"Why do I feel like I'm the one who granted your wish and not the other way around?" Wu Zhaoyi said with his arms folded in front of his chest, standing at the doorway and looking at Shanshan who was taking a quick nap.
Getting up from the bed, the woman yawned a little while stretching her body. "Are we there yet?" she asked with eyes still half-closed.
"I think we're almost there," Wu Zhaoyi said as he glanced towards the front of the small boat they were on, where several people had already gathered. "We should go now."
Shanshan nodded her head weakly a few times with eyes still half-closed, seemingly her soul did not want to wake up and leave the room.
"Or should we exchange it with something else?"
Wu Zhaoyi's naughty voice immediately woke Shanshan's soul and her eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the bright surroundings. "Let's go.. Let's go.."
Then the woman got out of bed while dragging her body out past Wu Zhaoyi and letting the man follow her from behind with a playful smile.
"Actually, I don't understand how you can exchange my request with something like this?" Wu Zhaoyi's nagging voice continued to ring in Shanshan's ears, as if the man did not accept the decision she had made.
"What don't you understand?" Shanshan replied and began to explain their agreement again, "Didn't I promise to piggyback you? Then, since I'm quite old and you've gained weight, I don't think I'll be able to do it even if we're in the water."
She started rambling to Wu Zhaoyi on her way to the front door, "That's why I exchanged it for something much bigger, which is diving." Then she turned her body towards Wu Zhaoyi and shrugged, "Isn't this more than enough? I even paid for this activity for us."
After they got off the cruise ship to the nearest town, the two of them moved to this small boat with other passengers to dive. Although this was completely different from what Shanshan had promised Wu Zhaoyi, she couldn't risk piggyback him because of her back injury that was still affecting her body until now.
Wu Zhaoyi looked at Shanshan doubtfully, but chose not to continue their argument over such a small matter. "Okay, I understand." He ended the conversation with a faint smile.
In fact, Wu Zhaoyi didn't care whether Shanshan really kept her promise as she said at that time or not. He just loved spending time with her and hearing the woman's cheerful voice. Because Wu Zhaoyi prefers Shanshan who talks a lot like that to Shanshan who tries to keep her distance from him.
In a matter of minutes, they had changed into their wetsuits and followed the others into the deep sea to enjoy the underwater scenery. Although it had been a long time since Shanshan had entered the water and swam like this, she couldn't deny that she felt so peaceful here. Then she realized that what meant a lot to her in the first place, would always mean something to her, including that person.
The two of them held hands the whole time, passing by the big coral reefs on the seabed, meeting colorful little fishes swimming around them and other sea creatures they had never seen before. It was a wonderful experience for Shanshan, because she had wanted to do this activity for a long time. However, due to her busy schedule and the lack of partners who shared the same hobby as her, she suddenly thought of doing it now.
Regarding the exchange promise, Shanshan actually made it up herself, because they were in the middle of the sea and Wu Zhaoyi was here, who she believed would be willing to accompany her in this activity.
"Are you sure you're done?" Wu Zhaoyi asked Shanshan as he watched her climb onto the boat. "There are still many amazing sights there."
After an hour in the water, Shanshan started to feel exhausted, her back seemed to be signaling her to stop or not, she was not sure if she could get out of there because her legs could suddenly cramp.
"It's okay, I just feel a little tired." Shanshan took off her goggles and the oxygen in her mouth. "You can go, I'll wait for you here."
After making sure that the woman didn't want to go back down, Wu Zhaoyi chose to follow her advice. "Okay, I'll take a look and follow you."
Shanshan nodded her head to give the man assurance, before Wu Zhaoyi dove back into the deep sea and was no longer visible from above. She removed the equipment on her body, took a towel and returned inside the boat to change.
When Shanshan passed the dining room to get a drink, she saw a couple enjoying the food served on the table, which was mostly seafood. However, the atmosphere there felt a bit off, as if the woman didn't like it as much as the man because she didn't even touch the food on her plate at all while the man already devoured a lot of food.
"Why aren't you eating?" Shanshan took a sip of water from her paper cup when she heard the man's voice towards the woman. "I ordered all this for you, since you like seafood so much."
Shanshan didn't realize that her eyes were watching the two people, presumably she wanted to know what was going on there, while she should be minding her own business. However, sometimes it's okay to be a spectator and observe what's happening in other people's lives. Maybe it will give her new insights in return.
"No, I don't like it." The woman said as she threw her fork onto the plate, making a clink sound. Her face looked sour and upset, not knowing whether it was because of the food or the man next to her.
"What happened to you?" The man looked confused by the woman's attitude. "Weren't you the one who asked me to order all this?"
Shanshan felt that it was time to leave before something big happened there, because she didn't want to pry into other people's private lives or be a witness to a misunderstanding, regarding the couple in front of her.
However, before she could leave, the woman sitting there stood up first and walked away from the place. After the woman left, the man still looked confused about what actually happened, he did not expect the woman to act like that.
Deciding to also leave the place, Shanshan passed through a hallway where one of the bathroom doors was open and the woman she saw in the dining room was standing in front of the sink. Looking at how she was trying to wash her mouth, it seemed like the woman just vomited something there.
