Delicate, Yet Shamelessly Freeloading [Quick Transmigration] Chapter 47

Chapter 47: The Blind Widower in the Infinite Game (14)

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“Xiao Yu?”

 

The sea monster’s murmurs were buried beneath the crashing waves and the roar of the fishing boat’s engine as it approached.

 

Someone leapt from the boat onto the reef, while others dove straight into the sea.

 

Water splashed in all directions as a harpoon, usually reserved for large fish, pierced one of the tentacles.

 

Blue-green blood seeped from the wound, diluted by the silent ocean.

 

Chu Jingting took the dagger from his mouth and engaged the sea monster in combat.

 

The sea churned and writhed with surging waves and roaring tides.

 

Underwater, the dagger gleamed coldly, leaving trails of flashing steel.

 

Yuan Zhou had no desire to prolong the fight—especially since he feared the chaos might awaken Wubao.

 

So, even as Xie Qian’s voice echoed in his mind, filled with cold resentment, urging him to kill Chu Jingting, Yuan Zhou simply disengaged quickly and sank beneath the sea.

 

“What the hell were you doing just now?!”

 

Guan Yizhou had jumped down from the fishing boat. The moment he landed on the reef, he grabbed Yuan Yu by the collar and yanked him up, furious.

 

Shui Que propped himself up on the uneven surface of the reef and stood.

 

The sun beat down harshly, burning the skin.

 

Yuan Yu frowned slightly, still calm in expression. “Guan Yizhou, let go.”

 

On the boat, Li Jianshan and Shen Xue looked at each other in confusion. Li Jianshan raised his hands to mediate, “Let’s talk this through, no need to get physical. We searched all day and night just to find Shui Que. What matters now is that he’s back safe.”

 

Shui Que finally realized what they were fighting about.

 

He grabbed Guan Yizhou’s hand, the one gripping Yuan Yu’s collar, and patted it. His voice was still hoarse and soft from swallowing seawater. “Don’t fight.”

 

“Yuan Yu only did that because he saw me drowning. He was giving me artificial respiration,” Shui Que explained slowly, his wet black hair limp. “It was just emergency first aid.”

 

Yuan Yu, the one who had supposedly performed the CPR, remained silent, his black eyes fixed on Shui Que.

 

Then the usually reticent System 77 suddenly spoke up:

 

[He saw that your eyes were open.]


[He was licking your mouth just now.]


[Why would he do that? That’s not part of first aid.]

 

Shui Que’s fingers curled slightly. Embarrassed, he replied slowly, avoiding the question, [Stop asking. How should I know?]

 

As if he hadn’t been humiliated enough, Guan Yizhou added fuel to the fire. He gave Yuan Yu a shove and shouted, “First aid, my ass! My eyesight’s 5.3—I’ve had my eyes glued to this spot from the boat! I saw it clearly with both eyes. He freaking stuck out his tongue and licked you!”

 

Shui Que immediately covered his mouth. His ears were red, but his little face was tense. “Don’t swear.”

 

“Oh.” Guan Yizhou reluctantly closed his mouth.

 

But not even a second later, he felt that wasn’t enough.

 

Shui Que suddenly noticed the wetness in his palm. He blinked slowly, then quickly pulled his hand back from Guan Yizhou’s mouth and hid it behind his back. “W-what are you doing?”

 

“Huh? So it’s fine if he licks your mouth,” Guan Yizhou growled, “but I can’t even lick your hand?”

 

Why did everything he said have to involve licking…

 

Under the scorching sun, Shui Que stood trembling from Guan Yizhou’s questioning, stammering, unable to answer.

 

Both arguers had their eyes fixed on him, intense like torches—especially Guan Yizhou. His gaze felt almost tangible, like a hungry wolf about to pin the soaking wet boy in front of him down and lick him from head to toe.

 

[Little Brother Boat, you…]


[Guan Yizhou: I’m straight. Straight guys can lick other guys. What’s the problem?]


[True straight energy.]


