Paradise Island (2)
That night in the Gulf of Aden, Tan Guhong had thought something might happen. After all, the timing and circumstances were perfect, and feelings had been stirring. Yet in the end, nothing came of it. Luo Jingming merely kissed her with restraint, wished her good night, and then left.
She was somewhat puzzled. This was unlike his usual character, and she also wondered whether this was some new tactic of his.
The fact that she had secretly breathed a sigh of relief was true, but the faint sense of disappointment was true as well. It was just that the latter absolutely could not be allowed to become known to a certain someone.
The expected thing did not happen, and neither did the unexpected pirates show up. In any case, she spent the night alone with an empty pillow, tossing and turning until dawn.
After passing through the Gulf of Aden without incident, the cruise ship sailed for several more days before finally arriving in the Maldives.
This was one of the ports Tan Guhong had been looking forward to and yearning for most. After all, with its crystal-clear waters, fine white sand, and swaying coconut palms, it was home to some of the most beautiful beaches and islands in the world.
The Maldives had no mainland. Its entire territory consisted of hundreds of islands, large and small. The capital, Malé, was one of the smallest capital cities in the world. Fourteen thousand residents lived on just 1.5 square kilometers of land, with every inch put to full use. Seen from a distance, the entire city seemed to float upon the water.
The Queen Anne docked at the port at two in the afternoon local time. It was one of the rare ports on this round-the-world voyage where the cruise ship would stay overnight.
The Maldives' greatest attraction was its many islands, each with its own distinctive style and beautiful scenery. But choosing a suitable destination from more than a hundred islands within a limited amount of time was also a headache. The day before disembarking, Tan Guhong flipped through the recommended guides on the cruise ship until she was overwhelmed by all the choices. It was Luo Jingming who took the brochures from her hands and said with a smile that there was no need to worry. He had already arranged everything.
After getting off the ship, they did not linger in Malé. They went straight onto a seaplane, and about half an hour later, the plane arrived at the island they had booked.
From the air, Tan Guhong's first and strongest impression of the island was that it was small. White sand and green trees, the faint outlines of wooden houses, its narrow, elongated shape floating in the boundless deep-blue sea like a little boat, or perhaps a slender piece of jade, sitting quietly in the Baa Atoll.
“Is this Paradise Island?”
She clearly remembered the guide saying that Paradise Island was one of the Maldives' largest and most famous tourist islands. It shouldn't be this small.
Seeing her confusion, Luo Jingming chuckled softly. “You're thinking of Big Paradise Island. This is the smaller one. It's a private island owned by a Czech businessman and only recently opened to the public. There are only seven rooms on the entire island, one entrance, and one speedboat. It's extremely quiet and secluded.”
“So cut off from the world?”
She slowly leaned closer to his face and asked with a half-smile, “You brought me to an island this cut off from the world. What exactly are you plotting?”
He turned his head and lightly bit her ear. His warm breath brushed against her ear as he slowly said,
“What I'm plotting, could you really not know?”
She lifted her eyes and met his dark eyes, which held a hint of laughter. The deep, burning undercurrent within them seemed, at this moment, to make no attempt at concealment.
So all those uncontrollable thoughts she'd been having these past few days had merely been waiting for this.
She smiled, sat back down, and looked out at the scenery beyond the window. After a moment, she casually dropped two words:
“Fine, then.”
After getting off the plane, they were met by the island staff, who showed them around the island. Since it was so small, they walked the entire thing in about fifteen minutes. Aside from the staff, they did not see another outsider along the way. Tonight, Luo Jingming had booked out the entire Paradise Island.
There were two types of rooms on the island, water villas and beach villas. They were staying in the panoramic water villa, the entire room built over the water and connected to the island by a long boardwalk. It was the only villa on the island where they could see both the full sunrise and the sunset.
The water villa's wooden exterior was matched by an equally natural, rustic interior. Wooden tables, chairs, benches, and floors, linen sofas and pure-white bedding. The spacious, brightly lit living room opened directly onto an outdoor deck, where there was a hammock, lounge chairs, and an infinity pool. Just a few steps away lay the crystal-clear lagoon waters. Blue skies and white waves, an expanse of turquoise sea, sky and water blending into one, an utterly breathtaking sight.
After dinner, Tan Guhong half-reclined in the hammock on the deck, gently swirling the champagne glass in her hand as she silently gazed out at the sea.
After all the traveling she'd done, she was more familiar with the ocean than she cared to be. The deep and vast Atlantic, the romantic and passionate Mediterranean, the dazzling and colorful Red Sea. Yet none of them moved her quite like the sea before her.
The waters of the Maldives possessed an almost childlike transparency and clarity, as though they were soft, as though they were sweet, like jelly that you could take a bite out of.
