Chapter 16

Lu Wei saw Ye Zhi walking toward another counter and subtly signaled Ye Xiaoding to follow her, replying, “I’ve already bought it.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Zhi turned her head and smiled, “That fast? You already bought it? When did you do that?”

How did she not notice?

Lu Wei: “Just now.”

Ye Zhi beamed brightly. “You’re amazing!” she said, unwrapping a White Rabbit candy and holding it up to his lips. “Here, a candy as your reward.”

Lu Wei was just about to say, I’m not a child.

But when he thought about how many candies Ye Xiaoding had eaten from Ye Zhi’s hand over the past few days, he slightly opened his mouth.

Ye Zhi popped the candy in.

Sweet and sugary.

A thought flashed across Lu Wei’s mind. Then he turned around and asked the shop assistant to weigh two jin (about 1kg) of candy.

After all, now that he was married, he had to share the joy with others.

By the time they finished all their shopping and returned to the guesthouse, they were utterly exhausted.

Ye Xiaoding didn’t even take a bath and fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed.

Ye Zhi was tired too. She rinsed off her sweat briefly and fell asleep next to Ye Xiaoding in the same bed.

When Lu Wei came out of the bathroom, he glanced at the other empty bed and felt a bit disgruntled.

If Ye Xiaoding still dared to hog his wife after they reached the island, he wouldn’t hesitate to send the kid back to Xitang Town.

The next morning, Ye Zhi woke up at dawn, determined to enjoy one last breakfast in Yangcheng.

But just as she got up from bed, the other bed’s Lu Wei also opened his eyes and said, “You’re awake? What do you want for breakfast? I’ll go buy it.”

Ye Zhi glanced at Ye Xiaoding, still fast asleep, and said, “Then get me a lotus seed paste bun.”

“As for Xiaoding, better get him a BBQ pork bun. He was even calling out for it in his sleep last night.”

Lu Wei nodded. “Alright.”

When Lu Wei came out of the bathroom after washing up, he happened to see Ye Zhi adjusting her clothes. That patch of fair, glowing skin made the restlessness he had just subdued resurface.

In an instant, he felt a rush of blood surge to his head.

And then… a warm trickle flowed from his nose.

Hearing the door open, Ye Zhi turned around and saw Lu Wei with a nosebleed.

Lu Wei: “…”

Ye Zhi rushed over. “What happened? Why are you suddenly getting a nosebleed?”

Lu Wei didn’t want to explain. He gently pushed aside Ye Zhi’s slender fingers resting on his arm and said, “It’s nothing. I’ll go deal with it.” Then he turned and went back into the bathroom.

Ye Zhi couldn’t rest easy and followed after him, handing him a towel and asking with concern, “Are you alright? Are you feeling unwell?”

Ye Zhi’s mind was full of those drama plots—nosebleeds often meant something serious, like cancer.

But Lu Wei looked strong and healthy, nothing like a sick man. Why would he suddenly be like this?

Lu Wei turned on the tap and rinsed the blood off. The bleeding stopped quickly. He waved his hand and avoided Ye Zhi’s gaze.

“I’m fine.”

Ye Zhi said, “If you’re fine, why would your nose suddenly bleed?”

Lu Wei: “…”

It was hard to explain.

In the end, he took a deep breath and said calmly, “Maybe the weather’s too hot. I got a little overheated.”

Ye Zhi nodded—that made sense.

The Yangcheng weather was seriously hot.

It didn’t cool down at night like other places; even the wind felt warm.

Plus, Lu Wei had stayed up all night on the train and had been shopping with her all day yesterday.

He probably really did overheat.

Lu Wei sighed heavily. “I’ll go get breakfast. Wait here.”

“I’ll go instead. You’re not feeling well.” Ye Zhi tugged at his shirt, worried he’d get another nosebleed the moment he stepped outside.

Lu Wei subtly shifted his body to avoid her touch and said, “I’ll go get some fresh air too.”

Fair enough. It was stuffy inside.

And since they’d soon be on a boat for over 30 hours, some fresh air would do him good.

When Lu Wei came back with breakfast, Ye Xiaoding had already woken up—purely from excitement.

This kid had only ridden on small wooden rafts in Xitang Town, never a real ship.

Yesterday, when Lu Wei mentioned the ship would head out to sea, he became even more thrilled and curious.

He didn’t really know what the sea was—no one had ever told him before—but Lu Wei explained patiently, “When it’s calm, it looks like a sparkling blue gemstone. But when the waves are rough, it becomes a raging monster that strikes fear into your heart.”

But since Ye Xiaoding had never seen gems or monsters, it was hard for him to grasp.

So, he looked forward to seeing the sea for himself.

Ye Zhi, on the other hand, felt seasick even before getting on the boat—just thinking about 30+ hours made her stomach churn.

She wasn’t expecting ships from this era to be very stable. Just a few waves and the thing would probably rock like crazy, enough to scramble anyone’s brain.

After eating a quick breakfast, they grabbed their light luggage and prepared to board.

All the heavier items had already been registered and sent to the ship the night before by Lu Wei.

Before boarding, Ye Zhi saw they still had time and said she wanted to go buy something.

Lu Wei and Ye Xiaoding waited at the boarding area.

Not long after, Ye Zhi came back holding a thermos.

Lu Wei didn’t ask and simply led them to a cabin on the second level, which had a small window with a view outside.

Ye Zhi sat on the narrow bed board and picked up the thermos from the table, handing it to Lu Wei. “Have some herbal tea.”

“Hm?” Lu Wei looked at the teapot in her fair hand, slightly confused.

He had thought Ye Zhi went to buy some snacks—turns out the thermos she brought back was filled with herbal tea?

