Font Size:
Lin Keying’s days on the cruise ship were quite pleasant.
Every day she slept until she naturally woke up, had meals and chatted with her godfather and godmother, and if interested, she could attend concerts or watch people dancing in the ballroom.
Guo Changda and Zhao Fengzhen sat relaxed like Mount Tai, but Lin Keying egged them on:
“Godfather, aren’t you going to invite godmother to dance? Where’s your gentlemanly manner?”
“You cheeky girl, you’re even teasing your godfather now!” Guo Changda feigned anger, though the smile on his lips didn’t fade. “We’re at an age where we shouldn’t meddle in young people’s fun.”
Zhao Fengzhen chimed in agreement, though her gaze often fell on the elderly couples waltzing in the center of the dance floor.
“Your godfather is right. If you were single now, I’d definitely make you go dance — maybe you’d even encounter a romance.”
In fact, in the past two days, Lin Keying had indeed received several dance invitations from both Eastern and Western gentlemen asking her to waltz.
It wasn’t that she was worried her newlywed husband would be jealous; she simply wasn’t very interested in partying with strangers. She preferred just watching from the sidelines.
She redirected the topic, her eyes sweeping over the many slightly older couples dancing.
“Godfather, godmother, look — there are several couples out there, and they aren’t shy at all. Why are you two shy? Hurry up and go.”
As she spoke, she even got up and whispered something to the musician after one song ended.
Soon, elegant and rich music echoed in the ballroom, even more graceful and profound than the previous tune.
Teased by his goddaughter, Guo Changda simply got up and extended his hand. Without the complicated formalities of Westerners, he said heartily,
“Wife, dance with me — let’s just dance casually.”
Zhao Fengzhen rarely revealed such a girlish shyness on her face; her smile was brighter than spring flowers.
The clumsy, rough Guo Changda had never been so stiff. His right hand, as rigid as an unbending bamboo, settled on his wife’s waist. When his wife’s left hand rested on his shoulder, it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, making him uncomfortable everywhere.
Finally, the couple clasped each other’s other hand and slowly swayed along with the music.
Lin Keying watched quietly from the side. Whenever her godfather and godmother twirled in her direction, she would press her palms together to form a heart and respond with a bright smile.
When one song ended, Guo Changda’s stiff limbs felt sore, but he didn’t mention stepping off the floor. As soon as the next, lighter piano tune floated out, he quickly extended his hand again to his wife, who had been chatting with Lin Keying:
“Fengzhen, let’s move around some more.”
Lin Keying patted her godmother’s hand:
“Godmother, go quickly — godfather is inviting you again~”
Zhao Fengzhen muttered,
“You old man, you’re hooked now…”
But she couldn’t hide the smile in her eyes.
After several dances, when Guo Changda and Zhao Fengzhen returned to their seats, three blond-haired, blue-eyed Western gentlemen had just sat down at the table next to theirs.
The round glass table was laid with cocktails and coffee, and several exquisite desserts emitted an enticing aroma.
Lin Keying sipped her coffee in small mouthfuls, occasionally tasting the desserts with a spoon, when she caught snippets of fluent British-accented English nearby.
Guo Changda and Zhao Fengzhen didn’t understand the language; they just heard the constant chatter of the foreigners. Meanwhile, Lin Keying’s expression subtly changed.
“What’s wrong?” Zhao Fengzhen keenly noticed that her goddaughter seemed to have discovered something.
Leaning closer to the table, Lin Keying whispered to the two:
“Godfather, godmother, the British men at the next table are also heading to South Africa to film at the diamond mine.”
The men next to them, dressed in suits and appearing refined, were boasting and chatting casually.
Out of the corner of her eye, Lin Keying glanced at them — they seemed somewhat familiar, though she couldn’t immediately recall where she’d seen them before.
She also overheard them speaking confidently about the mining site, their tone tinged with scorn and certainty of success.
