“No need. This is the transition period between spring and summer, the safest time of year in these waters. None of the problems you’re worried about will occur. Just steer confidently forward.”
The captain lowered his telescope and ordered them to proceed. Hearing the captain’s certainty, the first mate had nothing more to say.
This vessel, the Mingge, was a large ship with a carrying capacity of 190,000 tons, making it one of the biggest. It was the third-largest ship owned by the Ocean Group.
As the cargo ship entered the Mikes Sea, the captain, though confident, still stood in the wheelhouse, telescope in hand, carefully scanning the surroundings. The radar was also constantly monitoring the seabed conditions.
Other crew members regularly inspected the ship’s condition and checked whether the cargo had shifted, all critical issues.
Even the enormous ship looked tiny beyond the horizon, practically invisible to Li Yuanxi and Wei Shu, who couldn’t see or hear the massive freighter passing by.
They didn’t see the ship, nor did they hear it, but the ship saw them.
“Captain, look there. Isn’t that a signal from Mikes Island?” The first mate handed the telescope to the captain. He could see a red banner fluttering on the island, along with a thin wisp of black smoke.
“It looks like someone might be stranded on the island. Should we send someone to check?” The first mate asked, unsure.
The captain watched for a long moment, frowning in thought. “Steer 30 nautical miles towards that uninhabited island.” He gave the order to head for Mikes Island, and the crew immediately began to slowly turn the ship.
As the ship crossed the horizon, a long, distant horn sounded across the sea. Li Yuanxi, who had been holding Wei Shu’s belly and coaxing the baby, spun around. She rushed out of the small hut, her eyes fixed on the horizon.
Wei Shu heard it too. Her heart tightened. She silently wondered if the cargo ship could see their distress signals.
Li Yuanxi stood on the beach for a moment, then it hit her: she needed something bright to wave so the people on the ship could see her.
“Shu Shu, Shu Shu! Take off your jacket! I need it!” Li Yuanxi shouted to Wei Shu as she ran, her voice cracking with nervousness.
Wei Shu heard her and immediately took off her yellow jacket, throwing it to Li Yuanxi. The moment she caught it, Li Yuanxi began jumping and waving it by the campfire, trying to signal to the ship that there were survivors on the island needing rescue.
Her efforts worked. The ship, which was decelerating, spotted Li Yuanxi’s movements.
“Who would have thought anyone could be alive on such a remote island? I wonder how they got there in the first place.” The captain, never one to hold his tongue, started his commentary. A ship this massive couldn’t just stop on a dime.
They deployed a rescue boat, with the first mate leading a fully equipped team of four towards the island.
The captain followed procedure and reported the incident via satellite phone. “Where did you say you found them?” asked the head of the Ocean Group.
“Mikes Island. Uh, a rather remote island.” The captain was a bit embarrassed, realizing he had forgotten to report that he’d changed their route.
“That’s a significant deviation from your route. Report to the company office the moment you’re back in port.” The boss couldn’t condone the captain’s habit of changing routes on a whim.
“Yes, General Manager. I’ll get off the line now.” The captain’s tone was perfectly agreeable. If he saved these people, he’d probably just get a scolding and not a fine. As long as he wasn’t fined, there was no real problem.
Just as Li Yuanxi saw the ship start to turn away, her body went weak, and she felt a wave of despair. Before she could cry, a rescue boat began heading her way.
Li Yuanxi hurried into the hut to grab the short knife, tucking it into her waistband. She helped Wei Shu put the jacket back on and slipped an iron piece into her clothes.
It wasn’t that she was overly suspicious, but she couldn’t be sure if these people were good or bad, so she had to be prepared for anything.
Wei Shu grabbed her hand, looking her straight in the eye. “It’ll be fine.” Li Yuanxi smiled and nodded. She leaned down to kiss Wei Shu’s cheek, then turned her gaze to the approaching rescue boat, taking a deep breath.
Watching the boat get closer, her palms were slick with sweat. She jumped and waved on the beach. The crew, accustomed to rescues, approached cautiously.
The rescue boat stopped some distance from the shore. The first mate and three other men jumped out, leaving one man on board.
The first mate was fully geared in standard rescue gear. She gave Li Yuanxi a once-over and hesitated. “Are you from Z country?”
Upon hearing her native language, Li Yuanxi immediately nodded. Seeing familiar skin tones, she was too choked up to speak clearly. “Yes, I’m from B City in Z country. I’m… I’m a survivor of a plane crash.”
“Plane crash?” The other crew members exchanged glances. Could she be a survivor from the ill-fated N968? Everyone looked at her intently.
They were all regular employees of the Ocean Group and had participated in the search for survivors of the crash. One crew member was curious. “How did you survive?”
Li Yuanxi closed her eyes, offering a bitter smile. “It was a very hard fight to stay alive.”
The others looked somber. The first mate comforted her. “It’s all right. Just being alive is a blessing. Now, we’ll take you home. Please tell us your ID number and full name so we can verify your identity.”
Wei Shu stayed in the small hut, watching Li Yuanxi talk with the crew. She squinted, feeling that these people’s gear looked familiar, especially the large red characters on the rescue boat.
Eight characters: Ocean Group, Serving You.
Wei Shu emerged from the hut. One of the crew members spotted her and exchanged a look with the others before asking Li Yuanxi, “Who’s that?”
Li Yuanxi turned to look at Wei Shu, her heart tightening, but her mind quickly adapted. She smiled. “She’s my wife. You’ve probably heard her name before.”
