Chapter 45

The three-day temple trip passed quickly. Cheng Yanjin acted swiftly, using the excuse of looking at houses to sneak out several times, and accompanied her to quickly settle on a house.

Everything seemed to be back on track, and Lin Langyi returned to Yingshan Lake to resume her daily work.

The bulk market has resolved all the funding issues. Since the pearls from Yingshan Lake are cultivated using highly mature technology after selection, their comprehensive scores are far ahead when inspected by third-party institutions. Not to mention, the Lin family already has a certain reputation in the pearl industry. Xu Xiaoshan, the president of the Pearl Industry Association, has also met with Lin Langyi several times to express her intention to invite her to join the association.

Lin Langyi had tea with Chairman Xu several times, and the conversation still revolved around pearl sales and market prices.

“I’ve considered this issue before, so we’ve partnered with universities to organize a design competition.” Lin Langyi spread out the event plan for President Xu to review. “The competition’s judging deadline is approaching. If you’re interested, President Xu, you’re welcome to come and watch.”

Xu Xiaoshan browsed through the online voting for the entries and said with a smile, "Young people can really come up with more inspiration. I think these designs are quite beautiful... I'll take a look and ask the publicity department to write a press release to promote them. In the second and third editions, we can include more universities, institutions, and individual design institutes."

Lin Langyi was overjoyed and immediately expressed her gratitude.

The competition invited many professional teachers from the industry, specially invited exhibitors from the China International Import Expo, and consultants from some brands. Chairman Xu also contributed a lot to the competition and helped Lin Langyi coordinate, saying he would help her rent a very stylish venue.

Lin Langyi was busy coordinating with various parties. Hearing that Chairman Xu had made such arrangements, she was naturally relieved. However, when she received the site layout plan, she stared at the four large characters "Jinshaxi Island" on it and was speechless for a long time.

However, Chairman Xu still remembered to visit her despite his busy schedule to explain: "We originally wanted to host the next World Pearl Development Forum here, because other gold or jade products had rented the mansion before. But Yingyuan doesn't often rent it out. Compared to pearls, other jewelry categories account for a larger proportion of the jewelry industry, so it's usually not our turn."

Xu Xiaoshan was so excited that deep wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes: "But this time, it was Yingyuan who took the initiative to contact us. I just had dinner with their CEO, Mr. Yuan, yesterday, and the matter was settled just like that. They said that we can rest assured that the ship arrangements can be handled by them."

Lin Langyi sat obediently to the side, unsure whether to laugh or not. She could only firmly convince herself that this was an olive branch from a business partner and had nothing to do with her personally, so she shouldn't be presumptuous.

On the night of the selection, Lin Langyi wore a sharp suit and pencil skirt set, with pearl necklace and earrings. As the organizer, she sat on the aisle in the second row.

Then she watched as Yuan Chuyu, dressed in a suit and tie, shook hands and exchanged a few pleasantries with several exhibitors and senior brand consultants, and quite naturally sat down behind her as a guest.

“You should also have this name tag made, and you should go to the first row,” Chairman Xu said kindly. “The bulk market has allowed Pearl to dine at the table as well, all thanks to Ying Yuan.”

"You're too kind." Yuan Chuyu rolled up a section of the cuff of his left sleeve, revealing a string of moon-white pearl bracelet. He politely expressed to Chairman Xu that Ying Yuan would focus on pearls after its initial success in the bulk commodity market. The two chatted happily.

“Miss Lin, this is the young CEO I was talking about, a young man of great promise,” Xu Xiaoshan said, beaming with joy at Yuan Chuyu’s vision of the future. She immediately patted Lin Langyi, who had been pretending to be deaf and dumb, and called her over to meet him. “CEO Yuan, this is Miss Lin of Ying Shan Lake Pearls. She’s also very capable; it’s amazing that a young woman can manage such a large business.”

Yuan Chuyu could finally openly look at her beautiful face. He smiled at her gently and gracefully, his focused eyes gleaming like flowing water under the light. He shook hands with her with the dignified grace of a jade branch and leaf, saying, "Miss Lin."

Lin Langyi, naturally not wanting to be rude, shook hands with him in a gracious manner: "President Yuan."

My hand was gently held, but when we parted, I felt a lingering, sticky reluctance.

