Although Xiao Changkun found Ma Lan’s request rather shameless, he agreed without a moment’s hesitation.
The last trip to Dubai had been the darkest moment of his life, not for any other reason but to personally shatter that nightmare. He had to visit Dubai again, to fully immerse himself in its intoxicating extravagance.
So, he said to Ma Lan, “The Maldives isn’t far from Dubai. How about, after our Maldives trip ends, we let the kids return to Jinling, and the two of us fly straight from the Maldives to Dubai?”
“Sounds good!” Ma Lan said with a cheerful grin. “That’s a great idea, it’s settled then. Hurry back and rest, and tomorrow morning we’ll tell Churan!”
That night, many people around the world couldn’t sleep.
But Xiao Churan slept exceptionally soundly, not stirring until the early morning of the next day.
By then, the entire White Horse Island had returned to calm. The bodies had been removed, the bloodstains cleaned up, and the tourists were well reassured. Even Bernard Elno was now using a pain pump brought overnight by French doctors.
His knee was medically beyond repair, but fortunately, artificial knee replacement technology was highly advanced. The French doctors planned to treat him back home, but Bernard Elno insisted on staying on the island a few more days, at least until Ye Chen had left.
It was Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve, and Bernard Elno had specially arranged for the island’s staff to decorate the entire place in a Chinese style. He’d also purchased a large quantity of fireworks, which were being flown in, planning a grand maritime fireworks display for all the island’s tourists that evening.
After waking, Xiao Churan was unaware of the previous night’s events.
Seeing Ye Chen still asleep, she washed up briefly, brewed herself a cup of coffee with the hotel room’s capsule machine, and, holding the coffee in one hand and her phone in the other, stepped onto the sea-facing balcony.
Lately, she’d been carrying a lot in her heart, with various pressures weighing her down. This rare moment of sitting alone by the sea brought a fleeting sense of calm.
But that calm didn’t last long.
Glancing at her phone, she was immediately startled by the flood of notifications on her screen!
“Breaking News: Maldives’ White Horse Island Hit by Terrorist Attack Last Night!”
“Tawana Sweet’s Harrowing Experience, Live-Streamed”
“Tawana Sweet’s White Horse Island Ordeal: An Unexpected Terrorist Attack”
“Blackwater Company Plotted Terrorist Attack, Former World’s Richest Man Used Money to Save Hundreds of Lives”
Xiao Churan was dumbfounded. Last night, wasn’t Tawana at a party in the sea-view bar? Her parents had gone too, but she and Ye Chen hadn’t. She’d felt sleepy, slept through until now, and had slept soundly.
Could it be that while she was fast asleep, a terrorist attack had struck the island?!
In disbelief, Xiao Churan hurriedly clicked through the news articles.
One video report used footage from Tawana’s live stream. When she saw her parents crouching with their heads down in the footage, she realised it was all real!
She quickly skimmed more related reports. Apparently, the American Blackwater Company, aiming to assassinate a competitor, had posed as mercenaries from the Wanlong Hall to launch the attack.
Their original plan was to kill everyone at the bar’s party, creating a globally shocking incident. But unexpectedly, Bernard Elno, the former world’s richest man, had used over a hundred million dollars to bribe Blackwater’s men, turning them against each other and resolving the crisis.
Xiao Churan felt an overwhelming sense of relief. Thank goodness for Bernard Elno, or her parents might not have survived!
But after this instinctive reaction, a thought crept into her mind.
If such a major incident had occurred on the island, Ye Chen couldn’t possibly be unaware. She’d seen Master Jingqing’s extraordinary abilities before, and he’d said his strength was no match for Ye Chen’s.
Given Ye Chen’s character, he wouldn’t have stood by idly last night.
Could it be that the peaceful resolution was all due to Ye Chen?
She recalled that she’d been watching Tawana’s live stream last night, and after Tawana sang “Assassin,” she’d suddenly felt overwhelmingly sleepy and slept until now.
Checking the news reports, it seemed the attackers appeared while Tawana was performing at the bar, which coincided perfectly with when she’d fallen asleep.
It must be connected to Ye Chen.
As she was deep in thought, Ye Chen pushed open the door and stepped out onto the balcony, stretching lazily and smiling, “Wife, you’re up early today!”
Xiao Churan set her thoughts aside and nodded, “I slept early last night, so I woke up early today.”
Looking at Ye Chen, she said with a puzzled expression, “How did I fall asleep so early yesterday? I remember I was watching the live stream, and then I just passed out somehow.”
Ye Chen chuckled casually, “Maybe you were too tired these past few days. Once you finally relaxed, it’s easy to feel drowsy.”
