She'd give any man a second glance.
"You lied to me again!" Yu Tang didn't want to talk to him anymore.
Yu Chaoxian thought about it and realized that this was indeed no different from deceiving a child.
He pulled her into his arms, coaxed her gently, and held her as she drifted off to sleep. Yu Tang felt uncomfortable being held so tightly, struggling between wanting to sleep and not wanting to, but ultimately succumbed to the overwhelming drowsiness.
In her dream, she was entangled by a python and almost suffocated.
The first few days on the boat were indeed novel. She would get up in the middle of the night to watch the flying fish, and a few even jumped onto the boat. Yu Tang even took pictures with her phone to commemorate the moment. But after a week and seeing them several times, Yu Tang became bored and listless. She fell asleep halfway through the trip and wouldn't let Yu Chaoxian wake her up to watch anymore.
During the day, while admiring the sea view from the deck, Yu Tang turned her attention to the speedboat on the ship. She had witnessed the speed of the speedboat that night, and just imagining the feeling of driving it across the sea made her heart race.
Want to give it a try?
Yu Chaoxian's voice suddenly rang in her ears, and she turned her head to meet his ambiguous smile.
Yu Tang hesitated and nodded, "Yes, but I don't know how."
Unexpectedly, the man actually took a liking to it, took her aboard the speedboat, and taught her how to drive.
As the sea breeze swept over her, Yu Chaoxian wrapped his arms around her from behind, his hot chest pressed against her taut back, and his hands covered her hands gripping the steering wheel.
The moment the engine roared, the speedboat shot off like an arrow. Yu Tang cried out in surprise as her back slammed into his arms.
She heard his muffled laughter, his chest heaving: "With me here, what are you afraid of?"
The next second, Yu Tang felt an unprecedented sense of freedom—tiny waves splashed on her face, and the salty sea breeze filled her chest. Yu Chaoxian's arms remained firmly around her, allowing her to focus on gazing into the distance with peace of mind.
Her hair fluttered in the sea breeze. Yu Tang was so engrossed in the rapid experience that she didn't notice the deep gaze the man behind her was giving her as he stared at her profile.
Yu Chaoxian guided her to lightly steer with her left hand, and the speedboat drew a beautiful arc, the splashing rainbow-colored water mist enveloping the two of them.
The setting sun stretched their shadows long on the shimmering sea, their overlapping figures being broken and pieced back together by the waves, like an endless game of taming.
On the deck, A-Jin watched the two figures not far away, his gaze then falling on Yu Tang's earnest studying. A barely perceptible flicker crossed the boy's expressionless face, before he returned to his usual cold demeanor.
After a week's journey, the ship docked at the port of Haibao, just in time for the local port festival.
The Seaburg Harbour Festival is a major annual festival in Seaburg, a grand ocean carnival filled with romance, excitement, and a relaxed atmosphere.
There will be plenty of local delicacies and various performances on that day, making it a festival suitable for all ages.
As the yacht slowly entered the harbor, Yu Chaoxian's gaze fell on the excited Yu Tang beside him. Recalling the way she looked up in amazement at the last fireworks display, he figured she would have a great time at the Haikou Street Festival as well.
Yu Tang had already stood on tiptoe to look at the bustling port.
Looking out from a high vantage point, it seems as if the entire city is gently swaying with the waves of the sea.
Yu Tang grabbed his sleeve and asked, "Are we going to go play there?"
"Mmm." Yu Chaoxian raised his hand and stroked the girl's soft hair, responding indulgently, his thumb brushing against her earlobe. "You can eat whatever you want and play whatever you want."
Seeing Yu Tang's excited expression, Mickey immediately understood why his boss had taken a detour this time.
The morning mist had not yet dissipated, but the harbor was already bathed in golden sunlight. Sailboats stood like a forest of masts, moored along the pier, their hulls rising and falling gently with the tide, while couples strolled hand in hand on the pier.
Besides the refreshing sea breeze, Yu Tang also smelled the aroma of freshly baked fish burgers in the air—crispy pastry wrapped around smoked salmon, with a squeeze of lemon juice, which is the most authentic taste of the fish burger.
As soon as she got off the boat, Yu Tang let go of everything and ran excitedly towards the restaurant that was filled with delicious aromas.
Yu Chaoxian's hand was suddenly empty. He frowned and asked in a cold tone, "Who gave her the money?"
Mickey shuddered: "I'm sorry, boss, but Miss Yu called me Brother Mickey."
Fortunately, Ah Jin was with her, so there was no danger and Yu Chaoxian went with her.
The holiday was crowded and noisy, which annoyed Yu Chaoxian so much that he simply sat down at an open-air bar by the pier, ordered a drink, and waited for her.
