Chapter 388: Chapter 388: Pacifying His Own Woman
Lott extended his hand to her gallantly, inviting her to return to the banquet together.
“No…” Xining was about to refuse when she suddenly felt a hand around her waist.
She turned and t Ji Muye’s gaze as he lowered his head to look at her. She heard him chuckle and say to Lott, “We’re looking forward to it.”
“Mr. Ji.” Lott naturally rembered the cold-looking man in front of him. His eyes darted between Ji Muye and Xining with curiosity.
Ji Muye gave him a slight nod and said fluently in a foreign language, “Apologies, let smooth things over here first.”
He sighed and said in a helpless tone, “I misspoke earlier and upset her. If it weren’t for you stopping her, I wouldn’t even know where to find her.”
Ji Muye gently and intimately explained away Xining’s abrupt departure, attributing it to him making her angry with his words.
Although the man didn’t explicitly state his relationship with Xining, the two of them standing together—a perfect match of beauty and charm—sparked a look of amusent in Lott’s eyes. He imdiately gave Ji Muye a knowing glance.
Xining could clearly feel the subtle shift in Lott’s deanor toward Ji Muye. They seed oddly familiar with each other.
The overly close proximity made her feel slightly uncomfortable.
Ji Muye guided her by the waist toward a nearby corner, lowering his voice as he leaned in to say, “I know you’re resisting this, but just bear with it for now.”
Lott didn’t leave.
His gaze remained fixed on Ji Muye and Xining.
The bodyguards behind him stood in a highly alert posture.
Ji Muye released the hand gently resting on her lower back, turning to face her directly and using his back to shield her from Lott’s sharp, probing gaze.
Lowering his eyes, he said, “The lowest level of this Royal Cruise is a massive laboratory.”
Xining’s retreating step froze instantly!
She looked up at Ji Muye, her eyes flickering. She had suspected that the dealings on the Royal Cruise weren’t entirely lawful but had never imagined they’d be bold enough to install a laboratory right on the ship.
When critical matters were brought up, her resistance to Ji Muye lessened significantly.
Ji Muye curled his lips slightly and continued sharing critical information. “You must’ve noticed it too? That young rman is one of their experintal subjects. As for what exactly is in the so-called serum—no one knows for sure yet.”
This was rely Xining’s speculation at the mont. She suspected the Royal Cruise had long been conducting human experints.
The ordinary passengers boarding the ship…
Xining glanced at the bodyguards around her and lowered her voice knowingly. “Ten minutes ago, my people saw the elderly man who received the first injection of serum being escorted to the morgue by the ship’s bodyguards.”
She understood Ji Muye was sharing this information now because he wanted her to trust him.
His gaze darkened as he said, “Whatever you want to do—tell . Whether it’s because of the child or because of…”
Ji Muye added firmly, “I’ll stand by your side through it all.”
His words weren’t empty promises. Leaning closer to et her eyes, he said solemnly, “Xining, trust .”
Their current dynamic was completely reversed from what it had been in the past.
Once, Xining’s trust in him in their marriage was boundless. Now, the mistrust she felt toward him was just as deep.
On the other hand, he, who was accustod to handling everything—work, life—alone, had kept her in the dark about so many things that it led to irreparable consequences. Now, every step closer to her made her take several steps back.
Ji Muye didn’t know what else he could do. But at the very least, his desire to be closer to her had never wavered.
Facing his earnest and heartfelt promise, Xining glanced in Lott’s direction and said, “I understand. Let’s get out of Lott’s sight first.”
From Lott’s viewpoint, it looked like the woman—initially aloof and playing hard to get—had been coaxed by the man’s sweet words into finally cracking a smile. She even took his arm as they returned to Lott’s side.
“That was fast! All settled already?” Lott teased with amusent in his voice.
Ji Muye replied helplessly, “What choice do I have? When it’s soone you care about, you have to do the coaxing yourself.”
Lowering his gaze, he cast a tender look at the woman by his side and said to Lott, “I’ll take her over there to grab sothing to eat.”
Lott nodded with a smile. “Go ahead. The desserts on the Royal Cruise are exclusively crafted by world-renowned pastry chefs. Once you leave here, you won’t get to taste them again. Mr. Ji should make sure this beautiful Eastern lady tries as many as possible.”
Ji Muye nodded. “Of course.”
Throughout their entire exchange, Xining maintained a calm smile and bowed her head at appropriate monts to feign shyness.
As soon as they were out of Lott’s line of sight, the two moved quickly to an area with limited surveillance coverage.
Xining wasted no ti, asking directly, “You boarded this ship… are you also investigating the Royal Cruise’s activities?”
His dark eyes hesitated montarily before nodding in agreent with her assumption.
“The Royal Cruise only appears once every decade, but each ti it docks in Beicheng, hundreds of people mysteriously vanish. So are ship crew mbers hired to work, while others are ordinary guests invited to the banquet.”
Xining frowned, pressing, “These ordinary guests… could they happen to be top-tier tech talents known for their intelligence?”
His eyes, deep with intensity, locked onto hers, and he nodded. “Half of them, yes. The other half are individuals with excellent physical fitness.”
Excellent physical fitness?
Most likely, they were after the superior quality of their internal organs!
As Xining pondered this grim possibility, Ji Muye’s brow furrowed, twitching faintly at the abdominal wound that had yet to heal. By the ti she looked up again, he had already composed himself.
She motioned for Ji Muye to lower his head further. The man complied and asked in a low voice, “What is it…”
Her fair wrist rested against the back of his neck, and from a distance, it might have looked like a couple sneaking monts of intimacy in a hidden corner.
But in reality?
Xining’s voice sharpened. “Shang Yueling has a scent on her—identical to the one I detected on Lott.”
Her sense of sll was sharper than most, able to identify distinct scents even in complex environnts.
Earlier, on the small balcony outside the banquet hall, she had caught the scent when Shang Yueling got too close to her.
While speaking with Shang Yueling, she noticed a sudden increase in the number of bodyguards patrolling the area, and their laps grew much tighter.
Initially, Xining thought it was her imagination. But after testing her theory, she confird her doubts. When she shoved Shang Yueling toward the railing on the deck, the bodyguards relayed sothing over their headsets.
The first ti was rely a warning.
The second ti, when she pinned Shang Yueling closer to the railings, a lifeboat erged from beneath the cabin, its color practically blending with the dark waters.
Just as she had told Shang Yueling, there were no good people on this Royal Cruise.
One person disappearing wouldn’t make a difference on this ship.
Even Shang Lvxing’s attitude raised suspicions. No matter how much he despised Shang Yueling, she still held a certain value for the Shang Family. He wouldn’t casually abandon her like this.
It felt almost… orchestrated, as though they were putting on a show just for her.
Ji Muye, finding himself montarily distracted by the scent of her so close to him, refocused and asked, “You suspect Shang Lvxing and Shang Yueling?”
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