Chapter Sixteen: A Night Encounter with Salena

"Not yet," Liu Yunfei replied, turning over to look at Shalina. The room was dark, but her eyes were clear as day. "Will you talk with me for a while?" Shalina asked softly.

"Alright," Liu Yunfei agreed, climbing out of bed and following Shalina onto the open-air balcony.

"Let’s sit here and chat for a bit, shall we? The moon is so big tonight," Shalina said, gazing up at the sky.

"In China, we call this 'seeing the sky from the bottom of a well.' Come, let me take you to the top deck to look at the moon," Liu Yunfei said, wrapping his arm tightly around her waist and leaping up with her onto the roof of the boat.

"Oh! It’s so different from the balcony—the moon and the sky seem so much bigger from up here," Shalina exclaimed, her joy as innocent as a child’s as she bounded about the small space on the boat’s roof.

Liu Yunfei felt a sudden sense of freedom and peace. He sat down, one leg stretched out, the other bent, hands braced behind him as he leaned back and gazed upward. The rhythmic sound of the waves slapping against the hull seemed to merge with his heartbeat, as though he too was part of this tranquil night and his very pulse ebbed and flowed with the sea.

"What are you thinking about, Yunfei?" Shalina sat down beside him.

"I was wondering why you call me 'Brother Yunfei' and not 'Little Brother Yunfei,'" he said, for he always felt Shalina must be at least twenty, making her form of address seem odd.

"But you seem older than me," Shalina teased.

"Well, I’m eighteen. What about you?"

"I’m eighteen too," she replied.

"Then you must be older—I was born in December," Liu Yunfei said, pondering how Arab girls matured early; at eighteen, Shalina was already so alluring. He recalled the seductive curves hidden beneath her black robes.

"What a coincidence! My birthday is in December too—the twentieth."

"Ah, then I’m older—mine is on the sixth, so I’m two weeks ahead of you," Liu Yunfei said, surprised to discover his birthday wasn’t the latest after all.

"Then I can call you Brother Yunfei, can’t I?" Shalina said, delighted as if she’d won a victory.

"Of course," Liu Yunfei laughed. "When your birthday comes, your big brother will have to give you a present."

"No, I never celebrate my birthday. My mother died when I was born," Shalina said, her voice tinged with sorrow.

"Oh, I’m sorry," Liu Yunfei said, not expecting such a story.

"Tonight is the happiest night of my life. I never had a mother, and my father was always busy with business. Even when he was home, he had no time for me. I was raised with my four stepmothers. As Muslim women, we can’t work and rarely go out. Life is like being a bird in a cage," Shalina went on, her sadness deepening. "Just like you said, 'seeing the sky from the bottom of a well.' I’m always in the cabin, seeing only a patch of sky above the balcony. I wish I could climb to the roof and have the whole sky."

"Who would have thought a princess’s life could be so hard," Liu Yunfei said gently, trying to comfort her.

"I truly thank Allah for letting me meet you, Brother Yunfei. Brother Yunfei, am I pretty?"

"You’re beautiful."

"Then do you like me?" Shalina asked, bravely meeting his eyes.

Under the silver moonlight, her soft, round cheeks glowed. Her naturally curly brown hair tumbled over her shoulders, a few strands falling casually across her forehead, partly veiling her large, expressive eyes that shimmered with both yearning and hope.

"But Shalina, I already have a girlfriend," Liu Yunfei blurted out, instantly regretting his bluntness.

He could feel Shalina’s gaze darken, as if something inside her drained away. Her face, once lifted, slowly drooped, and her shoulders trembled ever so slightly. "She must be very beautiful. Poor Shalina—no mother, no friends, and even Brother Yunfei doesn’t like me…" Her voice trailed off as she buried her face in her arms, muffling her sobs.

"No, I like you very much too," Liu Yunfei said, panicking a little.

"Really?" Shalina looked up at him, her cheeks streaked with tears.

He nodded emphatically.

Suddenly, Shalina threw herself into his arms, pushing him down with surprising force. She shifted, lying fully atop him.

Liu Yunfei felt her still-damp hair brushing against his face, teasing his nose and lips. Her smooth cheek pressed close to his neck, her ample curves pressed against his chest, soft and warm.

"Shalina knew you liked me, Brother Yunfei. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be… like this," she said shyly, squirming a little. The passion of this voluptuous Arab girl made Liu Yunfei’s desire surge; he nibbled her delicate earlobe, his hands slipping under her robe to caress the supple curves beneath.

Shalina melted against him, her breath hot against his ear, her lower body moving of its own accord, grinding her belly against his most sensitive place.

They lingered in this warmth for a while, until Liu Yunfei, emboldened, was about to go further. Suddenly, Shalina sat up, drawing his wandering hands away with the last of her strength. Gasping, she said, "Not now. We Muslim women cannot do that before marriage. One day, I will fulfill all your wishes, Brother Yunfei." With a mischievous giggle, she wiggled her hips atop his stomach, then leaned down to plant a quick kiss on his lips before leaping up and darting toward where they’d climbed up. "Take me down, Brother Yunfei. I want to go back to my room and sleep."

"You little rascal. Just you wait," Liu Yunfei said, struggling to his feet, breathing hard as he tried to calm the fire burning within him.

Carrying Shalina, he jumped back down to the balcony, and the two went their separate ways. After such an intimate encounter, Liu Yunfei found himself wide awake. He turned on his computer and began reviewing some Arabic learning materials.

Arabic was proving difficult at first; to Liu Yunfei, all those tadpole-shaped characters looked the same. Bored, he opened QQ. Most of his contacts were classmates or friends he’d met through games. It was morning in Huangjiang—about seven or eight o’clock—so those who surfed the web in the daytime weren’t online yet, and those who’d stayed up all night had gone to sleep. Not a single person was online.

He hadn’t logged into his games for a long time and didn’t feel like playing. Restlessly, he wandered into a chat room, though he rarely visited such places. The chat room was quiet—no spamming, no public conversations. He was just about to leave when a message popped up from a woman called "Lonely Tonight": "Good morning, just got here?"

"It’s still midnight here," Liu Yunfei replied.

"Where are you?"

"Oh, I’m in Saudi Arabia."

"Abroad, huh? You must be rich. Can I add you on QQ?" "Lonely Tonight" asked, sending a request before Liu Yunfei could answer.

He checked her profile—explicit photos, video chats for a fee, payment up front. Liu Yunfei shook his head and sighed. "The world is really going downhill."

He didn’t have the heart to reject her directly, so he agreed to the request but quickly lost interest in her antics. He told "Lonely Tonight" he was logging off and closed the chat.