high seas
At the fishing port on the south island, a salty, damp sea breeze blows in your face.
Liang An and Ling Xiao, carrying a bag of fresh mangoes and a beautifully packaged women's silk scarf, searched for the "Qiong Yu" among the many fishing boats at the dock.
"There!" Ling Xiao pointed to the exceptionally clean and tidy blue fishing boat in the distance. The three white characters "Qiong Yu Hao" on the hull gleamed in the afternoon sunlight.
As they approached, they saw He Xiufang with her back to them, bending over to arrange the fishing nets on the deck. Her movements were quick and skillful, and she was wearing her familiar light blue work clothes.
"Sister He!" Liang An called out.
He Xiufang turned around abruptly, a fleeting hint of panic in her eyes. She instinctively tugged at her sleeve, forcing a smile: "Oh, it's Ling and Liang. What brings you here?"
“We’ve come to thank you,” Ling Xiao said, leading Liang An onto the deck and handing him the gift. “Thank you for jumping in to save Liang An the moment he fell into the water.”
He Xiufang accepted the gift, her eyes darting around as if she were trying to appear calm. Her hands unconsciously clenched and unclenched. "You're too kind. It's what I should do. You...you should go back quickly. It's windy here, don't catch a cold."
Liang An noticed an unnatural bruise at the corner of her left eye. Although she tried her best to cover it with foundation, it was still faintly visible in the sunlight. He was about to ask about it when He Xiufang interrupted him with her urgent voice:
"I accept the gifts, thank you. I have to prepare to set sail, so I won't keep you any longer."
Her tone was urgent, almost urging them to leave. Liang An and Ling Xiao exchanged a glance, both sensing an unusual atmosphere. He Xiufang was tense, her tension unlike that of a ship owner preparing for a normal sea voyage.
"Sister He, are you alright?" Ling Xiao asked tentatively.
"It's nothing, it's just... I'm in a bit of a rush." He Xiufang glanced at the entrance to the dock again, and this time her expression changed noticeably.
Liang An followed her gaze and saw a group of people walking quickly toward the dock. At the front were two elderly people, followed by several middle-aged men, one of whom was waving his arms aggressively, as if shouting something.
He Xiufang's face turned pale instantly. She quickly bypassed Liang An and Ling Xiao, swiftly untied the mooring ropes, and started the engine. The fishing boat roared as it slowly began to leave the dock.
"He Xiufang! Stop right there!" came an angry shout from the shore.
Liang An saw that the group of people had already run to the dock. The elderly woman in the lead was pointing at them and cursing loudly, while an old man next to her was also angrily waving his fist. But the "Qiongyu" had already sailed away from the dock, leaving the noise behind.
"Sister He, what's going on?" Ling Xiao asked.
He Xiufang's hands trembled slightly as she gripped the steering wheel, but she tried to remain calm: "I'm sorry for dragging you into this. I..."
She glanced back at the two boys, her eyes filled with complex emotions: "You two sit down first, I need to steer the boat to a safe place."
The fishing boat left a white trail on the sea, gradually moving away from the coastline. Liang An and Ling Xiao found a place to sit down, their minds filled with questions, but looking at He Xiufang's focused and resolute profile, they decided to remain silent for the time being.
The sea breeze grew stronger, ruffling He Xiufang's hair. She steered the boat, her gaze unfocused, as if recalling something painful. The boat rocked gently, and Liang An instinctively grasped Ling Xiao's hand, their fingers intertwined, offering each other silent support.
As dusk settled, the last rays of the setting sun disappeared below the horizon. He Xiufang finally slowed the boat down and brought it to a stop in the vast ocean. There was no land in sight, only the boundless, deep blue sea.
"Is this... international waters?" Ling Xiao asked in a low voice.
He Xiufang nodded and finally turned off the engine. In the sudden silence, only the sound of waves gently lapping against the hull could be heard. She leaned wearily against the driver's seat, closed her eyes, and her shoulders trembled slightly.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated, “for bringing you so far away. Wait for me… wait until I’ve thought it through, and I’ll get you to a safe place.”
Liang An and Ling Xiao exchanged a glance, then cautiously asked, "Who are those people on the shore?"
He Xiufang didn't answer, but simply shook her head, signaling him not to ask. The three fell silent, the only sounds the wind and the waves. The fishing boat, like a small, helpless vessel on a vast ocean, drifted aimlessly.
As darkness fell completely, the night sky, free from urban light pollution, revealed its true form. Countless stars twinkled across the night, and the Milky Way stretched across the sky like diamond dust sprinkled on black velvet.
Then, at the edge of the sea, a soft silver light quietly appeared.
Liang An and Ling Xiao held their breath, watching the incredible sight. The silver light gradually expanded, first into a small arc, then a semicircle, and finally a huge full moon rose from the sea, like a gentle dream.
