Gu Ling tossed and turned, unable to sleep even with her eyes closed. It wasn't until she sighed as if giving up, got up to check her watch, and realized it was already half-past ten.
On the island, everyone went to bed early, and at this time, most people were already sound asleep, with the moon hanging high in the sky.
Pondering it over, she thought that even if Lu Yanchen had gone to the small grove, he should have left by now, right?
After all, no one would be so foolish as to wait for her.
Despite her hesitation, she ultimately decided to go and see for herself.
Thus, Gu Ling stealthily descended the stairs and walked towards the small grove to the west of their residence. The moonlight bathed everything in a silver glow, creating a dreamlike beauty on the sea surface.
As she walked, she noticed someone leaning against a tree at the edge of the grove, playing with matches. With a flick, he lit a match, quietly watching the dancing flames.
With a hiss, he struck a match, only silently watching the dancing flames.
Gu Ling was startled, standing still in place with a sense of guilt. How long had he been waiting?
The last time they met, she wouldn't let him kiss her, and he truly refrained. This time, she said she wouldn't come, and he just waited like this...
Seemingly aware of her presence, Lu Yanchen immediately tossed aside the matches, stood up straight, and waved at her.
A sudden warmth surged in Gu Ling's heart. She bit her lip and walked toward him.
As soon as she reached him, he lifted her up around the waist, and Gu Ling instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. "Why didn't you leave..." she murmured.
Lu Yanchen kissed her forehead and smiled, "Why would I leave?"
A soft warmth seemed to flow through the depths of her heart. Gu Ling's voice was soft, "But what if I didn't come?"
"Then I would keep waiting. Whether you come or not is your business; whether I wait or not is mine."
He led her into the woods, and moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, creating a dappled pattern as they stepped on fallen leaves, not knowing exactly where they were headed. They felt that simply walking hand in hand like this was good enough.
As they walked, the man suddenly turned around, unhesitatingly cupped her face, and their lips met.
He pressed her against a tree, his long and powerful arms encircling her, parting her lips without hesitation.
Gu Ling's breath became rapid instantly. Unable to help herself, she wondered if he was like this when eating a peach?
Rough, direct, biting right in, as if extracting the juiciest and sweetest nectar from within. At times, he slowed down, a gentleness tinged with urgency, tongues entwined, sweeping over every secret in her mouth. It made her shiver uncontrollably, clinging desperately to his waist...
Gu Ling felt that Lu Yanchen was acting a bit unusual today.
Sure enough, after he finally seemed to have satisfied himself a bit, she leaned against him, breathing heavily, and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
The man tilted his head slightly, the Adam's apple prominent. He closed his eyes and said, "Kiss me, and I'll tell you."
Gu Ling, a bit disgruntled, replied, "Didn't we just kiss a lot earlier?"
Lu Yanchen snorted, "Those were initiated by me. Have you ever taken the initiative to kiss me?"
Gu Ling felt that, despite being someone who had lived two lives, she had never thought that a kiss was more than just a touch of lips. A real kiss involved the merging of lips and tongues, making one's legs go weak, and surprisingly, it even mattered who initiated it.
She wanted to reach Lu Yanchen's face, but she didn't have the strength to stand on tiptoes. As a compromise, she planted a kiss on his Adam's apple.
However, to her surprise, the man immediately opened his eyes, his whole body tensed, and he stared at her intently. There was a hint of disbelief in his voice as he asked, "Do you know where you just kissed?"
Gu Ling, a bit bewildered, responded, "I kissed your neck, right? What's wrong?"
Lu Yanchen gritted his teeth, feeling his blood rush. He gave her a light spank on the buttocks and said, "Nothing! Just don't casually kiss the neck in the future!"
With that spank, Gu Ling felt incredibly embarrassed. She stood on tiptoes again and gently bit his Adam's apple. "Then why did you spank me?"
Lu Yanchen struggled to take a breath, grabbing Gu Ling's wrists. His voice was low and enticing, "Why don't you ever listen to me?"
Gu Ling snorted, "Are you always obedient? Why should I listen to you?"
The man grabbed both her wrists with one hand and held her waist with the other, helplessly looking at her. "It seems useless to talk to you, so I'll show you with actions why you shouldn't kiss the neck."
He lowered his head, gently sucked on her fair and tender neck. Gu Ling was shocked; she had never been kissed on the neck before. She had thought the neck was just flesh like any other part of the body!
But as the man's lips touched her neck, she couldn't help but let out a voice of unimaginable sweetness, "Ah, don't..."
Lu Yanchen immediately stopped, knowing that if he didn't, things would spiral out of control.
Gu Ling's heart was trembling, and she looked at Lu Yanchen with a touch of grievance. "I was wrong. I shouldn't have provoked you..."
After a moment of calm, Lu Yanchen spoke, "Chief Yu saw you as soon as he came ashore today. During dinner, he asked about the flavorful eggplant, and before going to bed, he called Old Qi over, intending to find someone to help arrange a blind date with you."
Not only that, but the new soldiers who had recently arrived were all discussing Educated youth Gu when they had free time.
Because everyone knew that this island was originally barren until Gu Ling, the educated youth, arrived. The wasteland turned into cultivated fields, houses were built, there were flower gardens, vegetable plots, and they even built their own boats and dug wells. So naturally, everyone was very curious about Gu Ling.
Upon meeting her in person, they discovered that Gu Ling had rosy lips, white teeth, and a lively and sweet appearance. Each one of them was excited!