[There’s a fight going on underwater, and now there’s another one on the boat. Quit it already—you’re all just soggy dogs. I spent a fortune buying Shui Shui a huge bed. If you wanna fight, take him to bed and fight there.]


[Count me in, I’ll sleep under the bed.]

 

Chu Jingting emerged from the sea with a grim, cold face. He climbed up the reef, grabbed Shui Que, and hauled him back onto the boat. “We’ll deal with this later.”

 

The so-called fishing boat was actually a small motorboat borrowed from Shen Xue’s family. It wasn’t as large as a regular fishing vessel and couldn’t be used for net-fishing, but it was fast—perfect for searching the sea.

 

There wasn’t much seating on board.

 

Two long benches at the back faced each other.

 

Shui Que, being small, was squeezed in the middle. Chu Jingting, emanating cold air, sat on his left; Yuan Yu was on his right. The space was so tight their thighs were pressed together.

 

Across from them sat Guan Yizhou, who had been a second slower getting on. He stared straight at Shui Que.

 

Shui Que, embarrassed, busied himself wringing seawater out of his shirt.

 

He was wearing a white, open-collar chiffon shirt. As he twisted the hem, he didn’t realize it was riding up to his waist.

 

His pale, pink-tinted skin was exposed, even revealing a bit of soft flesh around his waist.

 

Chu Jingting pressed down on his hands and said coldly, “Stop that. Change when we get back.”

 

Shui Que quieted down. “Oh…”

 

*

 

The boy who had gone missing after the festival’s capsized boat was found on the reef.

 

The incident stirred up some gossip among the residents of Thousand Smoke Island.

 

While Yuan Yu was at school, the Infinite Game players gathered at the Yuan family’s home in Qingshi Village.

 

Chu Jingting didn’t even touch the tea on the table. “You’re saying the sea monster is one with Yuan Zhou?”

 

“Mm.” Shui Que nodded, Coalball curled up by his feet.

 

He hadn’t told Yuan Yu about this yet.

 

Atticus asked curiously, “Where did it hide you?”

 

Since Shui Que couldn’t see, he didn’t know the exact location of the cave. He could only give a rough description—it was inside a cliff by the sea.

 

That night, they had searched the ocean for a long time without finding any clues. The place was probably quite far from Qianyan Island.

 

“It didn’t hurt you?” Chu Jingting’s gaze was dark and cold, pressing down on him.

 

Shui Que shook his head. “No…”

 

All it did was grill fish for him. It was the kind of behavior you’d expect from a monster raising a human.

 

Shui Que didn’t quite understand it, but the sea monster hadn’t harmed him.

 

Xie Huahuang said, “Then it must be the Wubao that Thousand Smoke Island worships.”

 

Shui Que nodded and shared the information he’d gathered from Yuan Zhou.

 

“We took this photo in the archive room beneath the shrine’s main hall,” said Xie Huahuang, who was a teaching assistant for the course. His starter gear included the latest camera model from the capital.

 

He told Shui Que, “There was a large black-and-white group photo on the wall, taken at the harbor before the Thousand Smoke ship set sail. I snapped a shot of it and asked some locals about it.”

 

Most of those he asked were residents they’d helped with side quests and had built up some favor with.

 

“There were fifteen people in the photo—captain, chief engineer, first mate, second mate, bosun, sailors, and operators. On the far ends were two cooks who were on deck for training. One was Yuan Zhou’s father, Yuan Wen. The other was the old shrine priest’s eldest son, Zhang Ping.”

 

Xie Huahuang only pointed out two particularly noteworthy individuals—one connected to Yuan Zhou from the instance summary, the other tied to Thousand Smoke Island’s old priest.

 

Li Jianhe shared what he thought might be a useful clue: “Shen Xue’s mom said that, for as long as she could remember, most of the young brides sent out on little boats were safely pushed back by the waves. But there were exceptions… Besides Shui Que, there was one more—her sister. She was sent out during the festival ten years ago and never returned.”

 

“In other words,” said Atticus, “Thousand Smoke Island lost at least sixteen young people in one go ten years ago?”

 

There were fifteen crew members from the Thousand Smoke, plus one bride from a small boat.

