Rays of sunshine were pooling through the windows of the restaurant located on the top floor of the cruise, beaming down on the deck and railings that were just cleaned spotless. Xin Rong, wearing his neatly-ironed waiter uniform, passed by in a hurry.

He had been working on the cruise named ‘Lixin Cruise’ for two and a half years now. Due to his diligence in carrying out his duties, along with being well-liked by the passengers, he was promoted to be head waiter shortly after.

A few minutes earlier, a call reached the restaurant’s bar counter. The caller didn’t give all the details before summoning Xin Rong to the manager’s office. Without delay, Xin Rong relayed his cleaning duty to one of his colleagues and made his way there.

The restaurant and the office area was segregated by a few floors of passenger suites. As Xin Rong was taking the staff route to his destination, he kept recalling if he had made any mistakes during his job recently. The more he thought about it, the more vigorous the palpitations of his heart became as his anxiety arose.

The cruise was going to have more than 4000 passengers flooding through the doors in 4 hours and each department was preparing to welcome big groups of them on board. The office area was way quieter compared to the restaurant on the deck. Xin Rong stopped in front of the manager’s office, took a deep breath and knocked on the door twice.

The person who opened the door happened to be the manager himself.

Xin Rong was taken aback slightly, but Manager Zhu smiled at him in response and said: “Xin Rong, you came here pretty quickly.”

Xin Rong’s line of sight went over the manager’s shoulder who was slightly shorter than himself in stature, noticing the presence of other people in the office.

A man in a neat suit sat in the chair which supposedly should be occupied by Manager Zhu, and next to him stood a chubby middle-aged man.

Xin Rong works at the restaurant all year long and was used to encountering all types of customers. He’s pretty good at reading the mood if he would dare say so himself.

The man in the leather chair was sitting with his back against the sunlight. Xin Rong wasn’t bold enough to make eye contact with him so all he did was just steal a few quick glimpses. All he could gather from those stolen glances he took was that the man had a pair of deep, abyssal eyes and sharp brows. His expression was cold, a little arrogant even. There was no doubt that this person was superior to Manager Zhu.

Xin Rong couldn’t make heads or tails on the current situation he was in, so he asked in a hushed voice: “Manager Zhu, do you need me for something?”

Manager Zhu let him into the office and introduced the two in a soft, gentle voice which he usually wouldn’t speak in, “This is the corporation’s president, President Shao and that right there is his lawyer.”

Before waiting for Xin Rong to process what he had just said, he turned around to face the man behind the office desk. “Well then, President Shao, take your time… I’ll leave first?” He said carefully in a questioning tone, in fear that he might offend the man.

The man behind the office desk waved his hand and with that, Manager Zhu exited the office, leaving Xin Rong flabbergasted in place.

His surname is Shao? Xin Rong assumed, yet he daren’t confirm his empty assumption. Could this man be a higher-up in the corporation?

Operating a luxurious cruise was only one of the Shao Family’s businesses. Xin Rong never bothered to listen to the gossip shared amongst his colleagues, but he did know that the previous president announced his retirement half a year ago and left the company in the hands of his two sons.

Xin Rong, never in his wildest dreams, thought about the two inheritors at all. People of such high profiles aren’t for the head waiter of a restaurant to meet.

Perhaps this is a relative of the Shao Family? Xin Rong guessed once more.

The chubby middle-aged man walked towards Xin Rong and extended his hand for a handshake, “Nice to meet you, I’m President Shao’s lawyer. My surname is Chen.”

His small introduction threw Xin Rong off even more as he didn’t understand the purpose of having a lawyer present. He extended his own hand, each of his fingers surging with nervousness and uncertainty.

Lawyer Chen shook Xin Rong’s hand and pointed to one of the chairs placed in front of the office desk with his other hand. “Please, have a seat.”

Xin Rong didn’t dare sit. Trying his utmost best to force a collected tone out of his throat before asking, “Do you guys need me for anything?”