“She’s Wei Shu, the current head of the Wei family.” Li Yuanxi was sure this group would have heard of the Wei Group, knowing that the Wei family also had an international maritime freight division.
“Did you say she’s who?” The four men spoke in unison, cupping their ears. One of them even blocked Li Yuanxi’s path back, a sour expression on his face.
Li Yuanxi’s heart clenched. She made a subtle hand signal to Wei Shu, warning her that something was wrong. She kept smiling on the surface. “Wei Shu. You must have heard of her. She also survived this plane crash.”
Wei Shu hesitated upon seeing Li Yuanxi’s hand signal. The first mate, noticing Wei Shu’s loose jacket and the slightly swollen belly, felt a pang of distress. She suspected this alpha might have done something to her big boss.
“Are you President Wei? I’m the first mate of the Mingge, under the Ocean Group. I was part of the search party sent for you.” The first mate quickly raised her voice to state her identity, trying to earn her trust.
Li Yuanxi’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe they had run into Wei Shu’s own employees.
Wei Shu blinked and walked over slowly. The three crew members politely kept a distance, but subtly separated her from Li Yuanxi, worried that this unknown alpha might pose a threat to their vulnerable big boss.
“You’re Lu Fei, the first mate of the Mingge?” Wei Shu recalled her name after a moment. Lu Fei nodded immediately, gesturing towards Li Yuanxi. “Big Boss, has this person threatened you in any way? Do you need us to handle it?”
“No need. She’s my Alpha. She’s the one who saved me during the crash. She’s also a shareholder of the Li Group.” Wei Shu explained Li Yuanxi’s identity in just two sentences.
With that, the tense atmosphere among the men eased considerably. The captain, impatient after waiting so long, called to ask Lu Fei what was happening.
Lu Fei immediately reported the situation with Wei Shu. The captain was stunned. They had searched this exact area. How had they not found them before?
After a few hours, the couple had packed the items they wanted to take. They removed the red banner that had saved their lives. Li Yuanxi left it pressed down in the forest, thinking it might be useful for someone in the future.
Wei Shu stood in the cave, looking at the place she had lived for over half a year. She felt a deep reluctance, especially for the wooden bed she had slept on for so long. It was a pity they couldn’t take it.
There was also the stove Li Yuanxi had built, the smoke-blackened cave ceiling, and all the furniture Li Yuanxi had made with her own hands. She only took the two backpack baskets and the two wooden stools she had grown used to sitting on.
“Come on, it’s time for us to leave this place.” Li Yuanxi took Wei Shu’s hand and, along with the crew members helping them move, began walking down the mountain, heading for their true home.
On the cargo ship, 85 crew members and 15 security personnel were all waiting for the arrival of the big boss.
The moment Wei Shu stepped onto the ship, she was met with a line of people saluting her in unison. Startled, she flinched and instinctively hid behind Li Yuanxi.
The captain looked at Wei Shu’s swollen belly and fell silent. His gaze at Li Yuanxi, dark-skinned and gaunt, was far from friendly.
President Wei was the crown jewel of the Ocean Group. With just a few of her directives, the company’s performance had soared, and everyone’s salary had more than doubled.
Feeling everyone’s gaze on her belly, Wei Shu pressed closer against Li Yuanxi’s back. Li Yuanxi shielded her, frowning at the crowd.
The crew’s thoughts were unanimous: How did a fair, beautiful, long-legged President Wei end up with this skinny, dark-skinned female alpha?
“What are you all standing around for? Let President Wei get inside and sit down!” The first mate had just stripped off her heavy rescue gear and was met with this awkward, silent scene.
Everyone stared at President Wei, scaring her so much that she hid behind her alpha.
The first mate glared at them. Did they want to keep their jobs?! The others snapped out of it and quickly averted their eyes.
The captain also smiled, inviting them in to rest and eat. A kindly, plump female beta led them to the cafeteria. The others were dismissed. Any serious business could wait until the big boss had eaten and rested.
The captain pulled the first mate aside for details. “Why didn’t you tell me she was pregnant? I didn’t even mention it to the current big boss.”
“Uh, I didn’t know how to say it. It’s President Wei’s personal matter. It’s best to let her handle it herself.”
“We’re just outsiders. Our biggest merit will be getting President Wei home safely and soundly.” The first mate explained it from another angle, not daring to say that President Wei had told her not to.
The captain figured he was right. They were just employees. It wasn’t their place to meddle.
He could already imagine that the moment they returned, Wei Shu’s survival would reignite the frenzy over the N968 crash, and it wouldn’t die down anytime soon.
And because the two of them had survived, the search effort might resume, just in case others had also survived on other islands.
Wei Zheng had just finished a meeting when her phone began ringing incessantly. It was the general manager of the Ocean Group, insisting he had something of the utmost importance to report, concerning their little sister.
“Put him through. Now.” The moment she heard it involved Shu Shu, Wei Zheng ordered her secretary to transfer the call immediately.
“What did you say? Is this for real?” Wei Zheng shouted into the phone in her office. Her secretary, hearing the commotion from outside, was startled.
Eyes wide, breathing heavily, Wei Zheng unbuttoned her shirt collar, clutching her chest as she made the Ocean Group’s general manager repeat what he had said over a dozen times.
“I’m coming to the Ocean Group headquarters right now. You wait for me.” Wei Zheng slammed down the phone and ordered her driver to take her to the Ocean Group immediately. Only their headquarters had the full satellite phone systems and coordinate data.
She had to know Shu Shu’s news right away, to speak to her. The burning urgency in her heart threatened to consume her.
Happy that they were finally rescue❤️