Maybe it was because Cheng Daichuan said “cherish”, or maybe it was because Cheng Daichuan put the Paper Crane and Qiantiao into his wallet.
On the way to the Restaurant, Ruan Xi was no longer tangled up about the gift, her steps especially light.
She was still wearing her cream-colored dress, a delicate crossbody phone bag slung over her shoulder, walking beside Cheng Daichuan, chattering non-stop.
“When did you come back last night?”
“Maybe a bit late, I didn’t really notice the time.”
“Oh, where did you go?”
“The tenth deck.”
Ruan Xi never wanted to admit she talked more than Shi Chao, but she couldn’t help herself and asked, “It was so late, was there still anything going on on the deck?”
“No, just got some fresh air.”
“The mouth-sealing tape I left on your side, it looks like you haven’t opened it?”
“Ah.”
“So what does that mean?”
Ruan Xi clasped her hands behind her back and shook her head, looking like a parrot that had just been fed at the zoo, her tone cheerful, “Hmm? Hmm? Hmmm?”
Cheng Daichuan played along, “It means you don’t snore in your sleep, and you don’t breathe through your mouth.”
Ruan Xi nodded with satisfaction, giving Cheng Daichuan a look of approval that said “so sensible”.
She dragged out her words as she summed up, “It means— I sleep really well!”
After thinking for a moment, she glanced sideways at him and added, “If anyone says I don’t sleep well, that’s definitely slander.”
Cheng Daichuan smiled, “Is that so.”
As they walked out of the Elevator Lobby, the smell of baked goods was already in the air.
The Main Restaurant’s breakfast offered all kinds of fresh bread and pastries, hot from the oven.
The crispy ones were crispy, the fluffy ones were fluffy— just thinking about it made your fingers twitch with anticipation.
Ruan Xi had once tried an Apple Cinnamon Roll, but when she went back for seconds, there were none left, so she’d always been thinking about it.
Peering into the Restaurant, she started to discuss with Cheng Daichuan the thing she’d been worried about all the way: “About me staying in a Guest Room by myself, could you not tell the elders for now…”
Ruan Xi couldn’t come up with a good reason to make Cheng Daichuan keep it secret, so she was a bit anxious.
But Cheng Daichuan didn’t ask anything, he just said it was fine.
They walked into the Restaurant, each taking a white porcelain plate and heading to the food display area.
Ruan Xi picked up a fried egg and hopped over to Cheng Daichuan, “There are Apple Cinnamon Rolls, I’m so lucky.”
Cheng Daichuan, holding the bread tongs, turned and placed an Apple Cinnamon Roll on Ruan Xi’s plate, “Want another one?”
Ruan Xi replied instantly, “Of course!”
Cheng Daichuan smiled and picked up another Apple Cinnamon Roll.
They sat at a table by the window, watching the sea, chatting, and taking photos of their lavish breakfast to tease Shi Chao…
Cheng Daichuan was laughing at his phone, and Ruan Xi thought for sure it was because Shi Chao couldn’t say anything nice.
She swallowed a sausage bun, took a sip of orange juice to wash it down, and reached out, “Let me see, let me see.”
Cheng Daichuan handed over his phone, so Ruan Xi saw Shi Chao’s only comment about their feast—
“That’s a whole big plate, tsk, Xi-zi really can eat.”
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Cheng Daichuan leaned back in his chair and egged her on, “Scold him.”
It seemed like a really good morning, noisy and lively, just like when they were in high school.
Cheng Daichuan didn’t show any signs of being preoccupied anymore, he didn’t talk much, but would occasionally joke around.
Everything felt good.
But Ruan Xi still felt…like something was off.
That strange feeling was indescribable, lying between Ruan Xi and Cheng Daichuan, and hiding in every one of his faint, smiling glances.
Ruan Xi couldn’t figure it out.
Was it the talk at the pool yesterday that made Cheng Daichuan work through things? He did seem like he’d come to some realization, or made some decision.