It’s a long story.” The lawyer stared at Xin Rong, his tone of voice stern and very much business-like but his gaze held a hint of subtle mysteriousness. “Why not take a seat first and have a look at the content of the contract?”

Shao Chengyun leaned back into his chair slightly with one hand gripping the edges of the table. Indiscreetly, he looked the boy who was exchanging a handshake with Lawyer Chen up and down.

Youthful, tall and a rather charming appearance. Unlike your average waiter who serves drinks and meals at a restaurant, he exudes the energy of a golden retriever. At that very moment, the sunlight from outside pierced through the office window and shone down on Xin Rong’s face. From Shao Chengyun’s perspective, it seemed like Xin Rong eyelashes were glimmering under the sunlight.

Xin Rong turned around, his eyes immediately locking with Shao Chengyun’s.

Lawyer Chen pulled the chair out for Xin Rong and said, “This is Shao Chengyun, President Shao.”

Shao Chengyun noticed that Xin Rong’s pupils dilated upon the mention of his own name.

Well, that scared him. Shao Chengyun mused. His expression remained unchanged as he kept his gaze locked on Xin Rong.

Xin Rong looked away and picked up the contract on the table as he listened to the lawyer explain the full story.

Gradually, as his eyes scanned the words printed on the white sheets of paper in black, Xin Rong couldn’t help but to feel a sense of vague oblivion. The lawyer continued his ramble and he wanted to stop him but couldn’t find space to squeeze a word in.

He recognized every word on the paper yet he couldn’t make sense of any of it once he pieced them together.

Xin Rong felt like he was having the most bizarre dream that he could ever have in this normal life of his: The man seated across from him whose net worth is over millions, is getting married to him.

Who’s the crazy one now?

To be Continued...

“So, We're Getting Married”

“It’s way too early in the morning for you guys to be pulling this crazy prank on me.”

Shao Chengyun was standing in the center of the living room. His eyes widened at the sudden uninvited appearance of his mother and older brother at his doorstep as he fought back the urge to issue a trespass order on the both of them.

The eldest son of the Shao Family — Shao Zhonglin, stood behind their mother and all he could do was look at his little brother and shake his head helplessly. He too was awakened by a phone call from their mother, Lin Ying and dragged here unwillingly. Their mother made sure he showed up by exaggerating the situation and said that it was a matter of life or death, leaving him no choice but to present himself.

Shao Zhonglin was older than Shao Chengyun by 5 years, and has always been calm when it came to dealing with things. However, in that moment, he shot Shao Chengyun a look from behind their mother, telling him to suppress the fury that was evident in his eyes and to not start a fight with their mother.

Lin Ying shoved a file of documents into the hands of her youngest son. “Chengyun, I spent a lot of time and effort on this but I finally found someone suitable!” She spoke with her voice laced with relief.

Shao Chengyun couldn’t manage to utter a single word as he lowered his gaze to the documents in his hands, while Lin Ying continued on with her babbling. “Jeez, I looked everywhere for the longest time but who knew the person I was looking for was just right under our noses! Turns out the person who would help turn your misfortunes into blessings was actually a part of our family’s corporation.”

Here we go again. Shao Chengyun couldn’t help but to massage his temples with his thumbs.

This was all because of some fortune teller saying that he would experience a terrifying incident at the age of 33 which could cost him his life when he was born. And Lin Ying strongly held onto that premonition, even more so for the past two years.

Shao Chengyun was performing exceptionally in one of their overseas branches, but was called back by his older brother with the reason of their father being ill. To his disappointment however, he came home only to see both his parents as healthy and active as ever. Heck, they even invited a bunch of friends and relatives over to celebrate Chengyun’s return.

Shao Chengyun, beyond furious, was this close to storming out of the house. Though, somehow his brother and his spouse managed to convince him to stay, saying how the banquet was thrown to mainly celebrate the retirement of their father — Shao Rui. So they decided to celebrate his return while they were at it.

Lin Ying was scared that Shao Chengyun wouldn’t be willing to come back, hence she asked Shao Zhonglin to act as the bad guy for once, and trick his little brother into returning.