The moon wasn't hanging high in the sky as it usually appeared, but rather low over the sea, so close it seemed almost within reach. Its light wasn't a cold white, but a warm, pale golden halo, paving a shimmering silver path across the sea, leading right to their feet.
It poured down generously, coating the gunwales, ropes, He Xiufang's back, and their leaning shoulders with a soft silver edge.
The sea was no longer a deep and terrifying expanse, but a soft, undulating ribbon of silk, sparkling with countless stars. At that moment, the immense beauty of nature, in an almost benevolent manner, embraced all the bewilderment and unease on this small boat.
Liang An leaned against Ling Xiao, feeling the warmth of his body. He turned his head and saw the moonlight flowing across Ling Xiao's young and clear eyes, and his heart suddenly calmed down. The fear and anxiety about the unknown that had been adrift on the high seas miraculously subsided.
In this secluded realm, ruled by moonlight, only each other's breath, body temperature, and clasped fingers are the true coordinates.
He suddenly remembered a line of poetry: "The moon in the sea is the moon in the sky, and the person before me is the person in my heart."
The turbulent ship, the uncertain future, the joys and sorrows of others... all became background. Liang An gripped Ling Xiao's hand tightly, their heartbeats slowly synchronizing with the rhythm of the waves.
He Xiufang also went up to the deck. Looking at the scene, her tense expression finally relaxed. The moonlight shone on her face, softening the fine wrinkles and scars, making her look much younger than her actual age.
The three of them calmed down. He Xiufang gazed at the silver road and suddenly said softly, "Would you like to hear my story?"
Her voice was soft, yet exceptionally clear. Perhaps it was the boundless moonlight that gave her courage, perhaps it was the vast ocean that made her feel safe, or perhaps it was the clear trust in the eyes of these two boys that made her want to confide in them.
Liang An and Ling Xiao exchanged a glance and nodded.
He Xiufang took a deep breath and began to speak in a calm tone.
She was born in a fishing village near the island city, where her parents made their living from the sea. The family was harmonious, and their financial situation was considered above average in the village. Her parents worked diligently to raise her and her younger brother. Although they were somewhat sexist, compared to other girls in the fishing village, she was still cherished by her parents, and her adolescence was free and beautiful.
Like other fisherwomen from ordinary families, she was taught from a young age to be sensible, capable, and to act like a girl.
She started going out to sea with her father at the age of sixteen, learning to sail, fish, and read the weather. By seventeen, she could operate a small fishing boat independently. At that time, she was a well-known capable girl in the surrounding area, and she was also pretty. People in the village said she was the most beautiful girl in the fishing village.
So, when she reached marriageable age, matchmakers flocked to her, and she became the most popular girl in the surrounding villages. Her parents carefully selected Shen Yuan, a man of equal social standing, for her. At their first meeting, Shen Yuan wore a clean white shirt, his hair neatly combed, and his eyes crinkled when he smiled. He Xiufang experienced the feeling of being moved for the first time, and she blushed.
She told her parents she was willing to marry him. She was full of anticipation for her upcoming married life: a clean-cut and respectable husband, a stable life. She even began to plan how to be a good wife and how to build their little family together with her husband.
At this point in her recollection, He Xiufang paused, her gaze fixed on the distant moonlight, as if staring at her past self.
“After we got married, I slowly began to see Shenyuan’s problems. He grew up spoiled by his parents and was not an ambitious young man. His neat and clean appearance before marriage was just a facade. After marriage, he simply stopped pretending and spent his days idly drinking and playing cards with a bunch of bad friends.”
"As a new bride, I was shy and timid in the face of an unfamiliar environment, and at first I didn't dare to discipline him too much. I tried my best to be a good wife, keeping the house in good order and helping his parents with chores, hoping that my compromises would earn the respect of my in-laws. But I was wrong."
He Xiufang's voice was helpless and low, as if weighed down by a heavy stone. Ling Xiao gently embraced Liang An, resting his chin on his shoulder, and continued to listen to He Xiufang's story.
The young girl He Xiufang became the young woman He Xiufang. Her willingness to compromise gradually turned her into a pitiful woman who could work during the day and sleep at night.
She took on all the chores for her husband's family, including the heavy work on the fishing boat, while Shenyuan continued to be the boy who never grew up, eating, drinking and having fun with his friends.
The hardships of marriage deepened the conflict between He Xiufang and her in-laws, yet she had nowhere to confide in them. In the traditional fishing village, a married daughter was considered like water spilled from a cup; returning to her parents' home to complain would only embarrass them.
One day, Shen Yuan lost money gambling and stole He Xiufang's savings of three months. They finally had their first argument, which became the beginning of Shen Yuan's physical altercation.
