Chapter 743: Epilogue (End)
Cruise Party (End)
[Part 12]
It’s just a pity that, even at the most perfect party, unexpected little interludes will occur.
“Why?”
“Why can everyone else, but I can’t?”
“What, are they stronger than me?”
“Or do you think I’m easier to push around?”
The bartender’s upper body was forcefully dragged out over the bar counter, looking extremely disheveled. His body hung suspended in a bizarre posture, a tiny, slender hand tightly gripping his collar.
His forehead was covered in cold sweat.
“I am an adult,” the little girl forced out a ferocious smile, her small head pressing close entirely. Her eyes, carrying an intense oppressive feeling, stared fixedly at the other’s pale face, her tone gradually carrying a bit of teeth-gritting rage. “Why won’t you give me alcohol!!!”
“Because I gave orders in advance.”
Right at this moment, a calm, gentle voice came from behind.
Orange Candy turned her head to look, only to meet Wen Ya’s composed, seemingly invulnerable face. “No matter how psychologically mature you are, your physical body is still that of a child.”
The bartender listened from the side, wanting to cry but having no tears, cold sweat popping out layer by layer on his back.
…I beg of you, please say a few less words.
Suddenly, the force strangling his neck completely disappeared.
Returning to zero along with it was the terrifying, sweat-inducing oppressive feeling in front of him.
“?”
The bartender fell back behind the bar counter. He stumbled to a stand, looking blankly at Orange Candy.
What happened?
“?”
The little girl outside the bar looked at him.
Her expression was even more confused and blank than his.
“…”
For a moment, the air seemed to fall into silence.
That’s right, Orange Candy, who hadn’t regressed a single time in a whole month, had a rare episode on the ship.
The little girl sat on a stool taller than her own height, looking unbelievably well-behaved.
She looked confusedly at the people gathering around, seemingly not understanding what exactly had happened to herself.
“How long will it take for her to recover?” Qi Qian looked at Wei Cheng.
“A few minutes if it’s fast,” Wei Cheng answered, “A few hours if it’s slow.”
“Will she remember what happens during this time?” Qi Qian continued asking.
Wei Cheng: “She’ll have some vague impressions.”
He looked at Chen Cheng, who was eager to try something on the side, and warned: “So, if you don’t want to get beaten up by the Captain after she wakes up, you better be careful with your actions.”
“…”
Chen Cheng resentfully withdrew his hand.
What an incredibly ugly paper doll.
Blood-red, grinning widely, with crooked eyes.
The little girl stared at the paper doll for a moment, and nodded honestly.
“…”
Looking at that hair-raising paper doll, everyone couldn’t help but fall silent.
“Call me big sister,” Yun Bilan said with a beaming smile.
Orange Candy thought for a moment, and said softly: “Big sister?”
Everyone: “…”
Does this little maniac really need more weapons?!
Wen Jianyan also came over.
He used a little magic trick, effortlessly exchanging it for a sparkling look of admiration and a willing “Big brother”.
Not to be outdone, Chen Cheng also leaned over: “What about me, what about me?”
He pointed at himself: “I’m a big brother too!”
Unexpectedly, Orange Candy stared at him for a while, then turned her face away: “No.”
Chen Cheng: ???
Wen Jianyan was curious: “Why isn’t he?”
“He’s annoying.”
The answer given by the child was unbelievably honest.
“What about me?” Wen Jianyan asked smilingly. “Am I not annoying?”
Orange Candy thought for a moment and shook her head.
To her, the other party was not just a good-looking big brother who smiled gently and could do magic tricks.
He was safe, and trustworthy.
The only one who was disliked, Chen Cheng, still didn’t give up. He pulled Hugo over from the side and pushed him in front of Orange Candy: “What about him?”
“Is he annoying?”
Chen Cheng pushed the speechless Hugo a little closer, looking at Orange Candy with great anticipation.
Orange Candy stared at Hugo for two seconds.
This person had a very heavy, astringent aura, similar to absinthe.
She didn’t quite like it.
However…
He also possessed a bizarre quality of trustworthiness.
Thus, Orange Candy looked at Chen Cheng and said decisively: “I still find you a bit more annoying.”
“…”
Chen Cheng suffered a heavy blow. Meanwhile, Yun Bilan, standing to the side, let out a loud sneer of mockery.
[Part 13]
The captain of the cruise ship floated into the venue.
He looked dazed, appearing even more like a ghost than usual.
