Her brows furrowed again.
Long Peiye could tell what she was thinking just by looking at her expression.
She readily offered, “You sleep on the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor.”
Xu Xiangsi immediately relaxed her brows and nodded in satisfaction.
She waved her hand generously: “Since you’re so cooperative, I’ll reward you with a dollar later!”
Long Peiye: “??”
His expression went blank for a moment, clearly stunned by the “huge” reward of one yuan.
Seeing his stunned expression, Xu Xiangsi raised an eyebrow and retorted confidently, “What? This one yuan is worth a day’s wages for you!”
Looking at her “I’m very generous” expression, Long Peiye couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
He smiled and nodded: “Satisfied, very satisfied. Thank you for your generosity, Xu Tongzhi.”
The ship sailed slowly and steadily on the sea.
A moment later, Xu Xiangsi took out a bag of sunflower seeds from her small suitcase and started cracking them open.
After a while, as if by magic, he pulled a big, red apple out of the box and a small, exquisite fruit knife, and slowly began to peel it.
Long Peiye, who had been dozing with his eyes closed, opened them when he smelled the sweet fruity aroma.
His gaze involuntarily fell on Xu Xiangsi’s small leather suitcase, and he was somewhat surprised.
This box doesn’t look very big, but it’s like a treasure bag, you can take anything out of it.
Is there only snacks in here, and nothing else?
Xu Xiangsi noticed his staring gaze and paused in her apple-eating motion.
She waved the apple in her hand, raised an eyebrow at him, and said with a hint of mockery, “Want some?”
Long Peiye didn’t stand on ceremony and nodded directly.
Xu Xiangsi took another one out of the box and stuffed it into his hand: “Here, this is a reward for you.”
Long Peiye took the apple; it was slightly cool to the touch and had a rich fruity aroma.
He weighed it in his hand and asked, “How much?”
Xu Xiangsi waved her hand generously: “Here, have some, it’s free! I told you I’d cover your living expenses.”
Long Peiye held the apple, looked at her “I’m not short of money” expression, and couldn’t help but chuckle.
He was just curious where Xu Xiangsi had bought such good apples, but he didn’t expect that Xu Xiangsi had misunderstood.
However, he didn’t say much, but simply took the fruit knife that Xu Xiangsi handed him and carefully peeled the fruit.
The two of them each had an apple and were munching on it.
The cabin fell silent for a moment, with only the soft sound of the waves and the sound of the two men eating apples.
Xu Xiangsi munched on an apple, gazing at the unchanging seascape outside the window, and couldn’t help but complain, “This boat is moving way too slowly! When will we get there?”
Upon hearing this, Long Peiye simply smiled faintly and looked out the window, seemingly unconcerned about the speed of the voyage.
Xu Xiangsi pursed her lips, finding this person rather boring.
Just then, a sharp argument broke the silence outside the cabin door.
“What’s all the noise about?” Xu Xiangsi’s ears twitched, her gossip spirit burning brightly.
Long Peiye also frowned.
The two looked at each other, stood up in unison, and walked out one after the other.
In the corridor, a woman stood with her hands on her hips, glaring angrily at a ragged old woman.
The old woman was thin and bony, her face covered with wrinkles, and she was holding a dirty little boy’s hand tightly.
The little boy was about four or five years old, with a pair of bright, clever eyes that darted around, but he had a rather strong odor.
“You filthy beggars! Don’t you know where you are? Do you think you can just walk into second class like this? Get out of here!” The woman’s voice was shrill, her face full of contempt and disgust.
The old woman wasn’t about to back down either. She shielded her grandson with one hand and pointed a trembling finger at the woman with the other: “You heartless slut! We were just passing by, what right do you have to curse us?!”
“What’s wrong with the child wanting a piece of candy? Look at you, all dressed up! You’re heartless, you can’t even give a child a piece of fruit candy!”
Xu Xiangsi and Long Peiye stood not far away and quickly understood the ins and outs of the matter from the two’s argument.
It turned out that the old woman had brought her grandson and somehow managed to sneak into the second-class area, peeking into each room.
The little boy, with his sharp eyes, spotted a few colorful fruit candies on the small table in the woman’s room. Like a hungry wolf seeing meat, he rushed over and tried to grab them.
The woman discovered them and, finding them dirty, spoke rudely, telling them to get lost.
This stirred up a hornet’s nest. The little boy burst into tears, and when the old woman saw that her grandson had been wronged, she immediately started fighting with the woman.
Xu Xiangsi crossed her arms and watched the farce unfold with great interest.
Hmph, one is sharp-tongued and mean, the other is old and arrogant and indulges unruly children, neither of them are good people.
She had no intention of meddling in other people’s business; she was just going to watch the show.
Long Peiye frowned even more deeply.
He lifted his foot, seemingly wanting to go forward and offer some words of advice.
Xu Xiangsi, with her sharp eyes, grabbed his arm.
Long Peiye looked at her with a puzzled expression.
Xu Xiangsi winked at him and lowered her voice, saying, “Don’t meddle. If you go and get involved, you’ll only cause trouble.”
Long Peiye glanced at the two arguing fiercely, then at Xu Xiangsi’s indifferent attitude, and finally stopped and obediently stood back down.
Xu Xiangsi nodded in satisfaction.
This man is quite obedient in crucial moments, not bad.
However, Xu Xiangsi never expected that while she was just enjoying being a bystander, the flames of war would somehow spread to her.
The little boy whose hand had been slapped by the woman gradually quieted down, but he sniffed the air with all his might.
The next second, his bright little eyes, like radar, locked onto the half-eaten apple in Xu Xiangsi’s hand!
Wow! A big apple! I want to eat a big apple!
Like an arrow released from a bow, the little boy suddenly broke free from the old woman’s hand and pounced on Xu Xiangsi with his claws outstretched, his target clear: the apple in her hand.
“Watch out!” Long Peiye shouted in a low voice, reacting extremely quickly.
He stretched out his long arm and pulled Xu Xiangsi behind him to protect her.
Xu Xiangsi felt a blur before her eyes, and her nose bumped into Long Peiye’s solid back, a faint scent of soapberry lingering around her nose.