Chapter 34: Emerald Island He heard the sound of something colliding. ...

That summer, the sky was clear and the air was fresh.

Rewind.

A group of rich young men and women traveled together to the beach of Wusong Town, where they had a barbecue and camped, staying in tents at night to experience life.

Zhui Lian drank too much water during the day and wanted to go to the bathroom late at night.

The toilet is behind a dense forest and requires a small path to reach.

She was a little scared and didn't dare to go alone.

She sat in front of the tent for a long time, then took a branch and began to write and draw in the sand: Go, don’t go, go, don’t go…

Suddenly, a tall shadow fell.

The young Pei Zhiyu had stood behind her at some point and asked quietly, "Zhui Lian, what are you doing?"

Zhui Lian was startled and turned around suddenly.

Seeing it was Pei Zhiyu, she laughed awkwardly twice and rubbed her hands. "Nothing, nothing, I couldn't sleep so I went out for a walk. Where's the young master? What are you doing out here?"

Pei Zhiyu looked at her coldly: "I can't sleep either."

Zhui Lian said, "Is that so? Then I won't disturb your peace and quiet, young master."

"Then I'll go in first."

She immediately wanted to retreat back into the tent, but unexpectedly Pei Zhiyu grabbed her collar and pulled her back.

The young man frowned and said solemnly, "Let's go."

Zhui Lian was stunned: "Where are you going?"

Pei Zhiyu was a little irritated: "Go to the bathroom!"

Zhui Lian said, "Oh oh oh good good."

After passing through the dense forest and reaching the toilet, Zhui Lian discovered that Pei Zhiyu had not moved and was just standing at the door.

She asked, "Master, aren't you going?"

Pei Zhiyu scratched his blond hair, looking even more annoyed, and said, "Don't ask so many questions, just go!"

Zhui Lian finally reacted.

He didn't want to go to the bathroom.

I just saw that she was scared, so I went to accompany her to the toilet.

But when they came back, they were caught by the kidnappers who had been lurking there.

The kidnappers have long been targeting these rich young men and women who do not bring bodyguards in order to pursue "freedom".

They were locked up together for a day and a night.

The kidnappers have bad tempers and are always ready to attack if the money is not paid.

Considering Pei Zhiyu's identity, they didn't want to attack him, but in order to protect Zhui Lian, he was beaten and suffered gastric bleeding.

When he was rescued later, Zhui Lian was unharmed, but Pei Zhiyu had to stay in the hospital for a while.

After that, his stomach wasn't feeling well.

A tear.

Click.

They are tears of pity.

That tear fell on the back of Pei Zhiyu's hand. Back to that summer, she sat beside his bed and shed a tear.

Very hot, very hot.

“Master…Master…”

The distant voice in my memory came back, crying, but inexplicably cute.

She said, "Pei Zhiyu, don't die, don't die."

Although she later said: "Pei Zhiyu, why don't you just die!"

The grip on the fingers loosened slightly.

The severe pain and the past surged into a raging tide.

But he was briefly comforted by the warmth of the tears and the shared bloody memories.

Pei Zhiyu closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"…good."

His voice was hoarse, but he finally let go of her hand. "I remember... there's an all-night pharmacy in the center of town. Go there and come back quickly."

＊

In the all-night pharmacy in the town center, Zhui Lian took the stomach medicine handed to her by the clerk, paid for it, and walked out of the pharmacy.

She was in a hurry, looking very anxious and worried.

"Hey--Miss! Your coat!"

The clerk took the off-white cardigan and the latest mobile phone that seemed to have been left in the corner of the counter due to negligence, and chased out of the drugstore, but found that in the blink of an eye, the person had disappeared without a trace.

Zhui Lian ran quickly into the alley, holding his knees and taking a breath.

There are locators on the jacket.

The mobile phone was the communication tool Pei Zhiyu gave her when she went out.

I can't have either of them.

The dock was quiet at night, at least on the surface.

The wind in the harbor was salty and fishy, ​​and the mast lights of several fishing boats were swaying in the thick darkness.

Oil drums and iron sheets were piled in every corner. Zhui Lian quickly walked across the wet wooden plank road and stood in front of a fishing boat that seemed to have just docked.

Her eyes were fixed on the old boatman at the bow. The weather-beaten old boatman was packing up his fishing nets with his head down, under the light of a swaying electric lamp.

"Boatman."

The sea breeze blew into Zhui Lian's thin sweater. She tugged at it and said, "Excuse me, can we start the boat now? I want to go to the other side."

The old boatman raised his head, his cloudy eyes scanning Zhui Lian, and said, "Sure, but the night boat is more expensive. Are you going to District 1 or District 2?"

