Joreen's heart skipped when she saw Hoy's dark eyes staring right at them.

"Why..." she gulped, "...is Uncle Hoy looking at you like that?" Joreen asked in a whisper.

"He is staring at you, not me!" Reen whispered back.

Joreen's eyes widened and she turned to look at Hoy once again.

"Me?" She mouthed at him and pointed at herself with her finger.

"Jo, come here for a second. Someone wants to speak with you." Joreen pulled her eyes away from Hoy's scorching gaze and turned to look at Sara who just called her.

'Why is he looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong? Is it because of Han Yu? Or because I didn't call him at all?' She asked herself as she quickly moved to where Sara was seated without sparing Hoy another glance.

Sara was on a video call with someone. When Joreen sat beside her, she turned the phone's screen towards her. It took about a minute before Joreen recognized the fine man on the other end, and gasped.

"Brother Bilike! It's been a while." She took the phone from Sara to speak with him. It seemed wherever he was, it was snowing heavily. He was outside but was heavily guarded against the snow with a head warmer, hand warmer, sweater, scarf around his neck and a big coat.

He smiled brightly when he saw her. "Wow! You look really pretty Jo. I told a few people here I knew you but they didn't believe me." He said, making her laugh.

Chu Bilike was the son of her uncle's frequent customer later turned friend. They called him Mr Chu. Mr Chu lost his wife many years ago and raised his son alone but his son always gave him a headache because he liked to gamble. So after getting into trouble one day with a gang, Sara and Muchen saved Mr Chu and Bilike which brought the family closer. At a time when the Wangs lost their home, they moved in with Mr Chu and lived together.

Sara helped Bilike enrol in the university where he studied Cinematography, and surprisingly, he did better than they all expected and got a really great job outside the country. Unfortunately, his father died four years ago. He grieved a lot and didn't return to the country after the burial. This was the first time Joreen was hearing from him since then.

"Uncle asked me to join you all for this Christmas trip. But I have a lot going on with me right now. Hopefully, I'll be in the country in the first or second week of January and come see you all."

"I can't wait to see you. You look even more handsome than you looked the last time. Do you have a girlfriend now?" She asked excitedly. He laughed. "Nope."

"So you are still looking for an Indian girl?" She asked with a short laugh. When they were younger, he always liked watching Indian movies and vowed to marry an Indian woman because they were really pretty and danced well, while Joreen swore she was going to get married to a Korean actor.

"I am, indeed." He laughed. "I got to go now. I'll speak with you later. Happy Birthday in advance."

"Thank you. Bye bye!" Joreen waved at him and the call disconnected.

She handed the phone back to Sara but continued to sit there and make small talks with her cousin.

"Is he Reen's boyfriend?" Sara asked as she looked at Reen who was smiling at Kyle. They were both in a conversation at another end of the cottage.

Joreen looked at them and smiled. "I think so. They are so pretty together."

Sara touched Joreen's face lovingly and smiled at her. "You shouldn't make it obvious when you think someone is good looking or handsome. You might give peoole the wrong impression."

"What do you mean?" Joreen asked in confusion.

"I have always known you Jo. You have a pure and innocent heart and you do not like to keep things hidden. But people may think you have feelings for him."

"But I don't."

"I know. Just don't get too close to him. You don't want people to misunderstand or even Reen, right?"

Joreen nodded. She really was happy for her sister and would hate it if anyone misunderstood her intentions.

"Good. I'm sure you are ready to have fun?"

"I am." Joreen nodded happily but when she remembered there was a shadow always lurking around, she frowned. "I don't think Uncle Hoy will allow me. Look..." She moved closer to whisper, "Mum gave me an idea."

"What idea?" Sara asked curiously.

"She said I should find him a girlfriend. If he is occupied, he won't have enough time to spare."

Sara grinned. "That makes sense. We'll do it."

"Yes!" Joreen raised her hand for a high-five and Sara joined her.

A knock on the door got their attention before the door opened. "Gentlemen, ladies, it's time for your batch to board." Another tall man wearing a black suit said with a respectful bow.

Everyone became excited and stood up immediately. Thankfully, their luggages were not with them so they moved freely with the older ones in the front.

The Luo family with Kyle already left the cottage so Joreen tried to hurry to meet them outside especially when she realised Uncle Hoy was still inside.

Heya was in front of Joreen so immediately Heya stepped out, Joreen was about to hurry out when she felt someone pull the back of her shirt, making her take a few steps backwards.

She didn't need to look up to know who the person was.

"What did I do this time?" She asked with displeasure evident in her voice. Her back was still facing him so he spun her around to face him. Now, everyone had left except Hoy, Mr Ping and her.

"Mr Li... we should..."

"I'll meet you outside." Hoy instructed Mr Ping who quickly left them and went outside.

He arched his back to meet her height making her take a few steps backwards when his face came close to hers.

"What was that about?"

"What was what about?" She asked in confusion.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"What do I think I am doing?" She asked, still confused.

Hoy sighed. If it was someone else, he would have thought the person was messing with him. But this was Luo Joreen. He knew she wasn't faking it her naivety.

"You really do not know?" He asked with a raised brow.

Joreen snorted at him. "I don't know why you are talking to me right now when you are aware I am still mad at you."

"So?" He taunted.

"What? So?" She asked in disbelief.

He smirked at her and touched her braid which was in a ponytail.

"Luo Joreen, I'm keeping my eyes on you. Always be a good girl." He patted her head and smiled before walking towards the door.

"Your hairstyle is pretty by the way." He said before leaving the cottage.

Joreen wanted to scream and yell in frustration but she couldn't. Why couldn't she get mad at him? Instead of her to be pissed, she was blushing at his compliment!

"Silly!" She muttered.

*****

Anyone who entered inside the ship had almost the same look in their eyes. It was magnificent! Their keys had their room numbers and the floor it was located but there was still someone there to guide them.

"It doesn't look like a ship at all. It looks like a hotel!" Li Queen squealed before twirling around.

Everyone had to agree with the little girl. It looked like they were inside a grand hotel. The interior was nicely decorated. There were different antiques that made the place look almost like a museum, the paintings and wallpapers were all beautiful, the furniture was exquisite, even the spiral staircase was amazing to look at.

"I didn't know ships had elevators." A kid said as he followed his parents towards the elevator.

"This is more than just a ship darling." The mother praised.

"I cannot begin to imagine how much building this ship cost." Jaime said as he looked around.

"That is why the family spent millions of dollars just so we could sail on her. I guess it's worth it." His wife, Cixi shrugged.

"Wealth has spoilt you my dear wife." Her husband said, pinching her cheek lightly.

She giggled. Of course, 10 years ago, she wouldn't have believed it if someone had told her she would be living like this now. She even had her own private hospital and was living well.

In another corner,

"Wow! This is beautiful." Sara said as she kept admiring the ship. The nannies had taken Li Queen, Li King and Minde's son, Li Xin to the room where the three of them would be sharing so she was alone with her husband.

"Hurry, let's go check out our room. I cannot wait to see what it looks like." Sara said and held Muchen's hand and pulled him with her.

"Sure. I'll like to see some other things as well." He gave her a suggestive wink that made her blush and glare at him before looking around.

"How can you say something like that in public?" She whisper-yelled and tried to see if anyone was paying attention to them. But everyone seemed to be busy admiring inside and looking for their rooms.

"Why are you embarrassed? Haven't you ever wondered how it's like to do it on a ship?" He asked with a teasing smile, obviously enjoying her embarrassment. He was about to say more before she quickly used her hand to cover his mouth.