"It's fine." It was better to avoid trouble, so Nie Qingkong immediately raised her hand to stop Xi Fu, who was about to erupt, and gave Xi Fu a warning glance.
Nie Qingkong now just wanted Xia Qingtian to leave quickly, lest she reveal something about Xia Qingyu and arouse Xi Fu's suspicion: "Miss Xia, if you have something to do, you can go ahead."
"I do have something," Xia Qingtian said, clasping her hands together. "There's a party on the ship tonight. You can come and join the fun."
"A ball?" Xi Fu looked at Xia Qingtian. "What ball? I haven't heard of it?"
"We'll reach our destination tomorrow, so let's have some fun tonight. Remember to dress up," Xia Qingtian said with a smile. "But my sister will definitely be the most beautiful."
"Your sister?" Xi Fu narrowed her eyes. Nie Qingkong's expression changed, and just as she was thinking of how to cover up, she saw Er Ya trot over and throw herself directly into Xia Qingtian's arms.
"Qingtian! Help me! My third brother is so annoying! He tries to control everything I do, and he keeps forcing me to study!" Er Ya, as soon as she arrived, opened the floodgates of chatter: "I don't want to be with my third brother anymore. Can I go with you? Help me!"
"Don't be like a child," Xia Qingtian lightly tapped Er Ya's nose, and then smiled at Nie Qingkong and Xi Fu. "This is my sister, Er Ya. She's a child, please excuse her."
Hearing Xia Qingtian say this, Xi Fu turned her scrutinizing gaze back to Er Ya. Was this also Xia Qingtian's sister?
Nie Qingkong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. With a casual excuse, she dragged Xi Fu away.
"What are you doing?" Xi Fu still had questions she wanted to ask, and she was quite displeased to be dragged away by Nie Qingkong like this.
"We'll reach our destination tomorrow. If you dare to ruin Father's plans, even I can't protect you," Nie Qingkong warned in a low voice. "What? Didn't you stay in the prison long enough?"
Upon hearing Nie Qingkong's words, Xi Fu flinched. She then looked back unwillingly in Xia Qingtian's direction, only to see Xia Qingtian looking at her with a half-smile, as if she had seen through her disguise. This made Xi Fu's heart skip a beat. She said nothing more and obediently followed Nie Qingkong back to their suite, and didn't clamor to go out and play for a long time afterward.
Meanwhile, Xia Qingtian narrowed her eyes slightly as she watched the backs of Xi Fu and Nie Qingkong.
Qingyu suspected this Song Jiang was not without reason.
"Qingtian, what are you looking at?" Er Ya followed Xia Qingtian's gaze to the backs of Nie Qingkong and Xi Fu, then asked Xia Qingtian, "Did you hear what I was saying?"
"I heard. You go back first and tell your third brother that there's a party on deck tonight and he should come and join the fun too," Xia Qingtian said.
"I think you clearly didn't hear! I said I don't want to see my third brother!" Er Ya protested. "Qingtian, you..."
Before Er Ya could finish speaking, Di San, who had caught up, easily grabbed her. After dealing with the disobedient Er Ya, Di San then gave Xia Qingtian an apologetic smile. "Sorry for the trouble again."
"It's fine, I also consider Er Ya like a sister, innocent and cute," Xia Qingtian said, and then she mentioned the party again. Di San said he would consider it and then carried Er Ya away.
Er Ya struggled in vain, and could only look at Xia Qingtian with longing eyes. Xia Qingtian could only spread her hands, unable to help, and let Er Ya fend for herself.
Back in the room, Xia Qingtian saw Xia Qingyu fiddling with an iPad.
"Sis, have we reached that area with chaotic magnetic fields?" Xia Qingyu said, looking at the unresponsive iPad. "The internet is down."
"We should have," Xia Qingtian replied and informed Xia Qingyu about the party. "Let's go have some fun tonight."
"Mm, alright," Xia Qingyu responded casually, then tossed the iPad aside. "Sis, have you found that person?"
"Probably not," Xia Qingtian shook her head. "I guess Yaoyang and Bai Shao planned this party to lure Xiang Xueyuan out himself."
"Will it be that simple?" Xia Qingyu frowned. "How about I go look for him!"
"Leave this kind of thing to us. You just stay by my side, eat well, sleep well, and have fun," Xia Qingtian said, gently stroking Xia Qingyu's head. "Understand?"
"Mm," feeling Xia Qingtian's protection and affection, Xia Qingyu's smile was sweet. "Sis, I'll stay by your side."
"Good," Xia Qingtian smiled, then said, "By the way, I saw Song Jiang's sister today. She's a foreign woman."
"A foreign woman?" Xia Qingyu frowned slightly. "Sis, are you suspecting Song Jiang's identity?"
"Mm, I deliberately said some offensive things to observe their reactions," Xia Qingtian said, her eyes deepening slightly. "If it weren't for the fact that this brother and sister's relationship is already very bad, then... Song Jiang could very well be Nie Qingkong, and Song Ye could be Xi Fu."
Even though her appearance had changed, the feeling Xi Fu gave Xia Qingtian hadn't disappeared.
After all, she was someone who had almost taken her life, so Xia Qingtian knew Xi Fu quite well.
The European-looking woman she saw today, although her appearance and hair color didn't match Xi Fu's, her physique, her gaze, and that subtle air of arrogance were very similar.
And precisely because of this combination, Xia Qingtian couldn't help but be suspicious.
"If they really are..." Xia Qingyu frowned. "Then that Song family's Chairman Song, whom we've never met, should be... him."
"We'll have to confirm all of this tonight," Xia Qingtian said, holding Xia Qingyu's hand. "Stay with me tonight, and don't do anything unnecessary."
"I know," Xia Qingyu casually averted her gaze, not meeting Xia Qingtian's eyes.
"Then next, let's see what evening gown my beautiful sister will wear!"
...
On the other side, Nie Qingkong and Xi Fu immediately informed Xiang Xueyuan about the party.
"You young people go have fun. I'm not interested." They would be landing on the island tomorrow, so Xiang Xueyuan didn't want to waste too much energy on unnecessary things tonight.
Although Xiang Xueyuan was usually not one to admit defeat in most matters, he had to admit that he was no longer young.
"Alright," Nie Qingkong secretly breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "Then Father, you should rest well tonight."
"Father, then I'll go have fun with Qingkong," Xi Fu said, linking her arm with Nie Qingkong's. "I'll definitely be the most beautiful tonight, at least much more beautiful than that sister of Xia Qingtian's who appeared out of nowhere."
"What did you say?" Xiang Xueyuan immediately asked upon hearing this.