22: islands

Why was the gift box from Yan Zhuoyan in the suitcase???

Yan Zhuohua was deeply shaken; his restless hand was already reaching for his phone, prepared to write a suicide note in advance.

Perhaps Yan Zhuohua's gaze was too intense, as Yan Qinghe turned around as if sensing something, only to see Yan Zhuohua staring intently at the suitcase in front of him, his hand still fumbling for something.

Glancing down at the gift box in the suitcase, Yan Qinghe understood.

"Don't worry, you were... too tired last night. We won't do anything tonight; I'll let you have a good rest."

So this meant a suspended sentence? Why couldn't it be an acquittal? The look in Yan Zhuohua's eyes grew even more desperate. Before getting married, he never would have imagined that the biggest problem he'd face in life would be this.

Seeing no hope of escape, Yan Zhuohua resigned himself to his fate. He picked up the phone he had been fumbling for and removed Yan Zhuoyan from his blacklist. "When I make it back alive, I'll definitely bury all your Weapon models with me!" After sending it, he decisively blocked him again.

Yan Zhuoyan, on the other side of the world: "?"

Yan Zhuoyan tried to send a message only to find he was blocked again. After carefully considering his recent actions, he understood. Burying my models with you? Let's see me prepare a few more fun toys for you first!

After Yan Qinghe finished unpacking and freshening up, Yan Zhuohua thought it was time for bed. To his surprise, he watched helplessly as Yan Qinghe took out a tube of ointment.

The previous two times, Yan Qinghe had applied the ointment after Yan Zhuohua had already fallen asleep from exhaustion, so he hadn't felt much. But now that Yan Zhuohua was wide awake, how could he possibly accept such a thing?

"I—I'll do it myself." Yan Zhuohua attempted to snatch the ointment away.

"It's not very convenient for you, and you can't see the situation clearly. Better let me do it."

"No, no, no, I can do it myself. I can!"

"Be good. There's no doctor here. If you don't handle it properly and develop a fever, it'll take hours for a doctor to arrive. Besides, do you want a doctor to know how you got sick?"

Yan Qinghe had hit Yan Zhuohua where it hurt. But whose fault was it? If you hadn't done it, there wouldn't even be a need for ointment, right? Filled with indignation, Yan Zhuohua could only lie face down on the bed helplessly in the end.

Yan Zhuohua turned as red as a cooked shrimp, biting his lip hard to keep from making a sound, struggling to restrain himself from kicking the person between his legs away.

The whole process felt incredibly long to Yan Zhuohua—so long that he had already cursed today's miserable events a dozen times in his head before he finally felt Yan Qinghe's fingers reluctantly withdraw.

I never knew you were such a big rogue!

Once it was all over, Yan Qinghe almost burst out laughing seeing Yan Zhuohua lying motionless on the bed. So cute! But he had to coax the little cutie properly, or else things would get messy if he stayed angry.

So, he washed his hands, turned off the lights, and pulled the other into his arms to soothe him, gently coaxing him to sleep.

Trapped in the embrace, Yan Zhuohua's mind was filled with the day's shameful events. Gradually, however, under Yan Qinghe's soft soothing, Yan Zhuohua succumbed to his physical exhaustion and drifted into dreamland.

The next day, Yan Zhuohua woke up in Yan Qinghe's arms. Speaking of which, they had shared a bed three times now, but today was the first time he saw Yan Qinghe as soon as he opened his eyes.

The person before him was still asleep. His features weren't sharp to begin with, and now in sleep, they appeared even more gentle and soft. Yan Zhuohua was held tightly in his arms, his collarbone right before his eyes, his scent lingering around his nose.

A sliver of sunlight streamed in from the window. Yan Zhuohua gently turned over in Yan Qinghe's arms, looking at the light rising from the distant horizon. It seemed it was still early. He must have slept too much yesterday, causing him to wake up much earlier today.

Not wanting to disturb Yan Qinghe, Yan Zhuohua lay quietly in his arms and watched the scenery outside.

Today was their third day since arriving. He seemed to have grown accustomed to this life of just the two of them, constantly together, as if the rest of the world had vanished. There were no distractions or matters waiting for him to investigate; every day he opened his eyes, he spent a peaceful day with the person beside him. Living like this wasn't bad, though it made it easy to lose one's fighting spirit.

Moreover, it really felt like being a canary hidden away by a CEO.

Hard to take.

Pulling back his increasingly ridiculous thoughts, Yan Zhuohua focused on their life over the past few days. After the wedding, it was as if some strange switch had been flipped in Yan Qinghe; he had become, well, that way and very direct. Furthermore, he realized his own attitude toward Yan Qinghe had unconsciously grown much closer. He couldn't figure out why—maybe because they slept together too much?

Yan Zhuohua was startled by his own thought.

Still, this kind of development was always good. They were going to spend a lifetime together; if love could blossom between them one day, it would be a good thing.

Having thought it through, Yan Zhuohua stopped dwelling on these issues. He turned back around and pressed his face against Yan Qinghe's collarbone.

Spending a lifetime like this with someone intimate was actually quite nice.

Drowsily, Yan Zhuohua fell back asleep. By the time he woke up again, it was broad daylight. Yan Qinghe was gone from the bed again, likely off to make breakfast. For a grand CEO to cook, clean, and organize clothes every day was a bit OOC, but as the beneficiary, Yan Zhuohua found himself quite satisfied upon reflection.

