Chapter 11: Kidnapped at the Same Time as My Boyfriend’s White Moonlight

◎What madam?◎

Wen Tong went quiet for a moment, then looked at Qiang Ji. Qiang Ji’s eyes were lowered, his face blank.

He kept trying to fish for information. “Besides me—anyone else?”

Green Face answered with complete earnestness. “Third Master has no one but you. We ordinary folks abide by national law, you know—we implement the one-husband-one-wife system to the letter.”

Wen Tong: “…That’s not what I asked.”

He fixed his gaze on Qiang Ji and asked slowly, “Besides this, has Xie You done anything else to offend him?”

Qiang Ji’s lips moved, but not a single word came out. Green Face had warned him twice already—of course he knew what to say and what not to.

Green Face answered cheerfully instead. “Third Master’s got such a good temper, offending him isn’t easy.”

Wen Tong’s mouth twitched. “…Is that so.”

“It is!” Green Face nodded vigorously, then told him, “Xie You stole his wife—that’s an irreconcilable grudge. Otherwise we wouldn’t have come all the way back to the country.”

Wen Tong pressed his lips together. Finally, something useful.

Come back to the country… So Lu Fei and these people had been living abroad all along.

This yacht was probably headed back to their base.

He asked a few more questions, hoping to extract more, but Green Face’s answers were watertight. No matter what Wen Tong asked, Green Face managed to drag the answer back around to him and Lu Fei.

Wen Tong gave up on the fishing expedition.

He picked at the chair, a little panicked inside, worried that once he was taken out of the country, Lu Fei might fire the “gun” he shouldn’t.

Out here on the vast ocean, there was nowhere to run.

He could only comfort himself: given Lu Fei’s capricious nature, maybe he’d be interested in him today and want him dead tomorrow—and then the mission would be complete.

The yacht pulled a certain distance from the pier, and the people on it shrank until they were too small to make out.

Then, all at once, a crowd of black-clad figures appeared at the edge of the emptier stretch of pier—dozens of them, a dark mass, strikingly obvious.

Green Face and Qiang Ji noticed immediately.

Qiang Ji hurried into the cabin on this deck, yanked open a drawer, and pulled out two pairs of binoculars. He handed one to Green Face, and they both looked toward the pier.

One glance was enough to change Green Face’s expression entirely. “I’m getting Third Master.”

With that, he dropped the binoculars and ran.

Wen Tong glanced at Qiang Ji, saw he wasn’t paying attention to him, and reached for the binoculars Green Face had set down. He looked toward the pier—and froze.

It was Xie You.

He stood at the pier’s edge, facing the yacht head-on. The distance was too great for Wen Tong to make out his expression.

He was just wondering whether to wave at Xie You when Lu Fei’s voice sounded from behind him. “What’s going on?”

Green Face shook his head. “Not clear. No word from Wild Dog.”

Wen Tong’s heart gave a hard jolt. He pretended he hadn’t heard that Xie You had come, turned slightly, and kept watching the shore through the binoculars.

The next second, a large hand covered the lenses and took the binoculars away.

Wen Tong didn’t dare show his anger. He looked up at Lu Fei.

He’d clearly been in the middle of a shower—there was still foam in his hair, and he hadn’t even had time to dress, only a towel wrapped around his lower half.

Lu Fei pushed his wet hair back from his forehead, revealing sharp brows and eyes.

Water dripped from his hair onto his bare, naked upper body, tracing wet lines down his skin. In the sunlight, his wheat-colored muscles seemed to gleam like honey—a healthy, wild sort of handsomeness.

Wen Tong couldn’t help stealing a couple more glances at those smooth, firm muscles—envious and jealous, and a little nervous too. He shifted his seat, putting some distance between them.

Lu Fei asked in a low voice, “How did Xie the Second know we were at this pier?”

Green Face and Qiang Ji lowered their heads and said nothing.

After a while, Qiang Ji murmured, “Could there be a mole?”

Green Face spoke up. “Wild Dog is from the island. He can’t be a mole.”

“Besides, we only had Wild Dog hold the boat about half an hour in advance… Third Master, could someone have seen us when the boat was being held? And tipped off Xie You?”

