One taste, and you're hooked

Xun Yuan collected the car keys from the young woman at the front desk and drove to her studio to get some work done.

That afternoon, Special Assistant Lin knocked on the studio door.

"Miss Xun Yuan, the boss had this delivered to you."

As he spoke, Xun Yuan noticed two tall, burly bodyguards emerge from behind him, carrying a red coral together. They brought it inside and set it on the table.

Amazement shone in Xun Yuan's eyes. Its naturally formed red was crystalline and lustrous, pure and rich, like flowing scarlet liquid. Under the light, it gave off a luminous sheen, mysterious and breathtakingly beautiful.

What made it rare was that it largely retained the shape carved by nature's own axe, without excessive human embellishment. Red coral of such quality and size was seldom seen in the world.

Xun Yuan had seen the largest red coral in the Palace Museum's collection, a red coral bonsai in a gilded copper, enamel-inlaid begonia-shaped planter. Made from an entire branch of red coral, it displayed superb craftsmanship, its lines flowing smoothly throughout. Large in size, it perfectly married human carving with natural charm. It was extraordinarily beautiful.

But although the specimen before her was slightly smaller than the one in the Palace Museum, it preserved more of the red coral's own natural beauty. Its value was beyond measure.

Xun Yuan looked away from the red coral. She had a question. "Where did your boss find such a big piece of red coral?"

After all, as far as she knew, trading red coral had already been banned. It was under first-class national protection.

She had only wanted to go diving in the sea to look at red coral.

Special Assistant Lin smiled, a somewhat veiled admiration in his eyes. "The boss took it from the collection room at the Zuo Family's old residence."

This was red coral the old madam treasured, yet the boss had simply taken it to make a woman happy.

Surprised, Xun Yuan blurted out, "Won't your boss get scolded?"

Special Assistant Lin said, "That, I'm not sure about."

He wouldn't, though there would definitely be a few probing questions.

Special Assistant Lin left the two bodyguards behind, concerned that someone might attempt a robbery and hurt Xun Yuan.

After he left, Xun Yuan picked up her tools again. But her productivity was ridiculously low, and eventually, she simply put them down.

What on earth was he thinking?

She couldn't figure it out.

Xun Yuan called Yun Tang to come out and have some fun, arranging to meet her at the club.

When they met, Yun Tang asked with a smile, "Why did you pick the club?"

Xun Yuan smiled too. "Didn't you want me to win it back for you?"

"Right! Xunxun, you have to win until they cry tonight."

Xun Yuan smiled without answering. They walked arm in arm into their usual private room. Jiang Yulin and Lou Jing were both there, along with someone else who was active in their circle.

With Xun Yuan, there were exactly four players, enough for a table.

They sat down and began playing, continuing until the middle of the night. Xun Yuan was a skilled player and raked in the winnings, winning back all the money Yun Tang had lost over those days, with interest.

Yun Tang was delighted and wanted to treat Xun Yuan to a lavish meal. The money was secondary; what mattered was the satisfaction of wiping away her past humiliation.

Xun Yuan smiled and said, "Sure."

Jiang Yulin refused to accept defeat. "Xunxun, just keep spoiling her."

Xun Yuan raised an eyebrow, her expression carefree.

"What else should I do? Be like you lot?"

"Picking on a girl."

Lou Jing felt innocent. "We wouldn't dare."

That was the truth. Who dared bully the girls in Harbor City's circle? Their parents all knew one another, and the younger generation had known each other since childhood. Their families admonished them daily not to bully their older or younger sisters.

Xun Yuan beamed. "Well, I don't care."

Yun Tang stayed silent. She just loved watching Xun Yuan slaughter all opposition.

As the game broke up, Zuo Tingyue suddenly arrived, accompanied by Special Assistant Lin.

His presence was so imposing that the air pressure in the private room seemed to drop the instant he entered.

"Tingyue, finished with work?"

Jiang Yulin asked the question. He had invited Zuo Tingyue out several times, only to receive a single word in reply: "Busy." With such a huge corporation and countless talented employees, he had no idea why Zuo Tingyue still worked himself to death.

"Mm." His voice was low.

They chatted for a while, first about the projects they were working on, then about which newly opened venues were fun. Eventually, somehow, the conversation turned to how much Xun Yuan had won that night.

Zuo Tingyue sat on the leather sofa and listened to them talk. He rarely spoke, only adding a few words now and then.

Xun Yuan glanced over and saw his indifferent expression beneath the lights, his eyelids lowered. He looked uninterested. Even when he wasn't interested, he wouldn't say so; his expression would simply turn cool, or he would leave outright.

Xun Yuan couldn't tell whether that made him polite or rude. She supposed the crown prince held such a lofty position and so much power that he could do as he pleased.

By the end, it was very late. Sleepiness washed over Xun Yuan, and she wanted to go home to bed.

She told everyone she was heading home. Once she was leaving, Yun Tang wanted to leave too. Jiang Yulin hadn't had enough fun and wanted to move on to the next venue, but he was also worried about the two girls' safety.

Just then, someone said, "I'll take Miss Yun home."

Everyone looked over together. It was Special Assistant Lin.

Before their eyes, Lin Sheng stood straight, his expression gentle. For some reason, Yun Tang remembered his relaxed figure smoking that day. What had left an even deeper impression was the decisiveness with which he had put out his cigarette.

Yun Tang had meant to say there was no need, but for some reason, those words reached her lips and never came out.

"What about Xunxun?"

Only when she turned her head did she discover that Xun Yuan and Zuo Tingyue had both vanished from the private room.

Inside the Bentley.

Xun Yuan sat in the front passenger seat, unsure how things had turned out this way. She had slipped away determined to go home by herself, only for Zuo Tingyue to coax her into his car with a few words the moment she stepped outside.

A handsome man's allure really was something to stay away from.

The car was silent. Remembering the red coral he had sent over, Xun Yuan asked, "You just sent me such a precious piece of red coral like that?"

Zuo Tingyue rested one hand on the center console and steered with the other. At her words, he didn't even turn his head, his voice teasing. "Next time, I'll have it delivered with gongs and drums."

Xun Yuan choked on her words. So you're the only one with a mouth, are you?

"Sure," she said petulantly.

"Better let all of Harbor City know."

She simply insisted on being contrary.

Zuo Tingyue tugged his lips into a smile without speaking and focused on driving.

The car stopped at the hotel where Zuo Tingyue regularly stayed. Xun Yuan thought he really did treat the hotel as a second home. Suddenly, she wondered where his home was.

"Get out." His voice was quite low.

Without a word, Xun Yuan pushed open the door and got out. While they waited for the elevator to come down, Zuo Tingyue lit a cigarette.

He smoked hard. In that brief interval, more than half the cigarette burned away. Layers of smoke drifted out, shrouding his handsome features, his searing masculine hormones lending him an increasingly potent sex appeal.

Xun Yuan thought that if men were liquor, Zuo Tingyue would surely be the strongest flask of all, fiery and full-bodied, yet with an endlessly lingering finish.

One taste, and you were hooked.

Ding-

The elevator doors opened with the sound. Zuo Tingyue had smoked his cigarette down to the end and, without hesitation, stubbed it out and tossed it into the bin.

Xun Yuan and Zuo Tingyue entered the elevator one after the other, their footsteps strikingly in sync.

The instant the doors closed, Zuo Tingyue wrapped an arm around Xun Yuan's slender waist, lowered his head, and kissed her.

The smooth elevator walls reflected a muted white glow, clearly mirroring the two of them tangled together, unable to part, the ravine of desire impossible to fill.