"Are you okay?" Shanshan standing behind the woman, looking at her worriedly. She didn't know why she asked that question at that moment, but Shanshan felt she had to. "Are you a married couple?"
The woman didn't answer, but from her reflection in the mirror staring back at Shanshan, she realized the answer was yes. "When was the last time you had your period?"
***
"When will you be back, Director?" asked the man on the other end of the phone.
Wu Zhaoyi's brows furrowed, "Why? Did something happen?"
Wu Zhaoyi's personal assistant's casual voice heard again, "Nothing urgent, it's just that the shareholders are asking about you and want to meet you soon."
Wu Zhaoyi's frown deepened, "Why?"
"They've heard about you successfully gaining the support of four Directors at once." Song explained, "It seems like they want to interview you to get the details."
Wu Zhaoyi sighed softly, "I haven't had a chance to have a serious discussion with Director Xiu, so it's not certain yet."
"But you've been invited to the club, which means they welcome you to join the team." Song tried to summarize the situation there.
Looking around at the yellow lights that were turned on for the seaside restaurant at night, Wu Zhaoyi tried to find Shanshan among the crowd as he hadn't seen her at their table since receiving this phone call.
"If there's nothing else, I'll hang up first." Wu Zhaoyi said to end their conversation. "Also, call me if there's something really important, otherwise, you take care of it yourself."
"Are you spending time with your woman, Director?" Song's voice that echoed in Zhaoyi's ears made the man cancel his intention to hang up.
"Who are you talking about?" Wu Zhaoyi suddenly became confused, but he suddenly remembered it. "Ah, you're talking about that woman."
"Yes, your fiancée. Which other woman?"
Song's curious voice made Wu Zhaoyi realize that the woman the man was referring to was not the woman he was thinking about, the ones he was currently staring at who seemed to be talking to someone from another table. Looking at the faces of the people sitting there, Wu Zhaoyi recognized them as the passengers who had sailed with them on the ship earlier that afternoon when they were diving.
"Why are you talking about her?" Zhaoyi's lazy voice resonated, as if he didn't really mean to ask it.
"I heard she flew to Macau a few days ago, I thought she would meet you there."
Wu Zhaoyi shook his head, "No, I don't know." Actually, Wu Zhaoyi didn't want to know either even if Song offered to tell him. "Maybe, she has something in Macau."
Song could feel his boss' tone turning gloomy, even gloomier than when they were talking about work. "I guess you still haven't heard from Director Tang."
Wu Zhaoyi's voice this time turned more cautious, "What news?"
"About the wedding arrangement between the two of you, which seems to be held at the end of this year after the winner of the Smart City project is announced." Song could imagine his boss' expression when he heard this news. "Actually, this has been the talk of the company now. Director Wu also seems to be going to meet you first to talk about the woman who accompanied you to Macau."
Wu Zhaoyi sighed heavily, not interested in talking about things like this now when he was in a good mood. "Let's talk about this again later when I get back."
Without waiting for Song any longer, he hung up the phone and put it in his pocket. He calmed himself down, trying to put those thoughts aside until he returned to Shanghai. For now, the only thing he wanted to enjoy was spending as much time as possible with Shanshan.
Just as Wu Zhaoyi was about to return to his table, a young woman suddenly approached him. "Are you Nicole's husband?"
Wu Zhaoyi didn't know whether it was the woman who confused him or the question that confused him even more.
"We were on the same boat this afternoon, when we were diving." The young woman reminded him with a smile.
However, Wu Zhaoyi still didn't seem to remember her, but the question she asked made Wu Zhaoyi become provoked. "But why do you ask that?"
As if realizing that she asked something that might cause others to misunderstand, the woman then said. "This afternoon Nicole saw me in the toilet when I was vomiting, also it seemed like she detected my mood swings and she suggested I take a pregnancy test." The woman seemed to be explaining what happened on the boat earlier while Wu Zhaoyi was still in the water. "So, she's right that I'm pregnant."
Wu Zhaoyi nodded his head a few times pretending he understood. "That's good news."
The woman's face became more cheerful, "It's all thanks to Nicole, because she only knew that one look at me." The woman felt so grateful, "She said it was all because of her own experience when she had her first child."
Wu Zhaoyi was surprised, but his expression remained calm. "Children?"
"Yes, isn't your child ten years old?" The woman said. "If I'm not mistaken, your daughter's name is Xingxing, right?"
Thinking Wu Zhaoyi's expression was due to the man's embarrassment, the woman continued. "I saw the photo, your daughter looks a lot like you." She commented, "Seeing you up close now, I feel like I'm looking at the male version of your daughter."
The woman stroked her belly and keep speaking, but this time she did not look at Wu Zhaoyi anymore. "Nicole said that when she was pregnant and gave birth to the baby, you were not by her side. So she went through a lot of hardships and learned a lot of things on her own."
The woman then looked at Wu Zhaoyi again, "You must really take care of your wife from now on, sir. Otherwise, you will lose her forever."
***