“Impossible.” Lu Fei lowered the binoculars, his gaze cold. “Xingyun Port has nearly twenty piers. We had boats waiting at five of them, and people stationed at another.”

“Even if Xie the Second figured something was off, it’d take him at least an hour to get here from CT1.”

“We’d barely left the pier before he pulled in right behind us.”

Green Face’s expression turned grave. “That sounds like Xie You followed us here.”

The next second, Lu Fei, Green Face, and Qiang Ji all turned their heads at once—toward the only other person present.

Wen Tong blinked, caught off guard by three pairs of eyes. He muttered under his breath, “I’d love to call the police.”

But did you ever give me the chance?

His voice, when he kept it low, was clear but on the soft side. To Lu Fei’s ears, it sounded like a complaint—or maybe a pout.

Wen Tong’s phone had been thrown away back at the apartment complex, and he had no other electronic communication devices on him.

Lu Fei withdrew his gaze and turned to Green Face. “Did you check the SUV?”

Green Face faltered, then lowered his head. “No.”

“You think there might be a tracker on it?”

Lu Fei nodded.

Green Face smacked his own forehead as it dawned on him. “Right—there are only a couple of piers near the switch point. If Xie You planted a tracker on the car, he’d have had time to get here by now.”

Lu Fei glanced at the pier again. Those bodyguard-types were all Xie You’s men—no police. So Xie You meant to handle this himself.

Unfortunately, he was one step too late.

Lu Fei set down the binoculars and told Green Face, “Tell Snake One to go faster.”

“With Wild Dog there, Xie You can’t board a boat at CT10.”

Even if boats from elsewhere caught up, they’d already be in international waters.

Lu Fei let out a derisive laugh, lifted his hand arrogantly, and waved toward the shore.

At the pier

Xie You had of course seen Lu Fei’s taunting gesture.

His right hand clenched into a fist, veins standing out on the back of it, his eyes dark and stormy.

“President Xie, there really are no boats. Cargo vessels can’t be used privately, and my own small boats are all lent out,” the middle-aged man called Wild Dog said with an apologetic smile. “How about this—I’ll bring some over from another pier for you? An hour or two, maybe.”

“Whatever kind you want, I’ve got it.”

Xie You curled his lips, his voice like ice. “No need for the trouble.”

Wild Dog grinned. “Right then.”

Xie You took a step forward. The workers behind Wild Dog immediately set down what they were holding and stared straight at him.

Xie You looked at Wild Dog, expressionless, and said to his assistant, “Call the police.”

“Tell them the manager of CT5 Pier is colluding with kidnappers, smuggling goods, and evading tariffs.”

Wild Dog’s smile faded. “President Xie, what do you mean by that? You can’t go slandering good people.”

Xie You regarded him coldly. “Of course I won’t slander anyone.”

Wild Dog’s heart tightened. He heard the implication.

Even without evidence, Xie You would manufacture evidence.

Within a few short minutes, the yacht on the sea had already grown indistinct—tiny, little more than a black dot.

Xie You closed his eyes, then opened his phone and looked at the location marker for Wen Tong on the screen. The red dot was getting farther and farther away.

Too late.

Even if he gave chase now, by the time he caught up, Lu Fei would already be in international waters.

Once past the border, it was Lu Fei’s territory.

…………

At sea

Wen Tong sat on a chair, zoning out.

Lu Fei had gone back to finish washing his hair and showering. Green Face had gone down to the next deck.

On this deck, only he and Qiang Ji were left.

Qiang Ji seemed to know he was liable to let something slip, so he simply kept his mouth shut. No matter what Wen Tong asked, he pretended not to hear.

Wen Tong talked until his mouth went dry without hearing so much as a grunt.

So he gave up on those questions and said instead, “I’m thirsty.”

Qiang Ji, who’d been playing dumb, immediately got up to pour him water.

Wen Tong followed him into the cabin. This deck seemed to be a living room—sofa, TV, speakers, the works.

Wen Tong pulled open a few drawers. Either empty, or full of snacks.

No tablets, phones, or any communication devices.

Qiang Ji, who’d apparently noticed what he was doing, handed him the cup of water and said, “Brother Dog is thorough. There won’t be any phones on the boat.”

