Shen Lin gripped the railing tightly as the yacht surged forward as if it were an airplane.
The yacht didn't fly too far before it stopped, coming to a steady halt on the sea.
"Out of gas?" Ye Chenhan asked, turning back.
Di Mingjue slapped the steering wheel. A red light was flashing next to the fuel gauge.
The yacht had run out of gas.
During the few minutes of standstill, the yachts from behind caught up. Two yachts docked side by side, and Xie Mingxia climbed over.
"Mr. Di, you should cooperate with us and stop causing trouble."
"Trouble?"
Di Mingjue retorted.
He was looking for his wife, not playing house. A group of uniformed people, yet not one was useful. It had been so many days, and they still hadn't found out where she was.
Hearing his dissatisfaction, Xie Mingxia quickly explained, "Mr. Di, you've misunderstood. I didn't mean it like that. Look how late it's gotten. No yachts are allowed to stay out at sea overnight. We're afraid something might happen, and no one would be there to discover or rescue them in time."
He was speaking with good intentions, after all, it was for Di Mingjue's personal safety.
Ye Chenhan leaned in, chuckling to ease the tense atmosphere. "Officer Xie is right. It's also thanks to Officer Xie's concern for us, otherwise, our yacht would be stranded here, and we'd have to freeze on this sea tonight."
As he spoke, he nudged Di Mingjue's arm with his own. "Right?"
Di Mingjue stood there with prejudice.
Ye Chenhan gave an awkward smile and continued speaking to Xie Mingxia, "Officer Xie, do you know how we can get back?"
The yacht was out of fuel and couldn't move at all. They could take the yacht he arrived in, but they couldn't abandon their own here.
Xie Mingxia looked at the yacht he had driven, saying, "I think mine has some gas."
He easily climbed back onto his yacht. He rummaged through the spare compartment and indeed, there was some.
Carrying a bottle of spare engine oil, Xie Mingxia handed it to Shen Lin.
"You go ahead first, I'll watch from behind."
"Thank you, Officer Xie, for your trouble."
The yacht headed back in the direction they came from, two lights flickering on the sea.
Back at the dock, Di Mingjue angrily got into the car.
Xie Mingxia found it hard to speak. After all, after so many days, they, as police officers, had no solutions.
Half an hour later, the dock was cleared. All search personnel left, and everything returned to its usual quiet.
On the way back to the city center, the exhausted group didn't notice the low-flying helicopter in the sky.
The helicopter found a suitable landing spot above the woods and descended.
Gu Xiuyu heard the rumbling sound. He looked at the plane landing outside the door and hurried out of the villa.
"Mr. Gu, here are the things you requested. Also, starting today, I am your housekeeper and will be responsible for your and Madam's daily living."
The woman speaking in front of him was called Chen Yaping. She was around forty years old, her capable speech matching her appearance.
Gu Xiuyu, too preoccupied to understand the details, took the shopping bag and returned to the villa.
The living room door was not closed, and Chen Yaping followed him in.
The shopping bag was discarded on the dining table, and Gu Xiuyu took the sanitary pads inside and went upstairs.
As the designated housekeeper, Chen Yaping was extremely diligent. She put the food from the shopping bag into the refrigerator, then inventoried and recorded the food for the next day.
Since Gu Xiuyu didn't come down, she stood guard in the living room.
Second floor.
Gu Xiuyu placed the various sanitary pads on the bed. "Ziyu, the things you wanted are here."
Ye Ziyu glanced at them, casually picked up the ones she usually used, and turned to enter the bathroom.
Click. The door locked from the inside, also barring Gu Xiuyu from entering.