 

Li Jianshan continued with the part he was responsible for.

 

“Since the new main mission is to search for the Thousand Smoke, and considering that the Thousand Smoke was lost at sea during a storm years ago and never returned, I think we could retrace its route by boat.”

 

Everyone turned their gaze toward him as he went on, “I contacted the fisheries cooperative. They have a new Thousand Smoke cargo ship scheduled to set sail the day after tomorrow. It’s still a joint operation with the same shipping company across the sea, and the route is exactly the same as before.”

 

Fortunately, the funding from the National Maritime University for the study trip was unusually generous.

 

Li Jianshan said, “I told them this was a school study program, and they agreed to take us along for the round trip. So everyone, get your things ready over the next two days. We’ll meet at the fishing port dock at 8 a.m. the day after tomorrow.”

 

“You’re going with them on the new Thousand Smoke?” Yuan Yu lowered his head, scrubbing dishes with a loofah sponge while the greasy dishwater flowed down the yard’s drainage.

 

Shui Que was tossing twigs to tease Coalball, but hearing that, his body froze and he stammered, “No… I’m not going with them, just… round trip, that’s all.”

 

Yuan Yu rinsed the dishes, wiped his hands dry.

 

As he walked past, he gave Shui Que a light kiss on the lips, as fleeting as a dragonfly skimming the surface of water.

 

Shui Que: “?”

 

He covered his mouth and said righteously, “You can’t kiss me like that without permission!”

 

“Mm.” Yuan Yu nodded obediently, then seriously asked, “Then may I kiss you, Shui Que?”

 

He said “like that” as if it didn’t mean without permission…?

 

Shui Que straightened his face. “No.”

 

Yuan Yu asked, “Why not?”

 

There really wasn’t any reason. The plot didn’t mention any of this happening!

 

Shui Que stumbled over his words, unable to answer.

 

“My brother can, but I can’t?” Yuan Yu asked in a calm tone.

 

Without waiting for Shui Que’s reply, he went on, “I’ll do better than he did.”

 

“I’m going on the new Thousand Smoke, too.” Yuan Yu lowered his eyes halfway, bent down, and tossed the twig that Coalball had been holding in its mouth.

 

If things hadn’t gone wrong back then, Yuan Zhou would have become the youngest first mate of the new Thousand Smoke.

 

The captain of the new Thousand Smoke had always regretted that. When he heard that Yuan Yu was preparing to get his seaman’s license, he’d invited him to come aboard for training.

 

Although it was likely he’d mostly just be doing deck cleaning and odd jobs.

 

Since the principal had already promised not to withhold his diploma, Yuan Yu was preparing to take a leave of absence to join the crew.

 

＊

 

On the day of departure, the only one at the dock with a sour expression was Guan Yizhou.

 

“You’re coming back, right?” He frowned so deeply it made him look fierce. Guan Yizhou threatened, “Otherwise, don’t even think about getting your dog back.”

 

He had been forced to agree to take care of Coalball for Shui Que.

 

Because the journey was dangerous, Shui Que was afraid they might face a shipwreck like the original Thousand Smoke, and dogs weren’t easy to keep on board, so he could only entrust Coalball to Guan Yizhou.

 

Guan Yizhou, for some inexplicable reason, took on this responsibility. Since he had to prepare for university exams, it wasn’t like he could take time off and sail with them like Yuan Yu.

 

His face was as foul as a beer bottle cap stuck in harbor sludge.

 

Shui Que brushed him off with a vague, “Mm-hmm.”

 

Then, patiently stood with him on the pier, exchanged some sappy farewells, patted Coalball’s head to calm it down.

 

“Shui Que.” Yuan Yu, holding a suitcase, called to him, “Time to go.”

 

The summer clouds rolled across the sky. The ship’s horn blared. The dock, the fishing port, and the shoreline slowly retreated.

 

The anchor was hoisted high, and the flag atop the bow fluttered in the wind.

 

The captain walked onto the deck, nodded at Yuan Yu, and then called out to the group, “You’re the students and teachers from the National Maritime University, right? Come with me. I’ll give you a tour.”