He hadn't had a chance to speak to her for days, and now that he saw her, he couldn't help himself. But with Chairman Xu present, he could only ask in a proper manner, "Ms. Lin, could you tell me about the entries for tonight's competition?"

Keep pretending!

Lin Langyi couldn't show her lack of professionalism at this time, especially since she had been following up on and encouraging these college students' works. Under Chairman Xu's gratified gaze, she could only bite the bullet and randomly point to the top three works in the online voting to explain to him.

When she introduced the first place winner, Yuan Chuyu listened attentively and asked some questions. Although his gaze kept wandering around her face, he was still very good at multitasking and finally praised the student's ingenious idea.

When they reached the second person, Lin Langyi was about to speak when Yuan Chuyu suddenly turned the color-printed drawing to the next page: "This one doesn't quite fit my aesthetic. Let's move on to the third one."

Lin Langyi was taken aback for a moment, looking at him with confusion as he skipped over Chi Shu's work, then turned his attention back to her face with undiminished interest, and then asked her some questions about the third place in a serious manner.

But he skipped the works, not the people.

Today, Chi Shu was unusually dressed in a fairly new-looking shirt and trousers. He was so thin, with long, slender limbs and skin so pale it was almost bloodless. The formal attire gave him a pitifully frail and delicate appearance. Yet, because he was going on stage to receive an award today, he wore very light makeup, which gave him a somewhat handsome, refined look.

Upon seeing Lin Langyi, his bewildered and awkward expression vanished, replaced by a look of surprise and delight. Before he could rush over to greet her as usual, a glimpse of Yuan Chuyu, whose expression remained unreadable, caught his eye. He immediately shrank back significantly, his smile faltering and finally fading away.

His emotional changes were so drastic that Lin Langyi couldn't help but notice. She saw that although he was facing her and greeting her, he was trying his best to minimize his presence. Occasionally, he would steal a glance at Yuan Chuyu, and then immediately become as afraid as a mouse seeing a cat, hanging his head and looking listless.

She glanced at Yuan Chuyu with a puzzled look.

Yuan Chuyu did not look at Chi Shu. He calmly flipped through the descriptions of the works, his fingers pointing at the drawings, completely focused, with an appreciative smile on his face, looking completely normal.

Lin Langyi didn't see anything amiss, and looked up at Chi Shu again. He was biting his lip, and his arm was trembling slightly, but as soon as he met her gaze, he immediately tried to force a smile, his eyes misty.

He wanted to take a few steps closer, but kept stealing glances at Yuan Chuyu. In the end, he dared not approach any further, keeping a distance of several meters. He only looked at Lin Langyi with pitiful eyes, giving a cautious yet forced smile, and said, "Sister Langyi, the clothes I'm wearing today are rented from across the street from the school. My roommate said it's a pity I'm too thin to fill them out, but if the size were smaller, the pants wouldn't be long enough—"

He glanced to the side halfway through his sentence, then suddenly fell silent as if he had seen some monstrous beast.

The sentence was cut off so abruptly that his face turned pale, and he suddenly took two steps back, like a frightened puppy about to be hit with a stick after making a mistake.

Lin Langyi was completely baffled. She had never seen Chi Shu look so terrified before. She glanced at Yuan Chuyu again, but he remained calm and slowly turned the page of the paper in his hand, completely ignoring Chi Shu.

She could only suppress her doubts and comfort Chi Shu, saying, "No, he looks very energetic. Being thin has its advantages; he can wear any clothes. What's wrong with a man being fair-skinned, young, and thin? Men can be fair-skinned, young, and thin too. It's a trend in short videos."

Chi Shu nodded vigorously, and whispered, "I've always wanted to be like your fiancé, if only I had nice muscles."

Oh right, we met in the video last time Cheng Yanjin got drunk. Lin Langyi nodded and commented fairly: "His physique is indeed good, quite remarkable, and more in line with popular aesthetics, but that requires both genetics and postnatal care, which is quite difficult."

Not hearing what she wanted to hear, Chi Shu bit her lip again, her eyes looking somewhat forlorn.

The papers beside her were flipped over one after another with a rustling sound, and finally all of them were closed. Lin Langyi didn't think she had said anything. When she turned her head, she saw Yuan Chuyu also silently staring at her with his eyelids raised.

Lin Langyi stared at him for a moment, and just then someone came looking for her. She immediately left him and turned around in her seat to talk to the other person.

