The boat was a truly beautiful boat.
The luxurious pleasure boat, spacious enough for a dozen or more people, was wrapped on all sides in soft white curtains as thin as cicada wings. Emerald-green decorations adorned its every corner, and enchanting zither music drifted out without pause. One glance was enough to refresh the heart and lift the spirits.
And that was without mentioning the glimpse of a lovely face inadvertently revealed behind a corner of white curtain lifted by the gentle breeze.
Ying Sinan happened to turn around just in time to catch that fleeting, breathtaking glimpse. His dejected air vanished at once. His back straightened, his head lifted, and he waved his folding fan with ever greater elegance and charm. Like a peacock spreading its tail, he smiled and began, "I wonder-" whether the lovely lady would care to come aboard for a gathering?
"Pretty Aunties!"
Jiang Yingcheng darted out from somewhere like a little cannonball and reached his side in the blink of an eye. Her little hands waved incessantly toward the other boat as she warmly invited, "Chengcheng has really yummy pastries here! Want to come play?!"
The speech Ying Sinan had spent years preparing for precisely this occasion died before it could be born, transforming entirely into a stream of complaints-
Why did you have to come charging out so soon, you little thing?!
The talented men and lovely ladies on the Spring Reliance River all gathered here with that sort of intention. With such a big little dumpling suddenly popping out, how was the young lady supposed to feel comfortable coming aboard?!
At least wait until she boards our boat before quietly showing yourself...
The bitterness in Ying Sinan's heart was like the waters of the Spring Reliance River, stretching on and on, enduring-