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Lin Cuicui...

Auntie, your acting is really a bit over the top. She's traveled all over the country and has never met such a kind-hearted person.

"Auntie, I'm really fine. It's not cold today, it'll dry in no time. Besides, I don't like wearing other people's clothes. That's fine."

The old woman's expression shifted several times; she seemed to want to say something but didn't know how to begin. She appeared somewhat impatient and glanced back at Wei Xin almost unintentionally. Wei Xin shook her head almost imperceptibly, and only then did the old woman leave dejectedly.

"We've got a deal, little girl. If you don't blame me, you're not allowed to cause me any trouble later."

Lin Cuicui gave a cold laugh, "Auntie, if your legs aren't good, you shouldn't sell things on the boat anymore. I was being nice to you today, but if you had met someone who didn't want to reason with you, you wouldn't have earned enough in a month to pay them back."

The old woman seemed to have never been treated with such humiliation before; her fists were already clenched at her sides. A glint flashed in Lin Cuicui's eyes—was this person really a woman?

Also, it's good that she can't resist. It's too quiet on the ship now. If they don't move, how can she move? She hasn't completely distinguished between good and bad people yet.

Seeing that the 'auntie' seemed to be getting a little impatient, Wei Xin quickly stepped in to smooth things over. She subtly blocked the auntie's path. "Cui Cui, are you really alright? When you're out and about, minor accidents are inevitable. Don't take it to heart."

Lin Cuicui looked at Wei Xin and pretended to be angry, "Sister-in-law, you saw it too. Did I want to be angry with her? I didn't want to go with her to change clothes. Look at what she said. I think her apology was just an act."

Wei Xin quickly tried to appease Lin Cuicui, and then turned to look at the old woman, "Auntie, my sister won't hold it against you, you should hurry up and leave. The boat might rock even more when we get to deeper water."

The old woman's eyes lit up, but she rolled her eyes at Lin Cuicui, then turned and walked away. Lin Cuicui saw the glare and pointed at the old woman's retreating figure, "Hey, sister-in-law, did you see that? She just stood there staring at me. She..."

Wei Xin quickly restrained her, "Alright, girl, we came out to stroll around, don't let irrelevant people ruin our mood."

Lin Cuicui then calmed down.

Just as things calmed down on Lin Cuicui's side, the atmosphere on the entire ship completely changed. It seemed that the agents from different sides had all discovered each other's presence.

They were getting anxious; the hostages were only truly useful if they held them in their own hands. So, their respective prepared boats somehow caught up with the larger ship.

Unbeknownst to them, their boat had reached the deepest part of this stretch of sea. Wei Xin saw the old woman's faint hand gesture in the distance; her side was still relatively empty.

Just then, the man wearing a straw hat, whom they had seen when boarding the ship, was carrying baskets of seafood toward them. Wei Xin pretended to be unable to stand the smell of the sea and pulled Lin Cuicui aside.

"Hey girl, let's move to another seat. This smell is too strong, I can't stand it."

As they were talking, he pulled Lin Cuicui to leave, but before they had taken two steps, Lin Cuicui was stopped by the man in the straw hat. The man was not tall, below the average height of Chinese men, and he raised his head slightly.

"Hey girl, buy some seafood. It was just caught this morning, super fresh. Delicious and inexpensive."

Lin Cuicui stopped in her tracks. At this moment, she was certain that this person was also a spy, and it seemed that he was not in cahoots with Wei Xin.

Wei Xin quickly nudged the man in the straw hat, "We're going out on errands, we're not buying anything. It'll only cause trouble."

As he spoke, he pulled Lin Cuicui away, but the man in the straw hat did not give Wei Xin a chance. He directly blocked Lin Cuicui with his basket. Where Lin Cuicui could not see, the man in the straw hat had already exchanged a few blows with Wei Xin.

The man in the straw hat spoke slowly and deliberately, "Miss, this basket is only two yuan. You could never find this price on the shore. I'm in a hurry and need to get ashore to go home. Kind lady, please help me out."

Lin Cuicui seemed a little hesitant, and Wei Xin was getting anxious. On the sea, three speedboats came cutting through the waves from behind the large ship. The items on the boats were arranged in a very particular way, and Wei Xin immediately recognized one of them as belonging to their side.

The man in the straw hat had clearly noticed the situation at sea. Now that the ship was here, he couldn't afford to give up.

"Brother, I really went out on business. If I were on the boat coming back, I would definitely have bought the fish. But it's really inconvenient for me to go out with a basket of fish now."

Wei Xin nodded repeatedly behind the man in the straw hat, "Yes, what's wrong with you? How can you force someone to buy something? Do you think my sister is easy to bully? Also, this is speculation and profiteering. If you don't leave, I'll report you."

"Little sister, don't be afraid of her, hurry up and go with your sister-in-law."

Just then, a man dressed in an official's uniform seemed to have heard the argument and walked over. "Gentlemen, why are you arguing when you're just having a nice boat ride? Let's talk things out."

As he spoke, he had already subtly positioned himself behind and to the side of Lin Cuicui. This position...

The man in the straw hat and Wei Xin were both startled. Wei Xin frantically gestured behind her back. The people on the boat seemed eager to see what was going on, and they all started moving.

Lin Cuicui felt something cold pressing against her waist. She had used this before and knew what it was. She didn't move, but her body felt slightly stiff.

The man in the cadre uniform seemed quite satisfied with Lin Cuicui's reaction. He smiled and looked at the man in the straw hat, "Brother, this comrade obviously can't buy your fish. You should go ask someone else. When the boat docks later, you might not be able to sell them."

When the man in the straw hat saw that Lin Cuicui had been held at gunpoint by the cadre, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and he stopped pretending.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!