When Li Xian saw that Ji Xie had woken up, he froze. Then his ears reddened, and he forcefully wriggled out of Ji Xie's embrace. Only when his feet touched the cold floor did he calm down a little.
"... You heard wrong."
That was the only stubborn denial he could offer.
Li Xian put on his shoes, pretending to be busy, then started looking around the room. The moment he caught sight of the clock on the wall, his attention snapped back.
It was already four!
Realizing this, he hurriedly grabbed the flashlight he had tucked beneath his pillow, strode to the door, and opened it.
The scent of the ocean hit him at once. Li Xian turned his head and saw that Ke Yi had already brought the cardboard box out of the room. He was now crouching on the deck, waiting for the dark shapes to start rocking the boat.
Hoodie Woman and Zhang Yuyao stood a short distance away, one on either side of him. At the sound of the door opening, they both turned and breathed a sigh of relief when Li Xian and Ji Xie appeared.
"You two hadn't come out, so we thought something might have happened..."
Zhang Yuyao patted her chest, finally reassured.
The boat was still rocking within normal limits. Li Xian went to the spot where he remembered the dark shapes appearing, switched on his flashlight, and shone it onto the sea-
A familiar patch of darkness came into view.
As the light swept over it, a stream of bubbles rose to the surface, and the rocking beneath their feet grew noticeably stronger.
"It's starting to rock!"
Ke Yi stood up, took the stack of banknotes out of the box, and handed it to Li Xian.
Li Xian took a