At this moment, the sun was slanting westward, evening clouds filling the sky. The entire horizon, the entire surface of the sea, was dyed orange-red. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but open space, not a soul in sight, like the Little Prince's planet, a tiny existence adrift in the vast universe, the most romantic and the loneliest of all.
Then what was Luo Jingming? A rose or a fox?
To her own surprise, Tan Guhong actually gave the question some serious thought for a while. It was only when she saw that person enter her line of sight that she laughed at herself.
Did she really need to hesitate? That person was obviously a fox. A calculating old fox, a fox that bewitched the heart, a fox impossible to pin down.
Mm... Judging by the color scheme, she could, for the sake of argument, count him as an Arctic fox.
He was barefoot, wearing nothing but a pair of square-cut swim trunks. His upper body was bare, revealing his lean, perfectly proportioned physique without reserve. The afterglow of the setting sun cast a bronze sheen over his entire body, making him look like a statue of a god from ancient Greece, embodying humanity's most primal and purest yearning for beauty.
He entered the pool from the other side, cutting through the rippling water as he slowly swam from one end to the other, emerging from the water at the edge of the pool in front of Tan Guhong.
Wiping the water from his face, he braced both hands against the edge of the pool and looked at her with a smile.
“What are you thinking about?”
He was close enough that she could touch him simply by reaching out her hand.
That was what she thought, and so that was what she did. Leaning forward, she reached out and lightly stroked his damp brows and sideburns, half there and half not, then said with a soft laugh,
“I was thinking that you seem like a fox.”
“Then do you want to tame me?”
He had actually guessed what she meant. She laughed helplessly, a soft, helpless feeling rising in her heart.
He asked her, “Not getting in?”
He had not seen her go into the water once on this entire journey.
She shook her head. “I don't like it.”
“Why?”
“Being in the water gives me a feeling of being out of control, of no longer being able to keep things in my grasp.”
“You like freedom, but you hate losing control?”
“Is that really contradictory?” She didn't think so. “Isn't what we call freedom simply having absolute control over your own life, your own fate?”
Whether it was the road beneath your feet or the heart beating within your chest.
He paused, then slowly said, “No one can have absolute control over fate.”
“Coming from you, that's really not very convincing.”
After all, who was it that was always saying he hated sitting around waiting for things to happen, while secretly scheming and calculating, turning the tide and stirring up storms?
He gave a low laugh, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. “Everyone is full of contradictions, aren't they?”
“That's true.”
On this point, she very much agreed. Human beings were such complicated creatures. Sometimes even they themselves could not see through their own hearts, let alone those of others.
“Want to get in the water and try it?” His voice was low as he spoke, tempting her just as he had with every temptation before.
“Watching the sunset from here feels completely different. Don't worry, it's safe here. I'll hold you.”
She gave a faint, amused smile. “Right now, I think you look more like a siren.”
In the ancient Greek myths, beautiful creatures who were half human and half fish used their enchanting voices to lure passing ships, leading innocent sailors to their destruction. And especially with him lying there against the edge of the pool at this very moment, the comparison could not have been more fitting.
“Then, Miss Sailor...” He caught her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it lightly, his eyes full of laughter. “Has my seduction succeeded?”
She gazed steadily at the man before her. His short black hair was soaked through and combed all the way back, leaving his extraordinarily handsome brows and features completely exposed. Every shadow, every curve, proclaimed the Creator's extreme favor. And more importantly, there was a vast sea of stars in his eyes, a thousand shades of tenderness, perhaps even deep affection. But even if it was not deep affection, it was more than enough to move anyone.
She let out a soft sigh. “If you'd been born in ancient times, perhaps you really would have had what it took to make a king abandon his kingdom.”
Besides, those sailors of old had never really been innocent to begin with. Men and women caught up in the mortal world, ordinary people of flesh and blood, their minds clouded by desire, knowing full well there was a tiger on the mountain and still choosing to walk toward it. They could hardly blame anyone else.
“I'm honored.”
He smiled, then tightened his grip and directly pulled her from the hammock into the pool. Water splashed loudly, sending a spray of waves into the air.
She was wearing a white T-shirt and gray athletic shorts. The moment the cotton clothes entered the water, they became unbearably heavy, clinging wetly to her body and making her extremely uncomfortable.
He took the wineglass from her hand and set it aside, then leisurely helped her out of this heavy restraint, revealing the swimsuit underneath. It was a pure-black bikini with tie strings, its very light and skimpy cut leaving her slender, graceful figure completely on display.
His gaze darkened, and he asked with a low laugh,
“Black again?”
She wrapped both arms around his neck, a half-smile playing on her lips.
“Don't like it?”
