Chapter 42: Your Young Master Is Too Adorable

"Hahaha..." Looking at the utterly ridiculous and comical scene before her, Tong Xiaoman burst into uninhibited, uproarious laughter.

Even Su Ji could not help suppressing a chuckle.

Only Miss Tong possessed such extraordinary talent, capable of reducing the young master to such utter embarrassment—truly a classic moment.

"Have you laughed enough?" Nalan Che glared fiercely at Tong Xiaoman, then hurried over to a nearby faucet to wash his face and rinse his mouth. Dammit, what rotten luck, to actually be kissed by a fish!

Enough? Of course not.

"Oh my, I'm dying of laughter. Young Master Nalan, care for an interview? How does it feel to be kissed by a fish? Who knows, maybe that fish was a mermaid princess! Should we take it back and keep it as a pet? Tsk tsk, how deeply romantic." Tong Xiaoman placed the sea fish—which looked as though it had fainted from sheer bliss—into a bucket, and chattered away with bubbling enthusiasm.

Nalan Che wiped his lips countless times before abruptly spinning around to glare at the gloating, incessantly babbling little creature.

With a livid face and gritted teeth, he said with a sinister edge, "Tong Xiaoman, if you don't shut your mouth right now, I'll sew it shut."

Humiliation, absolute humiliation. Never in his entire life had he ever made such a public fool of himself.

"Oh, how overbearing of you." Tong Xiaoman instantly hopped three feet away from him, reaching up to cover her mouth. Yet her sparkling eyes remained mischievously crinkled with amusement as she stared straight at him.

Seeing his livid expression just made her ecstatic. Who told him to bully her earlier with such relish? This was instant karma coming back to bite him, haha~

***

"Humph." Nalan Che let out a cold snort, then flicked his sleeve and stalked off, his pride severely wounded.

Immediately, the triumphant, uninhibited laughter of a certain woman rang out unceremoniously from behind him.

Nalan Che's lips twitched as he thought to himself: This woman gets exceptionally excited whenever she sees me take a hit; what terribly low-brow amusement.

Tong Xiaoman turned back to look at the almighty majordomo, who had already resumed his usual solemn demeanor, and dropped a bombshell: "Su Su, your young master is just too adorable."

The corners of Su Ji's mouth, which had just returned to their normal curve, twitched once more upon hearing this. Unable to help himself, he chuckled, "If the young master heard you say that, he'd go crazy."

"The way he goes crazy is even more adorable." Tong Xiaoman covered her mouth, smiling with an even greater streak of mischief.

***

Nalan Che originally had no intention of returning to shore so soon, but sometimes, human calculations simply cannot match the twists of fate, and unexpected events can never be foreseen.

They had spent a few leisurely days aboard the yacht.

By the following morning, the sun was already high in the sky, yet Tong Xiaoman had still not emerged from her room. Nalan Che, who had been waiting for her to have breakfast together, could not help frowning deeply.

Although she loved sleeping in, it wasn't like her to stay in bed this late.

Could something be the matter?

Growing somewhat concerned, he walked over to her door, raised a hand to knock, and sent his deep voice through the panels: "Xiaoman, are you awake yet?"

After a long moment, an unusual and suppressed groan drifted out from within.

He froze, feeling a surge of deeper anxiety. Instantly, he turned the doorknob, pushed the door open, and strode inside.

He found Tong Xiaoman huddled beneath the covers on the bed, her face deathly pale, her brows tightly knitted, and cold sweat beading on her forehead.

Startled, he sprang forward, sat down on the edge of the bed, and asked with mounting panic, "What's wrong? Are you sick?" As he spoke, he placed a palm against her forehead, only to find it freezing cold.

Tong Xiaoman immediately reached out to grab his hand, offering a wry smile. "Looks like... we'll have to dock the ship whether you want to or not."

Her hands were so icy. He tightened his grip around hers, unable to explain why his heart suddenly squeezed with a sharp, constricting ache.