Overboard

Only when An Shi reached Bo Xi did he realize that Bo Xi seemed a little drunk too.

Bo Xi rubbed his temples, his vision already swimming. "William, I am never drinking with you again."

An amused smile curled William's lips, and he clicked his tongue twice, reveling in Bo Xi's misery. "Bo, has your alcohol tolerance gone down? You never used to be like this."

An Shi ignored his teasing and reached out to steady Bo Xi by the shoulders, afraid he might stumble and fall. "I'm taking him back. Drink by yourself."

William was about to agree, but when his gaze landed on An Shi's face, he suddenly noticed something. He reached out and touched his cheek. "An, did someone hit you?"

He stared at An Shi's face. The unnatural flush and slight swelling stood out starkly against his fair skin.

An Shi froze, deeply uncomfortable with the unexpected touch. He turned his head away, his tone flat. "It's nothing. Please don't touch me without asking."

William took the hint and withdrew his hand. "Sorry, I was just asking."

Bo Xi was still lucid. At William's words, he turned An Shi's face toward him, looking angry. "Did An Ning do that?"

An Shi didn't answer. He pushed Bo Xi along firmly. "Stay out of it, you drunk. You stink."

Watching them disappear around the corner, William suddenly felt rather bored. He downed the remaining liquor in his glass and grimaced. "It really does taste awful when you drink it like that."

Dodging someone beside him who was trying to approach, he headed straight upstairs to rest.

Tonight had been quite an eventful night too.

"Ugh... My head hurts. What time is it?"

Lin Xingye had just woken up, and his splitting headache made him wish he could go straight back to sleep.

He meant to feel around for his phone to check the time, but after groping around for a while, all he found was a person.

Lin Xingye: ?

He endured the headache and looked up, only to see the chin of a soundly sleeping Cheng Yu.

Nice. Even his jawline looks this good.

Such a straight nose, and those lips look very kissable. Ooh!

He finally noticed the broad chest right in front of him.

So full and sexy...

Pah, pah, pah! What was going on? What was he thinking?!

Wasn't the real question why he and Cheng Yu were sleeping in the same bed?!

Fighting the throbbing pain in his head, he tried hard to recall what had happened last night.

Cheng Yu had carried him back last night, and then... then...

Thump!

Cheng Yu yelped and picked himself up off the floor.

Looks like I couldn't escape it after all.

Lin Xingye's face instantly turned bright red. "Cheng Yu, you! You pervert!"

Cheng Yu rubbed his sore backside. "Baby, you're so cruel. Last night, I..."

"Don't you bring that up!"

His face and ears burned with embarrassment. How had Cheng Yu suddenly turned into such a pervert? "Don't you think of me as your big brother?!"

Cheng Yu scratched his head. "That's Qi Sijing."

Lin Xingye glared at him. "Aren't I your big brother too?"

Cheng Yu climbed back onto the bed unhappily and pulled Lin Xingye out of the blankets. "What, Qi Sijing can do it, but I can't?"

Annoyed, Lin Xingye raised a hand to smack him. "That's different..."

"How is it different?!"

Cheng Yu felt awful. He gripped Lin Xingye's shoulders. "I like you too! How am I any different from him?!"

Lin Xingye stared at him in a daze.

[What on earth is going on?]

Cheng Yu released him and pressed a hand to his forehead in frustration. "Fuck, this isn't anything like what I imagined. Just... pretend you didn't hear that."

He knew his emotions were getting out of control. He had meant to create a special atmosphere and confess his feelings to Star properly.

He shouldn't have done that last night.

Qi Sijing had moved too fast. Cheng Yu couldn't sit still anymore and had completely lost his head.

He was afraid-afraid that Star would end up with someone else before he even had a chance to learn how Cheng Yu felt.

He hugged Lin Xingye tightly, his voice full of remorse. "Sorry. I shouldn't have acted like that last night."

Lin Xingye said nothing.

His mind, however, was bustling.

[What's going on?]

[Why have all my Little Fish ended up liking me?]

[Does this have some weird connection to my previous life?]

[Don't press your pecs against me. You're putting dirty thoughts in my head.]

Cheng Yu burst out laughing. "You're not mad?"

Lin Xingye shook his head. "I'm only mad that you took advantage of me being drunk to... But I got to touch you back, so we're even."