But then again, it didn’t quite seem that way…
Just what was wrong?
As breakfast was about to end, Cheng Daichuan got a video call from Madam Shang.
Madam Shang was on her way to a business meeting, taking a moment to check on the kids who were away from home.
Cheng Daichuan said, “Didn’t we already talk this morning?”
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“Who’s looking for you, I’m looking for Xixi. Xixi, are you having breakfast? Is the food on the cruise good?”
Ruan Xi mentioned the Apple Cinnamon Roll, a bit regretful, and said she’d asked the staff, but the food in the Restaurant wasn’t for sale, so she couldn’t buy any to bring back for them to share.
Shang Auntie said, “Ayi brought back some Bakery Books from abroad, there’s a recipe for Apple Cinnamon Rolls in there.”
Ruan Xi’s eyes lit up, “Wow!”
Cheng Daichuan said, “That book you bought two years ago? The Bookstore already has a Chinese version now.”
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Shang Auntie looked a bit down, like a little girl, “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have carried it back. Hardback books are heavy, and expensive.”
Ruan Xi was enthusiastic, “I want to eat Aunt Shang’s Apple Cinnamon Rolls.”
Cheng Daichuan joked along, “As long as you can handle her mistaking salt for sugar.”
Shang Auntie blushed with embarrassment, “Bad kids will get their comeuppance, just wait, your mom will find you a wicked stepdad.”
Ruan Xi could clearly feel that after this line,
the meaning was unspoken.
Cheng Daichuan quickly broke the silence, “Go ahead.”
On the phone, the adults’ eyes didn’t look too happy. Humans really are complicated, aren’t they?”
A sudden thought flashed through Ruan Xi’s mind—
Healing can’t be that easy, right?
Someone who’s been troubled, who’s barely slept a few hours, could they really just work things out?
If it were that easy, with Cheng Daichuan’s personality, he wouldn’t have shown it at all. The heavy mood she’d sensed wouldn’t be so easily swept away.
No wonder she felt something was off.
Cheng Daichuan valued his friends— maybe he was just worried that his mood would affect her, so he was pretending to be fine?
Ruan Xi thought she’d found the root of the problem.
After Madam Shang hung up the video call, she stuffed the last half of her Apple Cinnamon Roll into her mouth, cheeks puffed, “Cheng Daichuan, I’m starting my ten thousand plans for today! Go!”
To help Cheng Daichuan take his mind off things, Ruan Xi packed their schedule as full as possible.
At eight o’clock, they went for a walk around the deck, circling to the stern to watch the cruise ship leave ripples on the sea…
5,000 steps, ending with an iced coffee each.
Before ten, they’d already changed clothes and went to the Climbing Wall.
Ruan Xi was practically risking her life to accompany Cheng Daichuan.
She was a little weakling with limited athletic ability, barely climbing a little, and even her hand shook when she held the soup spoon at lunch.
She could spill half a spoonful of soup.
As for the afternoon, it was even richer.
They tried out the Surf Simulator.
Ruan Xi fell in the water a thousand times, feeling like a doll with all its parts smashed…
But she still insisted on following the schedule in her memo, dragging Cheng Daichuan to change clothes again and head to the Indoor Tennis Court.
Compared to the more entertaining activities outside, the Tennis Court didn’t seem all that appealing.
The whole place was empty except for Ruan Xi and Cheng Daichuan.
There was a Self-serve Ball Machine in the Tennis Court.
Ruan Xi took the racket, missed a few balls in a row, then simply threw the racket aside, whining and flopping on the ground, refusing to get up.
Cheng Daichuan raised his eyebrows, “Not playing anymore?”
Ruan Xi didn’t dare admit her waist and legs were sore, mumbling, “I’ll check my phone for a bit, you go ahead.”
She lit up her phone screen.
It was only a little after four in the afternoon, but she really felt exhausted.
Fortunately, Cheng Daichuan was pretty easygoing, never complaining no matter what activity they did.
He swung the racket and caught the ball, “Tired?”
