From a personal perspective, if the one who drugged us wasn't me, it would definitely be Xu Shiyu.
However, the smear of crimson blood flowing from the edge of the sofa to the floor extinguished my previous doubts and deductions.
If she had truly been bought off by Isabella, she wouldn't have needed to put herself in danger; she could have easily sabotaged things at the gambling table earlier.
If it wasn't me or Xu Shiyu, then who could have drugged us?
I knew something was fishy.
When I saw the bottle of red wine, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.
It was Isabella!
Or rather, it was the casino staff!
Since Yun Jin had chartered this cruise ship, she could definitely interfere with and control things like drinks and food!
Having seen through my identity and secretly dealt with Cheng Minglang and Han Jinlun, Yun Jin chose to use such despicable means to trap me, to prevent me from finding and bothering her before the ship docked.
Since she could see through my identity, Yun Jin could naturally conduct discreet investigations into the people around me.
Without a doubt, Yun Jin must have thoroughly investigated my previous collaboration with Xu Shiyu.
She must have known what my purpose was in bringing Xu Shiyu here.
Revenge! Naked revenge!
Yun Jin was truly heartless. Knowing that I had brought Xu Shiyu to help me deal with her, she decided to go all the way!
At this moment, let alone dealing with Yun Jin, how to face Xu Shiyu became the most pressing issue before me!
Although I was also a victim, throughout history, in matters between men and women, it was always the woman who suffered more.
Xu Shiyu's purity, maintained through her self-discipline, was now inexplicably ruined by me. Honestly, I couldn't even imagine what her mental state and reaction would be when she woke up.
Just as my mind was constantly wrestling with whether it was better to flee or to stay and take whatever came my way—be it scolding, beating, or punishment…
Xu Shiyu, lying in the left half of my body's area, suddenly showed noticeable movement!
Seeing this, I was so scared I didn't dare to breathe, and quickly closed my eyes to continue feigning sleep.
Not long after, Xu Shiyu woke up.
After such a bizarre incident, most girls' first reaction would be to scream.
As expected, just as I thought this, Xu Shiyu's hysterical and somewhat hoarse scream immediately echoed in the lounge.
"Ah~~~"
Xu Shiyu's scream, so close to my ear, instantly made it impossible for me to continue pretending to be asleep.
The moment I opened my eyes and saw Xu Shiyu's terrified expression, I immediately panicked. I covered her mouth and quickly said, "Shiyu, calm down and listen to me!"
"I don't know how to explain this to you, but there's one thing you can recall carefully…"
"Before we lost consciousness, we both drank a glass of red wine!"
"Of course! I'm not shirking responsibility by saying this. Now that it has happened, I will definitely take full responsibility!"
After saying this, I realized that due to nervousness, I hadn't noticed that while covering Xu Shiyu's mouth, I had also covered her nose!
Seeing her face turn red, if I didn't let go, she might really suffocate!
So, I quickly let go.
After Xu Shiyu recovered, I realized that we were now in a state of complete nudity.
But I had no mood to appreciate it now; I cautiously watched Xu Shiyu.
Seeing me looking at her, Xu Shiyu was first slightly stunned, then inexplicably grabbed my hand and bit down hard, refusing to let go.
Although it hurt, I endured it without making a sound.
Because I knew Xu Shiyu was venting.
And the reason for her venting was that she chose to believe what I had just said.
I don't know how much time passed…
As the pain in my hand gradually lessened, Xu Shiyu soon released my hand from her mouth.
After letting go, she didn't scream again but instead curled herself up.
Hugging her knees and looking at me, Xu Shiyu said in a stammering voice, "Um, can you… can you help me get my under… clothes?"
Upon hearing this, I nodded frantically and replied, "Okay!"
As soon as I finished speaking, I scrambled off the sofa.
After quickly handing Xu Shiyu her clothes, we both, with tacit understanding, turned our backs to each other and began to get dressed.
After about five or six minutes…
"I'm sorry!" I said in a muffled voice, not daring to look at Xu Shiyu.
Xu Shiyu didn't reply but gave a self-deprecating laugh, then shook her head.
"You… you don't blame me?"
Looking at Xu Shiyu with disbelief, I lowered my head, my heart filled with mixed emotions.
There was joy, and there was also disappointment.
The joy was that, seeing Xu Shiyu like this, she seemed to have no intention of arguing with me and holding me accountable later.
The disappointment was that I didn't know why I felt disappointed.
Seeing my lost and melancholy expression, Xu Shiyu looked up at me and said softly, "You don't need to be like this! I really don't blame you anymore."
"It's better to blame myself than you! Although I was paid to do this, the world of Qianmen Lan Dao is full of tricks and deceit; I was still not cautious and careful enough!"
Honestly, Xu Shiyu's reaction was something I had never anticipated.
I never imagined that she not only didn't blame me but even took the responsibility upon herself.
Facing Xu Shiyu's calm demeanor, I struggled to utter three words.
"I'm sorry!"
"No!" Shaking her head, Xu Shiyu said solemnly, "You don't need to apologize to me, because you haven't wronged me!"
"Since I accepted your money, I naturally have to do things for you! To be honest, before coming here, I thought there was a chance I might fail."
"But what I didn't expect was that the reason for failure would be myself!"
"I can only say that this is my destined tribulation! So Chen Xiang, you really don't need to blame yourself too much!"
The more Xu Shiyu acted as if she didn't care, the more uncomfortable I felt.
"But…"
Before I could finish, Xu Shiyu interrupted me and spoke first, "Alright! Stop dwelling on this. What do you plan to do next?"
After a moment of silence, I looked at Xu Shiyu with a solemn and serious gaze and said, "Revenge!"
They say that matters of Qianmen are resolved within Qianmen.
But this time, Yun Jin's methods, both on and off the stage, were too despicable to get rid of me.
If I could still tolerate this, then I shouldn't be in this line of work anymore!
Therefore, my immediate decision was to seek revenge!