chapter 3

“Don’t go out to sea. Your Husband wants to kill you.”

The message was from a friend I’d just met. He was also Chinese and was staying at the same hotel as us.

As a Writer, he had a keen sensibility and suffered from poor sleep. Around midnight, unable to sleep, he left the hotel for a walk and happened to witness what looked like a shady deal, so he messaged me to warn me.

By the time I saw the message, it was already too late.

There were only three people on the boat: me, He Yunzheng, and the boatman.

The boatman was the local African fisherman, bare-chested, with well-defined muscles and skin so dark it gleamed.

He skillfully managed the sails, letting the boat ride the wind farther and farther from the shore.

This country was once colonized by Spain, and Spanish is spoken here – that’s He Yunzheng’s specialty. He could converse fluently with the locals, but I couldn’t understand a word.

While they talked, the boatman looked me over thoughtfully, then suddenly grinned.

His teeth and eyes were much too white and strange against his skin, making his gaze seem sly and his smile sinister. He looked at me as if I were a big fish caught in his net.

Clearly, he had already been bought off by He Yunzheng.

My phone screen went dark, and I was still in a daze.

“What’s wrong?” He Yunzheng got up and walked toward me. “It’s rare for us to come out to see the sea, so stop looking at your phone.”

He took my phone away, and only then did I snap out of it and try to grab it back.

Just then, a small wave rocked the boat. I lost my balance. He Yunzheng reached out to steady me, his hand supporting my waist.

But I couldn’t hold onto the phone, and it slipped from my hand and fell into the sea with a splash.

I cried out in despair, wanting to rush to the side of the boat to retrieve it, but forced myself to stop – I couldn’t go to the edge; I could only curl up in the center of the boat.

He Yunzheng crouched down and looked at me. His expression was gentle, but there was no emotion in his eyes.

“Let it go,” he said softly.

My phone was gone. Surrounded by endless sea, not a soul in sight, I was completely cut off from the world.

I was on a tiny boat with two men who wanted to kill me, one of whom was my beloved Husband. This was my situation now.

I couldn’t count on anything from novels or movies to happen to me.

There was nothing but sea and sky around; there was no way a ship would just mysteriously appear.

There were no seagulls overhead, which meant there were no islands nearby. It also meant that if they threw me into the sea, the odds of the waves carrying me to some so-called deserted island were almost zero.

I couldn’t communicate with the boatman, and there was no chance to do so. There was no way I could win him over under He Yunzheng’s watchful eye.

I was powerless, and there was no way I could turn the tables on two men.

I couldn’t swim at all.

…

Almost every possible chance of survival was ruled out, one by one.

No sudden miracle or coincidence – everything in reality was plain and logical. This was a real, inescapable predicament where no one would answer my cries for help.

If I couldn’t save myself, today would be the day I died.

I would sink into the vast sea, leaving no trace behind.