He shoved me, and my head hit the corner of the table, drawing blood. That was the first time he had ever laid a hand on me. I looked at him in terror, but he just coldly said, "This is my money; I can spend it however I want."
He Xiufang's voice trembled, and her eyes became vacant, as if she had returned to that terrible moment.
“I went back to my parents’ home and used all the savings I had brought with me when I got married to kneel down and beg my father to help me get a loan to buy a boat of my own. My father felt sorry for me and borrowed money from all over the place, and finally helped me buy the Qiongyu boat.”
“Once I had my own boat, I became the owner of my own boat and earned my own money. I thought I had found a way out. But Shenyuan gambled more and more fiercely, and he started to frequently run out of money. He would make unreasonable demands, asking me to sell the boat or give him all the money I earned.”
“For the sake of peace in my life, I would occasionally pay him to leave me alone. Every time I gave him money, I felt like I was drinking poison to quench my thirst, but I had no other choice. In that small fishing village, if I got divorced, everyone would point fingers at me, and my parents would be ashamed to face me.”
Under the moonlight, He Xiufang's profile appeared exceptionally pale. Liang An and Ling Xiao listened quietly, not daring to interrupt.
“Last month, I went out to sea as usual and returned home after finishing my work and packing. When I got home, I found out that Shenyuan had been arrested by the police for gambling. I thought he would learn his lesson this time, but I didn’t expect that his parents would not only not discipline their son, but also make a scene at me, accusing me of ‘not being able to keep a man’, saying that it was because I did not fulfill my responsibilities as a wife that Shenyuan went out to gamble.”
“At that moment, all my grievances and anger finally erupted. I cried loudly in front of my unreasonable in-laws like a shrew. This was the first time I had cried so heartbreakingly since I got married. I abandoned all pride and shouted out all the grievances I had suffered over the years. I said I wanted a divorce and I wanted to leave this family.”
"Just then, Shen Yuan was released. When he saw me with red and swollen eyes and clenched teeth, his first reaction wasn't to apologize or comfort me, but to rush up and grab me..."
He Xiufang's voice began to tremble: "Without saying a word, he raised his hand and swung it at me. I was stunned and before I could react, he started punching and kicking me. That was the first time he had ever really hit me. His fists rained down on me. And his parents just stood by and watched coldly."
He Xiufang choked up and couldn't speak, remaining silent for a long time. But she didn't pull herself out of her memories; she wanted to leave a trace in this world, even if the people listening to her story were just two naive high school teenagers.
It was during that brutal beating that He Xiufang's understanding of life and marriage underwent a dramatic change. After marriage, she did not live with dignity, but merely became the most practical tool in Shen Yuan's life.
In the thrill of throwing a punch, Shen Yuan realized how the 'authority' of the head of the household is established. Having tasted the sweetness of domestic violence, he stubbornly refused to divorce. He Xiufang thus endured a difficult period of entanglement.
A gentle sea breeze brought a refreshing coolness. Ling Xiao took down a thin blanket hanging at the cabin door and handed it to He Xiufang. She nodded gratefully and continued her story:
“After being beaten, I went back to my parents’ home, but I was even more saddened to find that as a married daughter, the support I could get was limited. My father sighed and said, ‘When husband and wife quarrel, they make up before they get out of bed.’ My mother secretly slipped me some money and told me to ‘bear with it.’”
“In this small fishing village, girls are like rootless duckweed. I finally understood that I only had myself and this loan-bearing fishing boat. I spent more time running the fishing boat, working hard to earn money to pay off the loan, and occasionally using money to appease Shen Yuan in exchange for temporary peace.”
He Xiufang closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and the following narration became even more difficult:
“The day Liang An fell into the water, I felt uneasy. After you left, Shen Yuan came to Qiongyu again. This time, he not only wanted money, but also wanted me to sell the boat to help him pay off a huge gambling debt. He said that if I didn’t sell the boat, the people from the casino would break his legs.”
“I looked at him, the man I once thought I would spend my life with, who was now just a stranger consumed by gambling. I calmly told him that the ship was my life and I would not sell it. He started smashing things on the ship like a madman. I stepped forward to stop him, and he grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the ship’s side.”
"In that instant, the instinct for survival overwhelmed everything. I struggled desperately and grabbed at the iron fire extinguisher on the ship. I didn't know what had happened, I only knew that when I came to my senses, Shen Yuan was already lying on the deck, dark red blood seeping from the back of his head."
The moonlight seemed to dim, and the silvery road on the sea became hazy. He Xiufang's voice was so soft it was almost inaudible:
“I didn’t call for help, I didn’t call the police. I just sat there blankly, watching his body gradually lose its temperature. Then I made a decision—to hide him in the cold storage.”
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