Chapter 14

Zhong Nian had something on his mind, so he woke up very early.

After tidying himself up, the first thing he did was run outside to check the situation. Unfortunately, the cruise ship seemed to still be stopped in place, without having moved at all.

Had it not been repaired yet?

His doubts were quickly resolved. Before work, there was an employee meeting where the team leader told them that the cruise ship would be stopped for another half day due to maintenance. During this time, they had to serve the guests even more diligently and not let the guests’ moods be affected by it.

After that, Zhong Nian had no other time to run out and ask Charles about the situation; he was busy to the point where his feet barely touched the ground.

However, midway through working in the kitchen, he had time to roll his eyes at Zhan Lu.

When his break time arrived, he found a spot to gnaw on his dry and tough breakfast.

The bread was very hard and tasteless. Although a rabbit’s teeth were good, swallowing it felt like it could scrape his throat.

Zhong Nian pulled a bitter face, shrinking into a ball and squatting in the corner, looking utterly pitiful.

This made the viewers in the live stream room feel a wave of heartache, and gifts came in one after another.

【Why can’t this damn game subsidize the streamer in the instance with points?】

【Look how hungry they’ve made the kid. It hurts my heart as a mom.】

【Although… the way he keeps chewing the bread is so cute…】

【I’m pinching his cheeks from afar!】

【Thinking about the plot later makes me worry for my wife.】

Zhong Nian’s puffed cheeks stopped moving as he stared at a certain bullet comment.

“What happened in the later plot?”

It was the first time he spoke to the live stream room, and the viewers inside immediately got excited.

【Aaaah wife wife!!】

【It’s , then ! Be careful with **!】

【Can’t send it out.】

【Don’t worry about it, streamer, marry me (ring) (rose)】

Zhong Nian saw several censored bullet comments turned into asterisks and lightly sighed.

Whatever, he hadn’t really expected to get any help from the viewers anyway.

It was better to sneak away now and go find Charles…

With that thought, he pinched the remaining half piece of bread, stood up, and sneaked outward, trying to avoid the other colleagues’ sight.

Unfortunately, he was stopped by a familiar voice.

“Where are you going?”

Zhong Nian’s raised foot paused in mid-air for half a second, then he chose to ignore it and continued tiptoeing away.

Suddenly, his collar tightened; someone had grabbed him, and he couldn’t move.

He slapped at the hand on the back of his collar twice. When he couldn’t shake it off, he turned around angrily, grinding his teeth as he shouted, “Zhan—Lu!”

The tall man in the chef’s uniform had a roguish smile on his face. “Why so angry?”

Zhong Nian glared at him, his two eyes clearly saying: You tell me?

Then he turned his head to leave.

Zhan Lu stretched out his arm and hooked his neck again, pulling him into his embrace. Before he could erupt, Zhan Lu raised the basin in his other hand right in front of him.

“Don’t be mad, look.”

A huge, beautiful, and appetizing doughnut sat in an exquisite plate, emitting a tempting sweet aroma.

Zhong Nian was stunned.

“Didn’t you like eating this? I made an extra-large one for you. I even stole a bottle of milk from the kitchen; it’s in my pocket.” Zhan Lu pushed the plate closer to his nose. “I improved the recipe; it’s definitely even better than last time.”

Zhong Nian could indeed tell the scent was different. The aroma made his stomach growl, and the dry bread in his hand suddenly became even harder to swallow.

Zhong Nian twitched his nose. “F-Fine… I’ll let it go again for the sake of the doughnut.”

After he said that, he heard a low chuckle from above his ear, which annoyed him again. “Let go of me already!!”

【Dog man eating tofu off the streamer again.】

【I wanted to curse last night. Hugging my wife and tying her up like a burrito, even spanking my wife’s butt.】

【I suspect he went back last night to secretly sniff his hand.】

【Too conservative a guess. If it were me, I wouldn’t just sniff.】

【Baby is so easy to coax. Could I take him home with just one more doughnut? QAQ】

After finishing the doughnut, Zhong Nian licked away the last bit of chocolate from his fingertips; his anger had pretty much dissipated.

Sweet food really improved one’s mood.

Even the work afterward felt easier.

Later, he was assigned to deliver breakfast to the luxury cabins. He pushed the meal cart up to the 10th Floor, where he was first stopped by the bodyguards outside for a thorough check of the cart. He even saw someone specifically tasting for poison.

Up to this point, Zhong Nian was still quite accepting. That changed when the bodyguards said they needed to check his body too.

“It’s a special period. We hope you can understand and cooperate.” The two sunglasses-wearing buzz-cut bodyguards were muscular and imposing in their black suits.

Zhong Nian naturally had no room to refuse, nor did he want to make things difficult for them.

After all, they were just following orders.

He raised his hands, his posture open and frank. “Go ahead.”

The two bodyguards looked at the youth in the black-and-white uniform in front of them. Their eyes roamed freely under their sunglasses, unnoticed by others, and both swallowed hard.

【These two are swallowing over my wife. I dare to bet on it.】

【Damn, such good luck falls to these two NPCs.】

Zhong Nian didn’t care, but the two bodyguards started arguing.

They were arguing over who would pat him down.

“I’ve got more seniority than you; you should listen to me.”

“Same position, what’s the difference? I’m more meticulous; I’m more suitable.”

“It should be me.”

“Me!”

Zhong Nian scratched his forehead, watching as the two even started shoving each other, feeling a bit speechless.

What was there to argue about?

He was just about to suggest they both do it when a guest from one of the rooms heard the commotion and came out.

“What are you arguing about?”

The man’s voice was slightly hoarse, thick with weariness and a hint of irritation.

The two bodyguards immediately straightened up and saluted. “Mr. Sheng.”

Zhong Nian poked his head out from behind the two tall bodyguards and saw Sheng Chu standing at the door of the middle room.

He looked very different from before—no meticulous, stiff, boring suit. He wore a black bathrobe with the collar slightly open, revealing a large expanse of chest. Even his black hair was a bit messy, tousled casually. His handsome face was colder than usual, but not in that emotionless indifference; for once, he showed outward emotion.

His brows were tightly furrowed, thin lips pressed into a straight line—a clear sign of bad temper upon waking.

But upon seeing Zhong Nian peeking out from behind the bodyguards, his expression softened slightly.

“What happened?” he asked.

“We…” The two bodyguards exchanged a glance. “We were about to pat down this delivery waiter.”

“No need. Let him come in directly.” With that, Sheng Chu turned and entered the room first.

In the end, Zhong Nian smoothly pushed the meal cart inside.

He lifted the round covers one by one, placed the abundant breakfast on the dining table, arranged the cutlery neatly—his movements unhurried and graceful. With his eyes lowered, he appeared somewhat chaste, and paired with his well-proportioned figure, it was particularly pleasing to the eye.

Sheng Chu sat on the sofa, watching the youth’s every move, occasionally taking a sip of water.

When Zhong Nian turned around, he met Sheng Chu’s unfathomable gaze. His eyelashes trembled slightly in a small arc as he softly asked, “Sir, would you like me to open the wine for you?”

“No rush.” Sheng Chu slowly rose from the sofa. “We have some business to take care of first.”

Zhong Nian: “What?”

Sheng Chu placed the glass of water on the table with a soft “clink.”

For some reason, Zhong Nian’s heart jumped heavily. When he looked up again, the man was already right in front of him. “You…”

His voice caught in his throat, scared silent by Sheng Chu’s next action.

He was pressed back against the wall. When he tried to move, his lower back was firmly held down.

A low voice came from behind him.

“Don’t move. I need to search you.”