Yuan Chuyu withdrew his gaze from her and turned to look at Chi Shu.

Chi Shu was no longer the timid and shrinking figure he had been just moments before. His face was expressionless as he stared intently at Lin Langyi, as if he were completely absorbed in his own world. Even when he saw her frowning, fully engrossed in her work, pointing at the judges who were pointing out the error on the introduction and emphasizing the need for correction, he couldn't take his eyes off her.

He stared at her silently for a while before his pupils flickered, and he glanced at Yuan Chuyu with a gloomy look.

Upon seeing him, Chi Shu's expression immediately turned sour for a moment.

You despicable person.

Yuan Chuyu sat behind her, his eyes, which had been smiling at her, gradually lowered when facing Chi Shu. He coldly tugged at the corners of his mouth, silently warning this reincarnated first love scholar as always.

Lin Langyi was halfway through his conversation with someone when he turned back to ask Yuan Chuyu for a pen. His expression changed with perfect composure and naturalness as he smiled and handed it over, exuding an air of refined elegance. In between, he caught Chi Shu's probing gaze out of the corner of his eye, but he couldn't be bothered to pay him any more attention.

Chi Shu stared at the brief interaction between the two, unable to make a judgment.

There were no name tags on Yuan Chuyu's table. Apart from staying next to Lin Langyi as a supporting character, she kept a very low profile. She was not in the spotlight, did not speak on stage, and did not socialize extensively, leaving all the limelight on her.

Therefore, Chi Shu could not directly find an explanation for why Lin Langyi was shaking hands with "Lin Xiangshuo" when she first saw her.

An absurd guess began to form in his mind, but he felt it was too arrogant. After all, when this "Lin Xiangshuo" came to teach him a lesson that night, his arrogance was outrageous, and he was not afraid of others discovering his true identity.

Shouldn't they normally hide it? Or is he overthinking things, and there's some other hidden story?

...

The selection process went quite smoothly. The overall rankings differed slightly from the online voting results. As expected, Chi Shu won first place. His design referenced the crinoline style, with pearls, gemstones, and gold and silver threads layered to form a luxurious and intricate crown, reminiscent of the style of noblewomen in medieval European oil paintings. It was quite elaborate and dreamlike.

The second place went to a complete set of pearl-strung outfits created by an entire dormitory of girls. The outfits ranged from leather pearl headpieces and chokers to jingling tassel lingerie and waist chains, culminating in a pearl skirt supported by fishbone. The entire set, worn by the invited model, resembled an eye-catching haute couture runway piece.

The third place went to Yuan Fei's work. Although she is introverted, she has excellent artistic taste and hands-on skills. She designed a whole pearl welcoming pine tree. The tree on the white porcelain short-mouthed bottle is a natural cliff cypress. Each branch is tied with copper wire and then filled with black and brown wax oil. Countless natural freshwater pearls are stacked into flower clusters and then edged with imported gold thread, making it elegant and graceful.

The quality of the entries in the first round was higher than expected. All the teachers and industry experts present gave it high praise. When Chairman Xu gave his concluding remarks on stage, he was very emotional and even had tears in his eyes.

Yingyuan also invited many of its affiliated media outlets, which produced articles quickly and had professional photography skills. In addition to the information articles from the association's own official media and WeChat account, they also carried out publicity and reports on various platforms, which can be described as thoughtful before, during and after the event.

Lin Langyi was initially wary of Yuan Chuyu's intentions when she arrived at his territory today, wondering if he was planning something. However, all of his social interactions today were very calm and proper, no different from usual. His conversations with her were all business-related, which made Lin Langyi gradually relax.

Very good, very obedient.

The winning works and authors were all called in for face-to-face communication by the relevant brand representatives. The Pearl Association hosted the event, with the participation of various brands, endorsement from Yingyuan, and Lin's Yingshanhu taking the lead.

Lin Langyi has signed contracts with all the award-winning works, which will be sold online and offline through customized sales, with revenue sharing between the authors and the authors.

She took many photos with her partners in front of the camera to use as material for the subsequent articles. After almost finishing one round of shooting, Yuan Chuyu stood below the stage and smiled slightly at her.

He calmly walked up the steps and stood beside her, finally leaving behind the only photograph of the entire night.

A very businesslike and polite group photo that doesn't cross any lines.

