Chapter 32: Drugging and Mistakenly Entering the Wrong Room

Chapter 32: Drugging and Mistakenly Entering the Wrong Room

The cruise ship, carrying distinguished guests, was headed to a port city on the opposite shore, staying overnight before heading back, with the entire journey lasting four days and three nights.

Upon arrival, they would just catch the local end-of-autumn fireworks display.

The cruise ship had ten decks, with seven bars alone. There was a luxury shopping center, international cuisine restaurants, a grand banquet hall, a swimming pool, hot springs... plenty of entertainment options, but notably, no casino.

This was somewhat unusual.

Meng Yao boarded the ship relatively early, and upon arrival, he could still see workers busily inspecting the ship's accessibility facilities, such as tactile paths for the blind. Sharp corners and edges, harmless to most, posed risks to those in poor health or recklessly careless.

Secretary Chen, notebook in hand, meticulously checked each item with a serious expression, afraid of missing any potential hazards.

Looking up and seeing Meng Yao, he almost couldn't suppress a laugh, mentally chanting for calm.

Young Master Meng had dark circles under his eyes, clearly having just endured 'family discipline' at home.

The Xu Family's elder sister was equally tough on her younger brother and son, having traveled across the ocean and even learned to wield a feather duster.

Secretary Chen had once overheard his boss say that Xu Huaiting had gone through the same as a child.

Despite his boss's calm and intimidating presence now, he had been quite the troublemaker in his youth. It was said that in Sicily, to fight for food, he would take on ten people single-handedly, still going for it, aiming for the most underhanded and tricky moves. Even if he got badly hurt, Xu Ziyi would still scold him upon his return.

After being scolded, he would still do the same the next time.

His wild streak was hard to tame, no wonder the Xu Family patriarch wasn't impressed when he first returned to the capital.

Meng Yao must have noticed Secretary Chen trying to stifle a laugh, his expression turning slightly resentful: "Secretary Chen, I considered you one of my own when I told you those things, but you actually reported me to my uncle."

His uncle then went and told his mother, and he himself ran off quickly. His mother also blamed him for his uncle's Royal Blue account, leaving Meng Yao to bear everything alone. Who would act like that as an uncle?

Secretary Chen gave a standard apologetic smile but didn't seem to reflect on it.

Who was he to think of him as one of his own? He only considered those who paid him as his own.

"Mr. Xu is expecting you."

Meng Yao: "Got it. By the way, what are you all busy with here?"

In his mind, none of Zhonghai's prominent figures, worth Secretary Chen's personal supervision, needed such preparations.

Secretary Chen opened his mouth, faced Meng Yao's clueless look, and silently offered an awkward smile.

How could he say that his boss had taken a liking to the younger brother of Meng Yao's beloved, the Chi Family's true young master?

Before Secretary Chen could respond, Meng Yao quipped: "You don't know, but my uncle's actions in Longde the other day have been the talk of the town, even saying 'Xu Huaiting spent a fortune to win a beauty's smile,' and even daring to say it was a man? They really don't know what kind of person my uncle is, my uncle would never be with a man..."

"Meng Yao."

A calm voice came from behind.

On the spiral staircase, a figure stood high above, backlit by the sun, looking down expressionlessly.

Meng Yao shivered for some reason, the spot where he had been hit by the feather duster by his mother earlier now aching faintly again.

Xu Huaiting wasn't much older than Meng Yao; when Meng Yao was a little brat, Xu Huaiting was still a tall and handsome youth, and Meng Yao had often sought beatings from him back then.

No wonder Meng Yao was so dismissive of those rumors.

Xu Huaiting doesn’t even spoil his own nephew, let alone show any interest in others. He’s not the type to go out of his way to make anyone happy.

He’s destined to be a lifelong bachelor.

Meng Yao thought to himself but didn’t dare say it out loud in front of Xu Huaiting.

"Uncle, our sources say Sun Hongming has been reaching out to Xu Qiting again. They’ve been meeting up a lot lately. Several of the Sun family’s businesses are struggling, and they’re having cash flow problems. They’re probably getting desperate."

But Xu Qiting is a viper, biding his time.

If it weren’t for what happened with grandma all those years ago...

Meng Yao gave Xu Huaiting a searching look, wondering if he still hadn’t moved on after all this time.

Xu Ziyi and Xu Huaiting, siblings who once depended on each other, went through a period of estrangement.

When Xu Ziyi married into the Meng Family, Xu Huaiting was left to fend for himself in a den of wolves, making life even tougher.

No one outside the family knows what caused the rift between them. All that’s known is that after Xu Huaiting came back from the military, they patched things up.

However, Meng Yao once, and only once, heard Xu Ziyi mention it.

She once told Xu Huaiting, "Who’d want to build a life with you? Who’d want to be your family?"

