"What was I after?"
Xun Yuan curved her lips in a smile, her words casual and light.
"What was I after?"
Her tone rose slightly, those few words winding through a hundred turns, deliberately inflected and impossible to read.
On the pebble path, the man had stopped, his handsome features shrouded in clear moonlight. A deep, imposing air surrounded him. In the dim light and shadow, his expression was indistinct; only the crimson point between his fingers flickered.
Special Assistant Lin caught up from behind. Seeing Zuo Tingyue smoking, a trace of something dark crossed his eyes. He silently stopped and held his tongue.
He smoked hard. The gray-white smoke slowly thinned from dense clouds, swirling and scattering until it dissolved into nothing. A gust of wind swept it away without a trace.
Once he finished the cigarette, Zuo Tingyue turned and left without hesitation. His suit jacket traced a sharp arc in the night breeze. His steps were unhurried, and even his retreating figure carried an innate air of refined nobility.
Special Assistant Lin paused for a few seconds. In that brief moment, he looked toward the crowd. Xun Yuan exuded a careless indifference, yet she sat elegantly, her languor accompanied by a natural air of nobility.
Like someone painstakingly raised by a distinguished family to hold its reins.
He was about to withdraw his gaze when he caught sight of Yun Tang sprawled crookedly in a chair. She had mangled her perfectly good clothes beyond recognition. A drunk.
Special Assistant Lin's gaze steadied for a moment. He turned and left, all in one fluid motion.
Hearing Xun Yuan's words, Jiang Yulin gave her a thumbs-up and raised his glass to her from a distance. He really admired that impossible-to-read quality of hers to death.
Xun Yuan lifted her glass and tipped her head back. The red liquid slid down the glass into her mouth, her slender, fair neck fully exposed beneath the lights.
After finishing that glass, Xun Yuan found a chance to slip away quietly. She was sleepy. After a little wine, the tipsiness washed over her, leaving her mood even more relaxed. With her mind at ease, she wanted to rest.
She pressed her key card against the lock. With a beep, the door unlocked. At the same time, another beep sounded. Xun Yuan looked over and saw Zuo Tingyue. Unruffled, she lifted her lips in a smile, the alluring curve just right.
"Just got back?" she asked, her voice neither loud nor soft, her words casual, as though speaking to an old friend.
A quiet "Mm" came from his throat, his response lukewarm.
Xun Yuan curved her lips, pushed open her door, and went inside, paying him no more attention. Did he think he was the only one who could act cold and aloof? Hah.
During the latter half of the gathering, Jiang Yulin discovered that Xun Yuan had slipped away and cursed her for having no loyalty.
Yun Tang was too drunk to think clearly. Jiang Yulin took her upstairs and ran into Special Assistant Lin in the elevator along the way. Guessing Tingyue was there too, and since his suite and Yun Tang's were on different floors and he had something to discuss with Tingyue, he asked Special Assistant Lin whether he could take Yun Tang back.
Special Assistant Lin looked at the muddled Yun Tang. He should have found it a nuisance, but when the words reached his lips, what came out was, "Sure."
He took Yun Tang, and the key card was placed in her hand as well. On the way to her suite, she grew increasingly restless, grabbing his clothes hard. Lin Sheng held her around the waist, half carrying her forward. He restrained her hands, only to meet even fiercer struggling and resistance.
Lin Sheng frowned, gripping her hands tightly while using his other arm to hold her. But she refused to appreciate it and insisted on breaking free of his grasp.
With a rip, the shirt across Lin Sheng's chest was torn open, leaving it half undone. Yet the woman in his arms remained oblivious, clawing and rubbing against him at random.
Lin Sheng swore, abandoning all thought of treating her delicately. He roughly restrained her and took her back to her room.
Xun Yuan went to bed early. Early the next morning, she was woken by knocking. Someone was pounding on her door in agitation.
She got up with a frown and saw through the door camera that it was Yun Tang. Still in her pajamas, she opened the door.
"You'd better give me a clear explanation for why you're going crazy this early in the morning."
Xun Yuan turned and walked back inside, tossing out those words.
Yun Tang followed close behind, shut the door, and collapsed onto the sofa. She stared speechlessly at the ceiling and said nothing for a good while.
Her neckline gaped open. With her good eyesight, Xun Yuan spotted the marks on her chest. She silently looked away, went to the island to pour two glasses of warm water, and handed one to Yun Tang.
Yun Tang sat up, took the water, and had a sip. Looking at Xun Yuan, she said, "I did something big."
"Mm," Xun Yuan responded mildly.
She could hardly be blamed for her flat tone. Having her sweet dreams disturbed so early in the morning, she was already being patient enough. She had more or less guessed what had happened. Judging by Yun Tang's appearance, she did not seem to have been tricked, and with so many people around, they could hardly have let that happen to her.
Dissatisfied with her muted response, Yun Tang asked, "Why aren't you asking what I did?"
Xun Yuan took a sip of water to moisten her throat and asked in return, "Would you tell me if I asked?"
Yun Tang gave it some serious thought. "That really is hard to say."
I was supposed to play along with your performance, but I turned a blind eye instead?
Xun Yuan said, "What big thing did you do?"
Yun Tang stared at her blankly, then suddenly laughed. "Slept with a man."
Xun Yuan gave an "Mm," then remembered something and asked bluntly, "Did you use protection?"
Yun Tang froze, sprang up from the sofa, and ran out the door with a rapid patter of footsteps.
Xun Yuan rubbed between her brows and smiled.
Now that she had been woken, she checked the time. It was seven, and she could not get back to sleep, so she washed up and changed.
When Xun Yuan opened her door and stepped outside, she found Special Assistant Lin knocking on Zuo Tingyue's door. She gave Special Assistant Lin a couple of extra looks. He looked handsome and full of vigor.
Special Assistant Lin saw Xun Yuan too and greeted her. "Good morning, Miss Xun Yuan."
"Good morning."
As Xun Yuan replied, the door opened. Jiang Yulin was the one who opened it. He had arrived quite early, and his sharp eyes spotted Xun Yuan.
"Had breakfast?" he asked.
Xun Yuan said, "No."
"Come in. I ordered loads of breakfast. There's no way we can finish it."
Jiang Yulin held the door open, beckoning Xun Yuan inside.
"Not hungry."
Xun Yuan uttered those two words with a faint smile.
Half an hour later, in the restaurant on the hotel's top floor, Xun Yuan and Yun Tang sat opposite each other, ready to have breakfast.
"Xunxun, have you finished up with your studio work?"
Yun Tang chatted with Xun Yuan as they ate.
"No."
"But soon."
"Are you still taking jobs?"
Yun Tang asked her, "It's not like you need that little bit of money. Why wear yourself out like this?"
Xun Yuan looked at her with a knowing smile. "What you really mean is that I don't have time to come out and have fun with you."
"Xunxun, don't expose me."
Yun Tang laughed along with her.
Suddenly, Yun Tang's expression shifted slightly. She was utterly relaxed around Xun Yuan and made no attempt to hide her emotions.
Perceptive as she was, Xun Yuan caught that fleeting change in her expression. Though it lasted only an instant, she did not move, but sometimes things were simply that coincidental.
Within a few minutes, Zuo Tingyue passed the tables and chairs and sat down somewhere within her field of vision. Accompanying him was a woman with permed chestnut curls.
A white blouse, a fitted skirt, black stockings, and high heels. Polished and sexy.
As she passed, a trace of perfume drifted over, sweet caramel mingled with warm woody notes, its fragrance lingering.