By the end, the three had moved from talking about the mine to jokingly comparing who had acquired land in Hong Kong at a cheaper price, preparing to build properties and make a fortune. The local Hong Kong businessmen, they said mockingly, would only be left to pick up the scraps and pay high prices.
Accompanied by bursts of grating laughter, they clinked their glasses, the large beer mugs swirling with golden lager as they drained them in one go.
Guo Changda hated dealing with the British the most. Born and raised in Hong Kong, he resented being controlled by people speaking “bird language” (a derogatory term for English).
“Hmph! I’ll see who ends up winning that mine!” Guo Changda huffed, his beard bristling, showing some of his old domineering flair.
Lin Keying glanced at the British men again; the more she looked, the more familiar they seemed. Just as she was about to speak to her godparents, a waiter delivered specially crafted cocktails to her and Zhao Fengzhen.
The waiter gestured toward the other end of the crowd:
“A handsome gentleman has sent a cocktail to every lady present — please enjoy.”
Zhao Fengzhen, familiar with the generosity of many wealthy Hong Kong heirs, smiled and said:
“Must be the handiwork of a rich merchant’s son from Hong Kong.”
Since the drinks were already brought over, Lin Keying didn’t refuse. She took a sip of the sweet and slightly sour cocktail and toasted with her godmother:
“Let’s just offer a distant thank-you.”
The two looked toward the crowd on the other side, but with so many people gathered, it was impossible to see which Hong Kong playboy had paid the tab.
Meanwhile…
The ballroom on the ship was lively. Waltzers and those dancing spirited tap formed two separate crowds. Chen Songxian, after drinking a few whiskies at the bar, crossed his legs and appreciated the young dancers, receiving several flirtations along the way.
Though he wasn’t in a particularly high mood, he didn’t lose his manners and directly offered every woman present a cocktail.
With every gesture oozing the style of a playboy, he drew cheers and gratitude from many.
Some who knew that Chen Songxian was the beloved grandson of the Chen family — owners of a clothing empire — came over to chat:
“Young Master Chen, shouldn’t you be living the good life in Hong Kong, wining and dining and draped in gold? Why are you going off to suffer in Africa? Back in ancient times, this would be exile!”
Chen Songxian frowned and was about to respond when a uniformed sailor approached him:
“Young Master Chen, this way, please — something urgent.”
Following the sailor aside, amidst the music and chatter, he heard:
“Change rooms?”
The sailor confirmed:
“That’s right. We’ve reserved a luxury suite for you on the 16th floor — I’ll escort you to move right away.”
“Why change rooms?” Chen Songxian was currently staying in the deluxe room 888, and everything was fine.
“This is Mr. Cheng’s special arrangement. He felt that the previous room was beneath you — the luxury suite on the 16th floor better matches your status.”
“Oh!” Chen Songxian’s face lit up, and he happily slung an arm around the sailor’s shoulders to go fetch his luggage, feeling gratified.
“My cousin is still thinking of me — how kind!”
Those guys didn’t understand — this wasn’t exile at all; cousin clearly valued and was promoting him, even making sure he stayed in a luxury suite!
As Lin Keying and her godparents returned to their room, they passed by the wide-open door of room 888. The housekeeping staff were cleaning and changing to fresh bedding.
She glanced inside casually.
“Seems someone checked out? The ship hasn’t docked yet, though — did someone change rooms?”
Zhao Fengzhen knew that the ship had already been sailing for two days from Hong Kong and still had three days before docking at its first stop, Malaysia.
In these days adrift, passengers wanting to disembark for rest or shopping could only wait until the first port of call.
“They probably switched to another room.”
Everyone returned to their rooms. Lin Keying didn’t think much of it. After washing up, she sat at her dressing table and looked at her clear, fair face in the intricately carved brass mirror.
She massaged luxury skincare products into her skin, gently patting her smooth, delicate face that looked like a peeled egg.
Her fluffy hair was casually tied into a bun, the loose strands framing her petite face even more delicately.
