Spoiled Sparrow

"Qing, what are you looking at? Your eyes are glued to the screen, and you haven't responded even after I called you several times."

"Huh?" Ruan Qing snapped out of her daze and turned to reply, "What did you say? The wind was too strong, I didn't hear you clearly."

Henry repeated for the third time helplessly, "I said, that person is not Sister Pei. Although the figure is very similar, the way she walks is different. Sister Pei would never walk with such a swaying waist. She walks with her hips swaying, which looks very stylish."

He paused for a moment, stroking his chin with one hand, imagining himself as Sherlock Holmes reincarnated.

She said in a pretentious tone, "The way this person walks clearly shows they haven't mastered high heels yet. In my opinion, this person could never be Sister Pei."

Ruan Qing clapped and nodded, "Amazing, great detective! Stop analyzing, it's windy outside, let's go inside."

"No, no, no—"

Henry immediately reverted to his timid and hesitant demeanor. Ruan Qing pulled him along, saying, "There's an old Chinese saying, 'You can dodge the first day of the month, but you can't dodge the fifteenth.' Since you're here, you'll have to face it sooner or later."

Under Ruan Qing's "friendly" persuasion, Henry was dragged and pulled into the main banquet hall.

The bride and groom are both of Chinese descent, and their elders are also Chinese, so they followed some traditional Chinese wedding customs.

I never expected to see a gift-giving table from China on a cruise ship. However, the host family doesn't accept gifts; it's just used as a display table to show the wedding gifts given by guests.

Mrs. Ji stood to the side, chatting and laughing with her friends.

As Ruan Qing approached, Madam Ji spotted her in the crowd at a glance.

"You two keep chatting, I'll go say hello."

Madam Ji, dressed in a black gown, looked dignified yet youthful, and walked towards Ruan Qing after setting down her wine glass.

Henry subconsciously took a half step back, holding Ruan Qing's hand tightly, wishing he could disappear behind her.

"My God, did I just see Madam Ji walking towards me? Is she going to hit me...?"

Seeing how scared he was, Ruan Qing couldn't help but wonder if he had done something wrong to his ex-girlfriend, otherwise why would he be so afraid like a grandson?

She only agreed to be his date, not to be his shield.

Ruan Qing turned to the side, revealing Henry hiding behind her.

Aunt Ji.

Ji Yuyao approached with a smile, completely unaware of the man hiding behind her, her smiling eyes fixed on Ruan Qing.

Ji Yuyao took her hand and said, "Qingqing, you're here! Your Aunt Lan is already here. Shall I take you to see her?"

Before she could finish speaking, she had already pulled Ruan Qing's hand and led her inside.

Henry's mind went blank at the sight. When did Qing meet Madam Ji?

And it doesn't seem like a normal relationship. He didn't manage to get close to the Ji family, so how come Qing got close to them first?

Before he could get any answers, Madam Ji had already pulled Ruan Qing away.

Ruan Qing turned her head and glanced at him, her eyes seeming to say: I'm going to enjoy my life now, you'd better watch yourself.

Henry: No...

Ruan Qing followed Madam Ji to the VIP section, where Lan Yin had been waiting for a long time.

After a few casual words, Madam Ji got up and left to greet the other guests.

Soon the sun set, and the banquet officially began. There were no elaborate ceremonies; it was more like a grand ball.

Henry finally found Ruan Qing through the crowd, and he immediately complained, "My God, you have no idea what I just went through."

As he spoke, he scratched his head and said, "Right after you left, I bumped into my ex-girlfriend and her husband. The way they looked at me made me feel like I was being scorned from head to toe..."

After three minutes of rambling on and on, Ruan Qing was practically sick of listening.

Just as she was about to tell him to shut up, a familiar figure flashed past her.

She turned to get a better look, but in the blink of an eye, the figure disappeared into the crowd. No way... didn't he still have steel nails in his leg?

Ruan Qing took out her phone to call him. The phone rang for a long time before stopping. She put the phone to her ear, and suddenly a romantic piano melody filled the entire cruise ship, loud enough to block out the sounds around her.

"Feed?" Ruan Qing covered one ear. "What did you say? I can't hear you..."

She spoke into the phone for a full minute, but she couldn't hear a single word.

Never mind, he even has time to answer the phone. If he were really on this cruise ship, how could he not hear the phone ringing? Not to mention that Fu Chen's phone is always on silent.

"Let's go dancing!"

"What?"

Before Ruan Qing could even hear what Henry was saying, she had already been pulled into the dance floor.

Surrounded by people wearing masks, the music changed, and the group instantly transformed from a passionate tango into a romantic waltz.

"Lift your foot!"

Henry shouted, and Ruan Qing finally got into the zone, lifting her light steps.

In the crowd, a figure drew closer and closer to them. When the song ended, the person walked directly forward.

He said to Ruan Qing, "Miss Ruan, what a coincidence, we meet again."

Ruan Qing's hand was still on Henry's shoulder. She awkwardly lowered her hand, glanced at Henry, and replied, "Miss Pei...what a coincidence."

The person was wearing a mask and looked like Pei Yifei, but two hours earlier Henry had said with certainty that she wasn't, so Ruan Qing was a little unsure when she said "Miss Pei".

Pei Yifei, dressed in a red gown, stood beside the two, but her eyes were only on Ruan Qing, as if she didn't recognize Henry.

Henry stared intently at her eyes beneath the mask, but her gaze darted away.

He reached out, but she stopped him halfway: "What are you doing?"

Her tone was firm, and Henry immediately lowered his hand: "Sister Pei...it's nothing."

The familiar sense of oppression made Henry immediately suppress his suspicions, and he awkwardly made a few excuses.

Pei Yifei angrily cursed a couple of times, then turned around and danced with the others.

Ruan Qing didn't want to jump down anymore, so she made an excuse to leave: "I'm going to the bathroom, you can continue playing."

Just then, a beautiful woman approached Henry and invited him out. He immediately agreed, saying, "Okay, let me know if you need anything."

The entire cruise ship was so huge that it seemed to stretch on forever, and Ruan Qing just wanted to find a quiet place to cleanse her ears.

She walked to the stern of the top deck and quietly leaned against the railing, enjoying the breeze.

I don't know how much time had passed when I heard a sound.

"Please proceed to the third floor for dining..."

People around her heard the broadcast and gradually left. She stood there, enjoying a moment of peace.

He swirled a wine glass he'd casually picked up in his hand, taking sips now and then, while his other hand held his phone, scrolling through something.

A moment later, the sea breeze was blowing on my head, and I suddenly felt a tightness in my chest, and my eyelids gradually became heavy.

She muttered to herself, "You can't be exposed to drafts after drinking, how could I forget that..."

As she turned her head, she saw several figures overlapping at the bow of the boat, and a vibrant splash of red leaped off the ship...