Nemesis

Zuo Tingyue came to a stop in front of her, the tourism development project manager no longer at his side. At first, Xun Yuan did not care, but having such a large man standing beside her eventually became a nuisance.

She looked up at him, her manner casual. "Mind moving?"

"You're blocking my view."

Zuo Tingyue raised his brows slightly, a hint of rakishness spilling from the corners of his eyes.

"Do you own this place?"

Xun Yuan wore a smile. "There's such a thing as first come, first served."

Her meaning was clear: I was here first, so naturally, I take priority.

"Just because you say so?" Zuo Tingyue countered indifferently.

"Anyone with eyes can see it." Xun Yuan's smile did not fade, still utterly casual.

A smile surfaced in Zuo Tingyue's eyes as he said unhurriedly, "I hold the development rights to this stretch of land."

Xun Yuan drew a quiet breath, irritated by him.

"Oh."

Then have fun by yourself.

Xun Yuan tossed her empty coconut juice container into the trash, put on her sunglasses, and rose to leave the beach.

Her red skirt fluttered gently in the sea breeze. A faint fragrance drifted on the wind to Zuo Tingyue's nose, a scent unique to her, sweet yet cool, light and piercing to the bone.

Zuo Tingyue was not the type to chase after someone. He glanced at Xun Yuan's retreating figure, her ink-black hair flying, graceful and willowy, carefree and uninhibited.

Only after returning to her hotel did Xun Yuan belatedly wonder whether she had forgotten something. Something kept feeling off, but she could not remember what.

It was not until someone knocked on her door and she saw Yun Tang standing outside on the security feed that she remembered. The knocking had a distinct rhythm, an angry one. She spent a few seconds considering whether to open the door.

There was a click.

"Tangtang."

Xun Yuan greeted her with a smile.

Yun Tang gave her a fake smile. "What's so fascinating in your room?"

Xun Yuan smiled faintly. "I ran into a ghost outside."

Yun Tang rolled her eyes. "In broad daylight? At least use your brain when you lie to me."

Xun Yuan smiled, looking at her seriously. "I really did run into a ghost."

"It just happens to be one that isn't afraid of sunlight."

Yun Tang said, "Let's eat. Afterward, come out to sea with me."

Xun Yuan nodded. "Sure."

The two had a seafood feast for lunch, with a server beside them serving their dishes.

With an outsider present, Xun Yuan and Yun Tang kept to idle chatter. When careers came up, Yun Tang refused to discuss hers. She simply disliked the scheming and back-and-forth of the business world.

Watching her carefree, proud manner, Xun Yuan could truly see the freedom from worry that came from being pampered. Harbor City's Second Miss Yun probably had only two things to worry about: whether to enter a marriage alliance and how to spend money.

"Would your father allow it?"

"What would he have to object to? I have an older cousin, my eldest uncle's son. He's there to shoulder things."

Yun Tang spoke as though it did not matter.

"My dad never planned on having me take over from him anyway. Even if he did at first, he would've given up ages ago after seeing that I had no ambition whatsoever."

Xun Yuan smiled. "As long as you know what you're doing."

"He's probably worrying about my marriage now. Someone too far above or below us won't do."

Yun Tang took life as it came. With the estate her father's generation had built for her to squander, she was guaranteed a lifetime of wealth as long as she did not court disaster.

Xun Yuan waved the server out and asked her, "Then do you have any thoughts about who you'd marry?"

Yun Tang spread her hands. "Honestly, not really."

Remembering how Yun Tang had knocked on her door early that morning, Xun Yuan curved her lips into a smile. "As long as you're happy. Just say the word if you need my help."

Yun Tang nodded. "No problem. If I ever have nowhere left to turn, I'll come to you."

Xun Yuan smiled without speaking.

After lunch, Xun Yuan and Yun Tang took a boat out to sea and spent a long time exploring. The wind and waves grew strong around midnight. Having had their fill of fun and not wanting to spend the night at sea, they returned to the hotel.

The electronic display in the hotel lobby read two in the morning. Xun Yuan and Yun Tang each returned to their own rooms.

Over the next few days, Xun Yuan did not see Zuo Tingyue again. He seemed to have come for work, but she had no interest in investigating. She and Yun Tang visited all the fun places in the area, then prepared to fly back to Harbor City.

Someone had booked out the cabin on their flight, leaving not a single first-class seat available. With no other choice, Xun Yuan and Yun Tang had to sit in economy.

While waiting for the plane to take off, Xun Yuan rested with her eyes closed.

Some people simply carried an aura of their own. When Zuo Tingyue appeared, even the air seemed to thin, and it became so quiet aboard the plane that a falling pin could have been heard.

Yun Tang tugged lightly at Xun Yuan's clothes, and she slowly opened her eyes.

The next second, she saw Zuo Tingyue before her, his features deep-set and his profile perfectly sculpted, the devastatingly handsome type. Two bodyguards in black suits followed him, an oppressive presence bearing down on her.

Then Xun Yuan watched the group head straight for first class.

So that's who splashed out on the whole cabin. What a coincidence. It couldn't be more of a coincidence. My nemesis.

Nothing good ever happens when I run into him. I can't even get a first-class seat.

Xun Yuan closed her eyes and ignored everything else.

Yun Tang tugged lightly at her clothes again. Xun Yuan opened her eyes to find a black-clad bodyguard standing before her. She had seen him before, by Zuo Tingyue's side.

"Miss Xun Yuan, the boss has asked me to invite you and Second Miss Yun to first class."

Oh.

Xun Yuan glanced at Yun Tang beside her, then turned her gaze back to the bodyguard, her tone cool. "Let's go."

Only a fool would turn down a first-class seat. I'm a smart woman.

The bodyguard felt a certain pressure from the gaze above him, a scalp-prickling sensation exactly like the one his boss gave him when he said nothing.

Xun Yuan entered first class. The seat beside Zuo Tingyue was empty, and she sat down without fuss. The hem of her crimson dress settled over the man's black suit trousers, trailing in an alluring sweep.

Yun Tang entered behind Xun Yuan and happened to catch the suggestive overlap between her and the crown prince, an entanglement plain at a glance. It was as though an invisible thread linked them in the air; whenever the two were together, romance brimmed around them.

She quietly chose a seat far away rather than disturb them.

The plane soon took off. Xun Yuan simply continued resting with her eyes closed. As she drifted toward sleep, she could hear a few low murmurs as Zuo Tingyue discussed matters with the person beside him.

Time slipped quietly by. The air-conditioning was cold, and Xun Yuan woke from the chill. When she opened her eyes, everyone was resting except Zuo Tingyue, who was typing away on a laptop set before him.

She hugged her arms together for warmth, watching Zuo Tingyue's profile as he worked intently. The light from the screen fell across his face, illuminating his defined brow bones. His long, black lashes made his eyes seem bottomless, and the hands resting on the keyboard had clearly defined tendons and bones. He possessed a uniquely profound bearing.

Xun Yuan thought that, apart from his having saved her life and his looks, part of her attraction to him must have come from how seriously he worked. She liked his commanding decisiveness as he planned and directed everything. The two of them were quite alike in certain ways.

Their calm rationality, for instance.

When someone who weighed gains and losses encountered an exception, and the weight of emotion was added to reason, deciding what to do became a matter of what to keep and what to let go.

Keep. Let go.

If it really came to that point, it would truly be a difficult decision to make.

As Xun Yuan thought this, she suddenly laughed inwardly in self-mockery. In truth, she had long known her answer.

Zuo Tingyue looked up, his gaze catching Xun Yuan stealing a look at him.