That night, Hua Man met quite a few people.
Most of them chatted with her only because of Yang Zhao, but even that was enough to satisfy Hua Man.
She even exchanged contact information with some of them—big shots she normally couldn’t even book a meeting with. Now, they were all lying in her WeChat list.
The shift in status and the elevation in class brought unimaginable benefits.
“You looked so at ease just now; it felt really unfamiliar.” As she spoke, Yang Zhao stuffed a small piece of cake into Hua Man’s mouth. “You can barely get two words out in front of me, but around others, you’re suddenly so silver-tongued?”
Hua Man considered her response carefully: “Socializing is socializing. You are you.”
They were different.
“Am I that special in your heart?” Yang Zhao raised an eyebrow in surprise, her smile widening.
Delighted, she continued, “Alright then, as a reward, I’ll let you know early what gift I got you.”
She hadn’t mentioned it, and Hua Man had almost forgotten about it.
“What gift?” She hoped it wasn’t too expensive.
Yang Zhao curved her lips. “The cruise ship.”
“What?” Hua Man didn’t quite understand.
“This cruise ship is the gift I got you.” Yang Zhao stretched lazily as she explained. “Didn’t you say you’d take a break to keep me company? So we’ll stay on the cruise ship for three days. Don’t worry about Hua Xi—I’ve arranged everything for her. Now, just enjoy yourself.”
Hua Man was speechless.
After a long moment, she came back to her senses, pinched her brow, and voiced her strong dissatisfaction. “Why didn’t you tell me ahead of time?”
She had an interview scheduled for tomorrow.
“It’s a surprise, baby.”
Yang Zhao’s tone was innocent.
No, this wasn’t a surprise.
She had plans for the next few days, but Yang Zhao had suddenly whisked her away to the cruise ship, forcing her to stay for three days. Many of her plans were now disrupted.
“Why aren’t you happy?” Yang Zhao blinked. “Didn’t you promise to keep me company these next few days?”
Her gaze darkened slightly. “Or were you just brushing me off before?”
Hua Man was stumped.
Yes, she had promised to spend the next few days with Yang Zhao.
But keeping Yang Zhao company didn’t conflict with her other plans.
Still, staring into Yang Zhao’s unwavering eyes, she couldn’t voice those thoughts. She was certain that if she did, Yang Zhao would lose it right there.
She wasn’t even sure when she had started understanding Yang Zhao so well—able to keenly sense when Yang Zhao was on the verge of snapping.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Not getting an answer, Yang Zhao’s eyes darkened as she pressed.
“I wasn’t brushing you off.”
The facts couldn’t be changed now, so Hua Man suppressed her own thoughts and said gently, “It was just too sudden. We didn’t prepare anything.”
“How could I bring you out to play and still make you prepare?” Yang Zhao’s smile returned. “The cruise ship has everything.”
Yang Zhao wasn’t exaggerating.
The luxury cruise ship truly had it all—not just the main living area and banquet hall, but also a bar, gym, game room…
It was like a palace floating on water.
Hua Man even spotted Yan Wei there.
From a distance, Yan Wei nodded toward them but didn’t approach.
Yang Zhao explained, “She just met with some clients.”
“Didn’t you say she was in cahoots with Qin Fangqin?” Hua Man glanced at Yang Zhao, waiting for her explanation.
“Yeah.” Yang Zhao said it with perfect confidence, without a hint of embarrassment or guilt at being called out. “But now she’s in cahoots with me.”
Hua Man was speechless.
“Don’t worry about those irrelevant people.” Yang Zhao linked arms with her again, her eyes curving happily. “You’re here to keep me company—how can you keep paying attention to others?”
Irrelevant people.
Hua Man savored those words.
It felt novel. She had once said something similar herself, but hearing Yang Zhao say it now still filled her heart with uncontrollable joy.
Had Yang Zhao felt the same way back then, when she had said it?
The two reached the dining area.
Aside from the servers, no one else was around. They sat down and began enjoying the evening’s main course.
“Manman, the night view tonight is beautiful.”
Yang Zhao raised her wine glass as she spoke.
Hua Man lifted hers and clinked it against Yang Zhao’s.
She had already drunk quite a bit that day—drinking was an essential part of socializing with those people she wanted to connect with, even with her current identity as Yang Zhao’s fiancée.
The thought made her take a gentle sip from her glass.
The aroma of the wine filled the air.
She didn’t know much about wine, but she could tell it was good.
Just as she didn’t understand the rules of this circle, but knew that being Yang Zhao’s fiancée was no small thing.
“Is that okay?” She looked up. “I used your fiancée identity.”
