Mu Qi looked down at Yun Shuyuan on his shoulder, a smile playing on his lips. "Not eating?"
Yun Shuyuan turned her head to the other side. "Not eating."
"Alright, if you don't want to eat, then don't," Mu Qi said, placing the porridge he was holding on the table.
Yun Shuyuan hadn't expected Mu Qi to agree so readily, without even coaxing her. A wave of boundless sadness washed over her.
Had Ling Xue stolen all of Mu Qi's patience?
Yun Shuyuan's lips twitched with deep sorrow as she struggled to get down from Mu Qi's shoulders.
Mu Qi didn't comply with her struggles. Instead, he used his hand handcuffed with gold to grip Yun Shuyuan's buttocks, lifting her up. "If you don't eat, then eat me."
Soon, Mu Qi unceremoniously placed Yun Shuyuan on the bed and, with one hand, pulled the thin blanket off her.
Yun Shuyuan, whose vision was blurred with hunger, felt dizzy. By the time she registered what was happening, Mu Qi had already leaned over her.
Yun Shuyuan flinched, pushing him away at first, then instinctively covering her chest.
Mu Qi was rarely so "passionate."
Seeing that Mu Qi had no intention of stopping, Yun Shuyuan quickly surrendered. "I'll eat, I want to eat."
"Mmm, alright." Hearing Yun Shuyuan's words, Mu Qi raised an eyebrow and finally handed her the thin blanket again. Yet, a discernible disappointment was evident in his phoenix eyes.
Yun Shuyuan's face flushed crimson, and she curled into a ball, resembling a soft and submissive rabbit.
The vegetable porridge was at the perfect temperature. Yun Shuyuan devoured it in a few mouthfuls and then collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep.
Mu Qi gazed at Yun Shuyuan's closed, crescent-shaped eyes and let out a soft sigh. He gently pulled her into his arms, biting softly at her fragrant shoulder.
Yun Shuyuan's body trembled, but she couldn't resist the overwhelming fatigue and soon drifted off into a deep sleep.
After Yun Shuyuan was sound asleep, Mu Qi surveyed the surroundings, his gaze finally settling on the bag beside her. He noticed the white phone case inside.
Mu Qi remained silent for a moment, then carefully took Yun Shuyuan's phone.
On the dimly lit sea, Shan Gong stood at the bow of the ship, gazing into the distance illuminated by searchlights.
"Captain, the cruise ship's position is constantly changing, and it's moving very fast. We're finding it incredibly difficult to determine its movement pattern."
The person who had been stationed at the computer walked up to Shan Gong to report the current situation.
For a moment, Shan Gong felt as if the sea before him was shrouded in mist, unclear.
Shan Gong's gaze didn't linger on the sea for more than a few seconds before he turned and walked towards the computer.
Shan Gong's eyes followed the small red dot on the computer screen intently. However, just as the other person had said,
It was impossible to predict the ship's exact location, whether by extrapolating forward or backward.
Shan Gong stared at the computer screen with a somber expression. After a long silence, several individuals responsible for predicting the cruise ship's position stood behind him, looking up at the screen, all of them silent.
"Xiao Yang, get the inflatable boat ready," Shan Gong said after an indefinite pause, turning to one of the men behind him.
"Yes," Xiao Yang replied. With a crisp nod, he strode towards the stern of the ship and soon returned with an inflatable boat.
Shan Gong took the inflatable boat and began inflating it. After several checks, Shan Gong confirmed it was ready and tossed it overboard.
The inflatable boat was nimble and not slow.
"I'm going to pick up the young master and young madam. Keep providing me with positional information at all times." With that, Shan Gong pushed off the ship and leaped onto the inflatable boat.
Seeing that no one responded, Shan Gong held onto the ship's hull and looked up at the men before him with an intimidating gaze.
The men exchanged glances, then looked back at Shan Gong and said in unison, "Captain, please let us accompany you."
Hearing this, Shan Gong's stern expression did not lessen. "Obey orders!"
"Report, Captain, just let us go. It will be good to have backup."
The men before him had crew cuts and stood rigidly, their eyes filled with sincerity.
"What do you think this is? This is an inflatable boat! Can't you see how small it is?
It's fine if you fall into the sea, but what if the computers get waterlogged? Then we'll completely lose track of the young master!"
"What? The young master is missing now. Is someone trying to usurp the throne?" As Shan Gong descended the ship, he gained a height advantage over the men on board, requiring him to look up at them.
However, despite this, Shan Gong's imposing aura remained undiminished.
The men exchanged another look. "Captain, we wouldn't dare."
"You wouldn't dare? I think you dare quite a lot!" Shan Gong declared, his gaze sweeping over them sharply one last time before he turned and left.
Watching Shan Gong's receding figure, the men couldn't help but feel tears welling up.
"When I first joined under the Captain, he said I ate a lot and had strength but wasn't very smart."
Looking at Shan Gong's departing back, the tall, fat man in the middle was the first to break down, lowering his head and wiping away a tear.
"But later, whenever we were out on missions, the Captain always gave me food first."
"I was the opposite of you. When I joined, I thought I was clever and always tried to 'stand out'," another man said emotionally, hearing the fat man's words.
"Once, on a mission abroad, I tried to be clever and negotiate with foreigners, but I ended up saying too much and fell into a trap. It was the Captain who protected me and brought me back to the base."
The man beside him remained silent, lost in thought as he looked at the medicinal wine Shan Gong had casually thrown him a few days ago.
...
An hour later, after numerous changes in direction, Shan Gong was now very close to the cruise ship's position as shown on the computer screen.
Shan Gong was kneeling on one knee in the inflatable boat, panting, his entire body soaked.
Listening to the positional information from the walkie-talkie, Shan Gong took a deep breath, placed his hands back on the joystick, gripped the floor with his toes, and exerted all his strength to maintain his balance.
"Captain, almost there, Captain. We'll be there soon."
As the excited voice from the walkie-talkie reached Shan Gong's ears, a large wave crashed over him.