Intrusion

Tao Chu was escorted back to her room by Wen Yunsheng, who told her before parting that he would pick her up early the next morning.

Tao Chu thought she would be with Shen Yingchang the next morning, but she was too tired after the day to say much more—if Wen Yunsheng wanted to come, then he could.

As soon as Tao Chu closed the door and turned on the light, she noticed that the bedroom door was not closed and suddenly realized that someone had broken into her room.

She rushed into the bedroom and found the suitcase lying on the floor, with clothes and belongings scattered all over the place.

She knelt beside the suitcase and examined it when she suddenly heard a faint sound coming from the bathroom—someone was inside!

The scene she saw when she looked up from Uncle Zou's window immediately came into view, and she took out her phone.

Wen Yunsheng has just left; he should be back soon.

But after hesitating for two seconds, she dialed Shen Yingchang's number.

The call was quickly answered, and Tao Chu said in a tearful voice, "A thief broke into my room, and my luggage has been ransacked."

"I'm here, don't hang up."

Just like Tao Chu, she continued, "I don't know either... I just went out for a meal, I left around 5 o'clock, and I also went to my dad's place, and stayed on the deck for a while..."

She pulled an eyebrow razor from her suitcase and held it in her hand, speaking intermittently, occasionally letting out a sob, her eyes fixed on the bathroom door.

About a minute or two later, Tao Chu heard the doorbell ring. She got up and said, "Okay, I know. Someone rang the doorbell. I'll go open the door."

She walked quickly over, glanced at him to confirm it was Shen Yingchang, and then opened the door.

Shen Yingchang pressed his right hand against his side waist, and with his left hand tried to pull her out, gesturing for her to hide behind him.

Tao Chu shook her head, pointed to the bathroom, and said, "You came down so quickly? That's good. I don't dare to sleep here anymore. I didn't expect there to be thieves on the ship. I'll go to your room tonight."

Shen Yingchang could tell that Tao Chu didn't want the intruders to realize that he had been discovered, so he gestured with his chin towards the door and said, "Okay, I'll help you with your luggage."

Tao Chu braced one foot against the door: "Just close the suitcase and take it with you. I'm really tired today. We can pack the rest when we get back tomorrow morning."

Shen Yingchang responded and quickly picked up his suitcase to leave, saying, "Are you being careless again? Did you forget to close the door properly? The room doors here don't close by themselves like the ones in hotels. They look like they spring back, but they don't actually close properly."

"Oh, stop nagging me, I'm already terrified..." Tao Chu pushed him out of the room and immediately closed the door.

The two walked quickly toward the elevator, continuing their act all the way until they entered Shen Yingchang's room, where they both breathed a sigh of relief.

"I thought you were calling me down to fight." Shen Yingchang put his luggage away and turned to look at her.

"The toilet on this ship is so small, it's barely big enough to hide one person. If I really want to fight, I can manage on my own—but I don't think it's necessary to reveal my strength and intentions so early."

"Then you'll just have to make do with me for now—but why don't you call Wen Yunsheng over? It would be a perfect opportunity for him to play the hero and save the damsel in distress, and it would also be a good chance to sow discord between him and Li Yue."

Seeing that Tao Chu was silent, he handed her a bottle of mineral water: "You wouldn't be so heartbroken as to see him caught in the middle, would you?"

Tao Chu took the water and rolled her eyes at him.

"Don't just be rude to me—I ran upstairs to save you without even breaking a sweat. I deserve credit for my hard work."

Seeing that Tao Chu was only drinking water and not saying anything, as if she was feeling guilty, he couldn't help but reprimand her: "Feeling sorry for a man is the beginning of a mistake."

Tao Chu listened to his inexplicable quotations from famous figures, slammed the water bottle down on the table, and glared at him:

"Can't you use your brain for once? If it were Wen Yunsheng, would I be able to give him a signal at the door? If he stupidly rushes into the bathroom, am I supposed to play the victim or just watch him get beaten up? If things get out of hand, I'll be tied up and taken to the 'Sea Chaser,' and I won't have the chance to sit here and plan with you what to do after we get on the ship."

