石器盒子

Su Jianan felt a little sleepy in the afternoon, so she took a nap in the room. When she woke up, she found that the sunset had gilded the blue sea, as if it were sprinkled with a layer of glittering gold, which was a real feast for her eyes.

She got up and noticed a slip of paper on the bedside table, on which were the words written by Lu Boyan: I’m on the deck.

She smiled and laid it down, then she straightened her clothes and walked toward the deck.

Others, as well as Lu Boyan, were all there.

Lu Boyan and Mu Sijue were sitting at one side talking with each other; Shen Yuechuan was fishing with his arms resting on the railing, and next to his feet was a bucket, in which the fish were alive and kicking.

Xiao Yunyun and Xu Youning were leisurely lying on their lounge chairs while wearing glasses. Enjoying the sea breeze, they chatted with cold drinks in their hands, which looked enviable to Su Jianan who was not allowed to have one.

Lu Boyan was the first to notice Su Jianan. He almost subconsciously stood up and walked over to her, then he asked, “Why didn’t you call me when you woke up?”

“It’s all right,” Su Jianan smiled and said, “Just go on with your talking. I’ll be with Yunyun and Youning.”

“Be careful,” Lu Boyan said, “Remember not to have cold drinks.”

“OK.” Su Jianan nodded and said, “I will.”

Lu Boyan smiled and said, “Go ahead.”

Su Jianan walked over to Xiao Yunyun and Xu Youning while hailing them. Xiao Yunyun hurriedly got up to help her sit on the chair, then she said, “Cousin, we’re talking about your favorite British actor!”

“I lost interest in him,” Su Jianan rested her cheek in her hand and said, “Because he’s less handsome than your cousin-in-law, and he has worse taste than him!”

Xiao Yunyun got Su Jianan’s point at once. She nodded in agreement and said, “Absolutely. The smartest thing he has ever done is marrying my cousin.”

Su Jianan couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Then she looked at Xu Youning and asked, “Youning, who’s your favorite actor?”

Xu Youning nodded without thinking and said, “Yeah!”

Xu Youning was not the sort of person who liked watching movies or being a fan, so Su Jianan asked with curiosity, “Who is it?”

“It’s me!” Xu Youning seriously said, “I’m not kidding. If I’m an actress, I’ll win an Oscar and bring the statuette home!”

Su Jianan tried to stifle her mirth so as not to let Xu Youning down, but she failed and burst into laughter, while Xiao Yunyun laughed as well.

Then, they realized that Xu Youning was not joking.

“Ha ha ha—!”

As Su Jianan and Xiao Yunyun continued laughing, Shen Yuechuan’s voice was heard. They looked over and saw Shen Yuechuan holding a baby shark with joy.

“Wow!” Xiao Yunyun ran over to him. She pointed at the baby shark in disbelief while asking, “Shen Yuechuan, did you catch it?”

“Uh huh,” Shen Yuechuan flicked the baby shark’s head and said, “Are you going to tell me that you admire me a lot?”

Xiao Yunyun was afraid of water but fond of sea creatures. She could only see them at aquariums, so the baby shark that Shen Yuechuan had caught did surprise her.

However, in her eyes, that was far from admiration!

She sneered and said, “Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while...”

“Hey, girl, what are you talking about?” Shen Yuechuan held the baby shark in front of Xiao Yunyun’s face to scare her. “It may bite you. Look out!”

Xiao Yunyun subconsciously stepped backward with her back against the railing and tried to stop Shen Yuechuan. “You pr*ck,” she said while looking at the baby shark.

Different from great white sharks, the baby shark was much lovelier. The way it struggled in Shen Yuechuan’s arms from time to time looked the same as an unyielding child.

Shen Yuechuan noticed Xiao Yunyun’s gaze. He handed her the shark and said, “Hey, you can play with it for five minutes.”

Xiao Yunyun held the baby shark in her arms. To her surprise, it opened and shut its mouth.

She stroked the baby shark’s head and said, “Let’s set it free.”

Shen Yuechuan raised his eyebrows, feeling awkward. He then said, “Don’t you like it? You can play with it a little longer.”

“But it will die without water, won’t it? Even if it doesn’t, it will suffer from lack of oxygen.” Xiao Yunyun opened her arms and said, “Forget it. Let it go home.”

Before Shen Yuechuan could stop her, with a splash, the baby shark was back in the sea, then it disappeared in a flash. Xiao Yunyun gazed where it swam away, as if she had let go of her baby.

“Are you stupid?” Shen Yuechuan poked Xiao Yunyun’s head and said, “I’ve got such a big bucket here. Why did you think it would die?”

Xiao Yunyun glanced at Shen Yuechuan’s bucket and said, “Are you going to keep a shark in a bucket? It would be a terrible blow to its self-esteem!”

Shen Yuechuan: “...”

He was thinking about praising Xiao Yunyun for her caring about a baby shark with love, while he wondered whether she had thought too much by talking about the self-esteem of a shark.

