Mr. Ming seemed to have seen his son.

But he wasn’t sure.

He carefully recalled what had happened on the way. He could vaguely remember meeting a very likable young boy, giving him the speedboat keys as a deposit in exchange for the horse.

During this whole process, for one or two moments, he might have indeed seen a young man who looked very much like his son.

…

Ming Bozhou stopped in his tracks, met his lover’s gaze, and swallowed.

He admitted that he had been in a bit of a rush on this journey.

Although he had indeed found Ming Weiting’s ship at an inconspicuous pier according to the location data, the men he sent had searched the entire vessel with sacks but couldn’t find the young master.

Thinking back now, this should have been a very dangerous sign that should have raised his guard.

At sea, there was no one the Ming family couldn’t find. Since even A’Lu couldn’t locate Ming Weiting, the most likely scenario was that the young master was not at sea.

…However, it seemed he hadn’t had time to consider that much at the time.

To be precise, on his journey here, Mr. Ming seemed to have considered nothing at all.

He was just busy doing things nonstop—there were too many things to do.

He had to make up for all the monthly love letters from over the years, carefully consider the first meeting with his lover again, prepare the clothes to wear, the words to say, the things to do… although the effect of the first meeting was clearly a world apart from his plan, preparations still had to be made.

After all, even if he didn’t make these preparations, Ming Bozhou couldn’t think of what else to do.

People on land get so excited about something they’re looking forward to that they can’t sleep all night. The pace at sea is slower, and this process was stretched out even longer.

The ship’s speed was still too slow. If it weren’t for the fact that the speedboat couldn’t possibly fit all the gifts he had prepared, Ming Bozhou almost wanted to cross the Atlantic alone in a speedboat.

He couldn’t eat or sleep at all, just restlessly busy all the time. Every day, he would drag the ever-busy Ming family steward to go fishing, and every night, A’Lu would ponder how to knock him out.

…

Now, it might not just be Steward Ming who was plotting how to knock him out.

Yan Yu had just asked casually. Seeing his expression getting stranger and stranger, she raised an eyebrow and turned back with her hands behind her back.

Ming Bozhou discreetly wiped away a cold sweat. “Xiao Yu… listen to me.”

Yan Yu nodded. “Go on.”

After being separated for so many years, Ming Bozhou now had a basic understanding of his lover’s physical condition and skills. Before speaking, he took a particularly cautious step back.

His emotions had been on a roller coaster. He was already dizzy with nervousness, and not knowing which step he missed, he suddenly swayed and fell backward without warning.

Yan Yu was still waiting for his explanation. She never expected this man to be scared into fainting by such a question. Anxious and angry, she subconsciously lunged forward.

The man had no strength in him and couldn’t regain his footing. She instinctively hugged Ming Bozhou tightly and raised her hand to protect the back of his head.

The person she was holding suddenly trembled violently.

Ming Bozhou was abruptly jolted from his daze. He fiercely pulled his lover into his arms, forcibly twisting their positions in mid-air to shield her, and fell heavily to the ground with Yan Yu in his arms.

The fall was solid. Yan Yu’s heart tightened, and she urgently pulled at him, about to ask a question, but Ming Bozhou had already gripped her wrist firmly. “Did you fall? Does it hurt?”

The question she was about to ask was snatched by him. Yan Yu stared at him, half-angry, half-amused, half-heartbroken. “You’re the one who fell. Why are you asking if I’m hurt?”

Ming Bozhou sat stunned for a moment, as if he understood her words, and let out a sigh of relief with an “Oh.”

Yan Yu was still held tightly by him. Her chest softened inexplicably, and she struggled slightly. “Alright.”

“It’s okay now,” Yan Yu patted him. “Let go.”

Ming Bozhou didn’t speak. He lowered his head and tightened his arms around her.

This was not the first time Yan Yu had seen Mr. Ming in this state.

She still remembered that time she was unlucky, the gunshot wound was in a dangerous spot, and she teetered on the edge of life and death for over ten days. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Ming Bozhou guarding her bedside, unable to even stand steadily, the dark circles under his eyes so deep they looked like he’d been punched twice by A’Lu.

