Chapter 3: Wei——Ting——Xia!!!

The lights in the activity area brightened a few degrees, and melodious piano music flowed out from the performance area in the corner. The first batch of guests entered in twos and threes, mostly elegantly dressed middle-aged men and women who chatted softly with lazy postures.

Wei Tingxia picked up the tray, a standard waiter’s smile on his face. He shuttled through the crowd, his movements nimble yet always maintaining a subtle sense of distance.

Until—

“Wei Tingxia?”

A familiar voice came from behind him. Wei Tingxia’s steps halted, and the smile at the corner of his lips stiffened imperceptibly.

0188: [Speak of the devil.]

There were so many activity areas on the third floor, and so many waiters in the activity area, yet they just happened to run into each other.

Wei Tingxia thought, ‘Not sure if it’s really a coincidence.’

He slowly turned around and met Wang Yufei’s face, which was full of surprise.

“It’s really you!” Wang Yufei’s eyes lit up as he stepped forward. “I asked around yesterday, but they all said they didn’t know anything. I thought I’d seen wrong…”

Wei Tingxia impassively retreated half a step and nodded slightly. “Mr. Wang, do you need anything?”

His tone was polite and distant, as if they were merely an ordinary waiter and guest.

Wang Yufei seemed oblivious to his coldness and leaned in even closer. “Don’t be so formal. Old classmates meeting up—let’s catch up?”

To be fair, Wang Yufei’s build and looks were above average and not repulsive at all, but the way his eyes stared at Wei Tingxia was bluntly uncomfortable, laying all his dirty thoughts bare.

It was clearly the gaze of someone appraising a commodity. The vast gap in their status and position gave him the illusion that Wei Tingxia was an easy conquest, as if the once bright and flamboyant boy would now submit to him for the sake of power and wealth.

Keep dreaming.

Wei Tingxia steadily held the silver tray in his hands, his tone calm without a single ripple. “Mr. Wang, I’m working.”

“Then when do you get off?” Wang Yufei pressed, his gaze stickily roaming over his body.

“That’s not for me to decide.” Wei Tingxia shifted his body slightly, subtly pulling away the distance. “I’m new here. My work hours are all arranged by the supervisor.”

With his movement, the ice cubes in the crystal glasses on the tray clinked lightly, producing a crisp sound.

Wang Yufei’s attention was immediately drawn there, and he blurted out, “If I buy all of these, can you take a break?”

“Maybe?”

Wei Tingxia glanced down at the tray and suddenly hooked up a faint, ambiguous smile. “But there’s no need to spend the money.”

This smile hit Wang Yufei hard, and his eyes went straight.

“No expense,” he murmured in a daze. “Old classmates—helping you out is only natural.”

With that, he hurriedly pulled out his wallet and rushed toward the bar.

Wei Tingxia was happy for the break and didn’t stop him. He walked straight to the corner, set down the tray, and leisurely waited for Wang Yufei to return.

Taking advantage of this gap, he summoned 0188 in his mind. “Check his relationship status for me.”

[You suspect he’s planning to cheat?]

“Most likely,” Wei Tingxia narrowed his eyes. “His attitude is too abnormal.”

That eager attentiveness felt like he was racing against some deadline, odd in every way.

[Got it. Three minutes.]

By the time 0188 went off to investigate, Wang Yufei had already hurried back and sat down across from Wei Tingxia.

“Too busy yesterday—couldn’t talk much. Finally got the chance today,” he said with a smile. “You haven’t changed a bit.”

Wei Tingxia raised a brow, finding it amusing. “You remember me?”

“Of course I do. How could I not?”

Anyone who had ever seen Wei Tingxia wouldn’t forget him easily.

Junior high, age twelve or thirteen, the stirrings of young love. Wang Yufei had long heard from his parents that he wouldn’t stay at the school much longer, so he had no intention of bonding with too many people and planned to just muddle through the last year. But that year, he met Wei Tingxia.

