Chapter Fourteen: The Cruise at Sea, Part 13

Chapter 14

Zhao Jinchun stood still, her gaze sweeping over the crowd as if searching for something.

In her mind, the system beeped incessantly: [Alert: &-level NPC nearby, danger imminent, please leave immediately.]

NPC here? She frowned, her senses sharpening.

Finally, she rubbed her ears and decided to take him away first before dealing with anything else.

Since her arrival, Qi Yan’s expression had visibly changed; under the lights, the corners of his eyes reddened as he stared at her without moving.

Zhao Jinchun never could stand seeing him like this.

She stepped closer. “It’s me.”

As she spoke, she scrutinized him from head to toe, making sure he was unharmed.

“Are you doing okay?” she asked.

Qi Yan remained silent.

His fingers fidgeted with his clothes, his gaze filled with resentment as he looked at her.

Why was she only coming to see him now?

Zhao Jinchun immediately understood: things weren’t going well.

She turned her eyes to the center of the ballroom—the fighting ring.

Was that not enough proof that things were bad?

He sat alone there, while everyone around him suffered.

Qi Yan followed her gaze and quickly tried to distance himself from the chaos, complaining, “They all want to take me away, saying they’ll lock me up with those jewels they keep in their collection.”

Zhao Jinchun frowned.

“They even sent two more groups to take me away, and then they started fighting,” Qi Yan added.

Zhao Jinchun replied coldly, “Well, serves them right.”

As she spoke, she took hold of his arm.

Qi Yan always liked it when she took the initiative to approach him.

But after a moment, he spoke up, “So now you realize how important I am?”

Zhao Jinchun nodded. “I’ve always known.”

Qi Yan was pleased, though he thought it was because everyone was fighting over him this time that she reached out. He lifted his chin and reminded her, “You have to treat me well. Don’t ignore me like last time. Look at them—all of them want to keep me as a treasure. But I gave the chance to you.”

Hearing his strange words, Zhao Jinchun turned to him and explained, “You’re not an object. ‘Treasure’ isn’t something you say about a person.”

Qi Yan tilted his head, puzzled. “You don’t want to keep me as a treasure?”

Zhao Jinchun said nothing.

She had no idea what the Qi family had been teaching him all day.

His thoughts and perceptions were all twisted.

He was so used to being objectified that in his mind, he was a precious, dazzling artifact worth fighting over—being taken away and locked up was just part of the deal.

“You’re not a vase,” Zhao Jinchun said firmly. “You’re my boyfriend. You’re not to be ‘kept’—you’re meant to be with me.”

Something about her words struck a chord deep in Qi Yan’s heart.

He tried to hold back, but couldn’t resist and suddenly pulled her into his arms.

In the vast ballroom, they were probably the only two truly happy people.

While they spoke, Zhao Jinchun kept an eye on their surroundings.

Since she had started talking to Qi Yan, the fighting around them gradually ceased. In less than five minutes, everyone had stopped.

All eyes were fixed on them.

Gazes came from every direction—greedy, lustful, angry, hateful—all tangled together in a fierce storm.

If looks could kill, Zhao Jinchun would have died eight hundred times over.

She knew this look well; those crazed stalkers who followed Qi Yan always reacted this way whenever they saw her.

Qi Yan was lost in her words, completely oblivious to what was happening around them.

Zhao Jinchun closed her eyes briefly and clicked her tongue.

It was a mistake.

She was a little happy to see him and had forgotten where they were.

Zhao Meila stood nearby, her face ashen and dark with displeasure.