Follow Me

The emergency broadcast rang out over and over again.

Yet, the chaos inside the top-deck observation hall still could not be suppressed.

The power outage had lasted for only a brief few tens of seconds, but it was enough to stretch everyone’s nerves to the absolute limit.

Someone had fallen ill, someone had gone missing, the top deck was sealed, and even the lights had been tampered with.

Pei Xubai stood in the center, his voice not loud, yet clearly drowning out the chaotic noise all around.

“Those who came into contact with the card table area, remain on the spot. The rest, retreat to the outer hall and register according to the roster.”

He paused, the gaze behind his lenses sweeping over the crowd.

“If anyone else leaves without authorization, they will be treated directly as a high-risk case.”

The moment these words fell, the scene was barely brought under control.

But being under control did not mean it was not chaotic.

Some people demanded to know if the ship’s authorities had known about the situation beforehand, some clamored to return to their rooms, and some female guests were so frightened that they burst into tears, clutching their companions tightly and refusing to let go.

Xia Mianyue stood behind Pei Jin, her fingertips cold, as she had never witnessed such a scene before.

Just a few minutes ago, Zhou Ziqian was still laughing and cursing at the card table.

Now, he was being pinned down within the isolation zone by the ship’s doctor and security, coughing so hard he could barely stand steadily.

He Xingzhou was also taken to one side to have his temperature checked.

His face looked terrible, yet he was still forcing a look of impatience.

Just as Pei Jin was about to walk over there, Xia Mianyue reached out almost instinctively, lightly tugging at his sleeve.

Pei Jin turned his head.

Xia Mianyue herself was stunned for a moment, yet she still said in a low voice:

“Don’t get too close.”

Her voice was very soft and very earnest.

Pei Jin lowered his eyes to sweep a glance at her hand clutching his sleeve.

As if scorched, Xia Mianyue hurriedly let go.

“I am sorry, I just…”

“I know.”

Pei Jin cut her off, his tone still lacking any perceptible warmth.

He did not say thank you, nor did he offer any comfort, but he simply did not walk any further forward.

In the next second, a sharp, shrill female voice rang out from the side.

“What right does she have to stand here?”

Qin Shuyao had returned at some unknown point, her skirt hem slightly messy and her lipstick a bit faded, looking as though she had been squeezed by the crowd during the power outage moments ago.

The gaze with which she looked toward Xia Mianyue was still high and mighty, and it also carried an unconcealed disgust.

“A waitress who was standing so close to the card table just now—who knows if there is something wrong with her?”

Xia Mianyue’s face turned pale.

She knew that at a time like this, the easiest person to be pushed forward as a scapegoat was someone like her, who possessed no status and no background.

Just as she was about to explain, Pei Jin had already turned his body around.

“You are bringing this up now?”

Qin Shuyao froze.

Pei Jin’s gaze was indifferent, and his tone possessed no ups and downs either.

“Before the power outage, where were you?”

The expression on Qin Shuyao’s face changed minutely.

“I was merely squeezed into the outer hall by the crowd.”

“Is that so?” Pei Jin looked at her.

“The mixed-race man in the grey suit from just now also walked in that direction.”

The moment this sentence fell, Qin Shuyao’s fingers snapped tight.

She quickly suppressed her emotions and said coldly:

“Pei Jin, what do you mean by this? The ones who suffered the incident right now are Zhou Ziqian and He Xingzhou. Instead of investigating what they came into contact with, you are speaking up for a waitress?”

“I am not helping her.”

Pei Jin’s voice grew even colder.

“I merely cannot stand someone splashing dirty water onto an irrelevant person.”

Qin Shuyao clenched her teeth tightly.

“She is irrelevant? She just stayed in your room yesterday, and today she appears at the cocktail party again—do the two of you have some sort of relationship?”

Xia Mianyue’s heart tightened, and the gazes of the people around instantly grew even more subtle.

Pei Jin, however, did not even move his brow.

“Whether there is a relationship or not is none of your business.”