Later, the doctor came to check on him. Only then did Ming Bozhou temporarily let go, silently retreating to a corner.

The doctor examined her and said she was basically out of danger, but she had lost too much blood and was too seriously injured. She would need at least two months of good rest to regain her mobility.

A’Lu went to see the doctor out. The moment the door closed, Mr. Ming collapsed straight down, scaring the just-out-of-danger Mrs. Ming so much she almost got out of bed on the spot.

…

Yan Yu took a deep breath and sighed heavily, pinching Mr. Ming’s ear and pulling it. “How many days has it been since you’ve eaten or slept properly?”

Ming Bozhou’s vision was filled with a vast expanse of white light spots. He barely heard his lover’s words and, after thinking for a long time, said in a low voice, “I don’t know.”

Yan Yu knew this would be the answer. Her head ached. She tugged at the corner of his clothes. “Loosen your hands. I’ll pull you up.”

Ming Bozhou still refused to let go. Only when she tried to pry his arms away did he speak again in a hoarse voice, “Xiao Yu.”

“Let me hug you,” Ming Bozhou said. “I’m sorry. I have no strength. I can’t hold you anymore.”

He didn’t know why he was trembling. Yan Yu frowned tightly, fell silent for a moment, then let go of her struggle and slowly hugged the person in front of her back.

Only when they were close did she realize the man’s heart was beating incredibly fast.

Yan Yu’s heart softened. She raised her hand and stroked the head resting on her shoulder a couple of times.

Almost at the same instant her hand landed on the bastard’s head, the sound of breathing by her ear suddenly grew heavy and rapid, and large, hot drops of liquid rolled down, all sliding into her collar.

“You,” Yan Yu asked in a low voice, “do you still like me?”

Before she finished asking, Ming Bozhou had already answered without hesitation, “I do.”

“For a lifetime,” Ming Bozhou’s breath was hot and hurried. “Xiao Yu.”

He was already having trouble sitting up, his body continuously sinking. He only managed to sit steadily with Yan Yu’s support. “I’m not leaving. We’ll stay here, for a lifetime.”

Yan Yu finally couldn’t help but laugh, pinching his ear hard. “Big liar.”

She hadn’t actually thought about these things.

Yan Yu had been Mrs. Ming. She knew what Mr. Ming had to do, knew that the freest sea was also the loneliest cage.

She had never been angry with Ming Bozhou for this. She was angry that this bastard had pushed her out of that cage alone without even asking.

“Do you know how angry I am?” Yan Yu said. “The ship is gone, home is gone, my sea doesn’t want me anymore.”

Ming Bozhou shook his head frantically. “It does, Xiao Yu, it does.”

He and A’Lu had prepared ten thousand sweet nothings on the way, but at this moment, he couldn’t utter a single word. His mind was a blank, only knowing to repeat clumsily and intermittently, “It always does. The ship is yours, forever yours.”

Of course, Yan Yu had no intention of letting him off so easily, but she couldn’t bear to see Mr. Ming sitting on the ground in such a sorry state. She sighed and tugged at the corner of her mouth. “And home?”

Ming Bozhou was stumped by her question. He was茫然 for a long moment before he blankly repeated, “Home?”

Yan Yu had just wanted to hear one more soft word, and was already prepared to help him up after he said “Home is yours too.” She didn’t expect the dignified Mr. Ming to be so foolish at a time like this. It was both infuriating and amusing. “You’re asking me?”

Ming Bozhou didn’t know how to answer. He lowered his head, too nervous to move.

Seeing him like this made Yan Yu angry, and she circled back to the original question. “And my son? Where did you take my son?”

As she asked, she took out her phone to call Ren Shuangmei, only to find that she was out of the service area.

The grassland was so vast, and it was common to be out of the service area, but combined with Ming Bozhou’s reaction, it added a inexplicable hint of suspicion.

Yan Yu couldn’t help but frown tightly and shook the person slumped on her shoulder a few times. “Mr. Ming?”