"Yingshanhu's business is booming and has a bright future. You should let your family see clearly whether everyone recognizes you or your brother."

His warm breath brushed against her ear, and her eyelashes fluttered slightly as she turned her head to look at him.

He gazed into her eyes, his tone steady yet firm: "Anyway, Yingyuan acknowledges you, including all of Yingyuan's partners."

"Come on, look at the camera," the photographer called out, gesturing with his hand.

Lin Langyi turned her face back to the camera, paused for a moment, tilted her head slightly towards him, and revealed a generous smile.

*

Everything was perfect and going smoothly. Just before it ended, Chi Shu, who hadn't appeared for a while, suddenly appeared not far from Lin Langyi. His face was wet, as if he had just washed his face with cold water in the bathroom.

By this time, the crowd had almost dispersed, and Lin Langyi spotted him at a glance.

I also saw the bright red handprint on his damp cheek.

She stopped in her tracks, her brows furrowed. "What's wrong?"

Chi Shu's eyes were also red, his face haggard, and he looked even paler than a ghost. He sobbed a few times, then lifted his swollen eyelids and whispered, "Sister, it seems like brother doesn't like me."

"Who?" Lin Langyi frowned. "Brother?"

"Mmm," he looked at her through his teary eyes, but he took in every little expression on her face. "My brother just took me to the bathroom and slapped me across the face, telling me to stop daydreaming."

Lin Langyi didn't understand anything at all, her face full of confusion: "Which brother? What wishful thinking?"

He blinked slightly, having already made up his mind. He secretly craned his neck to glance at Yuan Chuyu, but then reverted to his previous avoidance, terrified.

Lin Langyi followed his gaze to Yuan Chuyu: "Oh, this brother, how could he possibly hit you?"

Chi Shu stood silently in front of her. Her bangs, which she had styled with hairspray to look good on stage, fell down in disarray, partially obscuring her eyes and making the two shallow tear troughs under her eyes look especially fragile.

The bright red mark on his left cheek became even more grotesque from the cold water. He just looked at her like that, tears welling up in his eyes, silently falling without daring to utter a single sob.

"What did he mean by saying you're delusional?" Lin Langyi didn't have any tissues on her, and after groping around to no avail, she had no choice but to lead him back to the restroom.

He walked beside her, watching her tuck a strand of hair behind her ear as she walked, her earlobes slightly red from the heavy earrings she wore; watching her turn her ring around to make things easier, hiding the diamond in her palm with the plain band facing outwards; watching her rarely seen wearing stiletto heels, the back of her feet chafed a little red...

It must hurt a lot. I really want to rub it for her, whether it's her ears or her heels.

Everything is fine.

His gaze remained fixed on her, and he licked the inside of his mouth with the tip of his tongue. Despite rinsing his mouth several times, the faint taste of blood still lingered.

I slapped myself too hard in front of the mirror just now, and I accidentally bit my lip, but it's so nice. Just walking with her like this makes me feel incredibly happy.

How can I make her see the tattoo on my ribs, on a slightly protruding bone, with my initials tattooed on it? Do I need to wet my clothes when I wash my face?

I really want her to know, but I'm also afraid she'll find out.

I also wanted to tell her that I've been dieting and shaping my body recently, trying to make my waist slimmer. I'm worried that I'll lose so much weight that my thin abs will disappear, so I've been using abs training equipment.

If needed, he could wear the pearl waist chain he just wore to the live stream, like she said, on another track.

Furthermore, besides the crown he created for this competition, he has made many other works. If she thinks it's appropriate, she can take them all and mass-produce them for sale.

He thought a lot, and once again fixed his gaze on her, feeling an indescribable joy welling up inside him.

When I cried just now, I didn't know if I looked good. I practiced crying in front of the mirror for two weeks, and my eyes were so dry that I had to use more artificial tears to relieve it... Also, because I was strictly controlling my diet, my complexion wasn't very good today, but luckily I was wearing makeup, so I shouldn't look too bad.

He touched his face, and for a moment the image of Yuan Chuyu's Nuwa Bishe face flashed in his mind, causing him to furrow his brows and darken his expression.

I really want to slash his face.

"Hmm?" Seeing that Chi Shu didn't answer for a long time, Lin Lang turned his face and asked again.