Under a striped parasol, a waiter brought Yu Chaoxian a glass of beer, a local favorite, while a dog lazily sunbathed in the distance.
The seagulls near the pier seemed to have gone mad, swooping down to snatch the bread from the tourists' hands. Yu Tang naturally joined in as well, and the bread was snatched away by the seagulls as soon as her hand was empty.
Yu Chaoxian's gaze swept casually, finally landing on Yu Tang. A gentle breeze made the girl's sun-drenched hair dance around her ears, and a faint blush rose to her cheeks.
Last night, she nestled in his arms, her face flushed, her warm, fragrant breath brushing against his chest. She spoke haltingly, pleading with him to slow down. Her eyes were watery and pitiful, making her seem so vulnerable to being teased, which is why he didn't stop for a long time last night.
Just a moment later, countless beautiful images flashed through his mind. Yu Chaoxian suddenly felt thirsty, his Adam's apple bobbing as he took a sip of ice-cold beer.
After feeding the seagulls, Yu Tang walked further ahead. On the main stage, a brass band played cheerful melodies, and adults, children, and many elderly people swayed to the rhythm. The old sailors, dressed in traditional seaman uniforms, with gray beards but still vigorous, told the children stories of their ocean adventures.
Yu Chaoxian didn't even need to look to know that his innocent little aunt was listening intently beside him, and after listening, she put a bill in the box next to her.
Tsk, how can they be so easily fooled?
Perhaps she was hungry from playing, Yu Tang went to a very popular restaurant and queued up to order food. She figured that since so many people were eating there, the food must taste pretty good.
She turned to A-Jin and said something, as if asking a question. A-Jin bent down, her expression as lacking as ever, but her tone was much gentler than usual.
Yu Tang seemed to be having a lot of fun, as her smile never stopped even while waiting in line. The ice in Yu Chaoxian's glass had melted completely, so Mickey opened another bottle of wine and added more ice to the glass.
Not long after, Yu Tang came over with sandwiches and snacks. A Jin had one, and she gave Mickey another. "A Jin said you like salmon."
"Thank you." Mickey accepted it with both hands.
Yu Tang still had two fresh fish sandwiches in her hand, one for herself and one for Yu Chaoxian.
The crispy little round buns are cut in half, filled with a slice of chilled smoked herring or marinated salmon, drizzled with a spoonful of yogurt sauce, sprinkled with a few diced raw onions and slices of pickles, and squeezed with the juice of half a lemon. I heard the fish is all freshly caught that day, with incredibly fresh and tender flesh, and no strange fishy smell.
Yu Tang had never tried this combination before. She heard that the taste was quite unique, so she was eager to try this fresh fish sandwich to see just how unusual it was.
She wasn't sure if Yu Chaoxian had tried it before, so she bought him the same thing.
If it's going to taste bad, then we'll all taste bad together. Anyway, he always lied to himself and ate sour oranges before.
"Want to try it?" Yu Tang placed the sandwich in his hand.
Yu Chaoxian originally had no appetite, but the girl's dark eyes looked at him, and she was strangely obedient. It was Yu Tang who was concerned about whether he was hungry.
He paused, put down his wine glass, and took the sandwich.
Yu Tang focused on the portion in her hand. The moment she tore a corner of the wrapper, a seagull swooped down and snatched the fresh fish inside.
Her hand froze in place, holding up the empty wrapper, unable to accept it for a moment. She looked both pitiful and ridiculous.
Yu Chaoxian's sandwich was also targeted by a gaze, but it wasn't the seagull.
"What do you mean?" He looked at Yu Tang, who was staring longingly at the food in his hand, with amusement. "You want to eat mine?"
Yu Tang took a sip of the juice next to her and said sullenly, "No."
Only after taking a sip did I realize it wasn't juice, but the beer that Yu Chaoxian had just ordered.
Yu Tang quickly pushed it away. Last time, after drinking half a bottle of wine, something absurd happened, so Yu Tang kept her distance from alcohol.
Singing drifted from afar; it was a street performer playing guitar, singing harbor folk songs in a hoarse voice. Occasionally, a drunken sailor would join in the chorus. Yu Tang's gaze was drawn to it, and she wanted to run over to watch.
But she couldn't go; Yu Chaoxian grabbed her.
"Sit down and eat."
In the end, Yu Chaoxian's sandwich naturally ended up in her stomach as well.
After finishing the sandwich, Yu Chao took Yu Tang to the restaurant. How could such a small amount of food possibly satisfy her?
Seeing that she still wanted to go out and play, and was going to have too much fun, she even skipped meals to go see some random street performers.
She would glance at any man she met.
