Night Fire Lingering

Embarrassment then appeared on the faces of the girls.

The socialite added, "Eastern women just love to eavesdrop!"

Wen Yan spread her hands innocently and looked around at the empty space: "There's not even a place to hide on this deck, how am I supposed to eavesdrop? Miss, you singled me out as an Asian woman, are you being racist?"

In the Western world, racial discrimination is a label that can be used against a person by many. The socialite turned pale and dared not speak again.

Everyone then realized that Wen Yan, despite her gentle appearance, was not someone to be trifled with.

Nan Zhiyi smiled and tried to smooth things over for her friend, saying that Eastern and Western cultures are different and there was no malice intended.

Whether or not there was a malicious invitation had nothing to do with cultural differences, but Wen Yan was too lazy to argue with Nan Zhiyi.

She asked, "Miss Nan, if I may ask, how old are you this year?"

"Twenty-two years old." Nan Zhiyi asked, puzzled, "Why does Miss Wen ask that?"

Wen Yan smiled and said, "It's nothing."

Nan Zhiyi is the same age as her.

She had initially suspected that Nan Zhiyi might be related to her mother, the worst-case scenario being that Nan Zhiyi was also her mother's daughter. However, Nan Zhiyi was the same age as her, and it was impossible for her mother to have two children at the same time.

Nan Zhiyi suddenly seemed to remember something, checked the time on her phone, and said to her companions, "My mom is waiting for me in the room. I have to go there first, and I'll come find you guys to play later!"

Nan Zhiyi then turned to Wen Yan: "Miss Wen, it's a pleasure to meet you! Goodbye!"

Wen Yan frowned.

Mommy?

Room?

She instantly recalled the tightly closed door and the woman who had blocked her from entering.

Wen Yan shook her head, telling herself not to overthink it; there was no such thing as a coincidence.

The cruise ship set sail and returned the next day, with all the guests staying on the ship that night.

The party wasn't over yet, so Wen Yan went back to her suite to rest first.

The nightmare struck again.

In her dream, Nan Zhiyi's face and the closed door kept appearing in her mind. The middle-aged woman in the emerald green dress gradually transformed into her mother's beautiful figure when she was young. A young girl rushed into her mother's arms, and no matter how Wen Yan called out or cried, her mother walked further and further away, and she could not catch up no matter how hard she tried.

Wen Yan felt as if she had fallen into an abyss; the more she struggled, the deeper she sank.

In a daze, I suddenly felt a pair of hands touching me—

Wen Yan woke up with a start, and a scream was about to burst out of her throat when the man covered her mouth first.

Shh! The window isn't closed, the neighbors can hear us.

The man's palm covered her lips. Through the moonlight outside the window, in the dim light, Wen Yan saw Gu Yanci's body half-pressed on her, his lips landing on the back of his own hand.

The two seemed to kiss through their palms, a gesture that conveyed both intense longing and extreme restraint.

Extremely innocent.

Extreme desire.

A tear rolled down Wen Yan's cheek.

Before Wen Yan could react, Gu Yanci lowered his head, turned his head, and gently kissed away the tears from the corner of her eyes.

"Having a nightmare?"

Gu Yanci spoke, his body reeking of alcohol.

It tasted like both whiskey and wine, so it was probably a mixed drink.

Wen Yan pushed him, but couldn't budge him. As soon as her mouth was released, she accused him, "You were pressing down on me!"

"I know."

The tone was as if to say, 'I'm deliberately pressing down on you.'

"If you know that, then get out of the way!"

When Wen Yan woke up, the sadness in her eyes when she first opened them was completely gone, replaced by indifference.

Gu Yanci gently stroked her eyelids and asked again, "What did you dream about? Hmm?"

"I forgot." Wen Yan struggled to push him away.

Gu Yanci remained motionless, the slight tenderness in his expression vanished, his eyes turned dark, and his tone became somber.

"Wen Zhizhi, you've always been like this since you were little."

"what?"

"You tell Gu Jingzhou everything, but not me." Gu Yanci pinched Wen Yan's chin with one hand. "You don't like me that much?"

Before Wen Yan could speak, he suddenly kissed her lips and said tenderly, "So what if you don't like it? Hmm?"

So what if I don't like it?

You still became my wife!

The man seemed addicted to kissing, pecking at her lips again and again. This action had a more deliberate possessiveness than a deep kiss.

Wen Yan turned her face away, trying to avoid his kiss.

This action only angered Gu Yanci, who pinched his cheek and gave him a deep, solid kiss.

"Gu Yanci!" Wen Yan shouted sharply when she had a chance to speak. "You're drunk!"

If it weren't for the fact that she didn't want to lose face abroad, Wen Yan would have pressed the call button right now to have the waiter come in and take Gu Yanci to the bathroom to be splashed with cold water to calm him down!

In the dim light, the man chuckled softly, and Wen Yan could clearly feel the vibrations in his chest through their tightly pressed bodies.

"Wen Yan, if I were really drunk," the man paused, his lips close to Wen Yan's delicate and sensitive neck, "I would have stripped you naked and done it to you—"

"Snapped!"

Wen Yan slapped him across the face.

The slap wasn't hard, but the sound of the slap was particularly jarring in the silence.

"Are you awake?"

In the darkness, the woman's gaze was exceptionally cold.

She was really angry.

The man froze for two seconds, then turned over and sat on the edge of the bed with his back to Wen Yan, calming his breathing, as if he were sulking.

Wen Yan immediately got out of bed, put on a coat, and stood a meter away from Gu Yanci, her face showing anger and lingering panic.

The two of them had never slept in the same bed during this period. Even yesterday at the hotel, Gu Yanci consciously slept in separate rooms from her.

There were many empty rooms on the cruise ship, and Wen Yan assumed it would be the same tonight.

Unexpectedly, Gu Yanci went straight to bed!

"Gu Yanci, what do you take me for? A tool for sexual gratification? You wouldn't cooperate when I brought up divorce, and now you even try to force me into intimacy?"

Her body language just now clearly indicated a rejection!

"I'm sorry," the man said suddenly.

Wen Yan looked at him in surprise, wondering if there was something wrong with her ears and she had misheard.

Gu Yanci turned his head to look back. His handsome profile was especially striking in the moonlight, and his eyes and brows carried a hint of melancholy.

"Just now... I didn't mean to," Gu Yanci said. "I just couldn't control myself."

Not in control.

This explanation is worse than no explanation at all!

Wen Yan laughed in exasperation: "Are you telling me that drunkenness leads to promiscuity? Men can't get an erection when they're drunk—that's all just an excuse!"

Gu Yanci didn't correct her. Even if he and she really had a relationship, it had nothing to do with 'promiscuity'.

He sighed, a hint of self-mockery hidden in his helplessness, and said, "Zhizhi, it's because I'm unhappy."

"You're unhappy? What's there to be unhappy about? Just because you're unhappy doesn't mean you can take it out on me. What did I do to you?"

"Yes."

Gu Yanci closed his eyes briefly, gave a mocking laugh, and the short laugh disappeared into the sound of the waves, as if it were a hallucination.

"Wen Yan, the person who's been with you through thick and thin isn't just Gu Jingzhou, but also me. I'm your husband, when will you put me before him?"