My Online Girlfriend Has a Twin Sister - Chapter 388 - 251: I’m Married? (3)

“I’m exhausted, honey, hurry up and take the picture! I can’t hold this pose much longer…”

Watching the two sisters, who were in agony but still forcing themselves to smile and pose, Chen Yuan couldn’t help but chuckle. He laughed outright as he raised his phone.

“Alright, alright, don’t move. I’m taking it now. A bigger smile!”

CLICK. Their expressions and poses were captured by the lens. Chen Yuan examined the photo he’d taken, immensely satisfied. The angle was perfect, the subjects were centered and symmetrical, and their expressions were just right. The azure sky made for a flawless backdrop… Huh?

Chen Yuan’s expression froze. His gaze flickered up from his phone as he suddenly looked toward the sky.

Directly in the cruise ship’s path, a dense mass of dark clouds had appeared in the sky. It swept over them with incredible speed, like a splash of black ink. One moment it was far in the distance, but in the blink of an eye, it was directly overhead. The clear weather turned in an instant. The inky blackness stained all the other clouds, and a gloomy haze enveloped everything in a matter of moments.

Within seconds, the surroundings grew dim.

A sudden gale kicked up, so strong it was hard to keep one’s eyes open.

Waves roiled the once-calm surface of the sea. Accompanied by the gale, the wrinkled water churned into layers of white foam. At first, it was just the sound of waves slapping against the hull, growing louder and louder. Moments later, it felt as if furious torrents were slamming into the ship, one wave higher than the next. The spray even flew up and drenched the deck, falling from the sky like a sudden downpour. SPLASH!

Jiangg Yao and Jiangg Ning were caught completely off guard, their wedding dresses soaked. They shrieked and tried to take cover, ducking their heads and shielding themselves with their hands as they ran toward Chen Yuan.

“Honey, what’s happening? Wasn’t it just sunny a moment ago…? Suddenly it’s like the end of the world. Why is it so dark?”

“Don’t be afraid,” Chen Yuan said, comforting the two sisters, though he looked at the sky with a worried expression. He had a bad feeling. “Things on the sea are unpredictable. The weather can be completely different just a few miles away. Sometimes a gust of wind is all it takes to change everything. Maybe it’ll clear up in a bit.”

“R-Really?”

The words had barely left her lips when the cruise ship, a veritable monster of steel, was struck and lurched violently to the left. The three of them lost their balance in an instant, completely unprepared, and stumbled to the deck.

The two sisters lay sprawled on the deck, the skirts of their dresses spread out like white flowers. Their confused murmurs were mixed with cries of pain. Pale with fright, they subconsciously rubbed their sore spots.

RUMBLE—

Thunder rolled across the sky, making the entire mass of dark clouds seem paper-thin. Flashing purple lightning traced intricate patterns across the heavens, the light illuminating the trio’s terrified expressions. A deafening CRACK of thunder sent the two sisters huddling together, covering each other’s ears.

CRACKLE—

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Several more claps of thunder followed. Lightning split the sky, looking as if it had the power to shatter the boundless ocean itself. It was as if an enraged beast was roaring within the dark clouds, venting its fury upon the world.

The rain came down in sheets, whipped by the gale, lashing the three of them, alone on the deck. The raindrops were so large they stung on impact, as if trying to wash away everything beneath the sky. In this terrifying atmosphere, the sea became the beast’s accomplice. The massive waves reached for the heavens, and a single glance was enough to make one feel they would be smashed to pieces beneath them.

Chen Yuan sloshed through the pooling water, no longer able to tell if it was rain or seawater. He was soaked to the bone. He reached out, grabbing Jiangg Ning and Jiangg Yao, and pulled the stunned girls into the cabin. He roared with all his might, afraid his voice would be swallowed by the storm.

“Go back to your room! Both of you! I’m going to ask the captain what’s going on with this storm!”

“The captain…? We don’t have a captain,” Jiangg Yao said suddenly, trembling. Her words made Chen Yuan’s mind go blank.

“Then who’s piloting the ship?!” he demanded in shock.

“I… I don’t know! Young Master, just come hide with us! We’ll be fine if we hide…”

“What the—”

CRASH!

A massive collision roared in his ears. Chen Yuan hunched over, steadying himself against a cold wall. He tried to sort through his thoughts in the chaos. ’Everything is so strange… We’re on vacation, but there’s no captain, and now a storm that appeared from nowhere!’

’What the hell is going on?!’

“Don’t just stand here. I’ll take you back to your room.” Chen Yuan grabbed the two sisters, one in each hand. But as he went to move, he found his feet felt as heavy as lead. The sound of sloshing water filled his ears. Stunned, he looked down. The previously dry cabin floor was now completely submerged, and the water, which was still rising, had already covered his entire foot.

’It’s over!’

The two words were deafening, like the beating of a great drum, making his eardrums buzz.

Chen Yuan summoned every ounce of rationality he possessed to calm himself down. He swallowed hard. A sudden thought struck him: a cruise ship this big should have lifeboats. The realization sobered him instantly. He turned and frantically scanned his surroundings, his eyes finally locking onto one direction.

“Stay here, don’t move. Don’t move, you hear me? Wait for me to find a lifeboat, then we can call for maritime rescue… Yes, maritime rescue!”

It was as if he’d grasped a final lifeline. While comforting Ningning and Yaoyao, he pulled the phone he’d just used for photos from his pocket. But when he turned on the screen, the “no signal” icon plunged him into despair.

“Fucking hell, what rotten luck…” Chen Yuan cursed. Phone in hand, he started to run, hastily calling back over his shoulder, “Don’t move from this spot! I’ll be right back.”

He broke into a run, dashing through the damp, narrow corridors of the ship. Between gasps for breath, he tried to dial maritime rescue on his phone, but the call wouldn’t go through. Chen Yuan’s heart hammered in his chest, a frantic rhythm as loud as thunder. After rounding a corner, he spotted a sign for a service accessway. A sliver of hope bloomed in his chest. He followed it to a spiral staircase painted with rough, white paint and scrambled down the shaft on all fours.

The shaft was a sealed space. The walls were tightly fitted, and not a single drop of water could seep in. He smelled the long-awaited scent of dryness, and even though it was mixed with an unpleasant odor, Chen Yuan was overjoyed.

It was pitch-black all around, and the further down he climbed, the less light there was. Chen Yuan strained his eyes, trying to adjust to the darkness, as if he were searching for a demon in the abyss…