He first found Chen Mo, who was sitting in front of another bar counter.
“Did you know…”
Su Cheng hesitated to speak.
“What?”
Chen Mo raised his hand and ordered a glass of brandy.
He turned his head sideways.
“The President and his…” Su Cheng paused, hesitating, “Ally…”
Chen Mo: “?”
He gave Su Cheng a baffled look. “Ally?”
Chen Mo suddenly realized: “Oh, you mean his boyfriend.”
Su Cheng: “…”
“Don’t say that,” Yang Fan swiveled his chair and advised, “He’s helped us a lot too.”
Su Cheng: “…”
Yun Bilan saw them, so she left the bar where Wen Jianyan and Orange Candy were, walking in this direction to sync up with Su Cheng on the latest progress of the paper doll body, but happened to overhear this conversation.
“What are you guys talking about?”
Su Cheng looked at this friend who shared his plight, a last glimmer of hope igniting in his eyes.
However, before he could ask anything, he heard Yun Bilan continue:
“Wu Zhu?”
She looked at Ji Guan and warned: “So you’d better express more support in the future, understand?”
Ji Guan fell into an awkward silence.
Su Cheng: “……………………”
He was furious to death.
He was actually the absolute last person among everyone to find out about this!!!!
[Part 14]
As a person who was extremely sensitive to danger.
Before Orange Candy returned to normal and started settling scores, Wen Jianyan had already made a quick getaway.
Holding a cocktail, he leaned lazily against the back of his chair, his bright eyes lowered, a slight blush on his cheekbones.
Shadows of people flickered, the light from the drinks swayed.
Faint music flowed in the air.
Qi Qian walked over with a wine glass.
“How is the setup?” he asked.
“Very beautiful.” Wen Jianyan released his fingers that had been playing with Wu Zhu’s long hair and sat up.
Wen Jianyan smiled at him: “How can you call it losing? We are clearly seeking common ground while reserving differences, cooperating for a win-win.”
Qi Qian shook his head and sighed very helplessly: “Compared to you, Figaro can’t even be considered an unscrupulous merchant.”
Wen Jianyan lowered his eyes and took a sip of wine from his glass.
A few seconds later, he suddenly thought of something, froze, and looked up:
“So, tonight you weren’t actually planning to catch Figaro, right?”
“Yeah.”
Qi Qian didn’t understand why, but still nodded.
That was just a cover to prevent Wen Jianyan from realizing the true purpose of this party.
“Actually, he’s also established some cooperation with us recently. In exchange, I can only turn a blind eye to some past matters.” Speaking of this, Qi Qian seemed to think of something very unpleasant, his tone carrying a bit of teeth-gritting.
Wen Jianyan sat up slightly: “So, you actually invited him to attend tonight?”
Qi Qian paused: “Yeah.”
It’s just that for some unknown reason, Figaro hadn’t shown his face all night.
This truly didn’t match his usual style.
“Maybe he was afraid it really was some kind of trap,” he shrugged and snorted a laugh: “But on this point, he really overthought it. I wouldn’t go so far as to make a move in this kind of situation.”
“…”
Wen Jianyan lowered his eyes, his thoughtful gaze falling into his glass.
Suddenly, it was like a clap of thunder striking from a flat ground in his mind.
Wen Jianyan shuddered.
He looked up and stared unblinkingly at Wu Zhu beside him.
[Part 15]
Overhead, the starry sky twinkled, and a cool sea breeze blew from afar.
Under Wu Zhu’s lead, the group crossed the deserted deck and went all the way to the stern of the cruise ship.
“Where is he?”
Wen Jianyan looked around but didn’t see a single figure.
The sound seemed to come from the surface of the sea.
Wen Jianyan followed the sound and looked over.
This time, Wen Jianyan finally saw clearly.
He saw a thin rope twisted from shadows tied to the ship’s rail. The other end trailed far out behind the stern, with a person hanging at the very end of it.
Beneath the bottomless black seawater, the cold, ghastly pale corpses sensed the aura of a living human and quietly floated up nearby, faintly visible under the black waves.
Seeming to realize there was someone nearby, that smudge began to struggle desperately.
“Mmph mph mph!! Mmph mph mph mph mph!!!”
Before he could finish his muffled screaming, Wen Jianyan slapped the back of his head:
“Let him down!”
Wu Zhu drooped his head.
Half a minute later, Figaro came ashore dripping wet like a drowned rat.