He looked at Qin Shuyao, stating word by word:

“Since you want to investigate so badly, then investigate everyone. Starting from you.”

Qin Shuyao’s face turned thoroughly ugly.

She looked as though she still wanted to say something, but Pei Xubai had already walked over.

“Shuyao.” His tone remained gentle, yet it brooked no interruption.

“Now is not the time for arguments. Since you left the card table area just now, you also need to complete the registration.”

Qin Shuyao looked toward Pei Xubai, her fingertips tightening and loosening.

Pei Xubai signaled to the security beside him.

“Take Miss Qin to register. Be polite.”

The security stepped forward.

Qin Shuyao’s face was pale, and after giving Xia Mianyue a harsh final glare, she turned around and left.

Within that glance lay both hatred and panic.

Xia Mianyue saw it clearly.

She suddenly realized that Qin Shuyao was not purely targeting her just now; she was anxious to divert attention away.

Pei Xubai also cast a glance at Xia Mianyue.

“You saw that man just now?”

Xia Mianyue immediately nodded, stating the details she had observed once more.

“After entering the venue, he first looked at the card table and the bar, and briefly exchanged a look with Miss Qin. After Young Master Zhou suffered the incident, he was the first person to retreat toward the door. After the power outage, the person vanished.”

She spoke quickly, yet very clearly.

After listening, Pei Xubai’s gaze darkened.

“Alright.”

He turned around to instruct the security:

“Seal the top-deck exits. Check the temporary late-boarding roster, this time focusing on verifying a man around forty years old, in a grey suit, with a mixed-race face. Both his health certificate and boarding time must be re-verified.”

The security responded and left.

Xia Mianyue’s palms were entirely slick with sweat.

She did not know how much help her words could provide, but at least, she was not completely useless.

Over on the other side, Zhou Ziqian suddenly broke away from a security guard and slammed fiercely against a chair.

The female guests shrieked and retreated.

Hearing the commotion, He Xingzhou subconsciously wanted to stand up, but the moment he rose, he supported himself against the wall, pressing his chest as he let out a few coughs.

The ship’s doctor’s face turned serious.

“Young Master He, you must also enter the observation zone.”

He Xingzhou furrowed his brow:

“I am fine.”

Pei Jin looked at him coldly, “You don’t look like you are fine.”

He Xingzhou pulled at his lips, wanting to smile, yet he failed to do so.

With this, the people near the card table panicked completely.

Some cried and asked if they would turn into this as well, some clamored to contact a hospital on shore, and some tried to bypass the security to leave.

The broadcast rang out once more:

[Notice: A lockdown is immediately implemented across the entire top-deck area. All personnel will be re-zoned according to contact levels, and non-essential movement is halted.]

The mechanical voice sounded like a verdict.

Lockdown, zoning, registration.

As these words fell, Xia Mianyue gave rise to a strong sense of unease.

She was just a waitress.

If she truly were taken alone to some place, and Qin Shuyao did something behind the scenes, she might not be able to clear herself.

“Xia Mianyue.” Pei Jin suddenly called her name.

She raised her head.

Pei Jin glanced at the observation hall, which was growing more and more chaotic, his speech very short.

“Follow me.”

Xia Mianyue was stunned for a moment:

“Right now?”

Pei Jin did not explain, merely looking toward Pei Xubai.

“List her on my side.”

Pei Xubai raised his eyes to look at him, and the two brothers exchanged a look for an instant.

Pei Xubai did not question further, merely nodding his head.

“Very well. You have come into contact with Zhou Ziqian and He Xingzhou, so you will be treated as a high-exposure contact. Return to your room first and await instructions; the medical team will go over later to re-examine you.”

High-exposure contact—these few words caused Xia Mianyue’s heart to sink heavily.

Pei Jin, however, acted as if he had not heard, turning around and walking away.

Xia Mianyue only hesitated for a single second before quickly keeping up.

The doors of the observation hall closed behind them, shutting the crying, arguments, and coughing sounds inside.