They had been on the island for a few days, and today was the first time they stepped out of the Central Villa.

Before heading out, Yan Qinghe had insisted on covering him in sunscreen, which made Yan Zhuohua a bit embarrassed and angry, so now he resolutely refused the invitation to hold hands.

Yan Qinghe followed helplessly behind, somewhat regretting his earlier actions, which had cost him a chance to hold hands while walking.

The air outside was tinged with the salty scent of the sea. Passing through the woods in front of the villa gate, there was a small pier not far away. Several assault boats were moored there, and there was a small cabin filled with equipment for surfing, sea fishing, diving, and more.

Yan Zhuohua looked at the equipment with delight. He hadn't played in the sea for a long time; since they were staying on the island for several days, he would definitely be able to have his fill of fun.

"Want to play?" Yan Qinghe's voice came from behind him.

Yan Zhuohua didn't want to talk to him just yet, but since all these things belonged to Yan Qinghe, he hesitated for a moment before saying with a "generous enough to forgive you" expression, "I do."

Seeing the other's attitude finally soften, Yan Qinghe stepped forward and took his hand. It wasn't shaken off. He was happy.

"If you want to play, you'll have to wait until tomorrow. We need to contact the Safety Officers first and wait for them to get ready before going into the sea."

Yan Zhuohua originally wanted to say his skills were much better than those Safety Officers, but considering Yan Qinghe might not be good at these things and it was safer to have someone watching, he changed his mind and agreed to Yan Qinghe's arrangement. "Alright, let's come early tomorrow then!"

With the activities scheduled for tomorrow, today was free. However, Yan Zhuohua didn't want to go back to the villa; he felt it was too unsafe.

"Could you take me for a tour around the island? I haven't seen it yet," Yan Zhuohua said with a fawning expression.

Yan Qinghe easily read Yan Zhuohua's thoughts. He hadn't planned on doing anything today anyway; doing it too frequently wasn't good for Zhuohua's body, and he hadn't recovered from the last time yet.

Yan Qinghe didn't make things difficult for him. After enjoying his beautiful wife's soft-spoken fawning for a while, he "mercifully" agreed to the suggestion.

Yan Zhuohua didn't realize Yan Qinghe was teasing him at all. Upon receiving a positive response, he happily pulled the other along.

The island had been a coming-of-age gift to Yan Qinghe, and he had planned and designed it himself. The island was medium-sized and generally divided into northern and southern parts. The northern part was high-terrain, like a small hill covered in forest, while the southern part was the main activity area. In the center of the main activity area stood the Central Villa where they lived, situated on slightly higher ground. Surrounding the villa were small gardens, and further south were the beach and the small pier, next to which was a cabin storing activity supplies.

"There's a medicinal garden on the northern hill, where some Chinese herbs that my cousin is interested in are grown. There's also a small cabin at the summit where we can spend the night and wake up early to watch the sunrise. A sunrise at sea feels different from one on a mountain peak on land. If you like, we can go up the hill tonight." Yan Qinghe held Yan Zhuohua's hand as they walked along the beach, softly explaining the island's layout to him.

"I'm not going to the medicinal garden. If I accidentally mess up my cousin's precious treasures, he'd probably want my life as compensation." Yan Zhuohua deeply understood how much his dear cousin valued his medicinal herbs; it was safer to stay far away.

"Then, shall we go for the sunrise?"

"Hmm... let's wait a few more days. We can watch the stars at night and the sunrise at dawn." Yan Zhuohua had stayed on other islands before and remembered how beautiful the starry sky was at night. Being alone felt like possessing the entire universe, yet also gave a sense of insignificance; he could experience that again.

The two discussed their plans for the next few days as they strolled along the edge of the beach, waves occasionally lapping at their shoes and calves.

"Let's play ball this afternoon, then we can pick coconuts, and I'll make Coconut Chicken for you," Yan Zhuohua said excitedly to Yan Qinghe while stepping on the waves.

"Alright." Yan Qinghe's eyes, full of tenderness and smiles, remained fixed on the person moving back and forth in the waves. He raised his hand to check his watch. "It's getting late; we should head back to make lunch."

The two walked slowly back to the villa hand in hand.

New supplies had been delivered in the morning. After making a simple lunch, they returned to their room for a nap.

The day passed quickly. They went out to play beach volleyball, and though there were only two of them, it felt like a whole group.

When the sun began to set and its afterglow turned the sea red, they returned to the villa carrying the coconuts they had picked.

Yan Zhuohua was the head chef for dinner. His culinary skills were superb, with admirers including, but not limited to, his family and people like Sheng Xufeng. Yan Qinghe also knew his skills were excellent, though he had never tasted them.

They had a clear division of labor: Yan Qinghe prepped the ingredients while Yan Zhuohua did the cooking. Although the kitchen was quite spacious, physical contact was inevitable as they moved around. Seeing Yan Qinghe's "accidents" become more and more frequent, Yan Zhuohua finally lost his patience and ruthlessly kicked him out.

After kicking Yan Qinghe out, dinner was soon ready.

Yan Zhuohua's skills truly lived up to their reputation, and both of them ate until they were quite full.

Yan Qinghe took the initiative to wash the dishes, while Yan Zhuohua received a phone call.

"Zhuohua, did you look at the information from last time? The part about you and Yan Qinghe."