The Russo family puts family above everything else. A wolf can survive alone, but it needs a pack to belong to.

Family means standing together through thick and thin, never betraying, and protecting each other to the end. It’s not just about blood ties. Sometimes family and relatives aren’t the same thing.

To them, a wolf without a home, without anyone to care for or love, is doomed to die alone in the desert.

It’s almost prophetic, with a hint of foreign mysticism.

Meng Yao isn’t a firm believer in all that.

He was born in Beijing, but Xu Ziyi and Xu Huaiting grew up in Sicily under the care of Meng Yao’s grandmother, known as the Flower of Sicily.

They hold onto some beliefs and convictions that are hard to understand.

At the mention of Xu Qiting and the Sun family, Xu Huaiting’s expression barely changed. He gave a casual nod and said to Meng Yao, "Let’s talk inside."

As Meng Yao was about to step inside, he heard Xu Huaiting tell Secretary Chen, "Don’t forget to wrap that stair railing too."

Secretary Chen realized he’d missed a spot and acknowledged the order. By the time he looked up, both men were gone.

...

Boarding at 4:30 PM, setting sail at 6 PM, with the banquet at 8 PM.

Ye Man and Chi Jue’s rooms are on the top floor. After putting down their things, a crew member came knocking to take them around.

Chi Jue was no longer new to such activities. If it were up to him, he probably wouldn’t have come, and there’s nothing much to see.

He was mainly there to keep an eye on Ye Man and give him some explanations.

Ye Man, gripping his cane, stepped onto the uneven tactile path and turned to Chi Jue in surprise, "They’ve got tactile paving on the ship!"

Chi Jue responded, smoothing Ye Man’s hair that was messed up by the sea breeze when boarding, "Walk slowly, don’t fall."

Ye Man hasn’t practiced walking on tactile paving much. Sometimes he doesn’t step accurately, so he needs to walk slower and more carefully, paying close attention to the path under his feet to know what’s ahead.

Lately, my vision has gotten even blurrier. Not long ago, I could still make out the outlines of objects, but now even those outlines are unclear, and my sense of direction has worsened.

The crew member has been walking alongside, and I don’t know where they dug up this character on the ship. He has a quirky sense of humor, describing the ship’s interior and the ocean views in a really engaging way. He even stops to let Ye Man touch the things he talks about.

Ye Man was touching the golden lion head on the handrail when he suddenly heard the crew member exclaim, "Young Master Chi, there’s a good-looking mixed-race guy up ahead!"

Oh? Where is he?

Ye Man pricked up his ears.

The light dimmed as a tall, imposing figure cast a shadow.

Chi Jue’s heart sank, but he managed a polite smile. "Mr. Xu, not too busy these days? Found time to come here for some fun?"

Xu Huaiting glanced down at Ye Man, who was looking up, slightly dazed. "Pretty free."

Secretary Chen, who had been working several all-nighters, pushed up his glasses.

"Enjoy yourself."

He came over, gave a brief greeting, and left.

Leaving the Chi brothers a bit confused.

Secretary Chen shot a quick glance at the crew member, checked his phone balance, then slipped back into his role as the sharp, capable secretary.

He gave a polite smile and walked past the Chi brothers, calm and composed.

Ye Man didn’t know Xu Huaiting was also here.

The person planning to do something bad to his nephew was on edge.

"Brother Tong, he didn’t catch on and come here just to watch me, did he?"

In the original story, it seemed that because he had bad intentions toward Meng Yao, the big shot stepped in behind the scenes to move things along.

At this thought, Ye Man felt a pang of unease.

System: "No way, he can’t see the future. This is between heaven, earth, you, and me. Relax, nothing’s going to happen."

Anxious about tonight’s mission and now knowing the big shot was on board, Ye Man lost his appetite and barely touched his food at the banquet.

With everything weighing on him, eating was the last thing on his mind.

Seeing Ye Man down, Chi Jue figured he might be seasick and suggested he take some meds, then turn in early to rest up for tomorrow.

...

The weather at sea is unpredictable, and the forecast isn’t very reliable. In the blink of an eye, it was stormy.

The wind and waves were particularly strong at night, and the ship rocked violently, making it feel like walking on cotton.

This really stumped Ye Man.

He wasn’t seasick before, but now he was truly feeling it.

He had never been on a ship before and didn’t know this was seasickness. He hadn’t anticipated such a mishap.

Gripping his cane, Ye Man shuffled down the hallway, determined to play his role as the villainous pawn on a night when most were asleep.

The system gasped, seeing him in this state.

If he showed up in Meng Yao's room like this, Meng Yao would be the one getting arrested!

As Ye Man lost his grip on the cane and stumbled, he fell to the ground with a thud.

