Miracle

Or rather, was he boarding merely as a member of the Withered-Flower family?

Xu Xiaoyou followed quickly. The scenery outside the portholes gradually receded as the whistle sounded, signaling that the Dream of the Ocean was leaving the dock and heading toward the vast, open sea.

The ship swayed slightly. The young men and women dancing together in the ballroom remained steady despite the tremors. Young noble gentlemen reached out to steady the ladies before them, inquiring with concern. The pheromones they exuded were mixed with the cedar scent of cologne.

Broadcasts echoed through the ship. Xu Xiaoyou walked steadily through the ship's vibrations until she arrived at the alloy door of a storage compartment.

Through the circular glass on the door, she could see the scene inside.

In the faint light, dust swirled in the air. Beside an aged wine cabinet, two figures appeared to be in conversation.

A brown-haired youth leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, dressed in a champagne, blue, and white academy uniform that fit him perfectly. He held a hand out to the side, the corners of his lips curling into a playful smile.

Opposite him, Lancelot stood in the distance, his expression obscured by the shadow of the cabinet shelves.

Xu Xiaoyou pressed herself against the wall, and the contents of their discussion reached her ears.

"Are you planning to follow me forever, Gawain?" Lancelot asked.

The brown-haired youth chuckled upon hearing this. "The president is so selfish. It’s a rare moment of leisure now that all the work for the second half of the semester is done, yet you come on vacation all by yourself."

Lancelot's brow furrowed deeply. "Did you bring them all here?"

The playful smile on Gawain's lips widened.

"I thought the president forgot to notify everyone."

"As the considerate vice president, I naturally had to share the president's burdens. So, I took it upon myself to notify everyone. It’s a rare chance for us to relax together, so why does the president look so unhappy? Is there something you're uncomfortable with us knowing?"

"Gawain!" Lancelot suddenly took a step forward, shoving the youth against the wall. The impact made the cabinet shelves rattle. His eyes burned with a lion-like fury.

"Don't think I don't know your little tricks. I'm warning you, Gawain—this is my business. It has nothing to do with you."

"Your business?"

Gawain raised an eyebrow and held out his hands helplessly.

"What kind of business would it be? Is it your business, or the family's business? Does it have something to do with the 'miracle' the Withered-Flower family is guarding on the island?"

A miracle? Xu Xiaoyou recalled the information she had searched for online before landing. There were suspicious clues that were hard not to overthink.

It made sense. The family wouldn't do this out of charity. Building extensive tourist facilities on the island for no apparent reason, and maintaining them even if it meant a loss—could they actually be guarding a miracle on the island?

The concept of a miracle was vague. In Xu Xiaoyou's memory, miracles only birthed within the badlands. The more official explanation was that when something with specific traits came into deep contact with 'mystery,' its essence would undergo an irreversible transformation, becoming a 'miracle.'

A miracle could be a trial, a concrete object, or even just a cluster of light where multiple rays converged. Only by coming into contact with a miracle could one understand its concept and nature.

Suppressing her thoughts for the moment, Xu Xiaoyou continued listening to the conversation inside.

"You're putting on such a grand display, President. Is it really necessary to be so tense? Do you think I actually wanted to come? I'm quite busy lingering among a dozen teenage girls, you know."

"The academy sent you?" Lancelot keenly picked up on the information within the youth's words, his eyes wavering slightly.

Only then did Gawain completely tear away his mask. Like a cunning wolf, he strolled leisurely around Lancelot before finally placing both hands on the latter's shoulders and leaning in to whisper in his ear.

Xu Xiaoyou tried to hear more, but she suddenly noticed a pair of dark, bright eyes blinking at her in the light.

A tall girl had appeared beside her at some unknown point, leaning against the wall alongside her to eavesdrop on the two inside.

The girl had her hair in a ponytail and looked pure and lovely. Her academy uniform jacket was tied around her waist, giving her a very athletic and energetic appearance.

Just as Xu Xiaoyou was about to say something, the girl made a shushing gesture. "Those two never get along in the Student Council. I just love watching them bicker."

"Who's at the door?"

Lancelot's questioning voice rang out. Realizing she had caused trouble, the girl awkwardly scratched her cheek. When she turned to apologize to the blonde girl, she found that the other had already vanished. The room's door opened at the same time.

"Yaqing? Why are you here too?" Seeing the girl, Lancelot's tense expression softened slightly as he spoke.

"Oh, I was just worried something might happen to you going to the island alone. Gawain organized something within the Student Council, so when I heard, I came along."

After saying this, Lin Yaqing put her hands on her hips confidently. Not only was she not guilty, but she even repeatedly poked Lancelot’s forehead with her fingertip.

"Going out alone without even telling me. What if you were eaten by a sea monster? Do you even care about your girlfriend anymore?"

"I won't disturb your time together then. I'll take my leave first." Gawain gave a polite smile and walked past them through the corridor.

Watching the youth disappear at the end of the hallway, Lancelot turned back, his expression turning more serious.

"Yaqing, besides you, was there anyone else in the hallway just now?"

Lin Yaqing rarely saw the youth looking so solemn. Recalling the blonde girl from a moment ago, she wondered if she was a member of the Student Council. She hadn't seen her before.

To avoid causing trouble for the girl, she shook her head and spoke with a candid tone.

"No, it was just me out here."

Meanwhile, somewhere below the deck in the ship's hold, a burly crew member was holding a flashlight, feeling his way through a pitch-black corridor.

A cold wind blew through the darkness. Droplets of water condensed on the metal pipes and fell to the floor with a rhythmic 'drip, drip.' The damp moisture in the air brought waves of cold. Thirty minutes after the cruise ship departed, a large section of Deck 21 had suddenly lost power, and he had been assigned to repair the anomaly.

He couldn't afford to offend any of the big shots on the cruise today. If anything happened to them, the entire crew would suffer. Just as the man was thinking this, two small, thin black figures suddenly flashed through the beam of his flashlight.

The sudden occurrence made the man's heart skip a beat. Scenes from the horror movies he had watched before docking involuntarily drifted through his mind. Swallowing hard, he wondered if he was really unlucky enough to have encountered something 'dirty.'

As the light refocused, the man finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was two little girls. Both were wearing exquisite doll dresses and small round-toed leather shoes. Their faces were as delicate as carved jade; they were clearly children from some family who had run off.

"Hey, you two! What are you doing?"

Only at a time like this could the man act strong in front of these families. Like an adult who had caught a child doing something wrong, he shouted sternly.

The two girls did not respond to him. They only stared straight ahead, as if something in the darkness was attracting the curious nature of a child.

When he frowned and approached with his flashlight, he discovered they were standing in front of the restaurant's kitchen. Ahead was a pitch darkness where one could barely see rows of stainless steel cabinets holding various utensils and kitchen appliances like ovens.

"There's someone in there," one little girl said, pointing forward.

"She's very, very hungry."