Chapter 178: Wind

While having dinner at the hotel restaurant, Kazumi suddenly smiled and said, “Brother, do you feel an itchy, tingling sensation around your neck?”

“I have thick skin, so I don’t feel it,” Lei Yin said, ignoring the strange looks from the people in the restaurant.

Kazumi chuckled and looked at him mischievously. “It seems you’ve become the target of people’s resentment again.”

“I’m used to it,” Lei Yin replied, wiping the cream off Amy’s mouth.

“Kazumi’s brother, you’re amazing! It’s the first time I’ve seen someone speak French, and it’s someone I know,” Takeshima Shinobu said, looking at him with admiration.

Lei Yin didn’t want to continue discussing this, so he asked Kazumi, “Where are we going today?”

“I heard that because our school has too many students and not enough boats, we’re split into two groups. One group is going to Amami, and the other to Yakushima. Which one do you want to go to?”

“I don’t mind. I’ve never been to either place.”

“Then let’s go to Yakushima. From the pictures in the brochure, it looks like the scenery there is more beautiful,” Kazumi suggested after thinking for a moment.

Lei Yin nodded.

However, in the afternoon, just before boarding, they found out that the boat to Yakushima was nearly full, with only three spots left.

Seeing this, Lei Yin decided to change his plan and take the boat to Amami.

Kazumi wanted to go with him but was persuaded to stay behind.

“Take care of them along the way, Takeda.”

“Don’t worry, I know what to do,” Takeda said, patting his chest confidently.

“Brother, see you tonight at the hotel,” Kazumi said reluctantly.

“Alright.” After bidding them farewell, Lei Yin carried Amy and walked towards the boat heading to Amami.

The number of students and other tourists was overwhelming, and since the boats were medium-sized tour vessels, even the one to Amami was split into two. Lei Yin boarded the second one.

It was a small world. As soon as he got on the boat, Lei Yin thought of the saying, “Enemies meet on a narrow road,” when he saw Seimura Haruko sitting in the cabin.

Sitting beside Seimura Haruko were familiar faces, but Yoshiwaka, who always stayed close to the school’s new “queen,” was absent.

Lei Yin knew the reason for Yoshiwaka’s absence. That guy was prone to severe seasickness. He could barely hold up for a short ten-minute ride, but for the hour-long journey to Amami or Yakushima, he would likely throw up and lose consciousness. For someone so obsessed with his image, vomiting in front of beautiful women would be more humiliating than death.

Lei Yin didn’t want to deal with their looks, so he found a spot near the back of the boat.

“Who would have thought that guy would show up too?” one male student sitting next to Seimura Haruko sneered.

“Could he have come with us?”

“Who knows what that weirdo is thinking?”

“Haruko, Haruko.”

“What is it?” Seimura Haruko pulled her gaze away from the man and turned to look at the other male student.

“After dinner tonight, let’s go sing karaoke. I found a nice place yesterday.”

“Let’s see then.”

Seeing her lack of enthusiasm, the male student looked a bit disappointed, while the other two guys showed schadenfreude on their faces.

At that moment, Lei Yin, sitting at the back of the boat, said to Amy, “Little rascal, did you have fun these past couple of days?”

The little girl nodded, then tilted her head in thought and said, “You said you’d teach me how to swim, but why didn’t you teach me when we were soaking in the hot spring?”

“You silly girl, that was the women’s bath. If I went there, I’d be seen as a pervert,” Lei Yin said, pinching her cheek with a smile.

“What’s a pervert?” the little girl asked, looking puzzled.

Lei Yin didn’t know how to explain it to her, so he simply said, “A pervert is a very, very bad person.”

The little girl nodded as if she understood, though it was clear she didn’t fully grasp the meaning.

“If you want to learn to swim, I’ll take you to the beach and teach you when we get back.”

“Okay.”

Seeing her cheerful smile lifted Lei Yin’s mood as well. Uninterested in the TV inside the cabin, he picked her up and went outside to look at the ocean view.

As they watched fish darting quickly past the sides of the boat, the little girl grew excited and shouted with delight.

Her clear laughter and adorable face caught the attention of an older foreign couple in the cabin. The tall woman among them couldn’t resist approaching and planting kisses on Amy’s cheeks, repeatedly calling her a “little angel.”