Shen Yingchang scratched his head and thought for a moment: "Let me summarize - you just think Wen Yunsheng is rather weak, whether in combat or intellect."

After saying that, he smiled smugly and said, "My partner is still the most reliable."

Tao Chu slammed her fist on the table in despair: "Big brother, you're just pretending to be my boyfriend, not my real boyfriend—what kind of time is this to compare yourself to him?"

Shen Yingchang shrugged: "Men will be men. Anyway, let's get back to business. Has my departure for the sea and the ship been finalized?"

Tao Chu's phone, which was on the table, lit up. She picked it up and saw that it was Tao Guohua calling.

"Chuchu, don't worry! I've already risked everything and forced Li Yue to agree to let Shen Yingchang accompany you on the ship. You don't know, I even entered the police number in advance. If he didn't agree, I would have reported him..."

Tao Chu had no interest in listening to him boast about his achievements and interrupted him: "Dad, when did you go to find Li Yue?"

"Huh?" Tao Guohua was taken aback, thought for two seconds, "About half an hour ago, I felt better after saying that, so I went to the bar on the second floor and had a couple of drinks. I just got back to my room."

Tao Chu understood the situation, gave a few perfunctory replies, hung up the phone, and said to Shen Yingchang:

"After some thought, I realized that Li Yue had no reason to attack me at this time. The reason he suddenly sent people into my room must be because he was suddenly threatened by Tao Guohua."

"He suspects you have a problem?"

Tao Chu nodded: "They probably realized that I was instigating Tao Guohua to resist, and wanted to confirm whether I came prepared, so they searched my luggage."

"Is there anything in your luggage that could give you away?"

"No, they are all everyday items."

Tao Chu thought of the old cell phone, thankfully it was with Cen Le—she seemed to have seen some messages she sent, but she was busy calling Shen Yingchang and didn't have time to look at them closely.

She took out her phone; every message Cen Le sent was followed by a long string of exclamation marks.

"Don't board the ship!!!!!"

"I've already lowered myself and sacrificed my body, but Li Yue still won't take me on the boat. The waters are too deep, it's too dangerous!!!"

"Wen Yunsheng is suffering himself, don't count on him!!! We must find a way to leave once we reach the shore tomorrow!!!"

Tao Chu felt as if she was being shaken by her shoulders and head, her ears filled with her desperate shouts.

Tao Chu sent her a message with a wry smile: "I have to get on the ship. You absolutely mustn't go. Keep your old phone safe. There might not be a signal at sea, and they'll most likely take your phone back. We might lose contact then."

Cen Le replied instantly: "Are you going alone?!"

Tao Chu's eyes were once again stunned by the roar.

"And she has a new boyfriend."

"...Can he really be of any use? Are you sure he's a policeman?"

Tao Chu glanced at Shen Yingchang, who was standing by the window sending messages. From behind, he had well-developed shoulder and back muscles, and his posture showed that he had trained. He should be able to fight.

"It works...right?"

"You hesitated, and I became afraid."

"Stop making jokes. Someone just broke into my room, and he was the one who came to help me. His alertness and actions showed he was an expert."

"What?! That was so dangerous! Did they catch that person?"

"No, I don't want to reveal myself. I'm in Shen's room right now."

"I'm so worried about you, we haven't even gone out to sea yet."

There will always be a way.

"Waaaaah, how will I sleep if we lose contact! I might as well not go back to Jianglin, I'll just wait for you to come back at the port!"

"It's too obvious."

"My main concern is to confirm your safety as soon as possible!!! If necessary, I can tell you I'm waiting for Li Yue!"

Tao Chu had no choice but to reply, "Okay, then take care of yourself," and then got up and walked towards Shen Yingchang.

