The young woman said with a mournful expression, “They’re like lingering ghosts, following us everywhere…”
The middle-aged man whispered, “What do you know? They’re clearly loaded, probably richer than us. Coming to the Maldives, of course they’d pick the most expensive place. This just proves they’ve got something going for them. Once we’re on the island, we’ll do our own thing, no need to deal with them. Just bear with it for now.”
The young woman, annoyed, muttered, “They’ve completely ruined my mood… so irritating…”
The man quickly hushed her, “Keep your voice down! Better to avoid trouble, got it? This is my fault, I shouldn’t have provoked them at the airport.”
The young woman was deeply frustrated. She’d expected a dreamy, magical trip, but from the airport lounge onwards, Ma Lan had thoroughly overshadowed her. Even after getting off the plane, she felt suppressed, which was incredibly uncomfortable.
Fortunately, Ma Lan mentally dismissed them and couldn’t be bothered to stir up more trouble. The couple kept quiet, which brought some peace.
Ye Chen’s family handed their luggage to the staff and went to Baima Island’s VIP lounge to rest briefly.
Unexpectedly, a few minutes later, the middle-aged man and his young wife walked in awkwardly, accompanied by their own personal butler, one of the other three staff members.
When their eyes met, the man raised his hand to greet Ye Chen with an embarrassed smile.
Ye Chen nodded, returning a smile.
He didn’t particularly dislike the man. He’d seen plenty of vain people—after all, his in-laws were the epitome of vanity—so he found the man’s behaviour understandable.
Seeing the man politely greet Ye Chen, Ma Lan felt smug, believing it was her triumph at Jinling Airport that had sealed the deal.
However, she didn’t continue targeting them, merely holding her head high, looking down her nose with an air of arrogance.
After about twenty minutes, Butler Hani approached and said respectfully, “Mr. Ye, we can board now.”
Ye Chen nodded and asked, “How long is the seaplane flight?”
“About half an hour,” Hani replied courteously. “It’s less than two hundred kilometres, so we’ll be there soon.”
“Good.” Ye Chen stood, leading his family out of the lounge.
The seaplane’s take-off and landing area was in the sea parallel to the airport runway. The seaplane was smaller than a typical business jet. After boarding, they had to wear noise-cancelling headphones due to the loud propeller noise, which made normal conversation in the cabin impossible.
The couple boarded and sat at the back, remaining silent throughout. The woman looked sullen and reluctant, while the man held her hand, gently rubbing it to comfort her.
The plane accelerated on the water, took off, and headed north from Malé.
Along the way, they passed numerous picturesque islands, most with similar layouts: vast beaches, reefs, forests, and clusters of buildings. The larger structures were usually public facilities, while scattered smaller ones were private villa rooms, some nestled in tropical groves by the beach, others extending over the sea on reefs.
The plane landed on the water, gliding slowly to the dock. As they disembarked, the salty tropical sea breeze greeted them.
Ye Chen had booked the best water villas for four nights. Upon arrival, the butler drove them to their rooms in a golf cart, introducing the island’s features.
