Unconscious

An Shi's face was pale, and his body trembled slightly. He tried to pull his arm out of the tight grip around it, but he had no strength.

Lin Xingye and the others noticed something was wrong with An Shi too. Looking at the cruise ship still some distance away, Cheng Yu sped up the lifeboat.

Lin Xingye leaned closer in concern. "What's wrong, An Shi?"

An Shi's lips were frighteningly pale. He wanted to reassure Lin Xingye, but before he could lift his hand, his vision went black and he pitched forward.

William hurriedly caught him. "He has a fever."

The skin beneath his palm was alarmingly hot.

An Shi's head felt heavy and muddled. Even William had split into three figures before his eyes. "I..."

He wanted to tell everyone not to worry, but he couldn't make a sound or muster any strength.

Let it be. Sometimes, it was okay to be irresponsible.

"We need to get back to the ship quickly..."

"How did this happen?!"

A jumble of voices.

"Little Shi, this is your big sister, Xiao Ning. Come on, say 'big sister'!"

He saw that familiar woman, the one called Mother.

It was still the same familiar nursery. His room was filled with ocean-blue decorations: ships, beaches, everything connected to the sea.

Because his grandfather hoped he would be like the ocean, vast and boundless, embracing everything.

And because his father liked it.

He had been born bearing his entire family's expectations.

He had been different from other children since he was little. He didn't cry or make a fuss. Clever and quiet, he learned things faster than ordinary children.

The An Family had started out in pharmaceuticals, yet his interest in research met with opposition from the entire family.

They wanted him to go into business.

But every last bit of it had an ulterior motive.

When he was only a few months old, the person called Mother would recite this knowledge into his ears, all so that once he learned to speak, she could bring it up in front of others, seemingly casually.

Then she would watch him suddenly speak up and finish what she had left unsaid.

He became a genius in everyone's eyes.

Through him, his mother also won his father's affection.

His father was cold by nature, with eyes only for his work. His marriage and children had all been arranged by Grandfather.

It was as though he had merely shown up to fill the role. In his eyes, only what brought profit had any value.

Still young, An Shi understood little, but everyone's expectant gazes pressed down on him until he couldn't breathe. Day and night, his mother murmured knowledge into his ears that was beyond what a child his age could grasp.

He was sick of it.

So, gradually, he stopped liking to talk.

But everyone still doted on him, because he was useful.

His mother told everyone that clever children were simply different; they had pride from an early age.

There was a large swimming pool at home. Though it was seldom used, his mother always had someone keep it filled, because swimming was his father's only interest outside work.

His sister was two years older than him. That day, his mother had gone out, and his sister had come home early from class. In a rare gesture, she took his soft little hand and led him onto the second-floor balcony.

As they moved forward step by step, his young self vaguely sensed something, but he didn't struggle.

She said,

"Little Shi, do you think the sea is pretty? Why does Dad love it so much, even more than he loves us?"

He looked down from the balcony. The water shimmered, clear enough to see the bottom. When the breeze blew, gentle ripples spread across its calm surface.

In the sunlight, the reflections made it look as though beautiful pearls lay beneath the water.

"Because it's pretty."

That was his most honest feeling at that moment.

His sister stepped behind him, her voice gentle. "Then do you like it, Little Shi?"

He nodded.

In an instant, he fell into the swimming pool like a kite with its string cut.

"Ah!"

An Shi shot upright in bed, startling Lin Xingye, who had fallen asleep beside him.

Lin Xingye pressed a hand to his own racing heart, looking terrified. "What happened?!"

An Shi shook his head, took Lin Xingye's hand, and lay back down. "How is everyone?"

Lin Xingye chattered on about everything that had happened after he passed out, adding vivid hand gestures.

After he lost consciousness, William took off his clothes so the wet fabric wouldn't make him feel worse, found the emergency supplies on the lifeboat, and got some water into him.

He only dressed him again once his clothes were mostly dry. By then, they had returned to the ship.

They carried him back to his room, took his temperature, gave him fever medicine, and had Bo Xi stay with the ship's doctor to monitor him.

Once William boarded, he dragged that man away. As for how he dealt with him, none of them really knew.

Lin Xingye and Cheng Yu, meanwhile, went straight to confront Huang Dao.