Hearing the noise, Shen Yingchang turned off his phone and turned around.

"How will you sleep tonight?" Tao Chu asked.

“You sleep on the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor.” Shen Yingchang stuffed his phone back into his pocket.

Seeing how gentlemanly he was, Tao Chu offered, "Then I'll help you lay it."

Seeing her busy herself, Shen Yingchang said, "I'm going out to make a work call. I'll be back in five minutes."

He left his room and headed towards the deck, bumping into a man's shoulder at the end of the corridor: "Sorry, I was walking too fast."

"It's nothing." The man stopped and glanced at him.

Shen Yingchang nodded to him, and only after they reached the deck did he take out his phone to send a message: "Pack your things carefully, and I'll call you to confirm after I board the ship tomorrow."

The other party replied: "Are you sure the old phone isn't on Tao Chu?"

“She sees Wen Yunsheng and Li Yue several times a day, always wearing a skirt and carrying only a small handbag. Since you didn’t find it in the suitcase, it means she entrusted it to someone she trusts.”

"There's no one to pick you up on the Wave Chaser, are you sure you can make it?"

"It has to work, even if it doesn't work." After saying this, Shen Yingchang let out a long breath, rubbed his hair, and walked back.

He swiped his card to enter the room and heard the sound of showering water coming from the inner room. He realized that Tao Chu wanted to take a quick shower while he was out for a few minutes to avoid embarrassment, but he came back too quickly.

So he stood at the door for a while longer, listening to her come out of the bathroom, but didn't say anything.

Tao Chu came out with a towel wrapped around his hair, and only after confirming that it was him did he unwrap the towel, revealing a head of long, short hair: "You're back."

She calmly dried her hair, and it was the first time Shen Yingchang had seen her buzz cut so closely.

The image of her covered in red paint flashed before his eyes again, but now Tao Chu, who had just finished showering, was wearing clean long sleeves and trousers, her face was fair and flawless, and her eyes were calm and indifferent, completely different from her disheveled and angry appearance back then.

Tao Chu also noticed that his expression was too serious, unlike his playful smile when he was being cheeky before.

Remembering that he had just gone out to answer a work call, she asked, "What's wrong? Is there bad news?"

“No, it’s just that I saw your hair—” Shen Yingchang forced a smile, “It reminded me of what happened at C University. Those paint…it must have taken a long time to wash off.”

The intense pain of cleaning a paint-stained wound, the overwhelming smell of disinfectant in the room, and the pulling sensation on the newly stitched wound when rubbing oil on the skin...

Painful memories flooded back, but Tao Chu felt that the moment she shaved her head clean was the most relaxing.

Seeing that her expression was not good, Shen Yingchang regretted asking the question and immediately changed the subject: "I'll go check on my bedding on the floor—"

Tao Chu reached out and touched her half-dry hair, then followed him into the bedroom.

Shen Yingchang was just making excuses. After praising Tao Chu for being thoughtful, he went to get a change of clothes and locked himself in the bathroom.

Tao Chu took out her phone and looked through the photos documenting her wound healing when she suddenly received a message from Wen Yunsheng: "Goodnight, see you tomorrow morning."

Tao Chu replied with "Goodnight," but then, remembering that she had to get up early the next day to go back to her room and pack the rest of her luggage, she shouted, "I'm going to sleep now. I'll get up at 5:30 tomorrow."

“Okay, I’ll go with you—” Shen Yingchang replied.

Tao Chu set her alarm and crawled into bed.

Being in an unfamiliar environment, with a nearly stranger in the same room, and with a sea voyage the next day, Tao Chu thought she would have a hard time falling asleep.

Whether it was because she hadn't slept all night or because too many things had happened today, she slept very soundly and didn't even know when Shen Yingchang finished showering and came out.

As Shen Yingchang passed by the bed, he glanced at it and found that she was already asleep. He couldn't help but smile and shake his head.

Go to sleep, there's a tough battle ahead tomorrow.