Shao Chengyun’s heart softened upon hearing the ‘news’ and naturally grew worried for both his parents since they were both of rather old age already, so he decided to return to the country. But who would’ve thought that his return would also indicate the beginning of his abyss of suffering.

According to experts, the only way to avoid that misfortune was to find someone who was born on the first day of the third month between the time of 5pm to 7pm, and they have to be under the protection of ‘Guishui’ which acts as a ribbon that fastens their correspondence in life. They also need to be of the water-metal element to be a suitable marriage partner, and only then will Shao Chengyun be able to escape his demise. Apart from all that, some other strict requirements regarding the person’s birth date and whatnot were also mentioned. Well, the point is, the entire ‘fengshui’ thing was as exaggerated as when God decided to create a human being.

In order to find this ‘special person’, Lin Ying wasn’t about to cut herself nor Shao Chengyun any slack; she even forced him to go on numerous blind dates which set him off in a state of absolute fury to the point where he was this close to blocking his parents’ numbers.

Now that he has that specific person’s information clutched so tightly in his hands, he finally spoke up and cut his mother off mid-sentence.

“This is a guy.” Shao Chengyun said, his eyes half-closed as he squinted at the photo pasted in the portfolio. All the while doubting if this guy was even of age already or not.

“…If I marry him, then that means you don’t want any grandchildren anymore?” He added.

Lin Ying fixed her gaze on the picture as well, though her expression wasn’t half as close to being disappointed. “Your brother’s wife already has kids so I’m not going to force you to have any. Besides, hasn’t same-sex marriage been legalized now? You don’t have time to be worrying about this. Lately, whenever I close my eyes, I’m reminded of that horrible car accident.”

It wasn’t as if Lin Ying was just blindly believing what the fortune teller had proposed; that’s why she urgently wanted Shao Chengyun to get married.

She also had her doubts regarding the ‘terrifying incident’ that was going to befall her son. She was hoping to summon her son back to the country and have him stay by her side, give him extensive care and hope for the best.

However, ever since Shao Chengyun celebrated his 33rd birthday last month, he had been involved in a few unpleasant incidents consecutively. It was as if all those anomalies were attracted to him by force and he couldn’t avoid them even if he wanted to. Not to mention, the risk of those incidents were still increasing in level.

Lin Ying wasn’t going to let those misfortunes run rampant in his son’s life anymore, hence, she used all her connections to find someone who fulfilled the conditions stated by the fortune teller.

Eventually, she really did manage to find a suitable partner after all that hassle and the person turned out to be an employee of the Shao corporation. Lin Ying felt as if she was under God’s favor then, despite all the unlucky things happening to his son. Shao Chengyun’s misfortune for the rest of the year was all up to this marriage to put a stop to.

She only managed to obtain Xin Rong’s personal information late at night, that’s why she called up Shao Zhonglin at the crack of dawn the next day to come along and convince his little brother.

Lin Ying was worried that she wouldn’t be able to convince Shao Chengyun alone so she was hoping that he’d at least listen to his sibling’s advice. The sooner he gets married, perhaps the misfortunes really would turn into blessings for him.

An hour later, the Shao family’s personal driver drove Lawyer Chen to the luxurious apartment that Shao Chengyun was living in.

Shao Zhonglin walked towards his brother and gave him a pat on the shoulder before saying, “There aren’t any urgent affairs in the company anyway. Just treat this as a vacation for yourself and go have a look, it won’t kill you.”

At that point, Shao Chengyun had already accepted his twisted fate (literally) since he knew that no matter what he said, he wouldn’t be able to win against his mother and brother duo. He put on his blazer and walked past his mother who was sitting on the couch in the living room. “Lawyer Chen will know how to handle everything, so just leave the contract conditions to him. Go meet the kid and bring him home, you’ll have to get along with him for at least a year…” Lin Ying said.

Shao Chengyun snapped out of his little flashback and as if on cue, Xin Rong had finished reading the documents and lifted his head to face Shao Chengyun.