He collapsed weakly onto the deck, panting with lingering fear.
That’s right, he had indeed received an invitation.
And he had indeed come to attend the banquet.
But just a few seconds after stepping onto the ship, he was silently caught. While he was still dizzy and hadn’t reacted to what had happened, some black thing stuffed his mouth, and then he was hung entirely off the back of the ship.
His life wasn’t in danger, indeed.
He was just tormented enough to choke.
“Are you okay?” Wen Jianyan asked guiltily.
Figaro lay paralyzed on the ground, his breath faint like a thread, his face completely drained of color. This time, he didn’t even use honorifics: “Pinocchio… you… if I ever do business with you again, I’ll take your last name…”
As long as he did business with Wen Jianyan, he was always the one who suffered in the end!!
And it was like this every time…
It was practically like some kind of curse!
Under Wen Jianyan’s strict orders, Wu Zhu was forced to apologize.
On the deck, once again, only Wen Jianyan and Wu Zhu were left.
Wen Jianyan crossed his arms, frowning:
“What’s with you? I’ve cooperated with others before, and I’ve never seen you so vengeful.”
Wu Zhu’s gaze shifted away.
“Is it because I didn’t tell you about this?” Wen Jianyan looked at his expression and seemed to understand.
And the truth was indeed so.
What Wu Zhu minded wasn’t Wen Jianyan cooperating with others itself, but that he kept it a secret behind his back and didn’t mention a single word.
He revealed a smile showing snow-white sharp teeth, one hundred percent confounding black and white, confusing good and evil: “It’s okay… I said it before, I won’t blame you.”
The one who should be blamed was someone else.
Wen Jianyan: “…”
Above the black sea, the lights were distant and faint.
The shadows of the past hid under the light, like residual dreams of yesterday.
He retracted his gaze and let out a long sigh:
“Do you really want to know what we cooperated on?”
“…” Wu Zhu’s heart stirred, and he looked up.
The young man leaned against the ship’s rail, the hem of his clothes blown up by the wind, like a white bird spreading its wings to fly.
Perhaps because he had drunk alcohol, his cheeks carried a slightly tipsy flush, and his eyes were covered with a very shallow, rippling mist.
“Come here.”
He said softly.
Close enough to feel the warmth of his cheeks.
To smell the lingering aroma of wine on his lips.
To hear his slightly hoarse, yet unbelievably gentle voice:
“Hold out your hand.”
And so, Wu Zhu held out his hand.
A broader palm fell into the center of a more slender hand. Fingertips brushed over the winding blue veins on the back of his hand, keeping an ambiguous distance, leaving behind a series of shivering electric currents.
The well-defined fingers that were being held involuntarily twitched, seeming to want to reverse the grip, but were deftly evaded.
The next second, something cold and hard pressed against the tip of his ring finger, and was then gently pushed up.
“…” Wu Zhu froze.
He lowered his eyes half a beat late, his gaze shifting to his own palm.
At the base of his ring finger, a snake’s mouth bit its tail, a ring fitting snugly wrapped around there.
He murmured in a low, continuous voice.
Wu Zhu’s gaze fixed on Wen Jianyan’s face.
Under the faint light, half of a soft earlobe hidden in the hair was vaguely visible, thin and red.
The subsequent sounds suddenly vanished.
Because Wu Zhu had already stepped forward and, with almost desperate strength, swallowed the subsequent syllables.
He tasted the sweet aroma of fruit wine on Wen Jianyan’s lips. The tipsy breath violently rose between their lips, pushed by wet tongues, making that little bit of thin residual wine burn stronger and stronger. An intoxication that made it impossible to breathe or think spread like wildfire to all their limbs and bones, two heartbeats crashing together rapidly like drumbeats.
The unspoken words were crushed between lips and tongues, swallowed into the throat, and melted into flesh and blood.
It was a contract of love and death.
Beyond the ship’s rail, the sea and sky blended together, with only a hazy, faint light.
Two shadows overlapped.
Two hands tightly clasped, fingers pressed into the gaps, intertwined, locked tight. At the ring fingers where they pressed closely together, two snake rings nestled against each other.
In the darkness, the snakes’ eyes sparkled, like evening stars.
__
[Author’s Note]
The full story is concluded.
Welcome to the dawn.
My observation has ended, but Wen Jianyan and Wu Zhu’s story will never end.
See you in the next world.
Thank you for this long journey!