An Yi stood on the side of the ship, staring blankly at the sea.

The discarded phone was long gone, along with Yan Chen’s shouts and inquiries.

Xie Nancang called out to him several times from behind, but An Yi didn’t hear him until his shoulder was lightly tapped, and he suddenly woke up, turning his head.

“Are you okay?” Xie Nancang looked at his pale face, concerned. “Go back to your room and rest.”

An Yi shook his head and smiled at him. “I want to drink. Will you drink with me?”

Xie Nancang naturally wouldn’t refuse.

Bars were set up on every other floor of the cruise ship, each with its own atmosphere and tone.

An Yi had always preferred quietness, but after a few drinks, the folk singer in the bar sang songs full of melancholy, making him increasingly sentimental and melancholic.

As he was about to order more drinks, Xie Nancang suddenly grabbed his wrist. “Come with me.”

“Where to?” An Yi followed him in a daze.

Xie Nancang glanced back and smiled. “Drowning sorrow in alcohol only leads to more sorrow. Why not do something else with me? I guarantee it’ll help you forget your troubles.”

The entertainment hall on the 8th floor was bustling, with lively sounds bursting out as soon as the elevator doors opened.

Xie Nancang took An Yi to play bridge. An Yi didn’t know how, so Xie Nancang patiently taught him.

An Yi was quick-witted and learned how to count cards after a few rounds, winning praises and sighs from the other players. The knots in his heart were finally relieved somewhat. After that, he and Xie Nancang watched some magic and dance performances on the same floor, and then Xie Nancang led him to the thrilling water slide amid cheers from the crowd.

The two of them slid down from the 8th floor, with An Yi screaming and his mind quickly emptying.

With a splash, he fell into the giant pool on the lower deck.

Then, in the surging water and colorful lights, he saw Xie Nancang swimming towards him, lifting him by the waist, and laughing as he asked if he was okay.

An Yi’s heart was pounding fast as he held onto Xie Nancang’s broad shoulders and nodded.

There was a party in the pool, with lively music, lights, and atmosphere.

Someone else slid into the pool from the slide, causing a large splash and eliciting cheers and laughter.

Xie Nancang embraced An Yi and moved to the side.

The water only reached chest height, and their clothes became semi-transparent as they stuck to their bodies, revealing Xie Nancang’s well-built physique.

Someone whistled from the shore, and both of them turned to see an enthusiastic foreign handsome guy turning to them with a suggestive smile, slowly pulling down his swim trunks along his hips.

For a moment, the cheers were endless.

The dazzling colored lights began to circulate around the pool, and the DJ played a mix of electronic blues and jazz, creating an atmosphere that suddenly became ambiguous and seductive.

Spurred on by some impulse, Someone suddenly went crazy and scattered a stack of banknotes. Amidst the rain of money, the crowd kissed and reveled wildly.

At this moment, only happiness mattered, nothing else.

No need for words, no need to know each other, just kiss if you like, do what you want.

This time, An Yi didn’t want to stay on the sidelines amidst the noise.

He leaned against Xie Nancang’s chest, let go of all worries and troubles, and swayed freely. When Xie Nancang put his arm around his waist in the water, he didn’t push him away.

Xie Nancang took his silence as consent and approached closer in the ripples. His other hand brushed An Yi’s cheek, applying a bit of pressure.

An Yi turned his head, his eyes containing a slightly intoxicated smile, looking straight into Xie Nancang’s deep eyes.

Xie Nancang lowered his head slowly, giving him enough time to refuse.

But An Yi only trembled twice, his eyelashes wet with water droplets, but he did not flinch.

At this moment, he wanted to be passionately kissed, to embrace someone tightly, and to wholeheartedly engage in an intense affair with someone.

Xie Nancang’s kiss, like him, was gentle and warm, yet filled with pleasing skill.

An Yi was soon flushed and breathing heavily from the kiss.

Xie Nancang turned him around, embracing face to face, then with a sweep of his long arm, easily carried An Yi to sit on the edge of the pool.

An Yi’s hand rested on Xie Nancang’s shoulder as he continued to kiss the person still in the water. He was soaking wet, and the wind from the sea blew over, feeling a bit chilly.

“I want to go back,” An Yi said softly to Xie Nancang between kisses, “to my room.”

“Okay.” Xie Nancang kissed An Yi’s corner of his lips, then pushed back his wet black hair and effortlessly climbed ashore, holding An Yi. They walked through the bustling crowd, into the elevator.

After the elevator reached the target floor, Xie Nancang and An Yi walked out while still embracing.

The temperature inside the cabin was higher than outside. By the time An Yi opened his room, Xie Nancang had already unbuttoned all his clothes.

In the dimness, Xie Nancang pressed him against the cabin wall, hoarsely asking for An Yi’s consent, “Are you sure about this?”

An Yi spread his legs, giving him the most direct answer.

As the night’s voyage began, the sea was calm and the ship’s rocking was gentle.

The bright moon outside made An Yi a little dizzy. He chuckled foolishly a few times, then turned into a sob, his movements fragmentary.

In the end, he was finally silenced by Xie Nancang’s lips.

