The sun was shining brightly and the sea breeze blew gently against her skin.
Yang Ran pushed her sunglasses up her nose and raised he head up to look at the big cruise ship in front of her. Pulling her suitcase, Yang Ran took out her passport and ticket before walking over to the attendant.
The procedure only took her a while. After verifying everything and getting her room key, Yang Ran pulled her suitcase and headed up.
One of the attendants rushed over to help her, but Yang Ran declined. After all, she did not bring a lot of stuff and she planned to look at her surroundings.
As she walked in, Yang Ran could not help but marvel at her surroundings. Everything around the ship was screaming luxury.
The ballroom, the restaurant, and every other amenities they provided...
Gradually, her lips turned up into a smile.
It felt as if she hasn't been able to relax ever since that person massacred her family. After she returned to F Country, Yang Ran was busy investigating what happened as well as hunting down the members who had betrayed the organization for some little profit.
Now that those who had betrayed their family were dead, she hoped that her friends would be able to rest peacefully.
Her eyes lowered as she tried to hide her solemn expression.
It has almost been a year, but recently, Yang Ran felt that she has been missing her friends a lot. Sometimes, when she was alone, Yang Ran would recall the sound of her friend's laughter. She missed Melvin and Alice's childish argument and everyone's laughter.
The loud voices of the passersby snapped her out of her trance.
Yang Ran inhaled a deep breath and shook those unhappy thoughts away.
Although she finally gets back to those people who had wanted to harm her, Yang Ran knew that her job isn't fully done yet. She hasn't found out the reason why that person had wanted to kill her and find that map.
She did not even know just what sort of map was that person looking for.
In her memory, her father had never given her any map or anything like it.
She tried to look for it everywhere, but could not find any clues.
Now that she had boarded the ship, Yang Ran planned to take this chance to relax as well.
Just as she turned into the corner, wanting to look for her room, the phone in her purse started to buzz. She took it out and smiled upon seeing the name on the caller ID.
She slid her finger on the phone and pressed it to her ear.
"Eric." The corner of her lips turned up.
"Have you boarded the ship?" Eric's low voice reverberated on the line.
"Uh-huh." She clamped her phone between her ear and shoulder. Then, she dragged her phone and continued to drag her suitcase to the side. She leaned against the railing to look at the scenery in front of her.
"That's great. You should use this chance to relax as well."
Yang Ran laughed and her expression grew softer, knowing that this friend was concerned about her. "Eric, you know that this was not the reason why I come on board."
"I know."
Her eyes narrowed as she thought of the real reason she had boarded this cruise.
A few months ago, Eric overheard caught a few interesting news for her. The person she was looking for would appear in L City,
However, instead of heading to L City, Yang Ran decided to board this cruise instead.
The news seemed as if it was luring her to that place and Yang Ran was not going to fall into that trap.
She had a feeling that some people were looking for her. After all, news that she had entered this country had probably spread around.
Coming on this cruise was her way to avoid them. No one would be able to guess that she would board on this ship to hide. Once they could not find her on the land, perhaps they would give up?
"I've sent a few of my men to L City," Eric said.
Her eyes widened upon hearing Eric's words. "And?"
"Just as you have thought. It was a trap," Eric continued. "Others might not notice it, but we discovered that the place was heavily guarded. Those people... they were on the look for someone. And I'm guessing that the someone is you."
Her lips turned up into a smile. "Then, I'm glad that I didn't fall for their trick. Using my late father's name to lure me out... it seemed that they're pretty desperate."
"I'm glad that you decided not to go."
"Uh-huh." A thought came to her mind and Yang Ran spoke, "Eric... since you have your men in L City, can you do me a favor?"
The man's low chuckle reverberated. "I know. I'll let my men keep their eyes on them and find out the person who was looking for you."
"Thank you."
"You don't need to thank me. It's enough that you spend your time on that cruise and enjoy yourself," Eric said.
"Hey, that is what I am planning to do."
"Be careful," Eric reminded her again. "If you need any help, don't hesitate to look for me."
The two exchanged a few more words before they disconnected.
With her suitcase in hand, Yang Ran turned around to look for her room. She glanced at the brochure that the attendant had given her earlier to look for direction.
Just as she was about to take another step, her ears picked up the sound of voices from downstairs. Usually, she would not be a busy body, but the commotion made her wonder if someone famous had boarded this cruise as well.
She leaned on the railing and looked down.
On the deck, there were a few men dressed in black suits and ties, instructing the other passengers to clear the area.
Her eyes narrowed as she looked at those men. One glance at them told her that the men were bodyguards.
Once the area was cleared, a group of people walked in. Among them were a bunch of old men with their family members.
Yang Ran was about to leave to find her room when her eyes caught the sight of a familiar silhouette. She did a double take and kept her eyes on that man.
This person...
The last time she saw her, he was still chasing her nearby the Orchid Hotel. She did not expect that she would be seeing him again on this cruise.
The corner of her lips turned up.
"Commander Qi," she whispered. "We meet again."
It seemed that this would be an interesting trip.