Chapter Fifteen: Nesting

As the yacht sailed into the deep sea, Cheng Yin's stomach began to churn.

Her stomach churned, her throat tightened, and cold sweat trickled down her spine. She gripped the railing, staring at the distant horizon where the sea met the sky, trying to suppress the urge to vomit with deep breaths.

"Bear with it." Lin Shirong appeared beside her unnoticed, holding a fishing rod and bucket. "Wait until we get to the fishing area before you throw up."

Cheng Yin turned to look at him, her pale face filled with confusion.

"Your vomit," Lin Shirong pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his tone as calm as if discussing the weather, "can be used for baiting."

Cheng Yin nodded, continuing to stare at the horizon. As the yacht slowed down, Cheng Yin finally couldn't hold back any longer. She leaned against the railing, and the contents of her stomach rushed into the azure sea.

Lin Shirong immediately handed her a bottle of mineral water so she could rinse her mouth.

"Thank you," Cheng Yin said weakly, with water still clinging to the corners of her mouth.

Lin Shirong deftly assembled the fishing rod: "You're welcome." He glanced at her, "First time at sea?"

Cheng Yin nodded and wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

Li Yaodong emerged from the cabin, wearing a silver-gray polo shirt and black casual pants, his hair still dripping wet as if he had just taken a shower. Sunlight shone on his sharply defined face, outlining a sharp golden edge.

"Good morning." Li Yaodong walked up to them, his gaze lingering on Cheng Yin's pale face for a few seconds. "Seasickness?"

Cheng Yin nodded and then shook her head, unsure whether it was seasickness or something she ate wrong the night before.

Li Yaodong suddenly reached out and grabbed her waist, his grip so strong that she had to lean against him. Lin Shirong tactfully stepped back half a step and began baiting the fishing hook.

Li Yaodong and Lin Shirong began to talk. Cheng Yin tried to avoid the conversation, but the hand on her waist didn't loosen its grip at all. He suddenly looked at Cheng Yin: "What were we talking about just now?"

Cheng Yin paused for a moment, then repeated, "The goods will arrive at customs on Wednesday. The list of people we need to bribe is in the safe. They're asking if we'll pay in cash or by bank transfer."

Lin Shirong raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly. He was surprised by Cheng Yin's rapid improvement in dialect and shocked that Li Yaodong would let her listen to these things.

Li Yaodong seemed quite satisfied, tapping Cheng Yin's waist lightly with his fingers, as if rewarding an obedient pet.

"Continue," he said to Lin Shirong, still in Cantonese.

The two chatted about business for a few more minutes, with Cheng Yin listening quietly, occasionally being asked to translate a sentence or two. The sea breeze gradually dispelled her discomfort, but Li Yaodong's hand never let go.

A cheer suddenly erupted from the other end of the deck.

The bikini-clad girls swarmed around him, and He Jingwen distributed the seafood to them like candy, earning them giggles and flying kisses in return.

Cheng Yin glanced in that direction, and Li Yaodong immediately asked, "Interested?"

She shook her head: "Just looking."

Li Yaodong released her waist: "Let's go back to the room."

Lin Shirong joked, "Is Brother Dong trying to win a smile from the beauty?"

Li Yaodong remained noncommittal and walked straight to the cabin. Cheng Yin followed, her steps still somewhat unsteady.

Li Yaodong's room was much larger than Cheng Yin's, with a king-size round bed, the sheets crumpled up, and a half-finished glass of champagne and a used condom wrapper on the bedside table.

Li Yaodong took a diving suit out of the closet and tossed it to Cheng Yin: "Help me put this on."

Cheng Yin picked up the diving suit and helped him put it on, which required her to kneel on one knee. The tight rubber material required her to pull it up with force. Li Yaodong cooperated by lifting his leg, letting her fingers inadvertently brush against the inside of his thigh.

As Cheng Yin put on the top, she gestured for him to reach out. Li Yaodong's arm muscles were taut, and the veins were clearly visible. When Cheng Yin zipped up the back zipper, her fingers accidentally touched the back of his neck, and he trembled slightly.

"Alright." Cheng Yin took a step back.

Li Yaodong stretched his limbs to make sure his wetsuit wasn't too tight. He looked at Cheng Yin: "Don't you want to say anything?"

Cheng Yin looked him up and down: "It fits perfectly."

Li Yaodong didn't say anything more, picked up his equipment, and left the room.

Cheng Yin followed him to the deck and watched him and the other divers jump into the sea, the splashing water looking like scattered diamonds in the sunlight.

Lin Shirong was still fishing, and there were already three or four groupers in the bucket next to him.

Cheng Yin sat down on the recliner next to him.

The sea breeze was gentle, the sun was warm, and she was almost asleep.

In a daze, she remembered the only time she went to the beach when she was a child. Her aunt's family went swimming and asked her to watch their luggage on the shore. The sun was very strong that day, and she was so thirsty that she felt dizzy, but she didn't dare to leave to buy water.

"We're up." Lin Shirong's voice brought her back to reality.

Cheng Yin opened her eyes and saw Li Yaodong surfacing, carrying a net bag in his hand.

He climbed the gangway, water droplets rolling off his wetsuit and leaving a trail of wet footprints on the deck. The bikini-clad girls swarmed around him again, but Li Yaodong went straight to Cheng Yin and threw the net bag into her arms.

