Chapter 38: The Outlying Islands Part 2
Chu Wang looked at him for a while, then put his hands holding the Dutch water behind his back and looked around for a while. "Who should I take to Po Toi Island?"
Si Yansang pointed at himself: "Me."
Chu Wang narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at him, asking, "Who are you?"
He smiled and said, "Your fiancé."
"My fiancé?" Chu Wang looked him up and down and shook his head. "My fiancé has been eating too many potatoes and eggs lately, so he should be plump and round. You're too thin, how can you look like him?"
Si Yansang smiled rather aggrievedly, "Then it's too late for me to gain weight now, what should I do?"
Chu Wang looked at him for a while. "You haven't gained any weight after eating so much cheese. What's wrong with you?"
He weakly retorted, "Hong Kong has such great sunshine, how come you don't get a tan?"
Chu Wang said viciously: "Why, do you like darker skin?"
Si Yansang couldn't help laughing.
"No. It's just right..." He lowered his head slightly, thinking hard for a while, then looked up and concluded: "Everything is just right."
Seeing how cautious he was with his words, Chu Wang couldn't help but burst out laughing. "What do you mean by 'just right'? Whatever? Are you visiting my house?"
"Am I not your guest?" he asked in a low voice, "Then who am I to you?"
"You are mine..." Chu Wang looked up and thought seriously for a while.
Suddenly realizing it was a witty remark, she turned and walked out, tilting her head and smiling as she walked. Si Yansang hurriedly caught up and held the umbrella for her, but asked with a persistent smile, "So who is it?"
The two of them walked through the rain, one in front of the other. The rain grew heavier, almost like an early summer shower. By the time they left the dock and reached the bus stop, Chu Wang's leather shoes were nearly soaked. She looked down at his trouser legs—a patch of black below the knees spilled into his boots, presumably soaking wet inside his shoes as well.
"Where is the luggage?" Chu Wang asked.
"It's stored at the dock," he said.
Chu Wang lowered his head in thought for a moment. The bus to Aberdeen Pier arrived. Chu Wang boarded, soda in hand and two tickets between his lips. Si Yansang followed closely, umbrella folded. A crowd of people gathered, and the two of them walked to the back of the bus, where they stood for a moment before it started.
The car should have been very crowded, but Chu Wang was able to turn around easily. Looking back, she found that Si Yansang had created a small space for her.
Si Yansang let out an "Ah!" Seizing the moment Chu Wang was slightly taken aback, he snatched the two pink tickets from her mouth. As he leaned over, two drops of raindrops from his hair fell onto her hand. Chu Wang stared at the two glistening drops of water on her hand, and when she looked up, he was looking at her with a smile.
"What have you been laughing at since just now?"
He shook his head and didn't answer.
Chu Wang felt somewhat helpless and asked again, "Is it hot?"
He nodded.
Chu Wang handed the Dutch water to him, and he drank a few sips from his hand.
"Is it sweet?"
"sweet."
"Really?" Chu Wang took a sip doubtfully. It was indeed very sweet, so sweet that she couldn't help but frown. She didn't know how this person could drink the whole bottle without changing his expression.
Seeing that the Aberdeen bus was about to arrive, Chu Wang hurriedly stood on tiptoe to reach the bell rope, but he couldn't reach it after several attempts. Si Yansang smiled and gently stretched out his hand, and as if showing off, the bell rang for a long time. Chu Wang glanced at him, and he pursed his lips and rang the bell twice more. This time, even the bus driver felt that he was showing off too much, and said, "Okay, I heard it, you are not deaf! Get off the bus, Aberdeen——"
The car braked suddenly, and Chu Wang reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing towards the door. After a while, as soon as her toes touched the ground, the car sped away. She gasped and laughed, saying, "It's like a war, right?"
He did not answer, but stared blankly at his right hand which was tightly grasped by Chu Wang.
