Ouyang Hua fell ill as soon as she returned.
She had a high fever of thirty-nine degrees Celsius. Fortunately, there was a doctor on board the cruise ship.
Chu Wei had already flown to Bali with Shang Yan for their honeymoon. The rest of the group had originally planned to wait until tomorrow when Ouyang Hua felt a bit better before heading back, but Ouyang Hua insisted on leaving tonight.
"Do you really expect me to stay another day in this heartbreaking place?" Ouyang Hua teased herself, her face deathly pale.
Shu Qingqing didn't dare to persuade her otherwise, so they could only return according to the original plan.
Worried that her fever might return, Shu Qingqing stayed in her room for the night. However, when she got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, she found that Ouyang Hua was gone.
She quickly called Lu Bochuan. The two of them, along with the ship's staff, searched around and finally spotted Ouyang Hua on the top deck of the cruise ship.
The night sea breeze was a bit strong. Ouyang Hua sat quietly cross-legged, her black hair blown into a mess by the wind, but she paid no attention to it at all.
Shu Qingqing took off her shawl and carefully draped it over her. "I'll sit with you for a while."
Ouyang Hua turned back and gave her a sweet smile. "No need, I just slept too much during the day and can't sleep now."
"Go back to sleep, don't worry about me."
"You're not afraid that I'll do something foolish, are you?"
"Don't worry, it's not that bad."
"Really, go back. I just want to be alone for a while."
Shu Qingqing had no choice but to pull Lu Bochuan away, but she was still uneasy. "How about we hide to the side and watch her?"
Just as Lu Bochuan was about to speak, Pei Yu walked towards them.
"You guys go back, I'll stay and keep her company."
Shu Qingqing hesitated a bit, afraid that Ouyang Hua wouldn't want to see Pei Yu right now.
Lu Bochuan, however, said, "Let them talk."
Shu Qingqing didn't say anything more.
Hearing footsteps, Ouyang Hua was about to turn around and say, "Really, don't worry about me," but she saw that the person approaching was Pei Yu.
The smile on her lips froze, and she turned back to look at the sea.
"I'm sorry about today..."
Pei Yu was interrupted just as he opened his mouth.
"You don't need to apologize to me. You just don't like me, it's not like you did anything wrong." Ouyang Hua's tone was exceptionally light. "Besides, you've already apologized before."
Pei Yu pursed his lips. "I'm actually a very terrible person, not worth your affection. You are so outstanding, you deserve someone better. A friend of mine asked about you before, saying he really wanted to get to know you, and..."
"Pei Yu, when did you change your profession to a matchmaker? Or are you afraid that I'll keep pestering you, so you're eager to introduce me to someone else?" Ouyang Hua suddenly stood up, her originally calm tone becoming agitated.
Pei Yu opened his mouth but said nothing.
Ouyang Hua suddenly started laughing. "Pei Yu, how did I never realize what a jerk you are? If you don't like me, why did you carry me back? Why have you kept the lighter I gave you for so many years!"
Pei Yu's heart skipped a beat, only then realizing that his lighter was missing.
Was it because of this that Ouyang Hua was prompted to confess to him again?
But they... couldn't be together.
It was his mistake.
Pei Yu clenched his fists, restoring his usual indifference. "What lighter? Oh, the lighter I used yesterday was the one you gave me? I'm sorry for causing you to misunderstand. It must be that the housekeeper at home didn't have time to throw it away. Before we set off, I couldn't find a lighter, so the housekeeper temporarily dug it out from the storage room for me."
Didn't have time to throw it away, storage room.
Ouyang Hua suddenly let out a self-deprecating smile. So, it was all her wishful thinking.
The face in front of her was still the face she had loved for over ten years, but suddenly, she didn't want to see it anymore.
"Pei Yu, I hate you." After saying that, Ouyang Hua leaped forward.
Shocked, Pei Yu immediately jumped down after her.
The commotion caused by the two alerted the night shift staff. After a burst of chaos, the two were finally rescued.
Ouyang Hua was already sick, and after soaking in the cold water, she quickly developed a fever again, becoming groggy and delirious.
Shu Qingqing was both angry and worried, busily taking care of her until the middle of the night.
When she stepped out of the room to get something, she saw Pei Yu standing outside.
Shu Qingqing didn't give him a good look. "Standing here is useless. The doctor said her fever will go down in an hour."
Pei Yu pursed his lips. "I want to go in... and see her."