"Here you go," he said, taking off his diving mask.

"Thank you," she said calmly, her tone completely indifferent.

Lin Shirong shook his head; this woman was really...

Li Yaodong's expression darkened. He grabbed Cheng Yin's wrist, dragged her back to the suite, and slammed the door shut. Before Cheng Yin could even stand up straight, he pressed her against the wall, spilling the seafood from the net bag all over the floor.

"Smile," Li Yaodong commanded.

Cheng Yin forced a stiff smile.

Li Yaodong pinched her cheek: "You look too ugly. Smile again."

Cheng Yin tried several more times, but each time there was no difference. Li Yaodong's brows furrowed more and more, and the force in his hands increased.

"Get a dog," he said through gritted teeth, "and if you throw it a bone, it'll wag its tail and even come over to rub against your legs."

Cheng Yin looked at his reddened eyes: "So, do you need me to wag my tail or rub against you?"

Li Yaodong pinched her cheek harder: "I just wanted to make you smile."

Cheng Yin then realized the true meaning of Lin Shirong's words, "to win a smile from a beauty."

"I can't laugh," Cheng Yin sighed. "Those things are beautiful, but I don't need them."

Li Yaodong released his grip and took a step back.

Several red marks remained on Cheng Yin's cheeks, but she didn't rub them; she simply looked at him calmly.

"Why?" Li Yaodong asked in a low voice.

Cheng Yin thought for a moment: "When I was little, my aunt would buy my cousin new toys, and he would always open them in front of me and ask, 'Are you envious?'" She paused, "I said I wasn't envious, and he would hit me, saying I was lying. Later, I learned to say I was envious, but he would still hit me and say, 'It's no use being envious, it's not for you anyway.'"

Li Yaodong's expression became complicated. He bent down, picked up the pearl oyster, pried it open with a diving knife, took out the pink pearl inside, and handed it to Cheng Yin in his palm.

"Now it's yours," he said, "so you can laugh now."

Cheng Yin looked at the pearl, which gleamed softly in the sunlight. She remembered her eighteenth birthday when Xu Chen casually tossed her a plastic hair clip he'd bought from a roadside stall, saying it was "giveaway for beggars." She wore it for three whole years, until the clip broke in two.

"Thank you," she said again, still without smiling.

Li Yaodong suddenly pressed the pearl against her collarbone, the force almost digging into her skin: "Cheng Yin, what exactly do you want?"

Cheng Yin didn't flinch; the pearl was pressing painfully against her bone. "I don't know," she said honestly, "but it's definitely not a pearl."

Li Yaodong stared at her for a long time before finally letting go. The pearl fell to the ground, rolled under the bed, and disappeared.

He took off his diving suit, went into the bathroom, and slammed the door shut.

Cheng Yin squatted down and began to clean up the seafood scattered all over the ground.

The lobster was still alive, its claws opening and closing weakly; the sea urchin's spines trembled slightly; the patterns on its shell shimmered in the sunlight. She put them back in the net bag one by one, took them to the suite's kitchenette, and put them in the refrigerator.

The sound of water stopped, and Li Yaodong came out wrapped in a bath towel, his hair still dripping wet. He didn't even glance at Cheng Yin, but went straight to the wardrobe, took out clean clothes, and changed.

"Get out." He said to her with his back to her.

Cheng Yin quietly left the suite and gently closed the door behind her.

On the deck, the party started again. He Jingwen was flirting with several girls by the pool, while Lin Shirong was still fishing, with two more bottles of beer beside him.

"You were kicked out?" Lin Shirong handed her a bottle.

Cheng Yin took it, but didn't drink it: "Mmm."

Lin Shirong chuckled: "Because you can't laugh?"

Cheng Yin nodded and looked towards the distant horizon. She suddenly remembered a fairy tale she had read as a child, which said that mermaids' laughter sounded like silver bells, but she had never heard what silver bells sounded like.

"Few dare to refuse gifts from Brother Dong."

Cheng Yin turned to look at him: "I didn't refuse."

"You rejected its value." Lin Shirong adjusted his glasses. "For Dong Ge, the significance of a gift lies not in the object itself, but in the reaction it evokes."

Cheng Yin thought for a moment: "Emotional value."

"That's right." Lin Shirong nodded. "What emotional value did you give him?"

Cheng Yin looked out at the sea: "Real."

Lin Shirong laughed loudly, startling several seagulls into flight: "Really? In Haojiang?" He shook his head, "Cheng Yin, you really are..."

Cheng Yin remained noncommittal, continuing to gaze at the sea. She suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion, not just physical, but also a deep weariness in her soul.

"I'll teach you a trick," Lin Shirong suddenly leaned closer, lowering his voice, "Next time Dong-ge gives you something, just imagine it's from your only friend."

Cheng Yin frowned: "I have no friends."

Lin Shirong shrugged: "Then imagine it was given to you by someone you have a crush on."

Cheng Yin thought about it carefully for a moment: "I've never had a crush on anyone."

Lin Shirong looked like he'd swallowed a fly: "...Never mind, forget I said anything."

The sound of things being smashed came from the cabin, followed by Li Yaodong's angry roar.

Lin Shirong sighed and put away his fishing rod. "I'll go check." He took a couple of steps and then turned back. "You... don't wander off."

Cheng Yin nodded and continued to sit on the deck watching the sea.