"Guys and Dolls"

Xun Yuan walked over to the driver's side and knocked on the window. Once it rolled down, she asked the driver to open the trunk. With her things stowed in the back, she pulled open the rear door and got in.

Inside, Zuo Tingyue was indeed busy working. The glow of his laptop screen fell across his face, faintly revealing the pronounced brow of his profile. He looked absorbed in his work; even the sound of her getting in failed to disturb him in the slightest.

Xun Yuan watched him for a few seconds before looking away and closing her eyes to rest. It was so late, and she was very sleepy.

The man's crisp, mild scent filled her nostrils. Xun Yuan emptied her mind and, in that brief stretch of time, actually fell asleep.

When they reached the airport, Xun Yuan only woke abruptly because she felt her body suspended in midair. The first thing she saw was the man's broad chest. Her thoughts were muddled, and for a moment, she had the illusion that she no longer knew what day or year it was.

Her gaze shifted past his shoulder to the assistant wheeling a suitcase behind them. Only then did Xun Yuan remember that they were on their way to go diving.

Feeling the woman in his arms wake, Zuo Tingyue asked evenly, "Awake?"

"Mm," Xun Yuan answered indistinctly, too languid from sleep to want to talk.

Zuo Tingyue asked her nothing more, nor did he put her down. He carried her all the way onto the plane.

Xun Yuan sat lazily in her seat, catching up on sleep the whole time. When she woke, Zuo Tingyue's laptop was still lit, and he was still working intently.

Her eyesight was good, and she could see the colorful numbers and curves scrolling across the screen. It was the New York Stock Exchange interface.

After watching for a while, she lost interest. Leaning close to Zuo Tingyue's ear, she asked softly, "How much longer until we get off the plane?"

Without so much as lifting his eyelids, Zuo Tingyue said evenly, "Look for yourself."

Xun Yuan refused to move. Her bright eyes watched him, still carrying the languid ease of someone newly awake. Even the strands of her hair seemed relaxed.

Zuo Tingyue glanced over. Meeting her watching eyes, he checked his wristwatch.

"Half an hour."

When the man's low voice reached her ears, Xun Yuan said, "Oh."

It was late at night locally when the plane landed at Sydney's airport. Cars were already waiting outside, more than one of them, and Zuo Tingyue was the first to leave in one.

Xun Yuan rode back to the hotel with the assistant. After they arrived, the assistant bustled about taking care of everything. Only belatedly did she realize that the person who had come along was not Special Assistant Lin.

She had no idea where Special Assistant Lin had gone, what shady business he had discussed with his boss, or what they were plotting.

Xun Yuan exchanged a few words with her contacts abroad, gave her instructions, and continued being a hands-off boss without a care.

Harbor City.

On the hotel's snow-white bed, half concealed beneath the covers, were none other than Second Miss Yun and Special Assistant Lin.

Yun Tang pushed him. "Move. You're too heavy."

"Don't move." The man let just those two words fall softly.

Yun Tang complained, "Get off. It's so hot."

Special Assistant Lin smiled gently. "Why didn't you say that before?"

Yun Tang froze for a moment, then could not help kicking him beneath the covers.

"Don't want to sleep?"

"Who doesn't..."

The rest of Yun Tang's words drowned between their lips and teeth, leaving only indistinct sounds of intimate friction.

When Xun Yuan woke the next day, no one was beside her. The covers and the other side of the bed were perfectly neat, without the slightest crease.

Zuo Tingyue had not come back last night.

The hotel suite was empty. Bored, Xun Yuan went downstairs to chat with the hotel's lobby manager.

When Zuo Tingyue walked into the hotel, the first thing he saw was a radiant, alluring woman in a deep-purple spaghetti-strap dress, her eyes smiling as she turned sideways to speak with the man beside her.

The assistant knew Xun Yuan and knew a thing or two about her relationship with his boss. A grown man and woman, dry tinder meeting a fierce flame-one spark was all it took. Seeing Xun Yuan now, he moved to greet her.

"Miss Xun Yuan, what brings you downstairs?"

Xun Yuan turned her head and smiled. "What? Am I not allowed downstairs?"

The assistant's smile-covered face stiffened slightly. Xun Yuan had a powerful presence and an inborn air of pride. Her composed, effortless bearing made people instinctively brace themselves when dealing with her.

"Of course you are, Miss Xun Yuan. It's just that we're abroad, somewhere unfamiliar. If you'd like to go out, you can ask someone to accompany you. They could carry your things, too."

Xun Yuan let her gaze drift lightly over the assistant. Her almost-smile sent prickles down his back.

"Bored?" Zuo Tingyue asked her, interrupting their conversation.

"Very. Didn't you say you were bringing me here to dive?" Xun Yuan asked in return.

"Once I'm done." Zuo Tingyue's tone was flat, his voice hoarse. Xun Yuan could tell at once that it was because he had stayed up all night.

Xun Yuan said, "Oh."

Zuo Tingyue went upstairs. The assistant hurried after him, not forgetting to say goodbye to Xun Yuan.

"Goodbye, Miss Xun Yuan."

Xun Yuan had already turned back to speak to the manager. Who wants to see you again?

After getting the information she wanted from the manager, she went upstairs to the suite. The rooms were silent, with only the soft rustle of her footsteps. She reached the bedroom, where the curtains were drawn and everything was pitch-black. The crown prince was asleep.

Xun Yuan approached carefully, not wanting to wake him, and stopped beside the bed to watch him sleep peacefully. His striking, finely sculpted features defied brush and ink. He had the most handsome face in the world. When he did not smile, he was cold and distant; when he did, he was rakish and unrestrained, teasing a person's heart into falling for him.

Thinking it over, their lives actually overlapped very little. This was her first time watching him while he slept. Usually, they were each busy with work and did not disturb one another. Neither was clingy, and their nights were mostly spent in bed.

Xun Yuan slipped quietly out of the bedroom, wrapped a shawl around herself, and went out to find lunch.

The midday sun hung high over Sydney, its light brilliant. Xun Yuan hired a ride-hailing driver for her exclusive use. Unexpectedly, the driver was particularly young. She found a long-renowned local restaurant and went inside for lunch.

That afternoon, Xun Yuan wandered among Sydney's famous sights, with the driver serving as both guide and companion.

She was lucky enough to catch the hugely popular opera "Guys and Dolls" at the Sydney Opera House. In the glittering mortal world, men's gambling and women's love were subjects there was simply no getting around.

Heavy makeup at midnight, a beautiful ponytail...

Adrift in love, accustomed to hangovers...

How ridiculous. People often sang love's praises, yet spared no effort in mocking it.

Xun Yuan watched the entire opera. The moment the curtain fell, the driver stole a glance at her. The theater's light and shadows were dim, and she sat shrouded in darkness, making any shift in her emotions impossible to discern, breeding in the dark...

A beam of light swept past, and the driver seemed to catch a trace of complexity in her eyes, disdain mingled with mockery, wistfulness alongside ruthlessness.

The driver only felt as though something had pierced his heart in an instant, leaving him shaken.

What exactly was this beautiful young lady thinking?

He had no way of knowing.

They emerged from the opera house into the mellow night. This bustling city was at its most irresistible after dark, yet Xun Yuan had no interest in seeing any more. She asked the driver to take her back to the hotel and, before getting out, paid him a great deal of money.

"Miss, you've paid too much," the young driver said honestly.

Xun Yuan curved her lips into a smile, but her eyes were cool and clear.

"A tip."

Those crisp words fell, and Xun Yuan entered the hotel.