Wei Tingxia probably had little impression of him. The boy back then was too carefree, seemingly fearless. Even a casual glance from him felt wild and unrestrained. Wang Yufei sat in the back row and watched as Wei Tingxia sat by the window, observing a magpie building its nest.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves bathed his face like water, with dappled shadows and light working together to outline a gentle contour for the hottest summer in his memories.

After going abroad, many years passed, and Wang Yufei thought he would never see Wei Tingxia again.

It seemed boarding this cruise ship was fate’s arrangement, meant to let him pick up this fling where it left off.

At this thought, Wang Yufei felt a surge of excitement and unconsciously reached out, wanting to add some physical contact.

But just as he moved, the hand Wei Tingxia had resting on the table was withdrawn.

He said lightly, leaning back into the chair, “That’s really quite fateful.”

Wang Yufei laughed again. “Who says it isn’t?”

“I remember back in junior high, you weren’t much of a talker. You transferred out after a little over a year. I heard from classmates that you went abroad to study.”

“It was all arranged by the family,” Wang Yufei said. “Didn’t get to say goodbye to you all. Felt pretty regretful about that.”

People never told the truth when flirting sleazily.

Wei Tingxia smiled to himself but kept his expression neutral. His gaze drifted downward slightly and flicked away the instant it touched the watch on Wang Yufei’s wrist.

The cruise ship happened to pass through a dark reef area, and the swaying lights cast fine shadows on his eyelashes.

Wang Yufei watched that drifting shadow, his tone meaningful. “Who says it isn’t?”

He deliberately let the watch at his cuff slide out from under his shirtsleeve. “You were quiet in junior high. After I transferred… did you…”

His words cut off abruptly as he once again caught Wei Tingxia’s gaze lingering on the watch like a dragonfly skimming water.

Like a hunter who had spotted his prey stepping into the trap, Wei Tingxia lowered his eyes, using his lashes to hide the calculations in their depths. His long fingers unconsciously traced the rim of the glass—a small, suggestive gesture that made Wang Yufei’s breathing suddenly quicken.

“Back then…” Wei Tingxia suddenly looked up, a perfectly measured wistfulness floating in his amber pupils. “It really was sudden.”

Wang Yufei immediately caught the signal. He undid his cufflink and casually rested his arm on the table, fully exposing the expensive watch to the light.

“Not too late to make up for it now.” He lowered his voice. “The starry sky at sea is even better. Top deck bar—they say there’s a special show tonight.”

Wei Tingxia smiled in understanding.

“Sure,” he said thoughtfully. “I’m free tonight.”

At the same time, 0188 reminded him in his mind: [Easy there.]

“Married?”

[No, but he has a girlfriend. Similar family background. They got together freely.]

Has a girlfriend and still hits on others? Looking at the delighted Wang Yufei across from him, Wei Tingxia’s smile deepened.

“Compile it all and send it to his girlfriend. They’re in love—how can they hide things from each other?”

Of course they had to be open and honest with one another.

……

……

That night, Wang Yufei arrived right on time.

Wei Tingxia had changed out of his work uniform. When he opened the door, he noticed the man’s eyes brighten.

He hadn’t taken anything with him when he left this world, and reloading had left him penniless as well. The few outfits he had were all plain and simple, clashing with the luxurious atmosphere around him.

But it was precisely this attire that reminded Wang Yufei of the old days, making him feel like they were back in their student era in an instant.

“Let’s go.” His gaze never left Wei Tingxia. “We can head out.”

Access to the top deck was strictly vetted, and only the rich or noble could go up. Wang Yufei waited the whole way for Wei Tingxia’s admiring gaze, but even after they stood on the top deck for real, Wei Tingxia’s only reaction was to gaze into the distant sunset.

Wang Yufei was not pleased, but the man wasn’t his yet, so he could only keep coaxing. “Now that you’re here, pretend you’re a guest. Have some fun.”

Wei Tingxia finally turned his head and smiled at him. “Thanks.”

“No problem. It’s nothing. In the future, if there’s a chance, we can…”

His words were cut off by the sharp ring of his phone. Wang Yufei looked down, and his expression changed once he saw the caller ID.

“I’ll take this call.”

