Revenge Sevenfold

Hui Yin listened to the lapping sound of the sea waves. It was peaceful and quiet, only broken by the intermittent squawking of birds.

"Do you like it?"

Lu Shen leaned against the railing and smilingly asked the girl beside him. She was wearing a plain sky-blue summer dress, her hair tied up into a half-bun with a cherry blossom hairpin inserted at an angle. She never seemed to take off that particular hair accessory.

Hui Yin opened her eyes and gently lifted the corners of her mouth.

"Mmm, I like it."

She looked towards the far-off shore, where she couldn't see the tall outline of the hospital building anymore. Even the two figures of Lu Shen's parents became dots on the horizon, but Hui Yin could still hear their scathing remarks.

"Lu Shen, will you really let that girl go on a yacht trip with you? She must be harboring some sinister purposes!"

Mrs. Lu was more direct than Lu Yongzheng and said without qualms, "Lu Shen, that village girl is probably going to seduce you! I'm telling you, these kind of girls with low backgrounds are fond of drugging rich heirs and then having sex with them so that they can carry their babies. If you don't throw her away now, she will only bring misfortune!"

But the two of them, including Hui Yin, choked at this baby chick's honest answer to their accusations.

"Good." Then he turned to Hui Yin with eyes full of anticipation, "Are you going to seduce me?"

Hui Yin didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this kind of development. She was indeed harboring sinister purposes for going into this yacht, but it was not seduction, ah!

The sticky feeling that something was being applied to her skin broke Hui Yin's thoughts. She looked sideways and saw that Lu Shen had grabbed her left arm and was diligently applying sunscreen. He made sure not to miss even the skin between her fingers, and Hui Yin laughed at his serious appearance.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking care of you." He then went to her right side and began applying sunscreen on her other arm. "There's an extra pair of sunglasses in the master suite. You shouldn't stare at the sun directly."

After he finished her arm, he hesitated before pointing towards her exposed shoulders and her back. "You should apply some sunscreen there too."

He handed the bottle to her.

Hui Yin pushed it back to him. "I'm fine. The sun is going to set in a couple of hours anyway."

"But..."

"Tut. Let's just enjoy the moment, okay?"

Seeing that she didn't want to continue the conversation, Lu Shen could only swallow his protests and stare at the sea with her. But after a second, her hand lightly patted his cheek.

When he looked at her, Hui Yin was smiling at him. "Thank you for this."

Lu Shen's mood quickly lifted, and he nodded. He knew that something heavy was occupying her thoughts, but he didn't want to force her to tell him what it was. He could only stay quietly by her side and hope that he would slowly gain her trust.

They ate their dinner in the open-air deck, with exquisite sea food dishes and a bottle of expensive wine. This yacht was rented by Lu Shen from one of the wealthy locals, and Assistant Yan personally handpicked the crew and staff.

They were brought over from Beijing via a helicopter this morning, along with Yan's teary get-well card that contained an epic saga of how glad he was that the boss was finally found safe and sound. Of course, this was mainly due to the fact that ever since Lu Shen had been absent, it was Yan who had to handle all the excess work in the company. He even called Lu Shen's psychotherapist and asked him for daily updates.

If Lu Shen doesn't recover quickly enough, it was certain that the next tragedy to strike would be the burial of the dedicated Assistant Yan.

...

Lu Shen swallowed nervously as he waited on the bed for Hui Yin to finish her bath. His back was straight, his palms flat on his lap. He didn't know why, but it was Hui Yin herself who suggested that they stay in the same room.

Was she really going to seduce him?

Unable to bear the anxiety and excitement this thought brought him, Lu Shen stood up and paced back and forth as he waited for his heartbeat to calm down. He abruptly stopped in front of the floor-length mirror on the corner of the master suite and looked at himself.

Plain gray shirt and black shorts. This was too unappealing, wasn't it? He took off his shirt and saw that his upper body wasn't too bad. There wasn't any fat, and he seemed to be a man who properly exercised. But why didn't he feel...sexy? Should there be a little sweat?

When Hui Yin got out of the bathroom wearing a bathrobe while drying her hair with a fluffy towel, she was dumbfounded to see Lu Shen doing push ups on the bedroom floor.

What was this, ah?! Why is this man training his pectorals at night? And what's more, he was doing it half-naked!

"275...276...277..."

Hui Yin cleared her throat. "Lu Shen, you can go into the bathroom now."

Lu Shen nearly strained his muscle when he heard her voice. Pretending to be casual, he picked himself up from the floor in a lithe manner and grabbed his shirt. Puffing out his chest a little, he walked towards her while running a hand through his hair.

But Hui Yin merely furrowed her eyebrows and jabbed at the direction of the bathroom with her index finger. "That's where the bathroom is, Lu Shen."

Lu Shen did a ninety-degree spin and marched towards the bathroom. "Of course I know where it is."

When the door finally closed behind his back, he grabbed the edges of the sink and cursed, "Idiot! Idiot!"

Hui Yin, who was sitting outside, raised an eyebrow.

Is this man not aware that the bathroom isn't soundproofed?