The pool water was crystal clear, leaving nowhere for either of their bodies' changes to hide.
“I like it...” He lowered his head and bit her ear, his voice husky. “I like it very much.”
He put an arm around her waist and tightened his hold, using the buoyancy of the water to lift her up, making her feet leave the bottom of the pool so that she had no choice but to hang onto him with her whole body. He slowly carried her toward the edge of the pool facing the sea. He could clearly feel her arms tightening around him, and he smiled.
“It's all right. Relax.”
She was somewhat nervous as he led her to the edge of the pool. Only then did she discover that this was not an infinity pool in the true sense, one that actually used mechanical equipment to create the effect. There was a glass overflow edge along the outermost side. It merely used a visual illusion to create the appearance of infinity.
She could not help but relax a little, and only then was she able to turn her attention to the scenery around them.
Although the pool had an edge, it was made of transparent glass, so it still gave the impression of space extending without limit. The water beneath them seemed to merge seamlessly with the sea before them. The orange-red sun had already turned dark red as it slowly sank beneath the water, its reflection spreading a rich halo across the surface, like half a sun that had melted into liquid.
She felt that she was not watching the sunset. At this moment, she was inside the sunset itself.
As the final trace of light vanished into the horizon, night finally descended. Darkness enveloped the entire earth, and points of light came alive around the pool, like fireflies, like distant stars.
She turned her head and looked at the person so close before her, and he was gazing at her too. The kiss happened naturally, and everything that followed unfolded just as inevitably.
She gradually began to have trouble catching her breath, though she did not know whether it was because of the kiss or because the pleasure building within her body had grown too intense.
Suddenly, his arms tightened around her waist, and he lifted her out of the water. Water streamed down from both their bodies, spilling all over the floor. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her from outside the room to inside, their kisses never stopping, their lips and teeth never once parting.
He carried her to sit on the edge of the bed, but did not hurry to lie down. Instead, he took the bath towel from the side and carefully dried the water from her body and her wet, short hair. The towel was long, so she took the other end and began drying his hair as well. The two of them completely ruined each other's hairstyles, laughing as they kissed beneath the shelter of the towel, once again leaving themselves breathless.
Finally, finally, they fell onto the soft, white bed. Under his heated gaze, her face grew hot, and she could not help lightly kicking him.
“Turn off the lights.”
He smiled, his smile leaving her baffled. It was not until he reached over to the switch by the headboard and turned off every light in the room that she understood.
The bedroom ceiling was made of glass. On a night this still and silent, they could lie in bed and look up to see a sky full of stars. The stars were so large, so bright, so close that they seemed within reach, as though they were lying in the Milky Way itself. What breathtaking, magnificent beauty.
“I remember. You said before that you wanted to see the stars.”
That night in the Gulf of Aden.
He bent down, kissing her brows and cheeks as he murmured, “Do you like it?”
With this scene, this night, this person before her, who could possibly give a negative answer?
She wrapped both arms around his neck and sighed softly.
“I like it. I like it very much.”
He gave a low laugh and, without another moment's hesitation, kissed her lips.
In the darkness, all her senses seemed infinitely heightened. Heat began to spread uncontrollably through her body, and her breathing gradually quickened.
His warm breath brushed against her neck, tickling her heart. She shivered softly, and memories of that night at the Palermo vineyard came rushing back into her mind.
Last time, after all, she had been half-drunk and half-awake, and everything had felt somewhat unreal. This time, however, everything was perfectly clear, utterly real.
Tonight, this moment, right here and now, at least tonight, in this moment. They belonged to each other without reservation.
Before their eyes, the galaxy burned with heat. Beside their ears, great waves thundered. Through the long night, they rose and fell, drifted and surged. It was not heaven, yet it was heaven all the same.
Whose denial, whose words that did not match their true feelings, whether they admitted it or not, in this instant, had already become an eternity within their lives.
✦
Today’s Film Recommendation:
The Blue Lagoon (1980, USA)
Location: The Maldives
Synopsis: After a shipwreck causes a cruise ship to sink, two children, Emmeline and Richard, are stranded on a deserted island. The two learn the skills necessary to survive in the wilderness. As they grow up, they gradually come to understand sex and love, become a couple, and have a child. The family of three lives happily on the secluded island, cut off from the rest of the world, until one day, something unexpected happens...
Recommendation: A Robinson Crusoe-style story of survival on a deserted island, with a pure and natural love like that of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It casts aside all the constraints and shackles of civilized society, returning to the most primal wildness and instinct. The Maldivian islands and reefs are picture-perfect, and Brooke Shields is breathtakingly beautiful. You could say that both the scenery and the plot complement this chapter remarkably well. For readers who still want more after this chapter, this is definitely a film you won't want to miss.
✦
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