In the latter half of the night, the journey became tumultuous, with white waves constantly crashing against the ship, the impact force was strong. An Yi could only hold onto Xie Nancang, his only anchor, tightly during the turbulence. Xie Nancang would hold him close, burying his head in An Yi’s neck, comforting him softly, “It’s okay, you can let it out here, it’s just the two of us.”

For the first time in his life, An Yi called out another man’s name in bed.

It wasn’t as difficult as he had imagined to say it out loud. Xie Nancang’s attentive care also made him feel good.

An Yi saw the sunrise again.

Feeling weak all over, he lazily lay on the bed and stared out of the window in a trance. After Xie Nancang finished showering, he came over and hugged him, accompanying him for a while before suddenly asking, “Do you regret it?”

An Yi withdrew his gaze and turned his head to look at Xie Nancang.

Xie Nancang’s eyes revealed a rare concern. “I’m not sure if you still want to see me at this time. If you feel awkward, I can let you cool off alone for a while.”

An Yi blinked lightly, paused for a moment, then shook his head, “Just hold me again.”

So Xie Nancang hugged him tightly once more.

The two stayed in bed until noon before getting up to go to the restaurant.

An Yi didn’t walk very briskly, and frowned slightly when he sat down. Xie Nancang showed a guilty expression, “I’m sorry, things got a bit out of control last night. Are you okay?”

Blushing, An Yi bit down on the spoon and shook his head, “It’s okay, I just need to get used to it.”

Xie Nancang snapped his fingers and called the waiter to bring a cushion for An Yi to sit on. An Yi’s face turned even redder, but Xie Nancang found him even more adorable.

As lunch was about to end, the cruise ship slowly docked at the beautiful Pearl City – Kapas, famous for its pearls.

“Unfortunately, we only stop here for two hours. Otherwise, I really wanted to take you to visit the pearl museum here. There are many beautiful and exotic pearls inside.”

“Oh, really,” An Yi propped his chin and looked at the bustling port. “Then we’ll have a chance to see it in the future.”

The two chatted idly while sunbathing. When most of the passengers disembarked from Kapas and returned to their rooms, and the deck became less crowded, they returned to their cabin together to rest for a while.

However, as soon as they stepped out of the elevator, An Yi saw a tall and straight figure standing in the corridor of the cabin.

His face turned pale, and he subconsciously retracted his foot and quickly hid back into the elevator.

At almost the same time, Yan Chen heard the sound of the elevator arriving and looked over in this direction.

“An An?”

Following behind, Xie Nancang turned back to the elevator, supporting An Yi’s shoulder. Before he could ask what had happened, An Yi had reached out and hugged him, burying his head in his arms.

The next moment, Yan Chen appeared at the entrance of the elevator.

In the brief few seconds before the elevator doors closed slowly, he only saw a tall man with his back to the door, leaning down and kissing the person held tightly in his arms.

Yan Chen couldn’t help but feel a moment of daze.

• In the past, he always liked to squeeze An Yi into a corner of the elevator and kiss him. An Yi would obediently grab his clothes and respond warmly, allowing him to indulge in kisses to his heart’s content.

The elevator descended again and arrived at the first floor where the restaurant was located.

An Yi stepped out of the elevator, feeling flustered and disoriented, wanting to escape in any direction.

Xie Nancang took him to a corner, comforting him, “What’s wrong? That person just now…do you know him?”

An Yi pleaded for him to let go, his heart pounding painfully in his chest. “I want to get off the ship! I don’t want to see him again.”

Having finally made up his mind to cut off all contact with Yan Chen, he didn’t want to have any interaction with him.

“Don’t worry, the cruise ship is so big, he won’t find you for a while,” Xie Nancang patted his back. “And we’re setting sail now, the next stop won’t be for two days.”

An Yi couldn’t care less about that. All he knew was that he didn’t want to see Yan Chen again, not even a glance.

“Okay, here’s the plan,” Xie Nancang thought for a moment. “I’ll come up with an excuse to change to a different floor and room. You can stay with me in my room for the next two days, okay?”

“But the ship will eventually dock, and my documents are still in the safe in my room.”

“It’s okay, he won’t be guarding it 24/7. He needs to eat and sleep too. We’ll find a chance to get your stuff when the time comes.”

An Yi wiped his face, hesitantly asked, “Is that going to work?”

“Trust me, it’ll be fine.”

Xie Nancang asked him to wait there obediently and went back to the cabin alone, applying for a room change citing the poor sensitivity of the room’s new air conditioning system.

The crew apologized profusely and quickly arranged a vacant new suite for him.

While packing up in his room, Xie Nancang intentionally glanced at the man still standing at the door next door.

He looked young and handsome, but there was a palpable sense of frustration and gloom between his weary brows, indicating that An Yi’s departure had driven him closer to madness.

Yan Chen leaned against the door frame, waiting.

Sensing Xie Nancang’s gaze, he glanced over faintly, and their eyes met.

Yan Chen frowned, straightened up a bit, and asked, “Have you seen the person staying in 1208? His name is An Yi, tall and skinny, very fair skin, big eyes, double eyelids.”

Xie Nancang remained unfazed and replied, “I haven’t seen him.”