At first, Huang Dao kept denying it. "Don't make false accusations! I didn't do it! It wasn't me!"

The others exchanged looks, not daring to speak up for him lightly.

They hadn't expected him to tell the truth anyway. Lin Xingye had already thought of a bluff to trick him. "Cheng Yu saw you do it with his own eyes, and you're still denying it!"

Huang Dao instinctively retorted, "Impossible! William was the only one nearby then!"

Everyone: ...?

Realizing he had let something slip, Huang Dao hastily changed his story. "What I mean is, I was nearby too, and I saw William. Why don't you say he pushed you!"

[Hey! You little bastard! If it weren't for William, I'd be at the bottom of the sea!]

[I almost died without clearing my name, and I didn't even have my phone on me. What if someone found out I look at... every day?!]

"Keep making things up! Do you even hear the nonsense coming out of your mouth?! Who would believe that?!"

As Lin Xingye spoke, he advanced, only for Cheng Yu to catch him from behind.

"Calm down. Calm down first. Have you forgotten what An Shi said?" He wrapped both arms around Lin Xingye's waist, afraid he would act impulsively again.

"Take my Foshan Shadowless Kick!"

Lin Xingye stretched his leg out hard to kick Huang Dao, not having heard a single word. "Keep pretending! William was the one who saw you! What, William pushed me overboard, then went crazy and jumped in to save me?!"

"Qi Sijing! Let's check the surveillance footage!"

Qi Sinian pulled free of Qi Sinian, who was beside her holding her back, strode forward, and grabbed Huang Dao. She threatened, "Just you wait. Once we get off this ship tomorrow, we're hauling you straight to the police station!"

Huang Dao was clearly panicking, but he still forced himself to appear calm. "Impossible! This has nothing to do with me! You're slandering me!"

Lin Xingye broke out of Cheng Yu's grip, bounded forward in three steps, and grabbed Huang Dao's arm, ready to punch him.

[Take this, you bastard!]

The moment he raised his fist, everyone around him rushed over to stop him.

In that instant,

"It was me! I did it! So what!"

"You killed Qin Ke and hurt my buddy! So what if I pushed you!"

Huang Dao: ?

Wait, that wasn't what I was about to say.

Lin Xingye: ?

[Self-Destruct Bro.]

[For that alone, I respect you as a real man!]

Everyone's expressions shifted unpredictably, and murmurs broke out all around them.

"So it really was him? Another one doing it for Qin Ke?"

"I can understand doing it for Hu Kai, but why for some nobody?"

"Who exactly was this Qin Ke?"

Huang Dao broke out in a cold sweat. How had he suddenly blurted out his true thoughts? He had meant to keep lying.

In fact, Qi Sijing had no surveillance footage at all. Someone had maliciously deleted it long ago. There was still an accomplice aboard this ship.

Lin Xingmo had slept in his room all day. Something he had eaten had apparently left him feeling ill the entire day, and Xu Chen stayed by his side without leaving for a moment.

By the time they learned what had happened, Lin Xingye had already gone to keep watch in An Shi's room, and Bo Xi had gone to bring them dinner.

Qi Sijing, on the other hand, seemed furious as he dragged Qi Sinian away.

"Hungry?"

Bo Xi pushed the door open with a tray in his hands. Before he even reached them, the aroma wafted over.

"It smells so good!"

Lin Xingye helped An Shi over to the little dining table. His fever had completely subsided, but it had left him drenched in sweat. Unfortunately, he still had little strength, so he planned to shower after eating his fill.

"Let me change out of these damp clothes first."

Lin Xingye nodded and helped Bo Xi set out the dishes.

"Bo Xi, are you really this good at cooking?" Smelling the fragrant food, Lin Xingye was practically drooling.

Bo Xi poked his forehead. "There's plenty you don't know. I spend a lot of time abroad."

[Got it. The hardships of studying overseas.]

Bo Xi chuckled, rubbed his cheek affectionately, and bent down to kiss his forehead. "What about you? You haven't gotten sick, have you?"

Bo Xi had certainly been startled when someone called him out of the kitchen.

An Shi changed and came over. "Him? I doubt he was even scared." After all, his innocence was the only thing on his mind.

Lin Xingye patted his chest. "I'm perfectly fine! Let's eat!"