That was all he managed to say before turning away with his phone and hurrying to the corner.

Wei Tingxia watched his panicked retreating figure and inwardly gave 0188 a thumbs-up.

Judging from Wang Yufei’s proficiency, this clearly wasn’t his first time doing something like this behind his girlfriend’s back. Wei Tingxia had 0188 casually gather a few pieces of evidence, compile them into a document, and send it to the girlfriend.

With the evidence in hand, Wang Yufei wouldn’t have time to bother him tonight.

Wei Tingxia was free to do what he wanted.

“Pull up the protagonist’s location.”

The moment he spoke, a semi-transparent floating map appeared on his retina. The green dot representing Yan Xinfeng blinked steadily not far away. Wei Tingxia’s lips curved slightly as he set off.

The top deck’s layout was far more ingenious than the floor plan suggested. The quantum bar on the starboard side was already open. Through the curved glass curtain wall, one could clearly see the central suspended champagne tower fountain—three thousand crystals refracting cold light as water poured down like a galaxy.

Interesting, Wei Tingxia thought. Pity Yan Xinfeng wasn’t there.

He followed the navigation prompt and walked in that direction, his steps leisurely, as if he were just taking a casual stroll.

Lovers reuniting after a long separation always seemed to require elaborate preparations and secret rehearsals full of torment—as if without enough torment, it wasn’t enough to prove sincerity. But Wei Tingxia didn’t see it that way.

He rounded the curved corridor on the side of the bar, and the observation deck came into view. Two clusters of greenery swayed in the breeze, and through the gaps in the leaves, a tall, slender figure was faintly visible.

Wei Tingxia stopped in his tracks.

The next second, Yan Xinfeng seemed to sense something and turned his gaze.

In the instant their eyes met, Wei Tingxia raised a familiar smile at the corner of his lips, his eyes crinkling.

—Long time no see, Yan Xinfeng.

Meanwhile, in the specially designated smoking area on the port side of the cruise ship, Lu Zhao had sobered up and was venting to his friend.

“Why didn’t you stop me back then?” He irritably stubbed out his cigarette and tapped his knuckles on the ashtray. “You could’ve even stuffed a napkin in my mouth!”

His friend rolled his eyes. “Stop you? You were so wasted you forgot your own name. You were one step away from grabbing a megaphone and announcing it to the whole ship!”

“Fuck!”

Lu Zhao knew full well what he was like when drunk—no one could hold him back. But he hadn’t expected himself to be so bold sober or not, blurting out anything that came to mind.

It seemed Yan Xinfeng still saw him as a brother. After all that crap he spewed, Lu Zhao could still open his eyes the next morning.

“What a sin…”

He ruffled his hair and leaned back against the railing, his mind fuzzily recalling the scene from last night.

His friend couldn’t read his mood and tried to comfort him. “Maybe Yan bro really is over it. He said himself it’s fine.”

“Pah!” Lu Zhao scoffed. “Over it my ass! He’s just pretending!”

His friend was skeptical. “Is it really that serious?”

He didn’t know much about what happened five years ago. Though he knew everyone treated it like a taboo subject, to him it just seemed like a minor romance issue. Lu Zhao was overreacting.

Just break up amicably. If the ex did something shady, getting revenge wasn’t a big deal.

They were all adults—were they supposed to die over it or something?

At that, Lu Zhao shot him a slanted glance, his eyes screaming “you know shit.”

“You wouldn’t get it.” He lit another cigarette and took a heavy drag, his voice hoarse. “I never should’ve set them up back then. Pure sin…”

At this point, Lu Zhao sighed. Reliving the mistakes of his youth was pure torment.

His friend perked up with interest. “You were the one who set them up?”

Lu Zhao’s expression stiffened, like someone had ripped open an old scar right to his face. He opened his mouth to curse, but a furious roar suddenly erupted from the distance—

“Wei Tingxia!!!”

That voice was too familiar, laced with towering rage that nearly shattered the calm of the deck above.

Lu Zhao’s hand shook, and the cigarette butt dropped straight onto his shoe.

Was he still not sober?