The intoxication hit even harder.
Ning Guiwan felt unsteady on her feet, her legs weak. She unusually took the initiative to wrap her arms around Quan Yu’s waist, her smile especially bright and gorgeous. "Sooner or later, that’s all..."
She was truly drunk. She probably couldn’t control what she was saying.
Four years ago that night, she had hugged him just . She would cry for a while, then laugh. The light in her eyes, scattered by a veil of tears, had seemed as though she was looking at him, yet also looking through him at someone else.
"It was you who said you liked me first, adored me, so why are you with someone else?" she had asked.
Back then, he had known she mistook him for someone else.
"We were going to have a wedding at sea... We had agreed to charter an entire cruise ship and sail around the Pacific Ocean..." she had continued, narrowing her eyes and drawing a semi-circle on his chest with her finger. "...Passing by Australia, crossing the Indian Ocean, going to see the Cape of Good Hope, then through the Atlantic Ocean..."
As she had spoken of these things, her eyes had been filled with anticipation and joy. But after finishing, she had hugged him again and begun to cry, accusing him, "Are you going to take someone else there in the future? You can’t, you can’t. That’s where I want to go; you can’t take another woman there..."
Quan Yu carried Ning Guiwan in his arms back to their first-class cabin, while Zhan Yan opened the door for him.
The large bed was covered with a soft, snow-white eiderdown quilt. Ning Guiwan sank into it, her skin tone barely distinguishable from the bedding. Quan Yu brushed her hair to one side. Her dense, glossy black hair spread across the pillow.
The chandelier was off; only two bedside wall lamps were lit, covered with orange-toned crystal shades that cast a soft glow.
Quan Yu sat by the bed, his thumb gently stroking Ning Guiwan’s brows.
After a long while, a man’s gentle, low voice filled the room, "The places you want to visit, I’ll take you."
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
When no one answered, the knocking resumed, persistent and patient.
Quan Yu opened the door.
Standing outside was Chi Zhengjun, with Zhan Yan protectively shielding his master. "...Mr. Chi, please stop knocking. My master has traveled from Canada to the United States, then to Britain, handling so many matters. He hasn’t had a wink of sleep. He rushed back here without a moment’s rest and immediately went out to sea. Please, be kind this once and let him catch his breath..."
"Your master?" Chi Zhengjun laughed, glancing at Quan Yu. "Why do I get the feeling your master is soon to become another woman’s husband?"
Seeing Quan Yu emerge, Zhan Yan stopped talking and stood by the door with a stern face.
On the other side stood Xu Ruohuai.
After Chi Zhengjun finished speaking, his eyes darted towards the room.
Quan Yu closed the door behind him. "Let’s go to the dining room."
Chi Zhengjun hadn’t seen anything. His gaze returned to Quan Yu’s expressionless face. He smirked, "The beauty you’re hiding in this golden chamber? So precious, not even a glance is permitted."