Chapter 2480: My Wife Is a Pirate 10

Using Bu Changji's clothes as cover, Hai Shisan, who had just been kicked away, suddenly popped out from some corner, flustered and panicked.

Without a word, he hoisted the utterly dazed pirate on the ground, as if a ghost were chasing him from behind, and stumbled, rolled, and crawled away, disappearing in a mess, his speed astonishing, for fear Jin Chen would catch up.

Jin Chen looked at that embarrassingly fleeing back, lowered his head to ask Bu Changji in his arms, 'When I went into the water just now, did that pirate give you any trouble?'

Bu Changji lifted his head from his embrace, shook his head, his eyes full of innocent purity.

He took out those few silver ingots from his embrace and shoved them into Jin Chen's palm, 'Without him, he would have just given them to me…'

Jin Chen: '?'

He pinched those silver ingots still warm from Bu Changji's body, looked at the blurred official seal on them, and his mind filled with question marks.

'Again sneaking surveillance, again creating a diversion to drag someone into the water, causing such a commotion…'

'Just to send you some silver?'

This logic makes no sense at all!

Bu Changji: '……'

He was also momentarily speechless.

This excuse was indeed a bit over the top; even he felt it didn't hold up.

His gaze flickered for a moment, he forced himself to continue making things up, 'Perhaps… they realized they had caught the wrong person earlier, and this is… compensation?'

His voice grew softer and softer, obviously lacking confidence.

Jin Chen became even more doubtful.

The pirates' raid and the escort fleet—wasn't their target the Heir Apparent Fang Yunyuan? How could they have snatched the wrong person?

But wild guessing was useless; he could only temporarily suppress his doubts, unable to figure it out, so he simply stopped probing further.

He ruffled Bu Changji's hair, shoved the silver back into his hand, and said, 'Since it's meant for you, you keep it yourself.'

'Let's go, you're soaking wet, the sea breeze is chilly—let's head home first and talk later.'

But Bu Changji stood rooted, refusing to move, and kept holding Jin Chen's hand, as if saying he wouldn't go home unless he accepted it.

Sunset was imminent and darkness falling; Jin Chen really feared Bu Changji would catch a chill here, so he had no choice but to accept it first.

——

The next morning, a light mist hovered over the sea, and many fishermen and peddlers needing to get to town early had already gathered on the dock.

The ferry was an old wooden boat without a canopy, different from the fishermen's fishing boats, and was used solely for transporting people.

One boat could hold about ten people; the boatman shouted for fares, six wen per person, and departed once full.

Jin Chen brought Bu Changji aboard and cheerfully paid double the copper coins.

Most of the passengers were acquaintances from the same village or neighboring settlements; the news that Jin Chen had rescued a beautiful refugee had spread these past days, and seeing the real person now drew many curious glances.

One could see that person wearing Jin Chen's old clothes, slightly too big, yet unable to conceal the striking grace that set him apart from the seaside folk, standing quietly at Jin Chen's side, eyes downcast, possessing an innate aura that drew attention.

The seaside customs were relatively simple and open; cohabiting was common, and same-sex affection among men was not considered a major shock.

But there were always some who couldn't stand it.

A middle-aged man with a marriageable daughter at home sized up Bu Changji's feeble, helpless appearance, then glanced at Jin Chen, the most capable youngster in the village, and couldn't help offering advice.

'Chenzi, Uncle isn't saying this to criticize you—with your qualifications, plenty of good girls in our village are hoping for you; if you have spare money and energy, it would be far better to properly take a wife and have a child than to pamper some unknown origin… as a treasure, what are you after?'

His words were fairly tactful, but the disapproval and slight contempt in them were obvious.

These words fell into Bu Changji's ears; he idly twisted a loose thread from his sleeve with his finger, showing no emotion on his face, but inside he had already sneered repeatedly.

'I don't need you lot to approve or disapprove. This guy's happy with it—none of your business! Different strokes for different folks!'

He inexplicably felt a surge of irritation, and pressed hard with his fingertip on the thread.

Yet he heard Jin Chen's calm voice beside him, devoid of anger or joy, saying, 'Uncle Li is joking; I do things only for my own pleasure.'

'Since Ninety has come to my home, I will take care of his food and lodging. As for taking a wife…'

He paused, glanced sideways at Bu Changji, who had his head lowered, and said, 'That's a matter for later; no need for outsiders to worry.'

This statement neither directly refuted nor embarrassed Bu Changji, yet it clearly turned aside the outsiders' doubts.

Bu Changji's fingers, still twisting the thread, froze, and he instinctively lifted his eyes to Jin Chen's profile.

The sea breeze lifted his bangs, revealing deep-set brows and eyes.

Jin Chen sensed the gaze, returned it, his eyes holding a hint of teasing.

The inexplicable awkwardness and irritation in Bu Changji's heart actually eased at those simple words, even giving rise to a strange feeling.

He lowered his head again, loosened his fingertip from the twisted, misshapen thread, and shifted closer to Jin Chen.

All his emotions were written on his face, truly adorable.

Jin Chen chuckled, finally restraining the urge to ruffle his hair, and shielded Bu Changji from those probing gazes.

{Villain Heartthrob Value +4, total 10! }

The ferry rocked back and forth, finally reaching the shore.

The town was far livelier than the fishing village, with shops lining both sides of the bluestone road, people coming and going, and constant hawking.

Jin Chen shouldered the heavy bamboo basket of seafood and went straight to the town's largest tavern.

The marine products he brought this time were indeed rare—crab with butter, dried scallops, not to mention the big grouper, plus many other seafoods the townsfolk couldn't name; every item was a hot commodity at the tavern.

Bu Changji followed silently behind Jin Chen, watching him deal with the respectable-looking shopkeeper.

Jin Chen was tall and broad-shouldered, exuding a steady composure as he stood there, unflinching, speaking neither humbly nor arrogantly—unlike other seaside folk who struggle to communicate with townfolk, he knew the quality and market price of the seafood inside out.

The shopkeeper initially wanted to press the price down, but Jin Chen's clear reasoning made it impossible to casually brush him off.

In the end, he actually managed to sell at an extremely high price, far more profitable than the sporadic sales of ordinary fishermen, and even reached a verbal agreement with the shopkeeper for priority supply in the future.

After this trip, he actually logged over forty taels in earnings.

Bu Changji watched from the side, secretly astonished.

He had seen the meticulous, calculating big merchants in the capital, yet Jin Chen's performance this time was in no way inferior.

This man could absolutely not be just an ordinary fisherman.

Bu Changji thought, if he ever got the chance later, he would definitely not be trapped in this little White Wave Hollow.

He tucked the heavy silver into his bosom, Jin Chen turned his head and said to Bu Changji, "Come on, let's go buy some incense balm."

Bu Changji stared for a moment, then recalled this matter; he never expected Jin Chen to actually have kept it in mind.

He pursed his lips, followed Jin Chen's steps, and walked toward the street where those few shops in town were located.

Before they even reached the shop, Jin Chen saw many patrolling yamen petty clerks in the street, inspecting each unfamiliar passerby one by one.