Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, the rain curtain incessant.
The interior of the cruise ship was the opposite of the harsh weather outside, with many handsome men and beautiful women enjoying themselves.
As soon as 9 o'clock arrived, all the guests who were supposed to enter had entered.
The final act to appear was naturally Ichiko and Sento.
Being able to become the White Moonlight of many male protagonists, and existing to suppress countless villain cannon fodder and various Misses in the plot, Ichiko's appearance was naturally beyond reproach.
She just stood there, her delicate and pretty face appearing particularly gentle under the lights.
The white long dress fitted her slender waist, perfectly outlining her graceful curves, and the neckline was slightly open, revealing the beautiful arc of her collarbone, her skin smooth as satin, with a faint sheen.
Her black hair, smooth as silk, fell to her shoulders, with a few wisps sweeping past her ears, looking particularly gentle.
Like a faint moonlight in the night sky, serene with a hint of mystery, and like a white lotus just blooming in the morning, pure and unstained by dust.
And Sento looked quite like a person.
As if announcing that Ichiko belonged to him, he exuded the domineering aura of a CEO that kept others at a distance.
However, most people still cast their eyes on Ichiko.
Was she the one who was rumored to be the Young Master Ye's fake girlfriend?
Among the many girls present, which one wasn't a pampered Miss from a large family.
Their looks and figures were naturally not bad, but compared to Ichiko, they seemed slightly inferior.
Some envious girls quickly curled their lips in disdain, "They're attending the banquet as a couple, but they're not even holding hands. It's fake."
Inari happened to be standing next to this girl, sipping wine, and sneered, "Don't look at Sento's confident appearance, he probably hasn't even held Ichiko's hand."
The girl looked at Inari curiously, "How do you know?"
I'm a competitor, how could I not know?
Initially, he, Sento, and Shin were competing, and no one could outdo the other.
After all, they were chasing a girl, it wasn't worth causing the three great families to fight.
So they made an agreement that no one could force Ichiko, and unless Ichiko was willing, they couldn't touch her, including holding hands!
Then, a fair competition began.
He, Inari, was a Young Master, Sento was a CEO, and Shin's status was also not low. Each of them had their own pride, thinking that chasing a common girl wouldn't be simple?
The result was carrying this pride of theirs.
They chased Ichiko for three months.
Forget about touching her face or hugging each other.
They hadn't even tried holding hands properly once!
The envious girl looked at Ichiko, who was always an inch away from Sento, and sneered, "What great Young Master of the Ye Family, isn't he just a simp too?"
Inari: "..."
Why did it feel like he was also being scolded?
At this moment, another girl walked over with a wine glass, her red dress flowing gracefully, "Oh, Master Oriental, why are you drinking alone? Can't find a female companion?"
Seeing that it was someone he knew, Inari lightly clinked glasses, "Qian Qing, aren't you alone too? I don't lack women, I'm just too lazy to find one."
Qian Qing glanced at Ichiko again, with an understanding look, "I only know about the agreement between you three great Young Masters, but in my opinion, you're taking it too seriously. Chasing girls doesn't necessarily mean chasing them head-on, there are plenty of ways to try."
"Besides, your family probably doesn't approve of her either. Attending the banquet for her sake without even finding a female companion, that's too demeaning."
After speaking, Qian Qing took a sip of her wine and sat down next to Inari just like that.
However, her gaze was fixed on Ichiko, still looking displeased.
Inari, on the other hand, felt a slight stir in his heart.
He certainly didn't lack women; with just a word, many beautiful Misses from big families wanted to marry him.
It's just that he didn't like those women; they were nothing more than after his money and family power.
Even the foolish and dull Haruko had more character than those women.
Her looks weren't bad either.
Just a bit short.
"Forget it, why am I thinking about her?"
Inari shook his head, looked at Ichiko's back, and downed the wine in his glass.
Meanwhile, after dealing with numerous people who struck up conversations, the female lead finally managed to sit aside and relax while Sento was chatting with someone else.
Although this was just the socializing stage and the event hadn't officially started, Sento had promised that it would be a lot of fun later.
But this kind of occasion really wasn't suitable for her.
Everyone had a fake smile on their lips.
Their eyes were full of calculation.
The conversation, filled with mutual respect, seemed elegant yet hypocritical.
Different people, due to their different statuses, were either complacent, flattering, or compromising.
She only felt like a small boat, drifting with the current.
Picking up her phone and checking the time, she realized that it was already almost 9:30 without her knowing.
On the home screen, there was a message from Haruko sent four minutes ago: "Ichiko, when are you coming back?"
Ichiko pursed her lips and smiled, recalling the time she and Haruko depended on each other in elementary and middle school.
"When I go back later, I must have a good talk with Haruko and resolve the misunderstandings that have arisen during this time as soon as possible, then our relationship will definitely return to how it was before!"
"But if I go back now, it'll probably be 11 o'clock, right?"
She swiped the screen and unlocked her phone.
Just as she was thinking of replying to Haruko, she noticed that the red dot next to Haruko's name in Massenger actually showed dozens of messages!
What did Haruko send me?
Why are there so many?
She clicked into the chat page and stood up with a "swish."
Without noticing, she knocked over a wine glass next to her.
There was a crisp "bang," attracting the attention of most guests.
But Ichiko's gaze was fixed on her phone, completely unaware of the outside world.
Her fingertip slid down the screen; starting from around 8 o'clock, Haruko would send a message like this every 5 minutes.
—Ichiko, when are you coming back?
Like a prank message from a horror movie, it sent shivers down Ichiko's spine.
The previous message was sent exactly at 9:30.
And the next second, as soon as 9:35 arrived, another new message was immediately sent, "Ichiko, when are you coming back?"
For some reason, Ichiko thought of Haruko's strange state in the basement.
Her body froze in place, her lips a little dry.
Until a question came from beside her, "Miss, please lift your foot, be careful not to get hurt."
The waiter had come to her feet at some point, carefully cleaning up the glass shards.
Ichiko moved aside blankly and quickly looked back at her phone.
A thought arose in her mind.
Maybe, maybe this was a scheduled message function set by Haruko!
But does Massenger have this function?
She couldn't think of it, but she still trembled and typed a line of text.
"Haruko, are you okay?"
The next second, Haruko's message came.
"Ichiko, you finally replied to my message, of course I'm fine!"
"Hoo—"
Ichiko breathed a sigh of relief, maybe the network was slow.
"I've been waiting for you, Ichiko, when are you coming back?"
The girl didn't bother with a mischievous strand of hair that had fallen to the side of her face and quickly typed, "I won't be back that soon, Haruko, are you still in my dorm? Why don't you go back first, drink some water and get some sleep, and we can talk about anything tomorrow, okay?"
Between the lines, she vaguely felt that Haruko's emotions were not right.
Just as she was thinking about how to probe, she saw Haruko's strange reply again.
"Drink water? But it's all water here, I can't finish drinking it."
What did this sentence mean?
Ichiko didn't understand, but a thunderclap sounded outside, and heavy rain hit the window not far from her.
She suddenly thought of a possibility.
"Haruko, where are you waiting for me?"
"On the rooftop, didn't we agree? I'll wait for you on the rooftop at 9 o'clock."
Another string of words, like a death knell.
"So Ichiko, when are you coming back?"