Shu Qingqing grew even angrier, dragging him to the side. "Pei Yu, is there something wrong with your head? If you like her, then happily be with her. If you don't like her, stay far away! That day in the lounge, you looked at her like that, and you kept the lighter she gave you, but in the end, you rejected her confession. What exactly are you trying to do!"
Shu Qingqing suddenly felt a bit of self-blame, regretting that she shouldn't have told Ouyang Hua about what happened in the lounge.
Pei Yu let her scold him, ultimately only saying, "I'm sorry."
Shu Qingqing sighed. "Pei Yu, I can feel that you like her, why..."
Pei Yu looked surprised for a moment, then quickly turned his face away. "...I can't... be with her."
Shu Qingqing was completely speechless. "So you do actually like her? Since you like her, why can't you be together?"
Pei Yu only then realized he had said something he shouldn't have. "Sorry, I mean, the two of us are just not suitable for each other."
Shu Qingqing was tired and helpless. "Forget it, you should leave quickly, lest she gets upset again when she sees you later."
Pei Yu nodded. "Sister-in-law, thank you for taking care of her."
Shu Qingqing walked away without looking back.
Pei Yu smiled bitterly. He was about to leave when he turned his head and saw Lu Bochuan standing to the side.
"What exactly is going on between you and Ouyang?" Lu Bochuan asked.
Pei Yu lowered his eyes and took out his cigarette case. He reached to find his lighter, but suddenly realized it was no longer there. He dropped his hand dejectedly. "Brother, please don't ask."
Lu Bochuan patted his shoulder.
Before leaving, he suddenly turned his head. "In the future, talk to me about Ouyang's matters. Don't bother your sister-in-law if there's nothing important."
Pei Yu: ...
After returning to Jing City, Ouyang Hua rested for two days and fully recovered.
One day, Shu Qingqing went to see Ouyang Hua, and Ouyang Hua insisted on dragging Shu Qingqing out shopping. "I'm going back to Country Y in a few days. I want to buy you something before I leave."
The two went to the mall.
Unexpectedly, they ran into Ren Qiuyang in the VIP room of brand H.
Seeing the two of them, Ren Qiuyang sprang to her feet and grabbed Ouyang Hua's hand. "Huahua, you're finally better. I've been worried to death about you these past two days."
"Pei Yu is really something, how could he reject a girl like that."
"But I really never expected that the person you like, Huahua, is actually Pei Yu."
Ren Qiuyang spoke with pity on her lips, but in her heart, she was already overjoyed.
Although Pei Yu had carried Ouyang Hua that day, she knew Pei Yu hadn't agreed to be with Ouyang Hua. Otherwise, why would Ouyang Hua have left looking so awful?
Even though the catfight she expected between Ouyang Hua and Shu Qingqing didn't happen, Pei Yu rejecting Ouyang Hua in front of so many people in their circle was enough to bring her great satisfaction.
She really never expected that the person Ouyang Hua liked was Pei Yu.
Yet she had always pretended to like Lu Bochuan just to disgust her!
The more Ren Qiuyang thought about it, the angrier she got.
"But Huahua, you're something too. You clearly like Pei Yu, so why did you keep pestering Bochuan? Good thing Qingqing is a generous person, otherwise..." Ren Qiuyang deliberately left her sentence hanging.
Shu Qingqing and Ouyang Hua exchanged a glance, both seeing the utter exasperation in each other's eyes.
Here she goes again. Ren Qiuyang's attempts at sowing discord were so clumsy, yet she remained relentlessly persistent.
Ouyang Hua rolled her eyes at her. "I like being fickle. So what? How is it any of your business?"
Ren Qiuyang, however, looked at her with a face full of concern. "But Huahua, the news that you were rejected by Pei Yu has already spread throughout our social circle. It's fine if you don't care, but I'm afraid others will laugh at you... and they might also gossip about Pei Yu."
Ouyang Hua abruptly stood up.
"Oh my, why did I even bring this up? Please don't mind me, Huahua." Ren Qiuyang immediately hurried away before Ouyang Hua could blow her top.
Ouyang Hua was about to chase after her, but Shu Qingqing firmly grabbed her arm.
"Don't stop me. I'm going to beat her up again." Ouyang Hua wasn't afraid of being the subject of gossip herself, but dragging Pei Yu's name through the mud was crossing the line.
The friends who had attended Chu Wei's wedding that day were all decent people. It went without saying that Ren Qiuyang was the one who had spread the rumors.
"Beating her up will only vent your anger for a fleeting moment. I have a much better way for us to get even."