"No." Zhui Lian said, "Let's go to District 3."

He was a little surprised: "Girl, do you know where the third district is?"

"That's the Emerald Pier. A lot of weird things happened there in the past few years." He lowered his voice. "Except for some indigenous people, no one likes to go there!"

Zhui Lian knew.

But she had to do it.

She was betting that Pei Zhiyu wouldn't have thought from the beginning that she had the courage to go to that kind of place alone late at night.

He would go catch her somewhere else first.

"Boatman..."

Zhui Lian pulled out a prepared bank card from his trouser pocket and immediately handed it over, saying earnestly, "I know it's weird, but I'm a mystery blogger and I really want to make a video on this subject."

The boatman looked at her with some embarrassment: "Little girl, what are you doing..."

Zhui Lian: "There are 80,000 yuan in here."

The old boatman looked at the bank card and was obviously shaken.

But his face was still full of hesitation: "Girl, it's not about money, drive over tonight..."

Zhui Lian didn't wait for him to finish and took off the ring on her ring finger.

Those were her and Pei Zhiyu's wedding rings. The style was chosen by him. She didn't know the exact price, but based on his financial resources, it should be worth a lot.

The ring pressed lightly against the bank card.

She pleaded softly, but her voice contained a determination that she would not give up until she achieved her goal: "Boatman, please help me, just take me to the ferry, I can get up by myself."

The old boatman looked at the money, then at the ring, and finally his eyes fell on the pale cheek of the young woman.

He stared at her in silence for a few seconds, and finally sighed heavily.

He grabbed the bank card and ring and stuffed them into his arms, turned his back and began to untie the ropes on the bow of the boat.

“…Come up.”

The sea fog was so thick that it blurred the lights of Misty Pine that were getting farther and farther away.

Zhui Lian stood at the stern of the boat, but his heart did not relax, but beat even faster.

Confused, the canary that had been imprisoned in a cage for years was suddenly out of control.

Panic, panic about the unknown future.

Emerald Pier was even more dilapidated and desolate than she had imagined.

The sea water was pitch black, and the abandoned containers and fishing nets surrounding the dock were like black tombs, silent black tombs.

"Girl, this is it."

The old boatman barely moored the boat to the relatively intact pier. His voice was particularly clear in the empty dock, "Be careful, this place... is very evil."

He lowered his voice and gave another reminder: "There are usually boats going out from here from time to time. If you want to leave, ask around and don't miss the time."

The smell of fish, rotten wood, rust and diesel... these smells permeate the dilapidated pier.

The dilapidated pier, carrying these smells, stretched crookedly into the sea. Zhui Lian whispered a thank you and stepped on it.

The old boatman turned the boat around and left without stopping, and soon disappeared in the sea fog from the direction he came.

The cold wind blew past, making a creepy whimpering sound.

In the distance, you can still vaguely see some scattered lights, rare lights in the dead silence.

Zhui Lian quickly walked in that direction.

She needed to find a place to hide.

Then, wait until the day of departure.

*

Emerald Island is not big, and the indigenous people on the island seem to be indifferent and wary of outsiders.

She lied that she was a student who came to sketch, and she encountered a thief and lost her ID and money.

Then he used the change he had on him to rent a small room in a shabby building that looked like a family hotel.

A room with cracked window glass sealed with tape, through which the sea breeze kept coming.

The next morning, Zhui Lian blended into the crowd at the local morning market.

She bought a long, dark-colored printed wrap, one of the kinds often worn by local fishermen, and also a headscarf.

The headscarf was very wide and embroidered with exotic patterns, which could tightly cover her long chestnut curly hair and half of her face.

She doesn't stand out among the diverse islanders.

She carefully inquired about the news and learned that a ship would arrive tomorrow morning, a ship heading towards W City.

Every minute and every second seems to be extremely long.

She knew that Pei Zhiyu was all-powerful and would guess that she was here sooner or later and then go to the island to find her.

So any slight disturbance——

Strange footsteps, car engine sounds, unusual conversations between residents... could all make her break out in a cold sweat.

On the other side, in Wusong Town, Pei Zhiyu, who had searched the entire town upside down but still couldn't find his wife, finally seemed to realize what he had overlooked after almost "sinking" the town to the bottom of the sea.

The Pei family has extensive industries in Wusong Town and even in the surrounding waters, and the wharf is no exception as part of this industry.

Pei Zhiyu called up the blurry surveillance footage. In the dark night, a thin figure wearing only a sweater stepped onto a fishing boat in the sea fog.

"ah……"

He stroked the ring that he had "politely" asked back from the old boatman, stroking it again and again.