Ye Zhi smiled, her eyes curving like crescent moons. “Didn’t you say you were overheated? I asked the guy at the herbal tea shop—he said when you’re heaty, drinking some ban sha liang cha helps.”

Lu Wei: “…”

She was really blending into the local lifestyle.

Lu Wei took the herbal tea Ye Zhi handed over and placed it on the narrow desk. “Let’s drink it after we reach the island.”

Ye Zhi grinned, “Are you afraid it’s bitter?”

She stepped closer. She was standing, while Lu Wei sat. Only then did Ye Zhi notice how long his eyelashes were, like little fans casting shadows; his nose was straight, his thin lips pursed. His sharply defined features, under the dim lighting of the cabin, carried a hint of hazy beauty.

Ye Zhi suddenly softened. That ban sha tea was notoriously bitter.

On the other side, Ye Xiaoding wasn’t sitting still. When he heard Ye Zhi talking about herbal tea, he thought it must be something tasty and called out, “Auntie, I feel heaty too! I want herbal tea!”

Ye Zhi chuckled, then poured him half a cup in an enamel mug. “Drink it all. If you don’t, forget about getting any chicken cakes.”

Ye Xiaoding looked at the dark, inky tea and puffed up his cheeks. “So little? That’s not enough, Auntie.”

Married people really were stingy.

He gulped it down in one go, but suddenly spat it out—nearly spraying it everywhere. Under Ye Zhi’s glare, he forced himself to swallow it. “Whoa—what is this? It’s so bitter!!” he cried, then ran to the deck, where the sound of retching followed.

Ye Zhi burst into laughter.

Lu Wei watched her smiling, his dimples faintly visible. Suddenly, he reached out and pulled her toward him. The tiny cabin space instantly became filled with a quiet tension.

Ye Zhi struggled slightly, but couldn’t break free. The next second, she was pulled entirely into his arms, landing on his lap.

Their eyes met. Lu Wei gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, “That’s not the kind of ‘heat’ I meant.”

“…”

Though he couldn’t do anything outrageous on the ship, this was already the boldest move since they got married.

Ye Zhi covered her face and turned away, lying on the narrow bed that didn’t even let her stretch her legs, refusing to look at him.

Lu Wei pressed his lips together, then walked out feeling quite smug.

Over half an hour later, he returned with a wilted Ye Xiaoding. The ship was moving slowly through the river.

It wasn’t until night that they finally exited the river mouth and entered open sea.

At night, passengers weren’t allowed on deck to prevent stowaways.

Their cabin had a small window, from which they could see a few glimmering lights from the opposite shore—other than that, it was pitch dark.

By midnight, Ye Zhi couldn’t take it anymore. She cradled Ye Xiaoding in one arm, her head resting slanted on Lu Wei’s broad shoulder. But the faintly fresh scent on his body made her drowsiness disappear. Still, she was already leaning on him, and didn’t want to move. She just closed her eyes to rest.

By the next morning, Ye Zhi—who barely slept—had a pounding headache. She couldn’t fight the seasickness any longer and ended up vomiting even bile.

Ye Xiaoding also threw up, but after two rounds, he surprisingly adjusted.

Ye Zhi decided that staying in the cabin wasn’t helping and had Lu Wei support her up to the deck to get some fresh air.

As soon as they stepped out, they saw Ye Xiaoding playing with another boy about his age. The two were using a string to lower an enamel mug into the sea to scoop up water.

Ye Xiaoding said, “How can the water be salty? It looks so clear—it must be sweet!”

The other boy quickly pulled up the cup, speaking in Cantonese, “Sea water is salty! It is salty. I just scooped it up—taste it yourself! If it’s not salty, I’ll shave my head and let you sit on it!”

Ye Xiaoding took the cup, looked at the nearly crystal-clear water, didn’t believe him, and gulped a mouthful—then immediately spat it out. “Damn—it’s so salty!!”

The crowd watching on the deck burst into laughter.

Ye Zhi was amazed—one kid spoke Mandarin, the other Cantonese, yet somehow they managed to communicate.

Then she ran into the big sister she met in Yangcheng again. Seeing how weak Ye Zhi looked, she handed her some brown sugar and told Lu Wei to mix it with warm water for her.

But Ye Zhi threw up everything she drank, so she chose not to drink anything at all.

Not long after, she began to feel dizzy again and simply went back to sleep.

Other than being woken up by Lu Wei to drink some water and eat a little pastry, Ye Zhi remained in a daze the entire time, barely aware of her surroundings.

It wasn’t until the ship’s whistle sounded that she realized they were approaching shore.

The deck was crowded with people saying, “What a beautiful sunset.”

It was just past 6 PM. Half the sun had already dipped into the sea, surrounded by a soft red glow, casting sparkles on each rolling wave. From afar, the sea looked like white fish dancing and playing under the sunset light.

It was a breathtaking view.

But Ye Zhi had no strength left to admire the first sunset she saw on Qiongzhou Island—she passed out before the ship even docked.

Even when it came time to disembark, she was still in a daze. She vaguely heard the familiar voice of the big sister from Yangcheng and Ye Xiaoding calling her name over and over.

But she couldn’t respond. All she could do was take in the refreshing scent around her, mixed with the salty, damp smell of the sea.

Lu Wei carried her down from the deck, heading to the designated military pick-up zone.

Someone else helped carry his luggage down. Ye Xiaoding, after gulping sea water and throwing up twice, looked completely deflated, his head hanging low.

Lu Wei glanced down at Ye Zhi in his arms—her face was pale, making his heart ache.

Fortunately, Li Weimin soon arrived in a jeep to pick them up.

And the moment he saw them, Li Weimin was stunned—this was serious.