Chu Wang smiled, still pulling him toward the dock. The rain had stopped, and the hazy sunlight filtered through the clouds, leaving the ground damp. A ferry was about to depart, and the crew on the shore called out, "Changzhou, hurry up and get on board—" The boat had already sailed more than two meters from the dock, and he stopped shouting. With a running start, he leaped from the dock onto the deck, leaving Chu Wang stunned.
As soon as the commotion caused by the previous ferry's departure died down, Chu Wang went to find the crew standing by another boat and asked, "When does the next ferry to Po Toi Island leave?"
The man frowned and said, "Putai? Today is Friday, not a public day, so there are no boats operating in Putai!"
What should we do then? Chu Wang turned back to look at Si Yansang, rejecting countless other options in his mind. He narrowed his eyes slightly and stared into the distance for a long time before asking the man again, "Where is that ship heading?"
The man followed his gaze and said, "That's heading to Po Toi Island. It's just a naval vessel. They recently invited a few new officers to give lectures, so they invited the foreign officers to Po Toi Island to celebrate the weekend—"
After thanking the man, Si Yansang turned around and smiled, "Come with me." Then he pulled her towards the naval ship. The ship was gorgeous, but it was quite old. The red carpet stretched out from the cabin to the deck and the shore. Outside the red carpet, several British sailors were smoking and telling jokes in groups of three or five. He walked up to them and asked in English, "Excuse me, is Neil Brown on this ship? I just saw him."
When the sailors heard his authentic pronunciation, they couldn't help but look at him a few more times. Si Yansang smiled and said, "He and I were classmates in England."
Those people did not dare to neglect and asked each other a few questions, then asked someone to find Neil.
After a while, a plump sailor with red hair and brown eyes came trotting out from the deck. When he saw Si Yansang, he laughed and shouted in very authentic British Chinese: "Si, it's you!"
As he approached, he smiled and said in English, "I was wondering where this classmate came from!" Then he looked at Chu Wang. After taking a few glances, he suddenly understood and asked Si Yansang, "Is this the lady with the giant teddy bear?"
What giant teddy bear lady? Chu Wang's forehead was filled with questions, and he looked up at Si Yansang. He didn't seem very happy about Neil's words, frowning slightly, but slowly nodded.
Neil didn't wait for Si Yansang to introduce Chu Wang. He extended his hand to Chu Wang and said, "Hello, ma'am. I'm Neil. I came back on the same cruise ship as Si."
Chu Wang was about to shake his hand, but Neil suddenly kissed his hand, which startled Chu Wang. After Neil stood up, Chu Wang smiled awkwardly and introduced himself, "I'm Linzy."
Neil raised his eyebrows, "What else?"
Chu Wang also raised an eyebrow and looked at Si Yansang, and replied, "No more."
Neil smiled and said, "Are you planning to go to Po Toi Island? I heard him talk about it on the ship this morning. If you don't introduce yourself to me, I won't agree."
Si Yansang came to the rescue and said, "She's my fiancée."
Neil patted his shoulder and said, "I told you so." He then started to gossip with Chu Wang again: "Ms. Linzy, did he give you the teddy bear?"
"What teddy bear?"
He held Si Yansang and greeted the sailors at the door, and the three of them walked into the cabin unhindered.
"All the British classmates who came back on the same ship as us know—" Neil said in an exaggerated tone.
"Shut up." Si Yansang interrupted with a frown.
"Please continue." Chu Wang was quite interested and asked Neil to continue with a smile.
Neil lowered his voice and laughed, "He was carrying a giant teddy bear the whole way, refusing to put it in his suitcase. He kept it in his hand the entire time. The British, German, and French people on the ship all knew he must have a lovely girlfriend in Hong Kong, so the ladies who wanted to chat him up gave him a wide berth. He brought this bear full of love. Did you get it?"
Chu Wang shook his head and went to look at Si Yansang with a smile.
The more Neil talked, the darker Si Yansang's face became.
Chu Wang smiled and said, "Where's my bear?"
"It was raining heavily when we got off the boat. It looked really ugly after getting wet," Si Yansang turned his head away. "You definitely wouldn't want it if it was stuffed together with the suitcase... If you saw it, you would also think it was ugly."
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