Dazed from the fall, he lay on the ground for a while before coming to his senses and crawling around to find his cane.

Once he found the cane, he clutched it to his chest, paused for a moment, and called out to Brother Tong in a tearful, pitiful voice.

The system felt like screaming.

"Ye Man, get up and go back to your room! Forget the mission!"

"Your nose! It's bleeding!"

What sin had it committed in its system life!

Ye Man was so dizzy he couldn't make out what the system was saying.

He waited, expecting no response as usual, and quietly got up on his own.

When he finally reached the floor where Meng Yao's room was, he leaned against the wall, gasping for breath like a fish out of water.

Ye Man felt like the whole world was spinning, dizzy and nauseous.

"Ugh..." he whimpered faintly, feeling miserable.

Frowning and pale, he leaned against the wall, barely able to hear Brother Tong.

"Brother Tong," he whispered, "Is this the room?"

「Ye#￥&* room￥%」

"What?"

He strained to focus, trying to make out Brother Tong's words, but all he heard was a jumble of garbled sounds.

With no other option, he had to feel his way through each room number one by one.

There weren't many rooms on this floor, so it wasn't too hard.

Did the waiter say six or nine earlier?

Ye Man hit his head.

Now he felt even dizzier.

He nearly knocked himself to his knees.

Whatever, if he entered the wrong room, the person inside would surely say something, and he could just apologize and leave.

After fumbling around, he finally found a room that seemed right, used a universal key card the system had procured, and with the mysterious medicine in his pocket, he walked in.

...

Xu Huaiting was on a video call with Xu Ziyi, mostly talking about the news Meng Yao had brought that day.

Xu Ziyi added, "Also, since you're at sea, be extra careful. If Xu Qiting finds out you're going to sea and arranges for someone to sabotage your ship, I don't want to hear about my brother and son both being lost at sea."

Xu Huaiting: "Don’t worry, I won’t give them that chance. Everything’s set and ready to go."

Xu Ziyi: "What’s with all the noise over there?"

Xu Huaiting showed Xu Ziyi the window: "It’s pouring rain. It should clear up by tomorrow morning."

As they spoke, the door beeped as it unlocked.

Xu Huaiting sat on the sofa, narrowing his eyes.

His door creaked open slowly.

Xu Ziyi was about to speak again, but Xu Huaiting put a finger to his lips to signal silence.

His eyes were locked on the door. After the lock was opened, a moment later, the intruder, sneaking in like a thief, eased the door open without a sound.

Xu Huaiting stiffened briefly, then let out a breath.

He openly checked out the intruder.

The intruder had no clue.

"Brother Tong, this is it, right?"

"This is... uh, yeah, you..."

Ye Man focused for a while, then his furrowed brow smoothed out.

Brother Tong said it was.

His pale, sickly face scanned the room, bewildered. No one was speaking; Meng Yao’s probably not here. If someone were there, they’d definitely call him out for barging in, not remain silent.

He groped his way to the table, and his hand indeed touched a wine glass and a bottle.

Just like Brother Tong said.

Once he spiked the drink, he’d burrow under the covers and wait for Meng Yao to return, then get kicked out...

He checked the wine level with his hand, then pulled the drug from his pocket with a steady hand and dropped it in.

This should do the trick—

Suddenly, someone snatched his wrist from behind, yanking it to the side.

Xu Huaiting encircled his thin wrist, his presence looming over him.

His thumb pressed against the inside of Ye Man’s wrist, clearly feeling his rapid pulse.

The man’s familiar voice, tinged with amusement, sounded behind him: "Drugging in front of me, do you think I’m dead?"

His voice was as laid-back as ever, laced with a low, teasing chuckle.

Big shot?

Ye Man was stunned. Why is it him again!

He shrunk his neck, timidly whispering: "When... when did you come?"

Xu Huaiting: "I was here from the beginning."

Ye Man: "Ah..."

"Be honest, what did you put in my cup? Who sent you? What were you planning to do to me once I took it?" He squeezed his hand, his voice softening, "If you don't explain clearly, I won't let you go."

Ye Man stammered, "It's just a bit of that substance, it doesn't harm the body, that stuff is, uh, is..." He stumbled over his words, unsure how to phrase it.

That substance?

Xu Huaiting carefully observed his embarrassed expression, the smile slowly fading from his face. In the light, his pupils narrowed to thin, vertical slits.

Ye Man: "Mr. Xu, you know, I can't see, I didn't mean to give you that stuff, I didn't know you were here, I just made a mistake, it wasn't aimed at you..."

Xu Huaiting's expression faded a bit more.

He stared at Ye Man, his voice soft but devoid of emotion, "It wasn't meant for me?"

"Then who were you planning to..." He hesitated, the words caught in his throat, "Who were you planning to give it to?"