“…President Shao, did you guys really get the right person?”

Xin Rong’s eyebrows were scrunched and his forehead wrinkled as he spoke. It seemed like he could no longer bear hearing another word, not even the relentless convincing from Lawyer Chen.

Lawyer Chen bent down a little to reach the document and flipped two pages of the document over before pointing to the blank space designated for a signature at the edge of the page. “Sign here and that’ll mean you agree to all the conditions stated above.” He said to Xin Rong.

Xin Rong didn’t take the pen that was offered to him by the lawyer. Instead, he looked at Shao Chengyun as if trying to tell him that he wasn’t at the age where he would indulge in any absurd ideas, much less an arranged marriage. “This won’t do, President Shao.”

“This is something I can’t help you with.” He added, and closed the file containing the contract before pushing it back to its original spot on the desk.

The lawyer must’ve not expected Xin Rong to turn down this offer as the office drowned in silence for a few seconds.

Lawyer Chen was about to start his convincing again but Shao Chengyun beat him to it.

“State your price.” These three words were thrown out of his mouth.

Xin Rong’s eyes widened, not expecting Shao Chengyun to be so straightforward.

Shao Chengyun was emotionless. To him, looking at Xin Rong was just like checking on any other product he could get his hands on.

“Manager Zhu mentioned that you were in debt. I’ll clear that debt of yours and even give you extra allowance every month. You can state your conditions, I’ll have Lawyer Chen write them all down in the contract.”

Shao Chengyun valued his own time as much as he did with money and he wasn’t planning to waste time on Xin Rong here.

Everyone has their own prices to offer; it was only a matter of whether it’s a high or low price. For him, the quickest solution was to just ask the other party for a price so that he could just bring him home and be done with everything.

Xin Rong pursed his lips, but his sitting position remained professional. Lawyer Chen on the other hand chirped in by saying: “Any concerns regarding the properties have already been addressed in the contract. I haven’t mentioned the add-on conditions at the back yet.”

All of that was just a bunch of sweet talk for Xin Rong to give in.

Xin Rong remained indifferent even after the lawyer finished his sentence. “President Shao, I think I understand what you guys are after now. The thing with birth dates and their representation are way too unreliable. I suppose you don’t actually believe in them either.” Xin Rong said in a respectful yet calm voice.

“I’m sorry, it isn’t about money. I really can’t help you with something like this, so please understand.”

Xin Rong stood up from the chair after he finished talking and Shao Chengyun’s eyes moved upwards in sync to Xin Rong’s actions.

He seems like such an outstanding and gullible kid but he’s got an attitude as well. Shao Chengyun thought, the corner of his lips curving upwards into a subtle smirk.

Shao Chengyun boarded the cruise with unresolved anger for his mother but ever since his meeting with Xin Rong that unfolded 10 minutes ago, the frustration he had seemed to have been diminished almost completely. Although he wasn’t sure if Xin Rong was being genuine about his rejection, playing hard to get, or if he had other reasons, seeing Lawyer Chen defeated in one corner was rather amusing for him.

He stopped Lawyer Chen from pressuring Xin Rong any further.

Xin Rong took the rare opportunity of Lawyer Chen’s temporary silence to push the chair he sat in back to its initial place. He took a step back and said, “President Shao, if you would excuse me. The restaurant needs me and passengers are coming onboard soon. I’ll take my leave here.”

Shao Chengyun returned to his emotionless (default) expression after confiscating his own smile from earlier.

Xin Rong rarely got the chance to speak with someone of such a high profile. Being a complete nervous-wreck was one thing but the intimidating aura exuding from Shao Chengyun was another, and the authoritative air surrounding him scared Xin Rong.

Xin Rong took Shao Chengyun’s silence as tacit approval. He turned around and speed-walked out of the manager’s office.

Lawyer Chen’s professionalism finally crumbled as he spoke in a troubled tone, “President Shao, how should I report back to the Madam now? She’s still waiting for my response.”