“You didn’t just steal the horse, did you?” Yan Yu patted his back. “Did they agree to give you the horse?”

Mr. Ming’s breathing hitched.

“Did you see our son? Did you talk to him?” Yan Yu asked. “Does he know where his auntie went?”

Mr. Ming’s heart stopped for half a second.

Yan Yu shook him. “Ming Bozhou?”

Mr. Ming slid down her shoulder, closed his eyes, and fainted.

…

For as long as this journey had been, that was how long Ming Bozhou had gone without proper sleep and food.

Or perhaps, for as long as he had been sailing that ship without his love, that was probably how long he hadn’t slept properly.

It was an exceptionally long time, and every night was unbearably long.

In his drowsy state, he could vaguely feel someone taking care of him… those movements were far gentler than when he was awake.

Those hands were originally exceptionally soft—of course, they were still warm and soft now, just much stronger than before. They helped him into the house, fed him sugar water, then dragged him to the bathroom, washed away all the dirt and grime from his face and body, dried him off, put clothes on him, and dragged him to the bed to lie down.

In the middle of all this, Yan Yu’s phone rang several times. She sent and received several text messages and answered a call.

The text message tone and ringtone were exceptionally familiar. It was the call of an albatross they had recorded up close when they first got together on the Galapagos Islands.

Everything was too good, so good that Ming Bozhou, trapped in his drowsiness, couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of fear.

It was too good, it felt too much like a dream.

…

Yan Yu ended the call with her son.

Ming Weiting had taken over his father’s speedboat and was taking his auntie and Huo Miao for a ride along the river. Because they had just passed through a valley, the signal was not very good.

As soon as Ren Shuangmei saw the missed call, she sent a message back and had the young Mr. Ming answer the phone. Ming Weiting chatted with his mother on the phone for a while as he and Huo Miao grilled fish.

Ming Weiting said that it was normal for his father to not be able to find his way home. At sea, they only had terms like “main helm” and “branch helm.” Returning to the pier was called “docking,” which was just for temporary repairs.

It was because his mother came aboard that his father learned a new word from the shore, and that ship was called “home” by his father.

Ming Weiting said that after his mother left, his father no longer acknowledged that ship as home.

Yan Yu chatted with her son for a long time before hanging up the phone, leaving the balcony, and returning to the room where Ming Bozhou was resting.

According to what she had learned from Ming Weiting so far, the father and son had only exchanged modes of transport. She still didn’t understand what was so difficult to say about it.

Yan Yu was still thinking about Ming Weiting’s words. Lost in thought, she opened the door and unexpectedly ran into Mr. Ming, who was rushing out.

She was startled and grabbed the swaying man. “What are you doing?”

She didn’t know where her son had gone for language lessons, but every sentence he said was so coaxing that she couldn’t get angry.

When Yan Yu came down from the balcony, she even couldn’t help but think, should she just stop all this fuss and live a good life?

She was so weak-willed, and some bastards were so good at sweet talk, so good at coaxing her.

She missed home so much.

She didn’t want to deal with this bastard anymore.

Yan Yu was frustrated with her own weakness for a while, then resignedly sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead. “Bozhou?”

Ming Bozhou didn’t speak.

“Why aren’t you wearing shoes properly? What if you catch a cold?” Yan Yu was about to speak, but seeing him standing barefoot on the floor, she suddenly became angry again. “Didn’t you just faint?”

She just didn’t like how he didn’t take his own body seriously. She frowned and tried to pull him into the room, but found that his strength was suddenly stubbornly heavy.

Ming Bozhou’s chest heaved violently. He stared at her fixedly.

Yan Yu’s brows furrowed tightly. She waved her hand in front of his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Ming Bozhou shook his head. Seeing his lover walk towards him, he actually took an unconscious step back.

…Nothing was wrong.

It was too perfect, too much like it was real.

If this was a nightmare, if there was some more desperate ending lurking behind, he would probably go mad when he woke up.

“Xiao Yu.”

Ming Bozhou finally spoke, his voice extremely hoarse. “Hit me.”

Yan Yu: “…”