Lin Mùcí hung up the phone, only for it to ring again.
She answered.
"Little Ci, are you free tomorrow?"
Lin Mùcí froze.
"Huh? What's up?"
It was her psychologist, Yang Lanyan.
"I want to take you out for some fresh air. I heard your family had some trouble recently, with your dad being taken away by ambulance. You’re probably not feeling too great. I heard the world's top luxury cruise ship, the Ice Queen, is docking at the port tomorrow. How about I take you out for a change of scenery?"
Lin Mùcí wanted to refuse.
"I have plans tomorrow. I need to sign a business contract, and I've already booked a cruise."
Yang Lanyan chuckled.
"It won't delay anything. Little Ci can come find me after signing the contract. It's settled then!"
The psychologist on the other end of the line hung up. Lin Mùcí gasped.
She was actually having a slight headache, unsure how to handle such a situation.
Then, she heard Ling Qiánhe's cold laugh.
"So busy?"
Lin Mùcí felt she was indeed a bit too busy.
She was about to hang up when the phone rang again. Even the system in her mind chuckled. She took a deep breath and resignedly answered.
It was Uncle Li.
But hadn't she told Uncle Li that he didn't need to pick her up today? Why was he calling?
Lin Mùcí answered with a hint of bewilderment. Uncle Li's voice on the other end sounded a bit anxious. Lin Mùcí heard Uncle Li ask her nervously.
"Little Ci, has Zhou Yuǎn'ān contacted you? His doctor said his mother needs a very rare imported medication, which requires a large sum of money. This little brat, instead of coming to me for help, secretly signed up to fight in underground boxing matches. It seems he's been treating our advice as wind in his ears!"
"That cruise ship is heading to international waters, and it's only there that underground boxing matches can be held so brazenly. But he has no experience; going there would make him a target. As a student, how would he know the ways of such places?"
"Little Ci, can you contact him and urge him not to go!"
Lin Mùcí's expression was peculiar.
"The Ice Queen?"
Uncle Li nodded eagerly.
"Yes, Little Ci, he might have already boarded. That ship is operated by British people. I've offended their family before, and if I go aboard, I'll be seen as a provocation, leading to bigger trouble. Little Ci, can you get him to leave quickly?"
Lin Mùcí thought for a moment and said.
"I happen to be going on that ship for business. How about this, I'll bring him down myself. Uncle Li, don't worry."
Uncle Li sighed.
"This kid is truly reckless! Is the young lady also going on that cruise ship? Otherwise, I’ll have to swallow my pride and go with the young lady, or ask a few old friends for help. How can the young lady go without bodyguards? That place is a mix of all sorts of people. The young lady's safety is the most important thing!"
Ling Qiánhe listened silently. After a while, Lin Mùcí managed to pacify the anxious Uncle Li. She hung up the phone and quietly watched the streetscape outside the window. Ling Qiánhe said.
"The Ice Queen is a very special ship."
"It has a large casino on the upper deck, underground boxing rings below, it transports cargo, and the top tier is where the elite discuss business."
He seems to know a lot.
The system reminded Lin Mùcí.
"That was the ship he hid on as a child! Host, do you remember?"
Lin Mùcí gasped. Ling Qiánhe, however, curved his lips. His voice echoed in her ears, like a wisp of indifferent smoke.
"Why are you gasping?
"Lin Mùcí, are you scared?"
The young girl shook her head.
She just hadn't expected this ship to still be sailing the seas today.
The car arrived outside the Lin family's residence. She got out, and Ling Qiánhe didn't look at her again.
His expression was as cold as the first snow of winter.
Ms. Lin Cuìpíng heard that she was going to a cruise ship in international waters and widened her eyes, looking incredibly happy.
"Wow! That must be so much fun! Your maternal grandfather took me on a cruise once, it was incredibly fun. I remember I even saved someone on board back then, but unfortunately, I never heard from them again..."
Lin Cuìpíng excitedly chattered into Lin Mùcí's ear, while Lin Mùcí merely hummed, half-listening. The system's soft chuckle sounded in her ear.
"Host, there's an un-triggered hidden plotline here~"
Lin Mùcí was taken aback. Besides Uncle Li and that elegant and handsome childhood friend uncle who worked in finance, Ms. Lin Cuìpíng actually had other plotlines?
She was the ultimate Mary Sue of this world.
Didn't she end up miserably committing suicide in a small mountain village in her previous life?
The system coughed.
"Yes, that's why Lu Yuǎnháng and Zhao Jīngjīng didn't get any advantage in their previous lives. Zhao Jīngjīng was later dismembered, and Lu Yuǎnháng begging for forgiveness at your mother's grave was utterly useless."
"Now that you're changing fate for Lin Cuìpíng, she's naturally going to get smoother and smoother."
So Lin Cuìpíng didn't need her to worry at all. Her love life was even more vibrant than hers. The clown was herself.
She was meeting with Fēng Yùtíng for business tomorrow. Lin Cuìpíng brought her dresses to wear to the banquet: red, pearlescent, pink – all sorts of long dresses covered the princess bed.
Lin Cuìpíng gazed delightedly at the dresses, as if imagining Little Ci's stunning appearance that would captivate everyone.
But Lin Mùcí's gaze fell upon the dresses, and she shook her head.
"Bring a suit instead."
Lin Cuìpíng was very regretful.
"Ah, Little Ci, you're so beautiful, wouldn't a formal evening gown be better?"
Lin Mùcí, however, said.
"The business world is a battlefield. Beauty isn't important. The key is not to be looked down upon. Dressing professionally isn't a bad thing."
Besides, she was a bit bothered by the revealing necklines and low-cut bodices of these evening gowns.
"Ms. Lin Cuìpíng doesn't worry about my personal safety at all, does she? Fēng Yùtíng, that scoundrel, even tried to keep me as a mistress before."
Lin Cuìpíng stuck out her tongue.
"It's my fault, I treated it like a dance for those wealthy wives. Our Little Ci is meant for great things, Mom can't hold you back! Mom will get a suit for you right away."
The suit was hung up quickly.
Lin Cuìpíng poured her a cup of warm milk. After she finished reading the company reports, Lin Cuìpíng suddenly remembered something and asked her.
"Does Little Ci need to bring a bodyguard? But Mom doesn't know anyone. How about we ask your Uncle Dǒng to help arrange it?"
Uncle Dǒng was her childhood friend.
The villa was quiet. The system spoke in Lin Mùcí's mind.
"Host, you don't actually need to bring bodyguards."
Lin Mùcí knew it had more to say.
As expected, the system paused and then told Lin Mùcí.
"There won't be any danger. Aren't there several men lining up to protect you?"
Lin Mùcí rolled her eyes nonchalantly.
"It's precisely because of those men that I need bodyguards!"
The blackened doctor.
The blackened CEO.
The irritable school bully.
Tsk tsk, look at these people!
It's a good thing Ling Qiánhe isn't going on that yacht, otherwise it would be even worse!