“Of course it’s fine.” Yang Zhao brushed it off.
Hua Man stared at her intently. “Your family, and your future lover, might mind.”
“Family—do you mean my grandmother?”
“If you think your family is just her.”
Yang Zhao laughed. “Manman, the last time I took you to see her, that was already out in the open.”
Hua Man’s pupils contracted slightly. “She doesn’t object?”
“Why would she?” Yang Zhao was puzzled.
“Our family backgrounds don’t match. Your grandmother would probably want you to find someone of equal standing—ideally, a man as your other half.”
Yang Zhao sighed. “Manman, once you reach a certain level, you don’t need another half to embellish yourself.”
“She just wants me to be safe and happy.”
“As for men or women, does it matter? I just need to love myself—that’s enough. Passing on the family line isn’t my duty, and my grandmother wouldn’t assign me such a ridiculous task.”
Hua Man clenched her fists.
Yes, it was a ridiculous task.
No one knew where it came from, but the older generation always clung to such obsessions.
Marriage, children…
The phrase “virtuous wife and loving mother” became a cage for women.
“What?” Yang Zhao looked up. “Do you have one?”
Her gaze drifted downward, that burning stare seeming to pierce through the table, landing precisely on Hua Man’s slender abdomen.
Hua Man’s back straightened in an instant.
Her voice was firm. “No.”
“No?” Yang Zhao tilted her head, her gaze shifting from Hua Man’s abdomen to her face. “If I remember right, you said you didn’t like women back then.”
“Does not liking women mean I have to like men?” Hua Man countered calmly. Before Yang Zhao could respond, she added, “I don’t like anyone.”
“Why?”
Yang Zhao seemed especially curious today.
But Hua Man didn’t know how to explain it to her.
Hua Qiang and Chen Yan’s failed marriage, Hua Qiang’s gambling and domestic violence, and Chen Yan’s years of enduring it in silence with her tears—they were the culprits that made Hua Man lose interest in love and marriage.
But Yang Zhao’s family was even more complicated.
Yang Zhao had lost her birth mother because of it, growing up in an environment without love, yet she hadn’t lost interest in love like Hua Man had.
In fact, she felt Yang Zhao was someone who knew how to love.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Yang Zhao asked patiently.
After a long pause, Hua Man gave her answer: “I only love myself.”
Yang Zhao’s smile deepened. “That’s good.”
She seemed satisfied with the answer and didn’t press further. They finished their first dinner on the cruise ship in calm peace.
After the meal, Yang Zhao took Hua Man back to their room.
It wasn’t because Yang Zhao’s mind was full of those things.
It was Hua Man’s first time drinking so much. Though her tolerance wasn’t bad and she wouldn’t cause a drunken scene, the alcohol hit her hard, bringing on overwhelming sleepiness. Her eyelids were practically glued together, so Yang Zhao took her back proactively.
The room prepared for them was no different from a hotel’s presidential suite.
Helping Hua Man onto the sofa, Yang Zhao asked, “Can you shower by yourself?”
A mischievous glint appeared on her face. “Of course, I don’t mind helping.”
She leaned down to Hua Man’s ear. “After all, you promised to play with me tonight. In the bathroom… that wouldn’t be too much, right?”
Hua Man gave her a cool glance. “Too much.”
She repeated, “Yang Zhao, you’re too much.”
Drunk, she seemed much more straightforward. Sober, she probably wouldn’t say such things.
Yang Zhao sat on the sofa, thinking.
“You’re wronging me.” She struck the most innocent pose. “I’m just worried about you.”
Hua Man said calmly, “You just want to take advantage of me and do it.”
“Do what?” Yang Zhao teased with a laugh.
“Love.”
Drunk Hua Man seemed to have stopped thinking, blurting out whatever came to mind—adorably direct.
Yang Zhao felt like teasing her and asked with a grin, “Don’t tell me you’re the one who wants to do it and you’re pinning the blame on me?”
Hua Man actually pondered it seriously.
After a moment, she nodded. “Yeah, I want to.”
Yang Zhao’s eyes darkened.
After a silent pause, she suppressed the urge to go wild with Hua Man and wagged her finger. “No can do.”
She pointed to the bathroom. “Be good and shower by yourself.”
“You said you’d help.”
Hua Man suddenly got picky about it.
Yang Zhao laughed. “If you were this proactive once you’re sober, that’d be great.”
“I’m not drunk.” Hua Man’s voice was steady as she stared at Yang Zhao. “I’m very sober.”
“Yes, yes, you’re very sober and just want to sleep with me.” Yang Zhao shot her a mock glare, playing the victim first. “Baby, why is your head full of these things? Aren’t you embarrassed?”