Shao Chengyun picked up the contract and gave it a hard flick on the pages. “Get the driver to send you home and call Manager Zhu in. Have him arrange a suite for me.” He said, a subtle smile playing on his lips.

Though his brother did ask him to treat it as a vacation, Shao Chengyun never planned to entertain the idea of a five days four nights trip on this cruise.

He has a change of plans now.

He didn’t manage to snag his designated partner home and he would just have to torture himself with his mother’s insufferable lecturing. More importantly, he felt humiliated. The fact that he couldn’t even convince a mere waiter who’s in his prime? That’s peak embarrassment for someone as egoistical as Shao Chengyun.

When Manager Zhu reentered the office, he acted even more cautiously than he did earlier. “President Shao, I’ve prepared the best suite for you. Is there anything else I can do for you?” Sweat was practically trickling down his forehead as he forced a smile out of his trembling body. He then handed an envelope containing the access card to the suite to Shao Chengyun.

Shao Chengyun took the envelope. “Go tell Xin Rong that he doesn’t have to return to his room tonight.”

Manager Zhu was startled, unsure of how to interpret what the president had just said because regardless, it sounded inappropriate.

“Have him come to mine instead.” He finished, his expression unchanging.

To be Continued...

“So, We're Getting Married”

Xin Rong left the manager’s office and made his way back to the restaurant from the office area. Tabletop candles, fresh flowers and the restaurant’s menus were all already arranged neatly on the hundreds of tables; everything was already set in stone.

Everyone had their own business to mind in the restaurant to keep themselves busy. Xin Rong stood next to the bar counter to catch his breath from the sudden chaos that had dawned upon him earlier with his face slightly pale. The conversations from a couple minutes ago in the manager’s office flashed through his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that he had offended a superior. He was afraid that his actions may cost him his job on the cruise.

Meng Donglin was crouched down behind the counter arranging the bottles of liquor on the shelves and a spaced out Xin Rong standing beside him was the first thing he noticed, so he spoke, “You’re back? What did Manager Zhu need you for?”

The call that reached the restaurant’s phone earlier was coincidentally answered by Meng Donglin. Summoning Xin Rong to his office was definitely something out of the ordinary, but Xin Rong had been more than capable at his job, and Meng Donglin was well aware of that.

They both grew up in an orphanage together and Meng Donglin was a couple years older than Xin Rong, so he has been always looking out for the latter. During Xin Rong’s freshman year in college, he encountered problems that troubled him, so he stopped pursuing his studies. Xin Rong’s current job on the cruise was one that Meng Donglin introduced him to. It was hard for him to think of anything that Xin Rong might have done to deserve being picked on by a higher-up like Manager Zhu.

A waitress passed by Xin Rong, waving while giving him a small nod. Xin Rong’s visuals were out of this world, and there were many other female employees working in the restaurant that also harbored feelings for him. The girl from earlier was just one of them.

Xin Rong nodded back and finally snapped back to reality. “Nothing.” He replied to Meng Donglin nonchalantly.

“Nothing?” There was no way Meng Donglin was believing that. He leaned over the countertop to close the distance between him and Xin Rong. “What’s the point of him purposely calling you over to his office then?”

Xin Rong didn’t tell him the truth, and instead gave him a perfunctory response. “He just gave me a few words of advice. Please continue with what you were doing, Brother Dong.”

Meng Donglin still had things he wanted to say, but Xin Rong was already in work mode, arranging the folded tissues that were stacked into something intended to resemble a lobster at a table opposite from the countertop.

Meng Donglin’s eyes traced the back of Xin Rong’s figure for a while more. His assumption that Xin Rong was met with trouble grew heavier and heavier by the second, but he decided to stop pressing further since he planned to poke around when he sees Manager Zhu later.

Without bringing a single luggage along with him, Shao Chengyun decided that he would live on the cruise.