Yu Chaoxian glanced at her and said, "You'll see later. Let's eat first."
"Oh, okay then." Yu Tang obediently followed him; she was indeed a little hungry.
This restaurant features an open kitchen surrounding the tables, but it wasn't very crowded, and the environment was relatively quiet.
Yu Chaoxian lowered his eyes to look at the girl beside him, while Yu Tang focused intently on the chef cooking, her gaze unwavering.
Sure enough, she loves looking at these fancy things. It was the same with the underwater restaurant before; it was just liquid nitrogen, yet she still showed such an appreciative expression.
Thinking this, Yu Chaoxian suddenly pinched her fingers. Yu Tang immediately turned around, but Yu Chaoxian took another sip of wine and ignored her.
With this tug, Yu Tang no longer looked at the head chef and lowered her head to eat her main dish.
The final dessert was a chocolate ball. Yu Tang thought it was just ordinary chocolate, but after the hot syrup was poured over it, the chocolate gradually cracked open, revealing elderflower ice cream hidden inside.
The chef said in English, "You can write the initials of your names on the dessert plate with cocoa powder. Many couples do this... So, what are the initials of your names?"
Clearly, the head chef considered her and Yu Chaoxian to be a couple.
"No, we are..." Yu Tang quickly explained, then looked up at Yu Chaoxian, her voice lowering, unable to utter the words "aunt and niece." After doing such a thing, could they still be a normal aunt and niece?
Yu Chaoxian remained silent, his gaze fixed on her. She retorted without the slightest hesitation. What relationship is important? At least the aunt-niece relationship was a blood bond that Yu Tang, who valued kinship, could not sever and could never break. In other words, Yu Tang would forgo her lover but not her family.
Therefore, even though Yu Tang couldn't accept the change in their relationship, she couldn't abandon her nephew.
The chef's eyes were questioning, as if he was waiting for Yu Tang's follow-up words so he could write down the letters to complete the dessert.
Yu Tang didn't dare to provoke Mr. Yu Chao, so she looked at him, as if waiting for him to define their relationship.
Yu Chao first ruffled Yu Tang's hair and told the head chef to write two "Y"s.
The head chef, unaware of the details, laughed and said the two were truly destined to be together, as their letters were the same.
How could they be different, aunt and nephew?
Yu Tang saw the two "YY"s on the plate, which were extremely glaring. She finished her dessert, and the original traces of the two letters were no longer visible.
After the meal, the chef asked Yu Tang to look out the floor-to-ceiling window: "Sir and Madam, you have reserved the best seats to watch the sailboat parade. Please look across the street."
From Yu Tang's vantage point, one can see the scenery in every corner of the harbor.
The sailing parade was quite spectacular. Hundreds of classic wooden sailboats, modern yachts, and even replica pirate ships sailed by in formation.
The fleet lit up with colorful lights, instantly transforming the sea into a starry galaxy. Crowds thronged the shore, with children riding on their fathers' shoulders, excitedly watching the spectacle.
Yu Tang's gaze was immersed in the night—the windows lit with warm lights, the cruise ships trailing streaks of light, all were reflected in her dilated pupils.
It was as if the entire city's night view was a reflection in her eyes.
Yu Tang looked out at the beautiful world outside the glass greenhouse built by Yu Chaoxian, a world that was both wonderful and full of novelty and danger.
The Ferris wheel in the distance turned slowly, couples in the carriages kissed at the highest point, while the night market on the shore remained bustling with activity. Mulled wine, handicrafts, sailor knot weaving stalls... until late at night, songs still drifted in the damp evening breeze.
Yu Chaoxian glanced at the time; it was getting late, and the number of people outside was gradually decreasing. He called out to Tangtang, "Let's go."
Yu Tang quickly got up, hurriedly said goodbye to the head chef, and ran to catch up with that figure.
The sea breeze seemed to carry away all of Yu Tang's worries, leaving only comfort and ease. She quietly followed behind Yu Chaoxian, slowly walking towards the port.
The sudden grasp of her hand pulled Yu Tang back to reality, and the man's tall figure completely enveloped her.
At that moment, fireworks suddenly burst in the sky above the harbor, their dazzling light and shadows illuminating the spire of St. Michael's Church and the embracing crowd.
Under the fireworks, Yu Tang was turned by the back of her neck with one hand by Yu Chaoxian, and a gentle kiss landed on her.
The sea breeze blew away the tears from Yu Tang's eyes. She didn't know how much longer she would have to endure this torment, or when Yu Chaoxian would finally end his revenge and release her.
All she knew was that Yu Chaoxian's kiss lasted for a very, very long time.
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Author's Note: Is anyone still reading? [emoji]
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