Very, very light force.

His Lianlian seemed... not to like this gift called a ring.

That's why it is so easy to give it up and use it in exchange for the way to...

Then perhaps, before going to see his Lianlian, he should first find a new gift for her.

What kind of gift is good?

"Dangdang", "Dangdang".

He heard the sound of something colliding.

Was it an imaginary sound coming from the special showroom in the villa, or was it an actual sound coming from the opened black velvet box that was being carefully held in front of him by his men?

Strange, crisp, and melodious.

The sound of metal gently colliding with metal.

Can lock up the chattering bird tightly.

His gaze fell on it, and the intense madness in his eyes was gradually replaced by a more paranoid possessiveness.

He guessed—

His Lianlian will definitely like this gift.

*

On sailing days, there are more people at the dock than on normal days.

Zhui Lian wrapped her headscarf tightly and blended into the crowd. Not far away, a ship was approaching. The ship was a cruise ship. Against the gray sea and sky, the white cabin was particularly eye-catching.

There were even one or two guides on the pier to maintain order, which was much better than the shabby little ferry she had imagined.

A faint hope was ignited again bit by bit, and Zhui Lian followed the crowd and slowly moved towards the boarding gate.

The first floor cabin was packed with people and luggage. The air was hot and turbid, and there was almost no place to stand.

"Miss, this floor is too full."

A crew member seemed to notice her awkwardness in finding a place to stay and kindly suggested, "There are still plenty of empty seats in the sightseeing cabin on the third floor. It has a good view and is quiet. How about I take you up there?"

The boat ride from here back to W City is quite long, so it would be better to have a more comfortable seat.

Zhui Lian hesitated for a moment, but nodded: "Okay, thank you for your help."

She followed the crew member up the metal ladder and passed the second floor.

The second floor seemed to have some functional cabins and passenger cabins, but when Zhui Lian's eyes accidentally swept over the door handle of a cabin there, the blood in his body instantly froze.

——It is inlaid with a simple and unique logo.

Gold embossed feathers.

That is...that is...the Pei family's logo.

So… this wasn't just any ordinary ferry out to the islands; it was the Pei family's ship! It was a trap! It was Pei Zhiyu's cage to capture her!

The crew member leading the way seemed to notice her pause and turned around, a proper smile still on his face: "Miss, what's wrong? The third floor is just ahead..."

Zhui Lian was so frightened that she turned around without thinking and ran in the direction she came from with all her strength!

"Miss!"

A scolding sounded immediately from behind, and footsteps quickly followed.

But fear can sometimes really inspire people's endless potential. Zhui Lian never thought in his life that he could be so fast.

Like a panicked shadow, she rushed down the metal ladder, knocked away the confused crowd at the first-floor hatch, and then rushed down the gangway desperately and stepped onto the dock again!

"Catch her!"

There were shouts from the boat.

Zhui Lian didn't care about anything else and just ran desperately.

Can’t be caught back…can’t…can’t…

She quickly stepped over the abandoned containers piled up at the dock and kept running. Relying on the complex terrain and the cover of the crowd, she made many turns and finally temporarily shook off the pursuers behind her.

A huge empty oil tank became her last hiding place.

She hid inside, curled up, her heart beating very, very fast.

The sound of cold sweat dripping from the ends of her hair onto the back of her hands startled her.

On the third highest observation deck of the cruise ship, Pei Zhiyu was leaning against the railing with a burning cigarette between his fingers.

The black hair on his forehead was blown away by the sea breeze, and his pale profile was shrouded in white smoke.

A subordinate came quickly and reported in a low voice that Zhui Lian had escaped on the second floor.

Pei Zhiyu listened quietly without saying anything.

Until the cigarette was almost burned out, he slowly raised his hand and waved it gently, signaling his men not to chase after him.

"Ah..." He laughed very softly.

It was like watching an expected yet very interesting drama.

"My Lianlian is always so perceptive."

He looked at the dock below, which was in chaos for a moment but quickly returned to order, and at the crowd of people who were as confused as ants, but his eyes seemed to be able to penetrate the streets and lock onto the thin figure who was fleeing frantically.

"It doesn't matter."

The sound melted into the sea breeze. Pei Zhiyu whispered to himself in a doting tone that made people's hair stand on end. "Hide, Lianlian, hide as much as you can."

"The cat and mouse game... I always win."

"Whether it's on this island or at the ends of the earth, I will always find you."

The cigarette butt was extinguished on the railing, and a strange yet extremely gentle smile appeared—

One by one, the tears spread across his face.

-----------------------

The author has something to say: Dog and dog, scum and scum [rainbow fart] Pei Gou