After hearing the instruction to inform Xin Rong to go to Shao Chengyun’s own suite, Manager Zhu’s face was overwritten with pure shock and was even left speechless for a few seconds before he finally spoke. “President Shao, you’re joking right? How did he manage to capture your interest as well…”

Shao Chengyun sensed that there was more to what Manager Zhu had said, so he raised his eyebrow and asked without answering the manager’s question, “Why? Are other people interested in him too?”

Manager Zhu had dug a hole for himself at this point and there was no way to take his words back. “Just look at that face of his. It’s hard for passengers to resist him.” He stuttered. “The cruise vacation usually only lasts a couple days and even the longest duration is just more or less a week. Xin Rong is very capable, and sets his priorities straight. He has never gotten into trouble before.” He added quickly after noticing Shao Chengyun’s unnerving reaction to his previous statement.

“What you said earlier… If he makes any mistakes, I will repent for them on his behalf.”

The majority of employees working at the restaurant were youngsters, and although Zhu Yuan was their boss on paper, he had always been secretly looking out for these ‘kiddish’ adults in their 20s. He thought Shao Chengyun had malicious intentions towards Xin Rong, so he was trying to think of ways to get him out of the unknown predicament.

In addition, Shao Chengyun’s silence further provoked Manager Zhu’s thought process.

Of course he didn’t have to know about the contractual marriage that was proposed between Shao Chengyun and Xin Rong. What he said earlier was actually an indication for Xin Rong to quit his job because no matter what, he must bring Xin Rong away with him. If Zhu Yuan were to start some rumors about how Xin Rong couldn’t bear working on the cruise anymore, it would save Shao Chengyun a whole lot of trouble.

Shao Chengyun chuckled but in contrast to that, his eyes remained unwavering which wasn’t a denial nor confirmation to any of Manager Zhu’s suspicions. “Alright then, have him come to suite 902 and say it to my face.”

So after everything, he still wants Xin Rong to visit his suite.

He felt embarrassed when seeing Shao Chengyun out of his office because after all that passive-aggressiveness, he still couldn’t get Xin Rong out of trouble.

“Get me a table at the restaurant on the highest floor, I’ll dine there tonight.” Shao Chengyun said before he left the office. Furthermore, that restaurant in particular just so happened to be the area Xin Rong was in-charge of.

Manager Zhu, although feeling helpless, still put on a professional facade as he replied, “The restaurant will be open at 6 o’clock in the evening. Will a table next to the window be alright with you, sir?”

Shao Chengyun didn’t make it any harder for him. “Just give me a table that is vacant and doesn’t have a passenger reservation.”

Manager Zhu held the door for him and sent him off courteously until his figure was no longer in sight. Just thinking about passing on Shao Chengyun’s message to Xin Rong gave him a headache because how exactly was he supposed to say it? In the end, he decided to delay the task until after dinner.

Shao Chengyun showed up at the restaurant’s entrance at half past 6 o’ clock.

The receptionist at the front desk was not aware of his visit so after checking his suite number, he was brought to a table located near the indoor spiraling staircases.

A figure promptly approached his table right after he sat down before pouring him a glass of water.

“President Shao,” Xin Rong addressed in a hushed voice, lowering his gaze so that his eyes wouldn’t meet Shao Chengyun’s while handing him the menu. “Please take a look and let us know what you’d like to have. The kitchen recommends salmon and deep-fried duck.”

As he finished his sentence, he took out the beverage menu from his uniform’s pocket and placed it on the table next to Shao Chengyun’s hand.

Shao Chengyun scanned through the menu once and placed orders for his appetizer and main course without much hesitation. He was never a fan of dessert so he skipped ordering anything from that course. Xin Rong proceeded to ask him what he wanted for a drink and Shao Chengyun requested for a cocktail with a higher alcohol percentage.

Xin Rong served Shao Chengyun meticulously. Although he was keeping a safe distance between the both of them, he still tried to provide his best service to him. He quickly typed Shao Chengyun’s order into the tablet he was holding and bowed. “Please wait, I’ll be back with your before-meal bread shortly.”

Minutes after he left the table, he came back with a plate of steaming hot wholewheat bun rolls along with a small plate of olive oil to go with it before placing them on Shao Chengyun’s table.