 

The captain showed them the bridge, the steering room, the chart room. Then, down the iron stairway, he guided them through the cabins, and clearly pointed out the kitchen and dining area.

 

“There are a lot of you, and not enough cabins. Two people will have to share each one. Each cabin has only a single bed, but there’s a long bench—put a blanket on it or sleep on the floor if needed.” He led them to the cabin area and let them sort out their own room arrangements.

 

Then he gestured specifically to Yuan Yu, “Kid, come here. I’ll introduce you to the second mate. You’ll be learning from him on this trip. His cabin has a bunk bed—you’ll share it with him.”

 

Yuan Yu opened his mouth as if to say something, then handed a suitcase to Shui Que before following the captain.

 

His own belongings were in his backpack. That suitcase was for Shui Que.

 

Chu Jingting silently took the suitcase from Shui Que’s hand and opened the door to one of the cabins.

 

Li Jianshan had originally thought Shui Que didn’t get along with some of the others in the group and planned to let Shui Que room with him, but seeing this, he couldn’t say anything. Only Atticus muttered and grumbled to himself.

 

Not long after setting sail, Shui Que started feeling anxious, dizzy, and broke out in a cold sweat.

 

He leaned on the bedside table, took off his shoes, and sat on the bed.

 

【Plot Progress: Bully the Male Lead, Make Him Sleep on the Floor (Expected Completion Progress 65% → 69%)】

 

The usual routine, it seemed.

 

Feeling unwell, Shui Que still said in a muffled voice, “Hey… Chu Jingting, come here.”

 

Chu Jingting put down the suitcase. “What is it?”

 

He stepped over, about to sit beside Shui Que, but was suddenly kicked.

 

“Don’t sit on the bed.” Shui Que frowned. “You’ll dirty it. You’re sleeping on the floor.”

 

He made it sound like Chu Jingting was some filthy stray dog.

 

He even skipped the bench option and ordered Chu Jingting to sleep on the floor.

 

Chu Jingting’s expression turned cold. He grabbed the foot that had just kicked him.

 

His large palm, fingers curled, clamped onto Shui Que’s slender ankle like shackles.

 

Caught off guard, Shui Que didn’t have time to react. The other didn’t even use much force—just tugged slightly to pull him closer. But Shui Que hadn’t sat firmly and ended up falling backward onto the bed.

 

One leg remained raised, still held captive from the kick.

 

Today, Shui Que wore loose, knee-length shorts. In that position, the fabric slipped up to the top of his thighs. The only fleshy part on him—his thighs—trembled slightly.

 

Chu Jingting’s mind went blank. He completely forgot the insult he’d just suffered. His eyes were filled only with the trembling curve of that flesh and Shui Que’s bitten lower lip.

 

The brat who had just been acting so arrogant now looked utterly weak and pitiful.

 

Frowning in obvious discomfort, he still insisted, “You got a problem with what I said?”

 

His pale cheeks were tinged with pink, his forehead was dotted with sweat, and he wore the same fake-mean expression Chu Jingting had seen him put on so many times before.

 

His voice faltered toward the end. Chu Jingting had to lean down just to hear him.

 

Shui Que’s seasickness worsened. Chu Jingting still pinned him down by the foot, immovable as steel.

 

Annoyed, Shui Que grabbed a handful of Chu Jingting’s hair with one hand and slapped his face lightly with the other.

 

“You better listen to me, or else I’ll…”

 

Shui Que thought hard. It wasn’t like he had anything to actually threaten Chu Jingting with. First, he couldn’t win in a fight, and second, Chu Jingting’s sharp tongue could easily defeat him.

 

His head was swimming. He yanked harder on Chu Jingting’s hair, and Chu Jingting winced, his face instantly darkening.

 

Then Shui Que growled through clenched teeth, “I’m getting seasick. If you don’t behave, I’ll throw up… on you.”

 

Okay, that was disgusting.

 

Shui Que changed his tone: “If you don’t behave, I’ll spit right in your face.”

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Huge shoutout to @candycorns2 on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.

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