Chapter 46: Crisis at Sea
"Hello." Zhao Qinghan smiled faintly at Chu Feng and politely extended her right hand.
"Hello." Chu Feng responded politely, giving Zhao Qinghan a gentlemanly handshake.
"This way, please," Chu Feng said.
He loaded their luggage into the trunk, then drove toward the most famous seaside hotel in Beihai City.
After arriving at the hotel and getting the young members of the Zhao Family settled in, Su Linsheng took his leave.
"Chu Feng, why don’t you show us around? There’s no point in just staying at the hotel," Zhao Qinghan said, coming downstairs with the other young members of the Zhao Family.
"Where would you like to go?" Chu Feng asked.
"We’ve always lived up north, so we don’t know much about the south," Zhao Qinghan said with a smile. "But we’ve heard there are lots of fun things to do and great food to eat here. How about you show us?"
Chu Feng nodded. Even though they had just met, he could already tell that these young members of the Zhao Family were a vast improvement over the one from the Southern Border Tang Family.
They were humble, polite, and amiable.
"After such a long flight, you probably haven’t had breakfast yet. Come on, I’ll take you to try Beihai’s morning tea!" Chu Feng said.
"Wonderful! We’ve heard so much about how famous Beihai’s morning tea is, but we’ve never tried it. We’d love it if you could take us today," Zhao Qinghan said.
"Brother Chu, we appreciate it," the other young Zhao Family members added politely.
This made Chu Feng let his guard down. He was getting a good impression of these young people from the Zhao Family.
Afterward, Chu Feng drove them away from the hotel.
"For morning tea, you have to go to the old spots to get the authentic stuff. The morning tea at many high-end hotels is no good," Chu Feng said as he drove.
Soon, the car stopped outside an old neighborhood, and Chu Feng led the young Zhao Family members, winding their way through a small alley.
Finally, a small, inconspicuous storefront appeared before them.
"This place is a century-old shop. The flavor is absolutely authentic. I bet you guys will love it," Chu Feng said.
After going inside, the group ordered a huge table full of food.
Besides, Chu Feng’s father-in-law had given him a bank card. Chu Feng had checked the balance—it had two million.
After eating and drinking their fill, Zhao Qinghan and the others were all very satisfied.
"Wow, Beihai’s morning tea is delicious! It makes me feel like I’ve been eating breakfast all wrong my whole life." Even after finishing, Zhao Qinghan felt like she could still eat more.
The other Zhao Family members were also delighted and thoroughly satisfied with their meal.
"Yeah, this is the most satisfying breakfast I’ve ever had," the other young people from the Zhao Family nodded in agreement.
"Chu Feng, how about you take us to see the sea?" Zhao Qinghan suggested.
"Yes, yes! We’ve never seen the sea. Please take us, Brother Chu," the other Zhao Family members chimed in, nodding eagerly.
"None of you have ever seen the sea?" Chu Feng asked, surprised.
"That’s right," Zhao Qinghan and the others nodded.
"Alright, I’ll take you then," Chu Feng said.
Through their interactions, Chu Feng found that these members of the Zhao Family were truly different. They were completely down-to-earth.
What Chu Feng didn’t know was that this was the first time Zhao Qinghan and the others had traveled so far from their family. They had an extremely strict upbringing, which was why they didn’t behave like Tang Lin.
Arriving at the seaside, they gazed at the boundless ocean.
Zhao Qinghan sighed in admiration, "The ocean is so beautiful."
"You’ve really never seen it?" Chu Feng asked, feeling deeply skeptical.
’How could people from a great family like the Zhaos have never seen the ocean?’
"We haven’t," Zhao Qinghan said.
"It’s true, Brother Chu. We’ve really never seen the ocean. We’ve spent our whole lives cooped up in the mountains," said a young man next to Zhao Qinghan. His name was Zhao Quan.
Zhao Qinghan watched Chu Feng, a flicker of puzzlement in her eyes. Every time she looked at him, she felt a strange sense of familiarity.
It was a feeling, as if she had met him somewhere before, but she couldn’t quite place it.
At that moment, another Zhao Family member suddenly pointed at a yacht in the distance. "Brother Chu, can you take us on one of those?"
"A yacht? Sure, I’ll take you to rent one right now," Chu Feng said.
This made Zhao Qinghan and the others overjoyed.
A short while later, Chu Feng had rented a yacht and was taking the young Zhao Family members out onto the open sea.
"Chu Feng, where are you from?" Zhao Qinghan asked him on the yacht.
"Me? Xiangbei," Chu Feng replied.
"Xiangbei? Then you must know Chu Ling, right?" Zhao Qinghan asked.
"I don’t know her. Why? Is she a friend of yours?" Chu Feng asked.
"No, it’s nothing. If you don’t know her, then forget it." Zhao Qinghan didn’t answer directly, changing the subject.
"Let’s go a little farther out," Zhao Qinghan said.
"Farther? We can’t go any farther. It’s not safe," Chu Feng said. Before they boarded, the rental staff had warned them that storms could easily form on the sea, making it dangerous.
’These are the young masters and ladies of the Zhao Family. If anything happens to them, I’ll be in huge trouble.’
"Please, Brother Chu, just let us go a little farther," Zhao Quan chimed in. "We really want to see more."
"Alright, I’ll go ask." He had no choice but to go and ask the captain.
"Captain, will there be any danger if we keep going?" Chu Feng asked.
"The sea conditions are good today. There shouldn’t be any problem if we continue," the captain said.
"Then please take us a bit farther out, Captain," Chu Feng said with a nod.
After heading out to sea for another hour, the yacht stopped on a calm patch of water.
They spent their time on the yacht drinking red wine, eating barbecue, and fishing—a scene of pure joy and harmony.
Just like that, the group spent the afternoon there.
"Alright, it’s time for us to head back," Chu Feng announced.
But when the captain tried to start the yacht, he discovered it wouldn’t turn over.
"What’s going on?" Chu Feng hurriedly asked the captain.
"I think the engine’s broken," the captain said, his expression turning grim.
"Can you fix it?" Chu Feng asked. ’Something feels off,’ he thought.
"I’ll try. It should be fixable," the captain said.
But at that moment, the sky suddenly darkened, and a large bank of dark clouds rolled toward them.
It was accompanied by flashes of lightning and the RUMBLE of thunder.
"A storm is coming," Chu Feng said, his expression growing even more solemn.
"How long will it take to fix?" Chu Feng asked urgently.
"I... I can’t fix it," the captain said, his face paling.
"Then what are you waiting for? Call for help!" Chu Feng snarled, grabbing the captain by the collar.
The captain quickly began to call for backup on the satellite phone.
Seeing this, the expressions on the faces of Zhao Qinghan and the others changed drastically.