Yan noticed his actions and felt even more embarrassed than before. Hence, she lay in his embrace and closed her eyes—too ashamed to look at anybody. Han Qing had yet to put on his life jacket. His chest was very broad; when she leaned against it, it was very warm, and she could hear the sound of his heartbeat.
Initially, the sound she listened to was the wild beating of a heart. Thinking that it was the sound of her own heartbeat, she laughed at herself for being so pathetic. However, after a while, she noticed that the sound wasn’t of her own heartbeat. If it isn’t mine, then whose is it?
Lifting her head to look at him, she saw that his expression was calm. He lowered his head to meet her gaze. That pair of eyes hid darkness in their calm depths; it was impossible to tell that he had been kissing her passionately mere moments ago. If she had not leaned so close to him, she would never have known. This person seemed impervious to desires and passions on the surface, but his heart was clamoring in his chest.
I see… I’m not the only pathetic one. Mulling over this fact, she instantly became happy. She smiled joyously as she looked at him, then reached out her finger and poked his chest. “Your heart is beating wildly.” The tone of her voice was gloating, seemingly making fun of him deliberately.
Fortunately, Han Qing was thick-skinned. Unafraid of her making fun of him, he caught her hand and pressed it against his chest instead, murmuring softly, “That’s right, and it’s all because of you.”
From the spot where her small and fair palm pressed against his chest, she could vividly feel his heart beating strongly against her palm—it was a powerful force. Yan blinked her eyes. At this moment, her calm heartbeat was spurred on by his frenzied ones. She had intended to make fun of Han Qing, but he had gotten flirty with her instead. The blush that had yet to fade away from her face returned with full force, burning her face. Thus, she lay in his embrace and decided not to say another word.
On the other hand, what was happening on the other side? After Lin Qin’er was forced off the boat, she stood at the entrance with an angry expression. Her hands that were hanging by her side clenched into fists, her nails digging into the flesh of her palm.
This is so maddening! If she knew she was going to be forcibly disembarked, then she would have controlled herself. Now that she had been chased out, there was nothing she could do. Furthermore, she did not know how long they would stay on the island. Am I going to continue waiting here? By the time her physically abusive husband weaseled his way out of the police station, she would be met with another round of storms even more terrifying than this. No! I can’t just sit here and wait for death. I must think of a way.
…
The island wasn’t far; even so, it took some time to get there. Yan originally lay in Han Qing’s embrace out of embarrassment, but the rocking movement of the boat made her drowsy. Thus, she fell asleep in his arms. By the time she woke up, they had arrived at their destination and everyone else had taken off their life jackets.
The environment on the island was superb. Before boarding the boat, they were asked to change into specially-provided shoes to be worn on the island. Furthermore, there were cameras installed all over the island. They were not allowed to litter, nor remove any of the shells from the beach. Due to these stringent rules, the little island had managed to maintain its pristine state until now.
The moment she stepped onto the island, she felt as if the very air she was breathing seemed different. There were many other tourists on the island, but they adhered to the written regulations in an orderly manner.
A staff member was providing an introduction by the side. “There is a villa zone in the middle of this little island which specifically corresponds to each guest. The number of visitors received on the island daily is limited, so it needs to be booked in advance. On the other hand, everybody can freely access the periphery area in their free time. Besides, there will be several activities carried out at fixed intervals, but you are free to choose whether to participate or not.”
Yan listened, nodded her head, and asked some questions at the same time. As time was short, the staff member took them around the island in a car. “This car will go around the island countless times daily. You can get on as long as you pay. If you do not have any change on you at the time, you can apply for a temporary card. You can swipe the card to get on and off the car without limit.”
After going around the island once and familiarizing themselves with the general layout of the island, the staff member brought them to the villa zone in the middle of the island. “Our company has arranged a couple’s sea view suite for the two of you. If you are dissatisfied in any way, you may call us up at any time to discuss a change of room with our staff members, Mrs. Han.”
Blinking her eyes, she thought back to the room at their hotel previously. Now that they were here, what was going to happen to their stuff there? Thus, she voiced her concern, and the staff member explained with a smile, “Please don’t worry, Mrs. Han. The rooms back at the hotel were specially prepared for you. You can rest assured that before the end of your travels, the room will be kept available for your use.”
Oh, that’s great. Nodding her head in satisfaction, she agreed. When the staff member was not taking notice, she stealthily held onto Han Qing’s hand and whispered, “Um… While we are on this island, will we be getting an extra room?”
Han Qing froze at her words, then lowered his gaze to look at her. He had a faint smile on his lips. “An extra room?”
“Yeah.” Yan blinked her eyes, then continued, “Didn’t you secretly book another room for yourself previously because you didn’t want to sleep with me? So…”
His footsteps stopped. “So? Didn’t we sleep together on the second night?”
She did not respond. Tilting her head to the side, a strange expression flashed across her eyes. Oh yeah, that did happen. She bit down on her lower lip with a conflicted expression. “But, there was no other choice in that situation. If you had the choice, you would probably get another room for yourself, right?” As she said that, she began to let her imagination run wild. Why isn’t Han Qing willing to sleep in the same room with me? Even if we slept in the same room, it’s not like he will do anything to me. But…
While deep in her thoughts, a sudden pain seared across her head. Snapping back to her senses with a soft yelp of pain, she stared at him a bit resentfully. “Why did you suddenly hit me?”
“If I didn’t hit you, won’t your mind wander off far away again? Silly girl, you’re a girl while I’m a guy. The one that has something to lose if we slept in the same room, is you.”
What? Is that what he was thinking? Does he think that I would be at a disadvantage, so he refuses to sleep in the same room as me?
“But, I don’t think that way!” Shaking her head, she unwittingly held on tighter to his hand. “We are traveling under the guise of a married couple; if other people were to find out that we sleep in different rooms, won’t it—” Before she completed her sentence, she seemed to notice something amiss. “Uh, what I meant was…”
“You don’t need to explain.” He smiled lightly as he gazed sideways at her. “To sum it up, you want us to sleep in the same room together. Just say it straight.”
“That’s not it!” Yan denied vehemently. “I just worry that the staff member might misunderstand. It’s not what I think…”
“Sure.” Han Qing pressed down against the back of her head, then leaned closer to her. “Let’s just say that I wanted it. Everything happened because I wanted it to, is that okay?”