In the mirror, the woman’s mind wandered. She pondered the snippets of conversation she overheard from the British men that afternoon — where did their confidence in snatching the mine so easily come from?
And that scornful talk about Hong Kong’s land — infuriating.
Carefully recalling their faces, Lin Keying, who had always had a bit of face blindness toward foreigners, finally remembered.
The three were the same British men she had glimpsed in the corridor after the land auction at the Hong Kong Lands Department!
No wonder they were boasting today about who got cheaper land — back then, they must have acquired prime land at seven or eight times cheaper than local merchants.
She jotted all the information in her notebook, recording their names and clues about the land and mine. After thinking for a while, sleep finally overcame her.
While Lin Keying drifted into dreams in room 807, Chen Songxian, who had moved from room 888 to suite 1608 on the 16th floor, was staring wide-eyed at a mountain of documents.
“This…” Chen Songxian stammered,
“What’s the meaning of all this?”
The sailor, businesslike, said:
“Mr. Cheng arranged this course of study for you. Since the voyage is long and life onboard boring, he thought it’d be a good time for you to study company management and familiarize yourself with the African market.”
“I’m not studying!” Chen Songxian hated dense text, and this mountain was terrifying. He’d be reading it until doomsday!
The sailor still respectfully replied:
“Mr. Cheng said if you don’t study, you’ll stay in Africa for life.”
“…I’ll study.” Chen Songxian gritted his teeth.
On the cruise’s third day, Chen Songxian lost all chances to hang out. The ballroom, bar, even the restaurant were off-limits. Sailors diligently delivered meals to his room.
“Young Master Chen, Mr. Cheng specially ordered this — he was worried you’d overwork from studying, so he prepared a rich meal to save you trips and avoid wasting time.”
Chen Songxian, with a headache, fiercely bit into his medium-rare steak — all he wanted was to run away.
His cousin didn’t need to care this much! Even his grandfather, parents, and uncles never supervised him so strictly!
But with strict guards at the door, Chen Songxian had no chance to sneak out. Angrily, he crumpled the documents in frustration.
He could only sulk and silently curse his cousin — hoping he’d never date or marry.
For the carefree playboy Chen Songxian, that was the harshest curse he could imagine.
But after cursing, he realized he was rewarding his cousin — the man never had women around and showed no interest anyway.
Sigh!
Far away, that curse had no effect on Cheng Wanting, who was rushing to the airport.
“Master Cheng, I’ve informed the sailors on the Oceanic Universal to move Young Master Chen and deliver the documents. He hasn’t left his room all day. Rest assured.”
Yang Minghui still recalled how, the day he found out Lin Keying had boarded the South Africa-bound ship, he nearly spat blood.
What kind of fate is this!
He couldn’t help but sympathize as he glanced at Master Cheng.
It had been a day, but Yang Minghui could still remember Master Cheng’s terrifying expression — like he was about to storm into a gang war.
After attending a shipping conference with a stern demeanor that intimidated competitors, even the British-backed shipping magnates in Hong Kong got nervous, suspecting Cheng Wanting was plotting something big.
Yang Minghui had a ton of thoughts but dared not speak a word, obediently following orders.
“Understood.” Cheng Wanting’s expression remained cold. After finishing the day’s international shipping conference, he canceled all other plans and headed straight to the rooftop helipad.
A private helicopter was ready, blades whirring.
Having secured Chen Songxian, Cheng Wanting had arranged a private helicopter from Hong Kong. After the half-day conference, all plans were canceled.
He was originally set to fly to Malaysia, the ship’s first cargo stop, but since the Cheng family’s power there was weak, he decisively chose Singapore.
“Contact Singapore and arrange clearance. We’ll fly there directly and have the ship dock briefly in Singapore,” Cheng Wanting ordered decisively.
“Yes, sir.” Yang Minghui, anxious, prayed everything would go smoothly — that Young Master Chen wouldn’t meet Miss Lin.
The sailors had arranged everything.
In just thirteen more hours, Master Cheng would arrive.