The surrounding passengers all looked at Shen Qing with curiosity.
In Shanghai, speaking English is not unusual. What is unusual is that she was dressed in a loose Qing Dynasty gown and a peacock tail bun that signified her status as a woman. Such a feudal person could speak fluent English.
The crew member, holding Shen Qing's ticket, called over another foreign crew member. The two of them kept glancing at the ticket and at Shen Qing, whispering to each other.
Shen Qing waited patiently.
“Madam,” a crew member approached and said, “your ticket is fake. Please disembark immediately!”
Fake?
Shen Qing was taken aback.
My first thought was that Lao Xu had been scammed and bought a fake ticket.
But on second thought, that's almost impossible.
Old Xu had followed Cheng Zhiwen all over the country for many years and was very knowledgeable. Shanghai was very familiar to him, so how could he possibly buy a fake ticket?
The ticket was genuine; the two crew members assumed she couldn't afford the expensive tickets to England, so they deduced her ticket was fake!
Thinking of this, Shen Qing cursed inwardly in anger.
She composed herself and said calmly, "If you believe my ticket is fake, please provide evidence. Otherwise, you have no right to demand that I disembark."
The crew member held up the ticket and said, "This is a first-class ticket, and our first-class cabin is only open to VIP guests. If this is your first time flying on our ship, you cannot buy a first-class ticket. Therefore, we have reason to believe that this is a fake ticket!"
Shen Qing: "..."
She let out a long breath, calming her volatile temper, placed the suitcase on the ground, put her hands on her hips, looked at the crew member, and said, word by word, "I've said it before—please, produce, evidence! I need evidence, not inferences!"
The crew member was speechless and simply called to his companions. One grabbed her arm and the other lifted her suitcase, trying to drag her off the deck.
They were all foreigners, tall and strong. Although Shen Qing was not short, he had been eating and sleeping poorly for a long time, and was physically weak. He was no match for their strength and was pulled off the deck in an instant.
She yelled angrily, "Beast! Let me go, let go!"
The crew ignored her and forcibly pulled her onto the deck, pushing the box out with her.
Shen Qing almost fell over.
Just then, a young man wearing a black suit and with short hair hurried over.
He whispered something to the crew and showed them his ticket.
The crew member immediately rushed over with a nervous expression, took her suitcase, and brought her back to the ship.
The young man stepped forward, bowed to her, and presented her with her ship ticket with both hands, saying respectfully, "Ms. Shen, here is your ship ticket. I will take you to your room."
After saying that, he took the box from the crew member and turned to walk forward.
The moment he turned around, Shen Qing suddenly felt that his profile looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen him before.
She glanced at the room number on her ticket, memorized it, and followed the other person toward the middle of the passenger ship, up the stairs.
She was led to the door of a room in the top deck cabin.
The man placed two suitcases at the door, handed her the keys with both hands, and bowed to her again: "These are the keys to your room. Have a pleasant journey."
Shen Qing took the key and bowed to him, saying, "Thank you."
She turned to face the door, inserting the key as she recalled the scene, and felt increasingly familiar with the young man; she was sure she had seen him somewhere before.
It shouldn't be Shanghai.
Every time she came to Shanghai, Lao Xu would pick her up and drop her off in his car, and she would almost always stay in the hotel to discuss business with Cheng Zhiwen, rarely going anywhere else.
Could it be Jiangzhou?
Thinking of this, Shen Qing immediately turned around to ask if the other person had ever been to Jiangzhou, but the person had already disappeared.
She unlocked the door, full of questions.
When the door opened and she saw everything inside, she was so surprised that she stood there stunned.
Thick apricot-colored carpet, light brown abstract patterned wallpaper, solid wood furniture, oil paintings, a fireplace, and a dazzling crystal chandelier overhead.
This is a rather luxurious European-style room, even by 21st-century standards.
"My God, a room like this only cost ten taels of silver, how did Old Xu manage to do that?"
She went into the room, turned around and locked the door, put the two suitcases on the luggage rack, walked to the thick fabric sofa, sat down, and let out a long, comfortable sigh.
She looked around the luxurious room in front of her, which was no different from a modern European-style house, and felt a sense of disorientation as if she had returned to the modern world.
But... why isn't there a bed?
Shen Qing stood up, looked around the room, and discovered that there were three more doors in the room.
She opened each door and glanced inside.
The three rooms include a bedroom, a bathroom, and a study.
It turned out to be a suite.
Shen Qing was very satisfied. He checked the door lock again and then carried the suitcase into the bedroom.
Open one of them, take out all the clothes and hang them up, then throw the silk nightgown onto the bed.
She was a little excited when she saw the shower in the bathroom.
Having been in the Qing Dynasty for several months, she had never seen a showerhead before. Now that there was one in the bathroom, she couldn't wait to rinse her hair.
Having prepared her nightgown and towel, she immediately sat down at the vanity to undo her hair.
Touching the ruby hairpin in her hair bun, she paused, lost in thought for a few seconds, before taking it off.
Old Xu said that Cheng Zhiwen has already returned to Shanghai...
If he is still staying at the Astor House Hotel, then it's only a few kilometers from where she is now.
He had previously said he would go to Europe with her, but later she realized she had fallen for him and stopped bringing it up, and he never mentioned going to Europe again.
He certainly didn't know that she was leaving China today.
He was busy with his own affairs, while she pursued her own future.
Whether this trip to Europe will bring good or bad fortune is unpredictable.
If she doesn't come back this time, then our last farewell will be our last.
However, only she knew of these sorrowful feelings; they had no effect on him whatsoever.
This probably describes the fate of all men and women who are destined to be apart.
Shen Qing sighed, placed the red jewel hairpin on the table, and untied her heavy updo.
A long, drawn-out whistle sounded in my ears; the passenger ship was about to depart.
The appearance of this sound meant that unauthorized persons below the boat could not board, and those on the boat could not disembark.
This passenger ship, carrying several hundred people, is about to cross the Channel alone to reach England.
And she, too, began her journey alone.
Shen Qing was stunned for a moment, then sighed and untied her hair completely.
I walked to the window, pulled back the curtains, and looked outside.
The sea stretched as far as the eye could see, with no buildings in sight.
The passenger ship has departed.
Relieved, she went to check the main door again before taking her pajamas and towel to the bathroom.
Having not showered for so long, and with her waist-length, thick hair, it took Shen Qing an hour to tidy herself up.
The bathroom door opened, and as soon as the person stepped out, they saw a man sitting on the living room sofa.
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