Caught off guard by the sudden “attack,” Amy instinctively shrank back into Lei Yin’s arms. Seeing that the couple meant no harm, Lei Yin softly comforted the little girl. After a while, Amy finally peeked out from his embrace and gave the couple a shy smile. The American woman’s maternal instincts kicked in even harder, and she showered Amy with several more affectionate kisses.

The gray-haired man, hearing Lei Yin speak to the little girl in fluent English, became visibly excited. He patted Lei Yin on the shoulder and began bombarding him with questions.

Faced with the overly enthusiastic couple, Lei Yin responded half-heartedly, offering polite but sparse conversation.

Meanwhile, many of the male students in the cabin looked on with jealous and envious eyes as they watched Lei Yin’s fluent English conversation. The female students, on the other hand, stared at him unblinkingly, as if seeing him for the first time.

“Hmph, what’s so special about that? He’s just showing off because he knows a few foreign languages,” muttered the boy sitting next to Seimura Haruko, unable to hide his disdain.

Suddenly, Seimura Haruko said coolly, “If you were fluent in two foreign languages, you’d have the right to act like that too.”

“Haruko, you…” The boy was stunned that she would say something like that, and the other two boys beside him looked equally surprised.

Realizing her lapse, Seimura Haruko quickly added, “I just don’t want you all to keep talking about that person. Anyway, how much longer until we reach Amami?”

Hearing this, the boys immediately relaxed and let out relieved sighs.

The group was heading to the Amami Islands, a cluster that includes Amami Ōshima, Kikaijima, Tokunoshima, Okinoerabujima, and Yoronjima. The islands are home to subtropical plants like hibiscus and bougainvillea, as well as rare animals like the Amami rabbit. The nearby waters feature colorful coral reefs, and the area is a popular destination for water activities such as sailing, yachting, and diving.

After about an hour of sailing, many passengers in the cabin began nodding off.

Lei Yin said to Amy, “Little rascal, take a nap for now. I’ll wake you up when we arrive.”

Having stayed up late for several nights, the little girl was indeed tired. She nodded, then rested her head on his lap and lay down on the seat.

With nothing else to do, Lei Yin idly glanced at the dull television program overhead.

About half an hour later, as Lei Yin himself was on the verge of dozing off, he suddenly noticed that the light streaming through the windows had dimmed significantly. Looking outside, he saw that the sky had turned ominously dark.

Seeing this, he felt a sudden sense of unease.

At the same time, the ship’s captain in the control room was staring grimly at the heavy clouds gathering in the sky. He distinctly remembered that the maritime bureau had not reported any unusual weather conditions for tonight. So how could this be explained?

Ten minutes later, the clouds in the sky had grown thicker and darker. Not only that, but the waves on the sea had also begun to rise, and the surface of the ocean was steadily losing its former calm.

The increasing swaying of the ship robbed everyone in the cabin of their sleepiness. The students stared at the thick black clouds outside with curiosity.

“Is it going to rain?”

“Looks like it.”

“How unlucky, it just had to rain during our trip.”

Compared to the students’ complaints, Lei Yin’s expression was much graver. It wasn’t the rain that worried him; he was concerned that it wouldn’t be just rain.

Another five minutes passed, and the waves grew even larger. Fine drops of rain, carried by the sea breeze, began to blow into the cabin.

“Ugh, it’s really raining. Hey, shut the window already!”

“How did such a nice day turn into this all of a sudden?”

“Hey, are you okay? You look pale.”

“I… I feel like throwing up.”

“Don’t you dare vomit here! Get to the restroom, quick.”

As the ship rocked more violently, a few students started experiencing seasickness.

“Lei, what’s going on?” a sleepy Amy asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Nothing, just some rain,” Lei Yin replied, holding her close to comfort her.

In the ship’s bridge, the fifty-something captain wore a tense expression as he pushed the vessel to its maximum speed. He had no doubt now: this was a seasonal storm, and a major one at that.

These seasonal storms, second only to typhoons, were one of the most feared phenomena for sailors. Unlike the large, observable typhoons, these storms often formed suddenly due to temperature differences over the sea and were most frequent in the spring and summer seasons.

With years of maritime experience, the captain knew well how dangerous these storms could be. If it were a large or super-large vessel, a storm of this intensity would cause nothing more than some rocking. However, for this medium-sized passenger ferry, encountering massive waves could spell disaster. The only option was to reach a nearby island as quickly as possible to take shelter.

As the rain intensified and the ship swayed more violently, the students from Teikyo University and several other tourists began to realize that this was far from an ordinary rainstorm.