Hua Man: “…”
In the end, nothing happened that night.
It wasn’t that Yang Zhao had changed; she still enjoyed those things. But after Hua Man had dealt with that group for so long, Yang Zhao could clearly see the fatigue on her face.
Besides, Hua Man seemed a bit seasick, her complexion off. Yang Zhao wasn’t so desperate as to do that with an unwell Hua Man.
Such things should happen when both were in a joyful state.
She and Hua Man weren’t in a rush.
After the shower, she simply held Hua Man and lay down on the bed.
Strangely, though Hua Man’s eyelids had seemed glued shut earlier, once she was actually in bed, her eyes were wide open, looking quite alert.
“Why not do it?” Hua Man stared at her. “Didn’t you make me your lover just to do this kind of thing?”
“Can’t it be because I like you?”
Yang Zhao tsked.
The next second, she heard Hua Man laugh.
Yang Zhao: ???
“What are you laughing at?” She sat up. “I like you—is that funny?”
There was no laughter in Hua Man’s eyes. She stared quietly for a moment before speaking again. “How long can your ‘like’ last?”
Yang Zhao was stumped.
She suddenly realized something.
No matter how close she got to Hua Man, Hua Man wouldn’t open her heart because she didn’t trust her.
Taming tricks didn’t work on Hua Man.
But that was fine. She was trying other methods now. Whether Hua Man believed her or not didn’t matter much—as long as she kept her firmly by her side.
“What are you worried about?” She pressed her forehead to Hua Man’s, her gaze warm with amusement. “Have some confidence in yourself. I like you even more than you imagine.”
*
The next morning, Yang Zhao woke to find no one beside her. She checked the time.
It was still early, just past seven.
Living with Hua Man for so long had shifted her biological clock.
So early in the morning, and no need to take Hua Xi to the rehabilitation center—where had Hua Man gone?
But they were on the cruise ship, so Yang Zhao wasn’t worried she’d sneaked off.
Besides, Hua Man had no reason to run.
She leisurely finished washing up before heading out.
Most people on the ship were young masters and ladies, or invited clients here to relax and have fun. Few got up so early.
So Yang Zhao spotted Hua Man on the deck at a glance.
The morning wind was strong, and Hua Man looked too slender, giving Yang Zhao the illusion that she might be blown away at any moment.
The thought made her frown in displeasure.
She quickened her pace.
“Up so early, pondering life?”
Yang Zhao stood beside Hua Man and tilted her head to check her expression.
Why were her eyes a bit red?
Realizing this, her face darkened. “Did someone bully you?”
Who would dare act presumptuously in front of Hua Man after she had publicly announced her as her fiancée?
“No one,” Hua Man denied.
The next second, Yang Zhao’s finger gently brushed over her eyelid.
“You’re lying,” Yang Zhao said with certainty. “You cried.”
At those words, Hua Man froze for a few seconds, then wordlessly dodged her hand, laughing wryly. “I didn’t.”
She added an explanation, “The wind was too strong.”
She had thrown up again when she first got up, the spiciness bringing tears to her eyes, and then the wind had blown right in her face when she came out. It probably did look a lot like she had been crying.
“Was the wind that strong?” Yang Zhao asked suspiciously. “Are your eyes that sensitive?”
Hua Man nodded. “Yeah.”
Yang Zhao let out a breath of relief, but soon couldn’t help shaking her head. It seemed she still needed to find a doctor to check Hua Man’s eyes—her eyesight was already poor, and she had poor judgment in people, but her eyes were so sensitive too?
“Baby’s so sensitive,” she sighed faintly. “Sensitive everywhere. So cute and pitiful.”
Hua Man: “…”
She really didn’t want to understand that instantly.
She simply turned her head away, pretending not to grasp the implication in her words, and stared blankly into the distance.
“Do you remember our heart-to-heart last night?” Following her gaze, Yang Zhao looked out at the horizon. “No lying.”
“…I remember,” Hua Man had no choice but to reply.
Though she had been tipsy yesterday and more impulsive than usual, she hadn’t blacked out.
Yang Zhao chuckled lightly. “Good, as long as you remember.”
She said no more.
The two quietly enjoyed the morning sea breeze until their stomachs rumbled in protest. Only then did Yang Zhao have breakfast brought up.
They ate breakfast on the deck.
It was a novel experience for Hua Man.
She could even see birds occasionally landing on the deck. They didn’t seem afraid of people at all, merely lowering their heads to peck at the breadcrumbs Yang Zhao tossed over.
But when Hua Man tried to approach them, they leaped up without hesitation and flew off without a trace.
She chuckled helplessly.