The corridor lighting was a cold white, reflecting on people’s faces until they looked entirely devoid of blood color. Security guards ran back and forth, the floor manager was confirming room numbers and names over the walkie-talkie, and all top-deck exits were beginning to be locked.

Xia Mianyue followed behind Pei Jin, not daring to slow her steps.

After walking for a distance, she finally could not help but speak.

“Mr. Pei, do I also need to be isolated?”

Pei Jin did not even look back:

“What do you think?”

Xia Mianyue’s fingertips clenched tightly:

“Then will I be taken away alone?”

Pei Jin stopped his steps and turned his head to look at her.

His brow and eyes were set off even colder by the lights, and his tone possessed no temperature either.

“Right now, the most dangerous thing is not isolation; it is chaos.”

Xia Mianyue listened earnestly.

Pei Jin looked at her, his voice very light.

“If you go out alone and something truly happens, no one will know at the very first moment.”

These words did not sound pleasant, yet they were the truth.

Xia Mianyue lowered her eyes, her throat feeling somewhat tight.

She possessed no background and no backing on this ship; if something happened, there were too few people who could speak up for her.

Following Pei Jin, at least no one would dare to drag her away at whim.

“Understood,” she responded in a low voice.

Pei Jin did not speak further, continuing to walk forward.

Along the way, the top-deck doors closed one after another.

The world that had been luxurious and bustling moments ago seemed to have its light abruptly cut off by someone, leaving behind only lockdowns, footsteps, and the muffled sounds of waves striking the hull of the ship.

Arriving at the door of Room 8806, Pei Jin swiped his card to open the door.

Xia Mianyue stood outside the door, her steps subconsciously pausing; that absurdity from last night had occurred right here.

She had originally thought that she would never want to step into this room again in her life.

But right now, the outside was even more dangerous.

She already possessed no way out.

Pei Jin pushed the door and entered; seeing that she did not move, his brow lightly furrowed.

“Still standing there?”

Xia Mianyue snapped out of her daze, lowering her head as she followed him inside.

The moment the room door closed, the broadcast sounds and footsteps in the corridor were mostly cut off.

The suite was brightly lit, quiet to the point of being nearly surreal.

Pei Jin took off his coat, casually tossing it onto the sofa.

“Stay here and wait for the medical team.”

Xia Mianyue nodded her head, yet her hand was still clutching the edge of her uniform.

Just as she wanted to ask where she should stand, a flurry of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

Immediately following, the static of a walkie-talkie traveled in through the door panel.

– …Top-deck roster is being rearranged…

– …Young Master He is running a fever, send him to observation…

– …Miss Qin requests a re-examination of the service personnel’s contact records…

Xia Mianyue’s face turned slightly pale; Qin Shuyao was indeed still snapping at her heels.

Pei Jin heard it as well, the coldness in his eyes lightly pressing down.

In the next second, his phone vibrated once.

It was a message sent by Pei Xubai.

[The person has been locked down. Rawlinson, late-boarding from overseas, there is a problem with his health certificate.]

Immediately following, a second message popped up.

[The surveillance during the power outage period was cut; there was internal cooperation.]

Pei Jin stared at the screen, his expression darkening completely.

Rawlinson, late-boarding, fake health certificate, power outage, internal cooperation.

All the scattered points finally connected into a single line.

This was not an accident; someone had intentionally delivered danger onto the Pei family’s ship.

Xia Mianyue stood to one side, not daring to disturb him.

Right at this moment, the room doorbell suddenly rang.

Three times in succession, hurried enough to sound like a death knell.

Xia Mianyue had an inexplicably bad premonition and subconsciously looked toward Pei Jin.

Pei Jin raised his eyes, his voice cold and sinking.

“Go inside.”

Just as Xia Mianyue retreated two steps toward the bedroom direction, a male voice pressing down a cough came from outside the door.

“Open the door.”

That voice was terribly hoarse, yet one could still faintly discern its usual flippancy.

“Pei Jin, it’s me.”

It was He Xingzhou