Shao Chengyun thanked him in a calm manner as if he was like every other average customer, as if the conversation in the manager’s office from a couple hours ago didn’t even happen.

Xin Rong was expecting Shao Chengyun to give him a hard time before he came to serve him, but he decided to let his guard down slightly seeing as Shao Chengyun was acting rationally. If it were a normal customer, Xin Rong would’ve asked if they still needed anything else. But in front of Shao Chengyun, he couldn’t help but feel a bit iffy, so he left after delivering the bread.

Even though there wasn’t any seaside scenery to be admired, the good thing about his spot was that it was in a quiet and discreet corner which left him undisturbed from the rowdiness of other customers.

Recently, he had been busy burying himself with the company’s affairs without catching a break, so today’s sudden leave came as a huge relief to him and the weight on his shoulders were finally lifted. The tables around him were mostly occupied by couples, married and unmarried alike, while some were settled by families that consisted of up to three or four members. The overall atmosphere in the restaurant was lively, and brimming with indistinct chatters. With one look, you could tell that Shao Chengyun was the odd one out as he was the only one sitting alone.

Half a year after Shao Chengyun’s return back to the country, he’d been doing nothing but suck up to client after client. Being able to sit down and enjoy a nice meal like this was something he hadn’t gotten the pleasure of doing upon his return.

He tore off a small piece of bread, dipped it in the olive oil provided, and began chewing on it. All while his line of sight trailed Xin Rong’s every move as the latter carried out his waiter duties.

Xin Rong kicked off with full focus on his work, but eventually, he felt the gaze of a certain someone named Shao Chengyun which made him uncomfortable.

As compared to the other customers he’s served before, Shao Chengyun was on a whole other level, literally. It was as if he was born with a natural intimidating aura which exuded authority that forced the people around him into obligation. Though it didn’t seem to be intentional, it was hard for people to just disregard it.

Xin Rong felt like he was being preyed on by an experienced hunter and Shao Chengyun’s mere existence made him feel uneasy. He would avoid going near the perimeter of Shao Chengyun’s table at all cost if he wasn’t required to serve any dishes. But somehow, he found himself glancing in that direction more often than he preferred.

Shao Chengyun dined for about an hour and throughout his entire dinner duration, he only called Xin Rong over once. After finishing his cocktail, he craved a long drink in which he asked Xin Rong for recommendations after browsing through the beverage menu.

The bar was considered one of the hotspots and specialty of the restaurant. With Meng Donglin working as a specially employed bartender on the cruise, he is exceptionally well-known in the world of flair bartenders. He had been crowned the champion of flair bartending for two consecutive years; his creativity and techniques were proven to be superior to the other bartenders. Dong Menglin was an all-rounder in bartending. A couple of cocktails on the menu were ones that he specially mixed for the passengers of Lixing Cruise.

After hearing Shao Chengyun’s request, Xin Rong pointed to two of those specialty cocktails and explained, “You can try ‘Sunset by the Beach’ or ‘Dreamy Pina Colada’, both of them are long drinks with a slight sweetness. The alcohol percentage of those two cocktails aren’t too high and they go well with seafood.”

As Xin Rong was talking, Shao Chengyun propped one of his arms up on the back of his chair while locking his gaze on Xin Rong.

Xin Rong continued to avoid eye contact with Shao Chengyun as he lowered his gaze to look at the menu. His avoidance wasn’t out of fear, nor for the sake of evasion; rather, it was his way of a tacit rejection towards Shao Chengyun.

Shao Chengyun went along with Xin Rong’s recommendation and said, “I’ll get a ‘Sunset by the Beach’ then.”

Xin Rong nodded his head. His eyelashes shielding half of his eyes and his voice was clear as he replied, “Alright, please wait.”

After Xin Rong left the table, Shao Chengyun’s eyes lingered on the back of his figure for a long time without looking away.

