【The vessel will officially arrive at its destination in twenty minutes. Passengers are requested to gather their belongings and disembark in an orderly fashion under the guidance of staff upon arrival on the island.】
Xia Qingyu arrived at the restaurant entrance upon hearing this announcement.
A lot had happened last night, so she went to bed late and woke up even later.
Originally, Di San had intended to wake Ya Ya for morning practice early. However, because Xia Qingyu was also sleeping in Ya Ya's room and he, as a man, could not enter, Ya Ya seized the opportunity and slept until she naturally awoke.
As others were leaving the restaurant, Ya Ya was chatting and laughing with Xia Qingyu as they entered.
"Qingyu, I'm going to see if there's any seafood steamed egg left. If there is, I'll get you a portion too. It's so tender and delicious," Ya Ya said, then dashed off.
Watching Ya Ya's energetic demeanor, Xia Qingyu simply smiled faintly. She then went to get a cup of hot milk and some toast, intending to add a few slices of smoked meat, grilled sausage, lettuce, and cherry tomatoes for a simple bite.
"Tsk." Xifu, who was dining in the restaurant, looked up and spotted Xia Qingyu. Her lips turned downwards, and her eyes were filled with displeasure.
Following her gaze, Nie Qingkong, who was sitting opposite Xifu, also looked up. His heart gave a jolt, and he felt a pang of discomfort.
He then lowered his eyes. The food, which he had initially found quite tasty, now seemed difficult to swallow, bland as chewing on wood.
The words "pity" lingered in Nie Qingkong's mind. He had slept for only a little over three hours last night, and every time he closed his eyes, he was met with countless pairs of sympathetic eyes.
He roared at those eyes, telling them not to look at him like that, forbidding them to do so.
In his dream, he transformed back into a child, helpless, vulnerable, and hopeless, being shoved around like a plaything, scorned.
But it was all to no avail. He could only watch as those eyes transformed from pity to disgust, hostility, and contempt. Finally, these eyes merged into one, appearing on Xia Qingyu's face.
She looked down at the young Nie Qingkong from above and said, "Pity."
Nie Qingkong was startled awake by this. He couldn't fall back asleep after that, only dozing off in a daze towards dawn. He was soon awakened again by the stare of those eyes, losing all desire to sleep.
Only then did he and Xifu come for breakfast.
Xiang Xueyuan said he needed to rest a bit longer and that they shouldn't wait for him. The two of them came after disguising themselves.
As if wanting to avoid drawing attention, they made some changes to their disguises and adopted new identities.
When they arrived at the restaurant, others were already dining, and no one noticed them.
They had intended to quietly eat breakfast and leave quickly, but unexpectedly, they saw Xia Qingyu.
"How unlucky," Xifu said, losing her appetite. She wiped her mouth with a napkin, tossed it aside, and stood up coldly. "I'm going back. You... do as you please."
Xifu was clearly still upset. After saying this, she turned and left in a huff.
After Xifu left, Nie Qingkong also lost his appetite. He watched as Xia Qingyu and Ya Ya sat down at a table not far from him. Nie Qingkong stood up, ready to leave.
He didn't want to eat anymore.
"Qingyu, you must try this seafood steamed egg. It's incredibly fresh. What good luck, there are two small bowls left. I brought them both," Ya Ya said as if presenting a treasure. "This egg is so tender!"
"Thank you," Xia Qingyu said as she accepted the steamed egg handed over by Ya Ya. It did smell quite fragrant, but unfortunately—
Before Xia Qingyu could put down the bowl of steamed egg, it was snatched away by someone.
"Hey!" Ya Ya, seeing the steamed egg she specifically got being snatched away, was displeased. "What's wrong with you! I got this! You dare to rob me! What kind of hood are you from?"
The perpetrator who snatched the steamed egg ignored Ya Ya, instead glaring at Xia Qingyu with an annoyed expression and questioning, "Don't you know you're injured? How can you eat something like this!"
So much blood had been shed last night. She didn't know how her wound was recovering today, yet she dared to consume seafood steamed egg, a food prone to inflammation!
If she wanted to die, why didn't she just jump into the sea!
Why was she acting so foolishly here!
It was truly vexing him!
Xia Qingyu was taken aback by the unfamiliar face, but upon meeting those familiar eyes and hearing the unguarded voice, she recognized the person before her: "Nie Qingkong, aren't you overstepping your bounds?"
She hadn't intended to eat it in the first place. It was just that Ya Ya had specifically gotten it for her, so she was naturally going to thank her.
Besides, seeing how much Ya Ya liked it, one bowl would surely not be enough. She could give her bowl to Ya Ya later anyway.
"I'm overstepping?" Nie Qingkong's heart sank when he heard Xia Qingyu's words. He let out a cold laugh, placed the bowl of seafood steamed egg on the table with a considerable clatter, and said, "Yes, how could I possibly care about you? You're so high and mighty. You should be the one pitying the common people, Xia Qingyu!"
In her eyes, he was just a "pitiable person" anyway.
Xia Qingyu...
She had never thought highly of him!
"Why are you being so sarcastic?" Xia Qingyu was also angered. Did this Nie Qingkong have some kind of problem? She slammed the table and stood up. "Do you want to fight!"
"No, no, no! Why are you both so angry so early in the morning?" Ya Ya quickly raised her hands to mediate between them. "It's just about eating a meal, what's the big deal!"
"Heh." Nie Qingkong looked at Xia Qingyu, let out a cold laugh, said nothing further, and turned to leave.
To her, he was merely the sigh of a pampered young lady during her leisure time, a moment of fleeting sympathy.
How ironic that he had always considered her the sole ray of light in his dark life.
Turning away, Nie Qingkong walked directly out of the restaurant.
Xifu, who had been hiding at the restaurant entrance and witnessed the entire scene, wished she could grind her teeth to dust.
Her initial angry departure was only intended to make Nie Qingkong chase after her and appease her.
Even if he didn't appease her, as long as Nie Qingkong followed her out, she could pretend last night never happened.
But what was the result?
No matter how much Xifu tried to deceive herself, she could see that Nie Qingkong was truly falling for Xia Qingyu, truly in love.
Xia Qingyu...
That young lady who had lived her life bathed in sunlight, who had Xia Qing Tian, a good family background, and a smooth future. She was already bathed in sunlight, so what more could she be dissatisfied with?
Why, why did she have to snatch away even his only ray of light?
Xifu glared viciously at Xia Qingyu and then turned, leaving with firm steps.
Today, she was determined to find a way to keep Nie Qingkong.
Ideally, she would also get rid of Xia Qingyu.
Her life already held too many mistakes. Everything she had carefully cherished had fallen into disarray.
No, she absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen.
She would spare no cost to set things right!