Chapter Twenty: The Ocean Cruise 19

Chapter 20
Mission: Survive for two hours while evading the mermaids.
Alert: Mermaids crave human flesh. Please prepare accordingly.

Zhao Jinchu closed her eyes briefly, then stood and headed out.

Click.

There was still someone in her room; she needed to return and prepare properly.

She opened the door and stepped into the dim corridor. Glancing toward the deck, she saw something climbing up from the deep sea—slapping sounds as fish tails beat the deck, wet and sticky.

From afar, it resembled a giant lizard.

Without hesitation, she turned and ran.

The mermaid saw her but did not pursue quickly; it moved slowly, crouching as if leisurely patrolling its territory.

Somehow, Zhao Meila caught up.

Zhao Jinchu frowned and stopped at the corner. "What do you want?"

Zhao Meila was direct. "You took him away, didn’t you?"

Zhao Jinchu remained silent.

After a moment, she sighed and leaned in. "You should see a psychiatrist, Zhao Meila. You’re sick."

Zhao Meila sneered, "Who’s sick, you or me? How dare you say that?"

Zhao Jinchu looked at her and suddenly said something unrelated, "So many have seen him. Why are you the only one obsessed with him? Ever wonder why?"

Zhao Meila replied, "Because I’m the only one who sees his goodness."

Zhao Jinchu laughed bitterly. "Of course it has to be you."

Without another word, she turned and left.

Back in her room, her first move was to close the door, then glance through the peephole.

Sure enough, Zhao Meila appeared shortly after.

Zhao Jinchu frowned, clicking her tongue softly.

She turned her head and saw Qi Yan nestled on the sofa watching TV, already changed into pajamas, waiting for her to come back and sleep.

Qi Yan said, "Finished discussing things? Can we sleep now?"

In front of him were Wagyu beef and sea urchin, seemingly just delivered.

Zhao Jinchu glanced over.

Qi Yan smirked, "They gave it to me willingly."

Zhao Jinchu said, "They’re not fools."

Qi Yan replied confidently, "I was hungry, so I called the front desk to ask for food. They said they’d send it right away, and then brought this."

Zhao Jinchu raised an eyebrow.

She knew Qi Yan was willful but never stooped to lying.

She nodded. "Yeah, they really are fools."

As she spoke, she pulled him up and said, "Change your clothes. We ran into some trouble tonight; you need to come hide with me."

She accidentally tugged his shirt up a bit.

Seeing the long-term IV marks on his arm, she paused, then softened and slowed her movements.

She had known Qi Yan for a year, been in a relationship for six months.

She only had a rough idea about his condition.

For example, he had a serious illness as a child and only started going out at sixteen.

Now he was mostly healthy but couldn’t engage in strenuous activity without symptoms like shortness of breath or flushed skin.

The Qi family was very protective; wherever he went, he had bodyguards.

Raised under twenty-four-hour protection from childhood, naturally, his temperament was a bit difficult—willful and unpredictable.

She glanced again at the IV scars, as if the same spot had been pierced too many times—the skin almost raw.

She looked away.

All right, she decided to be more patient with him in the future.

*Knock, knock, knock.*
*Knock, knock, knock.*
*Knock, knock, knock.*

The clock struck midnight.

The mermaids came ashore.