He immediately snapped back to reality, and with a flick of his lips, he went through the words he had already rehearsed a thousand times in his mind, grafting each word onto something else to make it sound like a misattribution: "He said that it was presumptuous of me to think I could get into the Lin family just because of one gold medal, and that I should recognize the gap between my family background and my own, and stop daydreaming."

Upon hearing this, Lin Langyi suddenly stopped in her tracks. The strand of hair that had been tucked behind her ear slipped down again, momentarily obscuring her view and making it difficult for him to see her clearly.

"Oh? That's what he said?"

Chi Shu lowered his eyelashes at the right moment. All his movements had been rehearsed to perfection before today. He hesitated until his lower lip bled from being bitten by his teeth again before finally managing to say, "Yes, but Sister Langyi, I just want to go to Yingshan Lake. I want to work under you for the rest of my life. I... I was really a little sad when he said that."

"I noticed you were very afraid of him from the beginning of today. Why? Have you met him before?"

Chi Shu hummed in agreement and said in a low voice, "I actually didn't want to tell you, sister, because that time brother also... but he didn't do anything that time. Today he probably got angry because he saw me show up again."

He waited for a while without hearing a sound, but he couldn't wait any longer and hesitantly raised a corner of his eye to look at her.

Lin Langyi remained rooted to the spot, her gaze too judgmental. When he looked up, she took two steps back, crossed her arms, and looked him up and down several times.

"You're saying Yuan Chuyu attacked you?"

Yuan Chuyu.

Yuan Chuyu.

Chi Shu frantically processed the name in his mind and finally connected it with Ying Yuan.

He pretended to suddenly realize something, then frowned in confusion: "Huh? He came to see me last time and said he was Brother Xiang Shuo."

"Last time? Which time?"

"The time my hand was cut by the machine."

Lin Langyi actually smiled and asked, "And then you said these words?"

Before he could determine the best response, Lin Langyi had already taken two steps back, leaning against the corridor wall, a good distance away from him, and said, "Chi Shu, do you know that Yuan Chuyu has been speaking well of you the whole time you won the gold medal today?"

Chi Shu's forehead twitched slightly, and a sense of foreboding, like stepping into a trap and getting caught in a snare, suddenly arose within him.

“When the contract was signed, the brand originally wanted to lower the price, thinking that your work didn’t have a large target market, and it still wasn’t good enough to be considered a collectible, so…” Lin Langyi spread his hands, “He kept helping you smooth things over so that you could get that contract price.”

Chi Shu's expression changed drastically for a moment, and he immediately understood the cause and effect.

Nonsense. This two-faced behavior isn't because Yuan Chuyu truly thinks highly of himself; it's just something he deliberately puts on in front of Lin Langyi, making himself appear harmless.

Because he guessed that his identity would be exposed as soon as he saw her today, and he also guessed that she would definitely be extremely vengeful and bring up old grievances, so he took the initiative to run around for her in front of Lin Langyi, pretending to be a very innocent and pure person.

Lin Langyi's clear, bright eyes seemed to see right into people's hearts. She asked, word by word, "I'll ask you one more time, did he really attack you?"

Anyway, there were no cameras in the restroom, so he deliberately followed Yuan Chuyu in one after the other.

Lin Langyi's eyes were cold: "Shall I go and call him over so we can confront each other?"

Chi Shu's expression shifted several times before she finally shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. She choked back sobs, saying, "He really did say those things. I was scared and felt wronged. I kept slapping myself to show my sincerity and trying to explain, but sister, I'm so wronged. I clearly..."

"Go wash your face yourself." Lin Langyi interrupted him, straightened up and walked out. "Don't exaggerate what you say in the future."

Chi Shu instinctively wanted to follow, but the situation was completely different from what he had expected. He never imagined that Yuan Chuyu would strike first, and in such a way that he would retreat to advance, which led him to fall into the trap from the very beginning.

Her face was red and swollen with some broken skin, and it stung when tears slid down her cheeks. Chi Shu turned her head to look at her receding figure in the corridor, where a familiar figure was waiting at the end.

Yuan Chuyu's right hand was casually tucked into his pocket. His usual upright and imposing posture, standing out like a crane among chickens, carried a subtle, almost imperceptible aversion that made him appear particularly noble and distinguished. But now, his back was slightly hunched in a casual arc, leaning against the wall as he gave Lin Langyi a gentle smile, then leaped over her shoulder, glancing casually at Chi Shu, his smile widening, revealing a hint of triumphant ease.

