Qie Xieling made his way towards a small cubby where he kept his clothes. He found that the clothes he was wearing yesterday were already hung in there neatly. Qie Xieling could only guess that the old man had done that for him. It reminded him of how Luo Muchen always picked up after him. A small smile crept up his face as he picked up his clothes.

The old man turned around only to catch a glimpse of Qie Xieling wearing nothing but his black underwear.

The old man had always prided himself on his ability to keep a level head, to maintain a stoic nature no matter the circumstances. But one thing he hadn’t counted on was Qie Xieling’s perfectly sculpted rear end.

As the dim light lit the small cabin casting gentle rays on the two beds, he couldn’t help but steal glances at Qie Xieling’s behind. It was, to put it frankly, mesmerizing. Every curve, every contour seemed to defy gravity, as though a sculptor had carefully chiselled away at a block of marble to create such an exquisite masterpiece.

Qie Xieling turned around only to catch the man staring at him with an unreadable expression. The man averted his gaze. "Shameless," he muttered under his breath. Qie Xieling grinned mischievously as he slipped on his t-shirt, the fabric hugging his lean frame.

"Uncle, you were the one staring at it so how am I the shameless one?" said Qie Xieling while pulling up his pants his head still throbbing from the hangover. He took out the small box from the clothes he was wearing previously and put it inside his inner pocket.

"You should sleep with your clothes on," said the man when Qie Xieling came around to his bed. Qie Xieling stood in front of him the distance between them too close for comfort. That was because the space was too small hence it was inevitable. The old man was obviously uncomfortable. He averted his gaze and pushed him away but because he didn’t control his strength hence he pushed him onto the bed.

Qie Xieling, "..."

"You know for an old man you are pretty strong but uncle why did you push me?" he asked seeming very wronged.

The old man reprimanded him ruthlessly, "You have alcohol breath on you. You should brush your teeth first before you talk to me again."

Qie Xieling pouted his lips but he didn’t say a word after that. He silently did his bed making the awkward silence in the cabin quite unbearable. Even the old man who had asked for silence felt very uncomfortable. Qie Xieling grabbed his hygiene kit and left for the cabin heading towards the communal bathroom on their deck as their cabins weren’t ensuite.

The old man looked at his disappearing figure and pursed his lips not even sure what possessed him to take up this identity again. Last night he was so emotional that he became impulsive.

Qie Xieling walked into the massive communal bathroom but there were a few people inside. That’s because everyone had to go to morning training so they would take a shower after the session.

Qie Xieling brushed his teeth and when he was done he came back to find the old man fixing his bed. He didn’t even get angry. He just found it amusing as there was someone who did the same thing.

Luo Muchen was very particular about everything and anything amiss he would notice it and fix it even when Qie Xieling did it already. "What? I didn’t fix it well?" he asked with a slight smile.

The old man who had been caught out of habit felt quite embarrassed. Growing up he had this very habit and people around him would get very angry with him arguably so. It was like he was looking down on them or something but he couldn’t help it. Thus when Qie Xieling didn’t get angry he was a little surprised.

"You aren’t upset?" he asked and Qie Xieling laughed,

"The person I like does the same thing so I am used to it." The man pressed the tip of his tongue on his canine tooth hard feeling quite irritable. He wasn’t curious then but he was quite curious now.

The announcement for training sounded across the lower decks and Qie Xieling packed away his things before turning to leave. "Uncle, are you coming?" he asked and the man muttered,

"Oh," before following behind him. While walking to the elevator Qie Xieling turned to him and asked,

"Uncle, can you at least tell me your name now? We are already in the same crew... oh and how come you are on the same warship? Uncle, don’t tell me you are a criminal too," he said bumping the man’s shoulder.

The man was a little startled and very annoyed. "Are you always this inquisitive? You keep asking too many questions," he said and Qie Xieling scratched his head quite speechless. Dealing with elders was quite hard. His shoulder was suddenly hooked and another hand ruffled his hair.

"Recruit Qie! Wah last night you were like a beast," said one of the pirates as they passed by.

Qie Xieling, "..."

Why were they acting like he was a war hero? One of the women in the group smacked his ass playfully while saying,

"He has a cute butt too. How about you teach me to drink sometime," before she walked away.

Qie Xieling wanted to yell sexual harassment but he realised where he was. It was a flipping pirate warship and there were a rowdy group of men and women.

"Are you always this flirtatious with everyone?" asked the man seeming quite irritable.

Qie Xieling gasped while rubbing his butt. "I am being flirtatious. Wow uncle, why would you blame the victim, not the perpetrators?" he said before pressing the down button for the elevator.

"Does it hurt?" he asked and Qie Xieling for some reason played coy while saying,

"It really hurts. She hit hard."

The doors of the elevator opened and Qie Xieling stepped inside followed by the old man. As the doors closed the man said, "Jie," and Qie Xieling who was a little confused looked at him and exclaimed,

"Huh?"

"You can call me Jie," he said again and Qie Xieling smiled. Finally, he knew the name of his benefactor.

"Okay," said Qie Xieling as the elevator stopped on another deck. A group of drowsy men and women entered the elevator all trying to squeeze in so they wouldn’t be late. Qie Xieling was pushed back and prevented them from squeezing the fragile old man to death in the corner he shielded him with both his hands imprisoning him.