Belated Romance (Mu Tongrui)
Chapter 119

Chapter 119

A hotel lobby in S city.

A tour guide announced, “We'll meet here at eight tomorrow morning. After breakfast, we will depart toLijiang Island and stay the night there. Remember to bring all your belongings with you.”

After that, Mu Tongrui took a stroll in the area for some food before she returned to the hotel.

She checked her phone to replace neither a text nor a phone call from Fu Lingye.

Mu Tongrui collapsed on a bed then opened WeChat. She searched Fu Lingye's name but she failed toreplace his profile.

That prompted her to sit up straight and focus on every way to search for it.

Unfortunately, after several trials, Fu Lingye's profile still didn't pop up.

I got testy after a few drinks... I didn't block him, did I?

Mu Tongrui sat in stillness, trying to recall that part of the night. Moments later, she finally did.

Mu Tongrui and Ye Guo had dared each other to block their crushes' contacts. The alcohol took controlof her and...

Mu Tongrui buried her face under her blanket. Right now, she just wanted to hide and melt away.

Then, she remembered “breaking up” with Fu Lingye one-sidedly. So what am I doing, expecting him toreach out?

Mu Tongrui turned on the television to shut down her uncontrollable inner thoughts. She flipped throughthe channels and stopped at a show which had a four-year-old performing. That child, who was almost

Sweetheart's age, reminded Mu Tongrui of Sweetheart and further messed with her head. Mu Tongruiended up switching the TV off.

After Sweetheart’s call last time, Mu Tongrui tried calling back, but they were never connected. Shespeculated that Sweetheart’s phone must have been taken away. In the process of organizing herthoughts, Mu Tongrui eventually passed out on her bed.

The next morning, Mu Tongrui met up with the tour guide after breakfast. They left at eight o'clocksharp for the island.

Lijiang Island was a popular tourist attraction in S city. It was known as the Little Maldives and was theperfect spot for many honeymooners. It explained all the newlyweds in the group. Mu Tongrui was gladthat she wouldn't be following their agenda after reaching the island, or it'd be too much to bear for alovesick woman like her.

The tour bus drove for an hour to finally arrive at a jetty. Mu Tongrui boarded a ferry with her tour groupand found herself a seat. Not long after, a man sat down next to her. In a plain white t-shirt, the mancarried an SLR camera.

He turned and flashed a bright smile, “This seat is not taken, right?”

“No.” Mu Tongrui answered.

“Are we in the same tour group? It's good to replace another single person. I feel isolated around all thesecouples.”

Mu Tongrui paused. They made an isolated pair.

She clarified, “I'm alone, but I only signed up for the good deals. I'm not interested in following theguide.”

The man got excited hearing that, “What a coincidence, me too! Would you like to be my travel partnerthen?”

Mu Tongrui hesitated for a moment, but she didn't mind some company. Thus, she agreed.

“I'm Qiu Zekai.”

“Nice to meet you. I'm Mu Tongrui.”

They shook hands.

They chatted on the way to the island. Mu Tongrui looked out the window to appreciate the glisteningseawater and a trail of waves created by the ferry's movement.

Once they got to the island, Mu Tongrui and Qiu Zekai enjoyed some fun water sports together. QiuZekai was a decent photographer and offered to take photos. Mu Tongrui was so impressed by thephotos that she posted some of them.

Ye Guo commented, “Ooo, if you went alone, then who took those pictures? Tell me, did you meet alover boy there?”

Mu Tongrui replied with an eye-roll emoji and typed: Not a lover, just a travel buddy.

When Fu Lingye rushed to S city, Mu Tongrui was already gone.

Xu Kun reported, “Boss, I tracked Ms. Mu's phone, and it is now on Lijiang Island. She's probablyvacationing there.”

Fu Lingye immediately took a cab and sped to the jetty.

An hour later. Huge black clouds hovered on the horizon as gushes of wind grew stronger. A storm wascoming.

In a ferry, Fu Lingye narrowed his eyes upon this view.

Came nighttime, Mu Tongrui and Qiu Zekai went to a random restaurant after a day packed withactivities.

As soon as their first dish was served, a television on the wall presented a piece of breaking news.

“At six P.M, Lijiang Island saw a sudden storm which caused a few boats to sink. We are currently stillunsure about the casualties...”

Mu Tongrui's eye twitched, “Wow. It happened out of nowhere! The weather was fine when we surfed.It's not even raining on the island.”

She looked out to see a peaceful coastline. It was hard to imagine a violent thunderstorm not far awayfrom there.

“Weathers are often unpredictable on the sea. Luckily, we got here early. I think we should stay twomore days just to be safe.” Qiu Zekai suggested.

Right after Qiu Zekai finished, Mu Tongrui's phone rang.

The caller was Xu Kun.

“Mr. Xu, I didn't expect your call...”

Xu Kun anxiously interrupted, “Ms. Mu, has my boss contacted you?”

Mu Tongrui answered confusedly, “No, why would he?”

Xu Kun explained, “That's not good. I lost touch with him after he boarded a ferry. Many boats sankafter that point...”

Mu Tongrui stopped listening. Blood drained from her face. She shook so intensely that she started tolose grip of her phone.

Fu Lingye came for me?

On TV, the newscaster was still reporting about the incident. Mu Tongrui's ears rang, and her mindblanked out. She stood up limply as she mumbled, “Fu Lingye, I have to replace him...”

Qiu Zekai supported her from aside, “Tongrui, what's wrong?”

Mu Tongrui's eyes welled up with tears, “My boyfriend got on a ferry at that hour, on his way to me. Ifear something might have happened to him!”

Boyfriend? She has a boyfriend?

Though thrown off by that fact, Qiu Zekai still comforted her, “They haven't confirmed the casualties yet.This is not the worst storm. Don't worry. Even if you want, no one can take you out on the sea now. Tryto calm down, okay? It might not be as bad as you think.”

Mu Tongrui buried her head in her hands.

How could I calm down? What do I tell Sweetheart if something were to happen?

If I hadn't come, then Fu Lingye wouldn't have encountered this!

Mu Tongrui burst into tears and sprinted out of the restaurant for the jetty.

I have to replace him. He cannot die!