"It's all over, shall we go back?" Yuan Chuyu took a few steps forward, ignoring the other person in the corridor, and said to Lin Langyi, "I just saw all the experts and teachers onto the ship, don't worry."

Lin Langyi turned her head and glanced at him.

He had been so aggressive towards her when they were on the mountain that she was prepared to resist him. But after their three-day trip to Laoshan Temple, he suddenly changed his approach and began to seriously serve her in various business dealings and resource allocations. He didn't do anything out of line or ambiguous, so she couldn't find any fault with him.

But even if you say he's turned over a new leaf, he's been appearing too frequently lately, practically branding the words "abuse of power for personal gain" on his face, proudly and arrogantly.

But damn it, she couldn't utter a single word of refusal.

Money! Resources! Don't you want them?!

“You don’t need to worry about the delivery speed. Chairman Xu just said that the association will coordinate the alliance. Didn’t you have the pricing power in the bulk market before? We can cooperate on production.” Yuan Chuyu led her onto the ship and even pulled out a pair of flat sandals from somewhere and placed them in front of her. “Do your feet hurt? They’re red.”

Lin Langyi paused, caught off guard by his combination of serious business and personal matters. He had already knelt down in front of her with ease, supporting her calf with one hand and using the other to help her take off her high heels and put on slippers.

There was no one else on board; it was a rather small private yacht, and his intentions were obvious.

Lin Langyi pulled her leg back, his fingers still pressing on her shinbone, slowly massaging down along the meridians. Seeing her struggle and tilt her head back, his thick, long eyelashes swaying with the hull of the boat, he asked her innocently and considerately, "Aren't your legs sore?"

Lin Langyi used offense as defense, pushing his hands away: "Lin Xiangshuo, isn't it inappropriate for you to massage my legs?"

Yuan Chuyu blinked slowly and began to use euphemisms: "That day, it was Cheng Yanjin who called me."

Lin Langyi looked at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

He pondered for a moment, revising the next two or three sentences in his mind, and reminded him, "It wouldn't have been a big deal, but Chi Shu mentioned his previous student council president several times, as if he knew everything about him. Have you noticed anything unusual when you usually deal with Chi Shu?"

Lin Langyi frowned slightly, paused for a moment, and said directly, "See if there are any brands that won't affect his future. If they can recommend him, let Chi Shu give it a try."

That means they don't plan to leave people at Yingshan Lake.

Yuan Chuyu's brows and eyes relaxed completely, as if they were bathed in a shimmering moonlight, and he agreed.

He wanted to talk to her some more, so he sat behind her all night, watching her. The pen in his hand rolled slowly between his fingers. When he looked up, he saw her loosely tied braid. When she nodded, her black hair would brush against her slender, fair neck.

He didn't know how long he had been watching, but he knew how much he wanted her to turn around and ask him to lend him a pen again.

For three or four hours, he couldn't even exchange a few words with her, not even about business.

He thought he could finally get what he wanted, but even during their precious time together, even if it was just a short walk, Lin Langyi didn't belong entirely to him.

She answered several phone calls in succession. Yuan Chuyu watched quietly as she negotiated and explained things to the other party, his head tilted to the side. When the ship was slowly drifting towards its destination, he thought he could finally take advantage of this last moment to chat with her. However, she only glanced at him lightly, pressed the dial button on the screen with her index finger, and soon the familiar WeChat call ringtone sounded.

It was a very energetic and exciting jazz music. Yuan Chuyu's eyelashes twitched slightly, and he silently lowered his eyes. The light above his head stretched the shadow of his eyelashes, making him look like a puppy that was favored by its owner. He only had dry food that was about to expire, while the other person could be held in the owner's arms and have a whole sausage.

The call connected, and Cheng Yanjin's voice was so loud even through the air. Lin Langyi held the phone in one hand, bent down, and changed her shoes back with the other hand. Then she neatly put the slippers into the shoe box, nodded to him to express her gratitude, and stood up to walk out.

Her high heels clicked loudly, and as soon as the back door opened, a gust of wind rushed in. She turned her back to close the door, cutting off all conversation.

He remained seated, his hands loosely crossed on his lap, his back slightly hunched, silently staring at the shoebox on the ground.

The ship has reached the shore.