The employee uniform either looked too loose on the shoulders, or too long at the sleeves when worn by other workers but it was more than fitting on Xin Rong. Broad shoulders, slender waist, curvy figure and long legs — it was as if he was born as a clothes rack to fit perfectly into any outfit that adorned that body of his, and being a waiter at a restaurant wasn’t doing him justice.

Shao Chengyun left the restaurant at 8 o’clock and by then, the atmosphere in the restaurant had gotten even rowdier. A few customers who have had too much to drink lost their composure after being intoxicated with alcohol. Shao Chengyun watched as customers tipped Xin Rong while some even reached out to touch him, but Xin Rong was quick to react and avoided it.

Thankfully, nothing worse than that happened since they were in a proper setting with people around, and authorities would jump into action at any given time to prevent further inappropriate behavior. Judging from Xin Rong’s unwavering reaction, it seemed like it wasn’t the first time he’s encountered this type of harassment.

Shao Chengyun watched the commotion from the sidelines with a chilly gaze in his eyes, his face emotionless.

He took the opportunity to leave the restaurant when Xin Rong went to serve another table. Accommodation and meals were all inclusive on the cruise but fees for additional consumption such as drinks were transferred directly from passengers’ credit cards, and customers did not need to pay after their meals.

Shao Chengyun walked to the door of the restaurant and bumped into Manager Zhu who was relaying things to two employees. As soon as Manager Zhu saw Shao Chengyun passing by, his expression became nervous. Just by judging from his reaction, Shao Chengyun knew that the matter which he had instructed him to do earlier had not been completed.

Manager Zhu left the two employees and went to greet Shao Chengyun quickly while Shao Chengyun stood still in place. Manager Zhu walked up to him, lowered his voice, and asked with a smile, “Mr. Shao, did you enjoy your meal?””

Shao Chengyun didn’t want other employees to know about his boarding and Manager Zhu didn’t dare to run his mouth about it either.

“Not bad.” Shao Chengyun said.

“Xin Rong didn’t make any mistakes, did he?” Manager Zhu asked again in an attempt to figure out Shao Chengyun’s mood at the moment.

This time, Shao Chengyun didn’t even give a verbal response as he just nodded his head slightly.

Manager Zhu’s heart sank. Knowing that there was no room for compromise, he could only send Shao Chengyun away respectfully.

Actually, it didn’t matter if Xin Rong came to his suite or not. Shao Chengyun was not planning to rush things.

Lin Ying had already dug out everything regarding Xin Rong’s background down to the last detail. Shao Chengyun had read the information about him and he knew how powerless Xin Rong was. If Shao Chengyun really wanted to do something to him, he would have nowhere to escape.

Shao Chengyun returned to his room to finish up some work, and then went to the gym on the cruise for an hour. When he walked back to his suite slowly with no sense of urgency and his duffel bag slung over his shoulder, he saw a figure sitting curled up by the door of Room 902 from a distance, as if looking at his phone.

Xin Rong still showed up in the end. The corners of Shao Chengyun’s mouth hooked upwards unconsciously at the sight of him.

Before he could go closer, the boy sitting on the ground turned his head and noticed his arrival. He put his phone away immediately and stood up.

The restaurant on the top floor closed at 10 o’clock. Before Xin Rong came, he changed out of his oil-stained uniform into a loose T-shirt and sweatpants.

The clothes he was wearing seemed a bit shabby, as if they had been washed many times with their bright colors faded. However, the uptight aura brought about by his uniform had disappeared from him and been replaced with a more kiddish and innocent image.

Shao Chengyun walked towards him slowly. There was no one else in the corridor and this time, Xin Rong did not avoid Shao Chengyun’s gaze anymore.

But Xin Rong didn’t call out to Shao Chengyun until the latter walked up to him.

—— Of course he’d still have a temper. Although Xin Rong was forced to make this visit, Shao Chengyun would’ve expected him to be more submissive at the very least.

Shao Chengyun looked into the boy’s eyes, his gaze piercing all the way through his pupil before saying, “Come in.”

To Be Continued...

“So, We're Getting Married”