It wasn't just Chief Yu who had taken an interest in Gu Ling; how many men below hadn't harbored thoughts about her?
Anyone would find it hard to accept having their girl being eyed by others!
Gu Ling was also very surprised. She had thought that with Peng Xiaoyue being so proactive, Chief Yu might be interested in her. Unexpectedly, the fire had spread to herself.
Understanding Lu Yanchen's feelings a bit at the moment, she comforted him, "Then I just won't agree, okay?"
Lu Yanchen sneered, "With so many people eyeing you, trouble won't be in short supply in the future."
Gu Ling shook his hand playfully, "Anyway, I won't agree to anyone. I only like you!"
Lu Yanchen remained silent, and Gu Ling sighed lightly, "It's not that I don't want to make it public. Aren't we not planning to get married now? Besides, Peng Xiaoyue is also troublesome; she's thinking of marrying Chief Yu. If she succeeds, we can go public then, okay?"
Going public might imply marriage.
Unable to avoid the topic, Lu Yanchen finally felt a bit relieved. He nodded and turned to her, saying, "The money I gave you, remember to spend it. When you have time, you can go to the mainland and buy whatever you want."
Now Gu Ling refused, "That's your hard-earned money. I can't spend it. I have my own money."
"Your money is yours. If you want to spend, spend mine first, understand?"
Gu Ling still resisted, "I won't..."
Before she could finish her sentence, he pressed her down again. This time, he insisted on kissing her until she agreed to spend his money.
Gu Ling was almost exhausted from the kisses. When she returned to her place, she was utterly drained, falling asleep immediately and only waking up the next morning. Today, she did plan to go to the mainland to make a phone call to Aunt Chen Xuefeng and Lin Huining. She also wanted to send a package back, containing some dried fish, shrimp, and mangoes that she had prepared.
However, as soon as the call went through, Lin Huining almost cried on the other end. She spoke in a hushed voice, "You finally called me! Ling Ling! I've been waiting so anxiously for your call!"
Gu Ling was startled and quickly asked what happened. Lin Huining hurriedly explained, "Do you remember who brought the news of Auntie Yang Shan's death back? I investigated privately. The person who brought back the news first went to your home and then to the workplace. However, there is no evidence, just saying that Auntie Yang Shan died. Over time, everyone believed it was true! Since you're there now, see if you can find someone to inquire about the details!"
Gu Ling's heart tightened, "Huining, did something happen?"
Lin Huining felt a pang in her heart. She couldn't tell Gu Ling the real situation, so she said, "It's just my speculation. I feel something is not right, so I asked you to investigate. Ling Ling, don't send me anything... I, I don't like eating seaside food. I'm not used to it!"
In reality, she hadn't tasted any of it; she dared not ask Sun Xiulan or Gu Ya for anything.
Facing such a malicious person, someone who could casually take lives, Lin Huining, despite her competence, was still afraid!
At the moment, all she hoped for was Gu Ling's safety. She didn't want Gu Ling to send her anything. While Gu Ling was investigating the events from back then on the island, Lin Huining was trying to find evidence against Sun Xiulan, attempting to expose her crimes.
Unfortunately, even the family of the deceased Wang sister, who was a victim, eventually got deceived by Sun Xiulan's sweet talk.
Lin Huining had to handle her mother's daily inquiries and vigilance while secretly investigating the matter with fear and trepidation.
Gu Ling also sensed that something was amiss. She immediately called Aunt Chen Xuefeng and learned that Aunt Chen Xuefeng hadn't received the things Gu Ling had sent back. Now she understood that something had gone wrong!
Unable to hold back her concern, she informed Aunt Chen Xuefeng about Lin Huining's unusual situation. On the other end, Aunt Chen Xuefeng quickly took it seriously, "Ling Ling, don't worry. I'll go check on Huining. If there's anything wrong, I'll make sure to handle it for you! Take care of yourself on the island!"
After hanging up the phone, Gu Ling pondered for a long time. In the end, she decided to inquire with some of the local elderly fishermen.
Earlier, Lu Yanchen had promised to help her inquire, but the results were not promising. Maritime accidents were too common, especially those from over a decade ago, making them difficult to investigate.
She bought some candies and, whenever she saw someone, offered them candies. However, after asking around, she discovered that there were indeed too many accidents. Both locals and outsiders had their own stories, making it challenging to find people who knew about her mother's incident.
Gu Ling also went to the local public security bureau to check the archives, but with multiple turnovers in personnel, the records were incomplete, making the task even more difficult.
But Gu Ling was unwilling to give up. She decided to go door-to-door and inquire with every fisherman who had been fishing by the sea the year her mother passed away. She planned to record the dates on which they had witnessed maritime accidents and then cross-reference them with the timeline of her mother's incident.
This was no small undertaking, and as she went through this exhaustive process, the sun was setting.
When she realized it, she hurriedly tried to reach the boat on the island, but it had already left.
Under the evening sun, she stood on the beach, panting, and suddenly her eyes became a bit moist.
The taste of homelessness and the overwhelming sense of despair were incredibly distressing.
Many years ago, was her mother also like this, gradually losing hope bit by bit?
Gu Ling was in a bad mood and, for the moment, didn't want to think about where she would stay tonight. She sat by the seaside, staring into the sea lost in thought.
It wasn't until the sky gradually lost its light that a small boat appeared on the sea.
The boat approached her continuously until it reached her. A man, the same one who had kissed her passionately the night before, jumped off the boat.
Gu Ling's eyes welled up, and she stood up, rushing into his arms!