Jiang Jingyu didn't get the sweet talk he expected from Lu Jiaying; instead, he received a round of punches.
Taking a few blows with a smile, he raised his hands in surrender and explained to her.
"I don't know Li Guohua, but I have some connection with the former CEO of Ke's Group. Our names are similar, so he must have heard of me."
"Ah?" Such a bizarre coincidence?
Lu Jiaying looked bewildered.
Jiang Jingyu pulled her into a taxi, and as they headed towards the island, he recounted his past.
So, his childhood had been so turbulent, and Jiang Nan Fang and Zhan Bei Jue had such a history.
These were too private matters; why was Jiang Jingyu telling her everything?
Lu Jiaying was stunned.
After Jiang Jingyu finished speaking, seeing her surprised expression, he couldn't resist pinching her cheek.
"This is our family's top secret, something I've never told anyone else. You're the first."
Lu Jiaying had forgotten to resist his hand and instinctively said, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
Jiang Jingyu found her dazed look incredibly cute.
"If I were afraid you'd tell, I wouldn't have told you. The point of my saying this is, Lu Jiaying, I don't consider you an outsider."
"..." After a rare few minutes of seriousness, he was back to his usual ways.
Lu Jiaying pushed his hand away, rubbed her face, and decided not to bother with him anymore.
They had talked the whole way and hadn't noticed how far they had traveled.
As their conversation ended, the driver announced they had arrived.
Turning to look outside, numerous boats of varying sizes were docked on the vast river.
The sky was overcast, with dark clouds pressing in, and the water was dark and silent, looking like a storm was imminent. There were hardly any people on the dock.
Jiang Jingyu, with his height advantage, could see far into the distance, spotting only a few scattered boats. "The weather is so bad, are you sure you still want to go?"
"If the weather is bad, do we stop working? Even in bad weather, the company has to pay its employees."
Lu Jiaying, being a true inland dweller, knew nothing about coastal weather.
When the weather is extremely gloomy, it not only brings wind and rain but can also lead to typhoons or even hurricanes.
At such times, everyone chooses to return or postpone their trips; no one ventures out into the wind and waves.
The two walked forward along the line of docked boats, searching, until they finally spotted a middle-aged man on a medium-sized white vessel.
Jiang Jingyu asked, "Boss, can the boat be rented?"
"When do you need it?"
"Now."
"Where are you going? What do you need it for? To transport goods?"
"No, there's an island called Sanyu Island in the center, we want to go there."
The boss glanced out at the sea.
"Sanyu Island isn't close to here; it's at least a three-hour journey, and the weather is bad today, so it'll cost extra to go."
Lu Jiaying asked if the bad weather would affect their trip.
The boss's tone shifted, "It affects others, but not me. I've been sailing on this sea for more than half my life. As long as you're willing to pay, I'll take you through anything, even if it's raining knives."
Lu Jiaying confirmed they wanted to go, and Jiang Jingyu went to negotiate the price with the boss.
After some back and forth, the two boarded the boat.
This was Lu Jiaying's second time on a boat in her life.
The first time was right after graduation, when Melody took her out to sea. They were on a luxurious yacht, with bright sunshine and blue skies.
Coupled with her good mood, she had a wonderful time.
Now, looking at the dark clouds where the sky met the water in the distance, the churning river, and the slightly black-tinged blue sea, she felt not only nauseous but also a sense of unease.
Jiang Jingyu said she was seasick and went to ask the boss for some motion sickness medication for her.
"There's still plenty of time, so if you feel unwell, take the medicine and lie down to sleep. I'll wake you when we arrive."
The advantage of being a man was finally evident here; facing this environment, he wasn't afraid but rather a little excited.
Jiang Jingyu was eager, even wanting to learn some boating skills from the boss.
Lu Jiaying closed her eyes and said, "Go ahead, but drive carefully, just don't crash the boat."
As it turned out, their worst fears materialized. On such a wide expanse of water, with no major winds or waves yet, the boat suddenly stopped moving halfway.
Feeling the speed gradually decrease until it completely ceased, Jiang Jingyu asked, "Boss, what's wrong?" The boss looked at the dashboard, deep in thought.
"I just had the engine replaced a few days ago; it couldn't have broken down this quickly. Damn it, they must not have fixed it properly."
The engine had a problem?
Interesting. Stranded in the middle of the sea, miles from anywhere, and the boat's engine broke down?
"What do we do now?"
The boss said, "I'll call someone to fix it. Before it starts raining, they have to come. But the repair might take a long time."
"How long is a long time?"
"It's uncertain. If it goes well, it might be fixed before dark. If not, we'll have to tow the boat back."
Jiang Jingyu was speechless. What kind of luck was this?
However, on second thought, there was a silver lining to the delay; he could spend more time alone with Lu Jiaying.
Even stranded at sea, Jiang Jingyu was happy.
But when he told Lu Jiaying, she wasn't pleased.
"The reason I rushed here despite this weather was that I didn't want to waste time and wanted to meet Vice President Li as soon as possible. What is this endless drifting about?"
"Tell him to send someone to help us with a different boat, or at least take us back. If we keep drifting like this, I'll faint to death."
The conditions on the boat were poor, and she was delicate and not used to it, so her discomfort was understandable.
Jiang Jingyu went to talk to the boss, who said that most people wouldn't go out in this weather.
"If it weren't to earn a little extra money to support my family, I wouldn't have come out. Now the boat is broken, the money for the engine repair is gone, and I have to call another boat for you?"
"It's not easy to run a small business; please be considerate."
"There's a life raft on the boat. Give me 500 yuan, and you can row it away. It's not far to the fishing villages along the river, only about an hour. If you really don't want to spend money, you can wait for my boat to be repaired."
The river looked terrifying, and it was about to rain, yet he suggested they row themselves ashore in a life raft?
How could he even say that!
But Lu Jiaying didn't want to wait indefinitely.
"We'll row the life raft ourselves, but we'll give you a maximum of 100 yuan."
The boss said, "Hmm?"
"As a boatman, you should have the ability to cope with risks. If something like this happens, which is not our fault, why should you charge us?"
"Don't think you can bully us just because we're from out of town. If necessary, we'll call the police."
Seeing that she was not easy to deal with, and with Jiang Jingyu being tall and sturdy, the boss could only agree.
One day they were going in and out of bright, spacious offices in South City, and the next day they were drifting at sea in a life raft in a storm.
What was this?
Lu Jiaying frowned, afraid to look at the water, while Jiang Jingyu was very excited.
It was his first time having such a thrilling experience. Although it couldn't compare to climbing a snow mountain, it was quite fun.
He couldn't help but pull out his phone to take a selfie.