Looking out at the pitch-black surroundings and the surging waves, many people wore frightened expressions. Most of them had lived their whole lives in Tokyo, a bustling metropolis, and had never encountered the raw power of nature in this way.

As the captain had anticipated, this was indeed a major storm. Eventually, the ship rocked so violently that it became impossible to stand on the deck without holding onto something. The fierce winds pounded the windows, making them rattle loudly, and the ship’s constant pitching and rolling gave everyone the nauseating sensation of being on an amusement park pirate ship—but no one found it enjoyable.

Most people had lost the will to speak, their faces pale as they clung tightly to the armrests of their seats for stability. Some female students, unable to hold back their fear, began crying loudly. They had come on this trip for fun—who would have thought they’d encounter such misfortune?

By now, the dark clouds outside had completely shrouded the sky, making it look as though it were seven or eight in the evening. After glancing at the situation outside, the captain decisively shut off the engine. Continuing to navigate under such low visibility would be a foolish decision, as they could unknowingly crash into hidden reefs near the islands. The only option now was to wait out the storm—provided the ship wasn’t capsized in the meantime.

“Lei, I’m scared,” Amy said, her voice trembling. It was her first time experiencing anything like this, and she couldn’t hide her fear.

“Don’t worry, everything will be fine,” Lei Yin gently reassured her.

“Okay,” the little girl replied softly, then quietly nestled back into his arms.

Suddenly remembering something, Lei Yin stood up, holding the girl in one arm while using his other hand to steady himself on the window frame as he slowly made his way to the front of the cabin.

Many of the students sitting in their seats watched him curiously, unsure of what he was doing.

Reaching the storage cabinet at the front of the cabin, Lei Yin crouched down and forced it open. Just as he expected, it was stocked with bright orange life jackets. He immediately pulled one out and helped Amy put it on before putting one on himself.

Due to the ship’s constant rocking, it took him nearly five minutes to get both life jackets securely fastened on himself and the girl. Once they were on, he steadied himself on the window frame and walked back to his seat. Along the way, he called out loudly to the other students, “There are life jackets here. If you want one, come and put it on yourself.”

Hearing this, several students followed his lead and went to retrieve life jackets.

After returning to his seat, Lei Yin tossed two extra life jackets to the elderly American couple nearby. The couple thanked him profusely before quickly putting them on.

“Lei, this jacket is so pretty!” Amy said cheerfully, clearly liking the bright color of the life jacket.

Lei Yin couldn’t help but laugh. It seemed she wasn’t as scared as she had been earlier.

At that moment, the ship rocked even more violently, as though it might capsize at any second. Not only were the female students crying out in terror, but even the male students couldn’t help shouting and wailing. These young people, who usually prided themselves on attending a prestigious school, were experiencing the threat of death for the first time and had completely lost their composure.

Suddenly, a loud crash came from the direction of the bridge, followed immediately by the agonized scream of a middle-aged man. After the scream, there was only silence.

Everyone in the cabin heard the scream but had no idea what had happened. No one was willing to check, as they were all preoccupied with their own survival.

Lei Yin glanced at the chaos in the cabin, with people crying and wailing like ghosts, then looked down at the little girl curled up in his arms like a kitten. Helplessly, he could only wait for the storm to pass. Thankfully, the cabin lights were still on; otherwise, the passengers might have been even more panicked.

It was impossible to tell how much time had passed, but eventually, the violent shaking that had seemed endless began to subside. This signaled that the storm had finally passed.

Relieved and overjoyed, everyone slowly stood up, cheering excitedly once they confirmed that the storm was truly over.

Lei Yin carried Amy to the bridge, where he saw a man in his fifties lying on the floor. Blood was steadily seeping from a wound on his forehead, and the floor was covered in seawater and rainwater that had blown in through the opened cabin door.

As Lei Yin had suspected, the earlier scream had indeed come from the captain.

Squatting down to examine the man’s injuries, Lei Yin discovered that the captain had suffered a severe head injury, resulting in a concussion and unconsciousness.

After performing some basic first aid, Lei Yin looked out through the front window. All he could see was an endless expanse of ocean.

He quickly tested the ship’s radio equipment, but it was completely unresponsive—likely due to water damage from the storm.

This was a problem. Lei Yin had no idea where the ship was located.

With a wry smile, he thought to himself that this school trip might very well turn into a modern version of Robinson Crusoe.