Wen Tong said oh, then asked casually, “Is there a computer?”

Qiang Ji clammed up again.

Wen Tong sighed inwardly and sat down on the sofa.

The sunlight was just right, the sea breeze cool, the water shimmering and endless—comfortable and pleasant.

A luxury yacht, a sea breeze.

Wen Tong blinked. For a moment, he almost felt like he was on vacation.

These past years, his whole life had revolved around Xie You—becoming Xie You’s friend, helping bring Xie You and Bai Yue together.

To finish the mission sooner, he’d hardly ever taken the time to enjoy his own life.

As he was thinking this, footsteps came from outside.

The sea breeze on his face carried the scent of body wash and shampoo.

Wen Tong’s eyelid twitched. Lu Fei had finished his shower.

He wore a printed shirt in black and white, collar open, his air lazy and loose. Flip-flops clicked against the floor, his whole manner utterly casual and unrestrained.

“Where’s Green Face?”

“Cooking,” Qiang Ji replied.

Just as he spoke, Green Face came up carrying plates.

The smell of steak hit them.

Green Face set two steaks on the table and turned to Qiang Ji. “Come with me to get the rest.”

Qiang Ji nodded and followed.

Lu Fei sat down at the dining table and jerked his chin at Wen Tong. “Come eat.”

Wen Tong had no appetite for steak, but he remembered Lu Fei’s line about “liking them when they fight back.” After a moment’s hesitation, he walked over and sat down.

The steak looked rare—still a little bloody where it was cut.

Wen Tong didn’t like raw meat, and he liked this bloody mess even less. For a moment he couldn’t bring himself to start.

He stared at the steak for a while, and the pool of blood on the plate seemed to grow.

A white plate paired with bright red blood—and his mind conjured the corpse of the kidnapper Bai Yue had shot dead. His stomach churned, violently uncomfortable.

He quickly grabbed his water and gulped down two more mouthfuls.

Lu Fei was genuinely hungry. He finished half his steak in two or three bites, then noticed Wen Tong hadn’t moved. He tapped his knuckles on the table. “Eat.”

Wen Tong pressed his lips together and slowly picked up his knife and fork. He cut a small piece.

Under Lu Fei’s watchful gaze, he put it in his mouth.

A faint bloody taste spread through his mouth. Wen Tong’s expression shifted. He wanted to swallow it quickly, but the piece seemed stuck in his throat—he just couldn’t get it down.

The discomfort in his stomach intensified. His face went pale, sourness rose in his throat, and he couldn’t hold back a dry heave.

He immediately walked to the trash can, crouched down, and threw up—even the half cup of water he’d just drunk came back up.

Lu Fei frowned and set down his knife and fork.

Once Wen Tong had thrown up, his stomach finally felt better.

He rinsed his mouth, sat back down, and got ready to keep eating.

His cheeks were deathly pale, his lips bloodless—only his eye rims were red. That redness didn’t lend him any color; it only made him look more fragile, more pitiful.

Lu Fei watched him pick up the knife and fork again, and irritation surged in his chest. His frown deepened. “What are you still eating for?”

Wen Tong caught the anger in his tone and faltered. “Didn’t you tell me to eat?”

Lu Fei: “I told you to eat a meal.”

Not to force-feed yourself.

He swallowed the rest of the sentence and said impatiently, “If you don’t want to eat, then don’t.”

Wen Tong held his knife and fork, unsure what to do. Lu Fei was such a psycho—one minute telling him to eat, the next telling him not to.

Could it be that his throwing up just now had disgusted him?

Wen Tong let his thoughts wander. Then I should throw up more often from now on. Disgust him more.

When Green Face and Qiang Ji came up carrying the other steaks and some pasta, they found Lu Fei with a dark face, and Wen Tong clutching his water cup, his steak barely touched.

Green Face caught on quickly. He stepped forward and said softly, “Third Master, he hasn’t eaten in two days. Meat all at once might not sit well.”

Qiang Ji nodded in agreement and immediately added, “I’ll go make some porridge for the madam.”

Lu Fei lifted his eyelids. “What madam?”

What do you mean, what madam? Qiang Ji had a flash of inspiration and ventured, “Mrs. Lu.”

Lu Fei: “???”