It was getting dark as the yacht reached the shore. After they got off it, Shen Yuechuan seemed excited and said, “Let’s have a barbecue on the beach and try the fish I caught today!”

“Great.” Xu Youning was the first to respond. She said, “I also want to have a try.”

Seeing that, Xiao Yunyun responded as well. Then Lu Boyan made a call, after which the chef and the island staff quickly arranged everything for them. The work left to be done was nothing more than placing the ingredients on the barbecue to roast and eat them.

Mu Sijue had no interest in having a barbecue. He sat down on the beach chair and looked at the sea level in the distance, as if he was pondering over something.

Watching Shen Yuechuan and the others busy with the barbecue, Su Jianan was eager to have a try. Lu Boyan decisively dragged her away and held her down on the beach chair. He said, “Stay here. I’ll have your meal brought here.”

“I’m not hungry yet, and—” Su Jianan pointed to Shen Yuechuan and Xiao Yunyun who were in a flurry and said, “I think they need me there.”

She was the only one of the six who knew how to cook. Neither Shen Yuechuan, who had proposed a barbecue, nor Xu Youning knew anything about cooking. If she just left them alone, it would end in the most terrible barbecue Lu Boyan had ever experienced.

Lu Boyan asked, “Do you really want to do that?”

“Yes.” Su Jianan gazed at Lu Boyan eagerly and said, “I know how it feels to be a chef, but I haven’t tried to guide others to roast. Just let me try it, will you?”

“Hey, what’s cumin powder used for? Do we need to add oil or flavor it first?” There came Shen Yuechuan’s voice, “Boss Lu, we need your wife here!”

Su Jianan helplessly smiled at Lu Boyan, with a hint of pride in her eyes.

Lu Boyan had no choice but to walk over there with Su Jianan. He could no longer stay out of the affair, so he watched as Su Jianan taught them how to barbecue.

When it came to cooking, Su Jianan had a natural authority. She arranged the barbecue leisurely with skill and ease.

After making their work clear, she told them about the usage and dosage of different seasonings to bring out the best.

Although the three were bad at cooking, they were smart. Under Su Jianan’s guidance, they got the point at once, and what they made was unexpectedly delicious, although it didn’t look that good.

As they enjoyed their barbecue, the sun touched the horizon and disappeared, then darkness covered the whole island.

Su Jianan looked up and found that the night sky overhead was full of stars. The crescent moon had climbed high in the sky, casting a layer of hazy silver light over the sea, which was like a fantasy.

She rested her head on Lu Boyan’s shoulder and said, “It’s so beautiful.”

Without a word, Lu Boyan placed the coat on Su Jianan’s shoulders to shelter her from the chilly night wind. They quietly sat there for a while, then he asked, “Are you tired? How about going back first?”

“All right!”

Su Jianan held Lu Boyan’s arm, and under the hazy moonlight, the two slowly walked back to the wooden cottage.

After the shower, Su Jianan felt lazy all over. She lay on the bed and didn’t want to move. Boyan went out of the bathroom and saw her casually placing her legs on the quilt.

During pregnancy, Su Jianan had been gaining weight. Her face, as well as her body, became chubby and felt soft. However, her legs were as well-proportioned and lean as ever, which looked as attractive as they had ever been.

At that moment, she was in loose maternity pajamas. And because of her posture, he could take in her legs at a glance, which were clear and smooth with a kind of unique charm.

Lu Boyan swallowed, then he walked over to fetch the quilt and said, “You may catch a cold. Cover yourself with it.”

If it were winter, Su Jianan would have agreed with him. However, it was summer then. She thought, “Shouldn’t Lu Boyan be worried if I got a heatstroke?”

Su Jianan gazed at Lu Boyan with confusion and found something unusual in his eyes. She instantly saw the light and said, “Oh. Please do me a favor.”

Lu Boyan unrolled the quilt and bent down to tuck Su Jianan in, while she unexpectedly encircled his nape with her arms.

He took a deep breath, frozen, with something shining in his eyes. “Jianan?” he said.

Su Jianan tugged Lu Boyan close to her and kissed his lips. “Thank you.” With that, she gazed at his lips instead of releasing him.

She had long wanted to tease Lu Boyan like that!

Lu Boyan realized what Su Jianan was thinking about, so he said in a low voice, “Jianan, you’d better not do that.”

“Huh?” Su Jianan pretended a confused look and said, “What are you talking about? I don’t understand.” Then she kissed him again and said, “It seems that I forgot how to kiss...”

Lu Boyan narrowed his eyes and said, “It doesn’t matter. Let me teach you once more.”

Now that Su Jianan was teasing, he was glad to give her what she wanted.

Su Jianan blinked and said, “Well, then, where to begin?”

Lu Boyan smiled and smoothed away Su Jianan’s long hair from her cheeks, then he touched her lips with his fingertips and said, “This is where it starts...”

“Oh... oh...”

Before Su Jianan could say more, Lu Boyan’s kisses had overwhelmed her.