Ruan Xi stubbornly insisted, “Not tired at all! I’ll come and fight you for eight hundred rounds as soon as I finish replying to my messages.”
Cheng Daichuan ignored her nonsense and asked if all her ten thousand plans were this sporty.
Actually, not all of them.
After dinner, the plan was to go to the Theater for a Theater Performance, supposedly an original show by the Dusk.
Ruan Xi asked, “Going to the Theater Performance, are you interested?”
Cheng Daichuan swung his racket, hitting a tennis ball from the Self-serve Ball Machine back, “It’s fine.”
“I’m going to reply to some messages.”
Another tennis ball landed, then bounced over. Cheng Daichuan didn’t catch it, tilted his head to dodge, and asked, “Messages from the elders?”
Ruan Xi panicked, “No! It’s a friend!”
She actually didn’t have any messages to reply to.
Just as she was worrying, her phone buzzed in her hand.
A message from Shi Chao?
Ruan Xi grinned to herself: It had to be Shi Chao! Good brother, saving her in her hour of need.
Shi Chao asked, “Is President Cheng with you?”
Ruan Xi glanced at Cheng Daichuan’s back, then, like a thief, sneakily propped up her legs and hid her phone to reply to Shi Chao.
“He’s here.”
“But he’s playing tennis, he can’t see.”
As childhood friends, Shi Chao was very worried about Cheng Daichuan and asked Ruan Xi how he’d been these past few days.
Ruan Xi described things as thoroughly as she could, nearly writing an eight-hundred-word essay.
Halfway through, she got a prompt from Shi Chao: “Xi-zi, what’s with you always typing? My heart can’t take it.”
Ruan Xi couldn’t help but laugh.
She sent her “essay”, and when she looked up again, she paused for a moment.
Cheng Daichuan had stopped playing tennis and was leaning against the wall opposite Ruan Xi.
His posture was pretty lazy, eyes closed, resting.
He hadn’t prepared for all these sporty activities on the cruise, just wearing casual pants and a plain cotton tee.
Cheng Daichuan had worked up a sweat. With his eyes closed, he lifted his shirt to wipe his neck.
His right arm, the one he’d been swinging the racket with, was lined with visible veins, and maybe from so much exercise, the skin at the base of his thumb was red.
Under the hem of his shirt, the faint lines of his abs were visible…
Ruan Xi stared for a couple seconds, realized what she was doing, and quickly looked away.
This was why she couldn’t just be friends.
Who knew when it started, but she wanted more, and more, and more, and more…
Shi Chao sent a bunch of replies, and her phone kept buzzing, buzzing, buzzing.
Ruan Xi forced herself to focus.
While replying to Shi Chao with “Going to the Theater tonight to watch a Stage Play,” she also complained to herself:
The day she got the room card, she dared to say she absolutely had no other intentions…
But now she didn’t dare say that anymore.
People really are greedy.
Ruan Xi was still lost in thought when her phone kept buzzing, the vibration especially loud in the quiet Tennis Court.
Shi Chao sent a string of question marks and several more questions:
“President Cheng doesn’t usually like these, right?”
“I asked him to go out recently and he refused, said he didn’t like it.”
“Xi-zi, what did you do, threaten or bribe him?”…
Cheng Daichuan doesn’t like going?
What did he say to her earlier? “Want to go,” no, it was more like “It’s fine,” wasn’t it.
Ruan Xi started to worry her plans were a problem, since Stage Plays last so long.
If he really didn’t like it, sitting in the Theater would be torture…
She crawled over, “Cheng Daichuan.”
Cheng Daichuan kept his eyes closed, “Yeah.”
“You don’t like going to the Theater?”
“It’s fine.”
Ruan Xi couldn’t say she’d been in touch with Shi Chao, so after thinking a moment, she could only try to spark Cheng Daichuan’s interest, “Actually, it’s pretty fun. I went once with someone before…”
Cheng Daichuan still didn’t open his eyes, “Right, with Zhang Xu.”