Cheng Yu really couldn't figure out how this guy's mind worked.

What Lin Xingye was most curious about was simply why Cheng Yu liked him too. "Why do you like me?"

[Am I really that naturally gorgeous?]

What a little narcissist.

Cheng Yu held him without letting go. "Once you remember me, you'll know."

Lin Xingye put up a token struggle, but he still couldn't resist the temptation of touching those full, sexy- ahem, those muscles.

He was starting to wonder whether he'd somehow landed a role as everyone's irresistible darling.

Grrr.

"All right, stop hugging me. I'm hungry."

"Smells amazing!"

Not long after Lin Xingye sat down, Lin Xingmo and Xu Chen came over too. Lin Xingmo rubbed his temples and took a sip of the hangover soup Xu Chen had brought him.

Xu Chen glared at Cheng Yu, who was sitting beside Lin Xingye. Damn him. He'd actually seized the chance to take Xingye away last night. What a schemer!

"Xingye, nothing happened last night, did it?"

Lin Xingye paused, then shook his head firmly.

Xu Chen looked deeply suspicious.

[A little kiss doesn't count as something happening, right?]

Xu Chen: ?

Lin Xingmo spat out a mouthful of soup. "Cough, cough!"

He pointed at Cheng Yu in disbelief. "You!"

Cheng Yu was every bit as shameless as Qi Sijing. He continued feeding Lin Xingye without batting an eyelid, as though he hadn't been the one up to no good last night.

Lin Xingmo wanted to curse him out, but he was afraid his brother would catch on to something, so he forced himself to swallow the words. His eyes, however, kept shooting daggers at Cheng Yu.

Somewhat surprisingly, Bo Xi and the others didn't appear until lunch. Apparently, they had drunk far too much last night and gotten thoroughly wasted.

An Shi had gotten up early to bring them hangover soup and food, so they had simply stayed in their rooms to rest.

Lin Xingye gazed at An Shi with stars in his eyes.

[An An is the perfect devoted son and a top-ten husband. I want to be his fanboy boyfriend.]

An Shi: ?

What unfamiliar terms. I don't understand any of it. Is this even Chinese?

By afternoon, the sunshine was lovely, and everyone came out to bask in it and admire the sea. The ship had sailed farther out, and looking down from the deck, they could see the water shimmering beautifully.

The sense of freedom, of drifting with the wind, felt wonderfully refreshing. But winter was approaching, and even the daytime air was getting chilly, so everyone put on jackets.

Many people had worn light formalwear last night for the sake of looking good. Apparently, quite a few had woken up with colds.

Holding a glass of juice, Lin Xingye leaned against the railing and faced the sea, quietly listening to the waves, his heart at peace.

He didn't even notice someone gradually approaching him.

Perhaps Momo felt ill after drinking too much; she had asked Xu Chen to go back with her so she could rest. Qi Sijing had meant to keep Lin Xingye company, but apparently his sister had called him away.

Bo Xi planned to cook dinner himself and had gone to help the chefs in the kitchen. Only An Shi and Cheng Yu had stayed with Lin Xingye.

He had just mentioned something he wanted to eat, and before he could go get it himself, Cheng Yu had run off ahead of him.

An Shi had barely spent any time with him before someone called him away too.

What a bunch of busy men. How had they all had so much free time just a few days ago?

Not far away, William spotted him standing there alone and decided to go over. After all, it was rare to find him by himself, and William rather wanted to chat with him too.

But when he turned his head, he unexpectedly spotted someone familiar.

I've seen him overseas before. Which company was he from again?

Why is he here?

Did he follow me here?

His thoughts couldn't help straying toward unpleasant possibilities. For this man to appear in the country without any apparent reason, his motives surely couldn't be simple.

In that brief moment of distraction, a faint splash came from below.

Shit!

He turned to look. The spot where Lin Xingye had just been standing was already empty, with only the retreating figure of someone fleeing in panic.

He hurried to where Lin Xingye had fallen overboard, braced himself against the railing, and looked down. The sea was utterly still.

Damn it. Don't tell me the kid can't swim.

Just as he was about to turn and call for someone to throw down a life ring, a sudden shove came from behind.

The attacker had timed the push perfectly, but hadn't expected William to whirl around and grab him the instant he fell.

An unfamiliar face.

"Trying to ambush me?"