sweating, and each took a shower when they got back.
Ruan Xi came out of the bathroom with a face mask, eye mask, and lip mask on.
When Cheng Daichuan finished showering, Ruan Xi had already removed everything from her face and was sitting on the bed video-calling her parents.
Each single bed had a spotlight at the head.
The light shone on Ruan Xi’s face—full of collagen, rosy and delicate skin, bright smile, red lips and white teeth… and she was wearing a little nightdress.
Cheng Daichuan didn’t interrupt her call, quietly applying iodine with a cotton swab to his wound.
Ruan Xi had just hung up and patted the bed. “Cheng Daichuan, you can’t reach the back, right? Come here, I’ll help you.”
Cheng Daichuan sat on Ruan Xi’s bed, back to her, noticing her rustling movements.
Ruan Xi said, “It’s bleeding again.”
She still smelled sweet, like osmanthus in all seasons. Kneeling on the bed, she leaned over to toss the empty iodine swab wrapper in the trash, her nightdress brushing against his bare back.
Cheng Daichuan narrowed his eyes without a word.
“Pop,” Ruan Xi cracked open the iodine swab, her voice gentle. “I’m going to start, bear with it.”
Cheng Daichuan gave a quiet “mm.”
The cotton swab touched the wound, and he could feel Ruan Xi’s movements were light and careful.
When she finished treating the wound, Ruan Xi tossed the swab away, then suddenly leaned in and gently blew on the back of Cheng Daichuan’s neck.
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