The door wasn't locked. Probably in her haste, Xue Jinxu failed to secure and lock the door. Chen Linyun entered and saw a weak Xue Jinxu who was almost hugging the toilet bowl and throwing all her stomach's contents. Her forehead was matted with sweat, and was almost devoid of energy, yet her stomach was still not finished in emptying its content.

Chen Linyun repeatedly rubbed the wife's back soothingly with his palm. "Jinxu, are you alright? Are you hurt? Where else are you feeling ill? Should we go to the nearest hospital?" He bombarded her with questions. But there's one question left unsaid - the one he wanted to ask the most. 'Are you pregnant?'

Xue Jinxu's throwing up session almost concluded. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and groggily tried to stand up. Chen Linyun supported her with his own arms and body.

The lady gurgled some water from the sink first to rinse her mouth off, before even attempting to answer Chen Linyun who was sickly worried himself. She was panting weakly.

"My stomach is just upset. It will get better later."

"What happened? Let's go to the nearest hospital." The husband urged.

"Nah, I just need some rest."

"Are you… Are you somehow…"

"What?" Xue Jinxu asked sternly. She could already guess what Chen Linyun was pointing at.

"Are you pregnant, Jinxu?" Chen Linyun completed his query.

Xue Jinxu made some gestures with her hand, deep in thought. She was probably counting. "Nope. Negative."

"Are you sure? Why don't we go to the doctor to double check?"

"I'm sure, honey. I just finished my period last week."

"Really?" Chen Linyun's voice was rather lined with disappointment.

"Yeah…." She said slowly, feeling the aura of disappointment that was coming from the husband.

"Then, why are you throwing up? You're still sick! We should have you checked!"

She sighed. "I'm feeling better after throwing up. It's just upset stomach, honey. Most probably from alcohol poisoning."

"Tsk… Still, let's go to the hospital."

"Okay."

Upon their return to the worried bunch of friends in the dining area, another patient came running towards the bathroom. It was Xue Guangxi. The actions were similar, almost like dejavu, except it was Xue Guangxi this time around. He threw up all his stomach's content as well.

Chen Linyun took the siblings to the hospital for check-up while the rest waited patiently at their accommodation. Shortly after they returned. It was indeed alcohol poisoning. Both were feeling better.

Chen Liyun scolded them both. Turns out the alcohol spread in their bloodstream after a few hours after intake. It was a serious problem if not addressed immediately.

"I haven't had alcohol poisoning. This is the first. Perhaps there's something in the booze we drank?"

"Nope, you just had too much." Chen Linyun remarked. "This should serve as a lesson to you." He said to the boy before turning towards the lady in his arms. "And you too, Madame."

"Ugh… Alright! I got excited and drank too much last night! Sorry, my bad!"

"It's fine. The two of you. Can you join the activities for today?" Chen Linyun asked. They were scheduled to do some island hopping that day.

"Yeah! Of course! Not that we are dizzy or anything. We already emptied our stomach."

"Alright, if you say so. You know your bodies better." Chen Linyun gave in, with such a worried look plastered on his face.

"So, you're not pregnant?" Chen Linyun asked again after myriad times of asking and even after their short trip to the hospital.

"Uhm, no. So is Guangxi. Both of us are not pregnant."

He sighed. "I think you're well, truly enough. You can joke around again, even laced with sarcasm."

"Are you that disappointed?" She said, and in a rather whisper, she added, even cupping her hand around his ear, "didn't we use protection?"

Chen Linyun blushed. He touched the bottom brim of his eyegla.s.ses in embarra.s.sment. "Yeah, but you know, there's still a slim chance…"

"Time will come for that, dear." She smiled rea.s.suringly, and even apologetically while caressing his face with her hand. "It will come."

Their itinerary for the day pushed through without a glitch. All were able to join the island hopping, even the Xue siblings who were initially unwell in the morning. They all boarded a sailboat, wore neon-colored safety inflatable vests for safety and went towards the smaller islands which wouldn't even be seen on the map.

In the middle of the sea, the boat stopped, and their tour guide allowed them to do some snorkeling. Being able to witness the majesty of the ocean was rather relaxing and overwhelming. Anyone who saw what they saw underwater would feel that their existence was infinitesimal compared to the vastness and complexity of the world, and earth, in its most natural sense. There were colorful different species underwater swimming alone, and even in schools, composed of tens to hundreds of smaller fishes. The colors were not limited to a few, rather, all the colors in the spectrum were present down there. It was extremely breathtaking.

The tour guides also made them visit a sand bar in the middle of the sea. Their sailboat halted in the middle of nowhere and then their tour guide briefed them that it's safe to disembark from the boat. It was a crazy idea but then realizing, it was actually brilliant. Well, what's brilliant was the existence of a sandbar out of nowhere. It was akin to an oasis in a dessert.

During this time, conflict was successfully dissolved and resolved involving Xue Jinxu and Hw.a.n.g Meilin. Hence, the latter was allowed by Mo Wenbin to join all the activities in the itinerary. She was ecstatic and excited at the same time. She enjoyed the bunch of the activities with the whole group, and created new memories together. Xue Guangxi captured both candid and prearranged photos of their group using his underwater camera.

However, as was anything in this world, all must come to a close. After a few days of well-spent vacation, the group concluded their trip with another round of drinking and merriment, and on the dawn of the fifth day, they all took their flights home to Beijing.