Dawn and Dusk
The next morning, magnificent, dazzling sunlight came through the automatically opening curtains and fell across the bed.
The orchids in the black trash bin were still blooming brilliantly after a night. Their stems drooped over the edge, and Zeus, who had somehow sneaked into the room at some point, stretched out his snow-white paw and batted at the petals one by one, as though he were pouncing on butterflies.
Rong Ci hadn’t slept well last night because her brain had been overloaded. She wanted to stay in bed.
Rong Ci buried her face in the blankets, trying to block out the light assaulting her from all directions while she rolled over and mumbled, “Big Brother, your wrist is pressing against me again.”
Then she complained softly, “Your bones are so hard.”
Xie Xunzhao remained silent and didn’t move. After a moment, he suddenly let out a single syllable out of nowhere. “Oh.”
He didn’t argue that it was actually her pressing against him.
That one little “oh” drifted through the air, floating and floating until, like a feather, it slowly landed in Rong Ci’s ear. As though remembering the unfinished subject from last night, Rong Ci’s eyes flew open.
The first thing she saw was Xie Xunzhao’s deep, somber pair of eyes. He had probably only just woken up as well. Under the bright light, he looked unusually composed, yet his eyes seemed to hold far too many emotions.
He simply looked at her in silence.
Rong Ci was most afraid of this kind of look, because when Big Brother showed no emotion, that was when he had the most emotion of all!
Wait…
Bones?
Rong Ci jolted upright, wrapping herself tightly in the blankets until only a pair of vivid peach-blossom eyes showed; though her gaze was blank, her thoughts so far gone it was as if her soul had already left her body.
These past few mornings she had also woken up in Xie Xunzhao’s arms and had thought she was being poked by the bones of his wrist and had even, when half-asleep, casually pushed at him.
Keep that away from me.
But now, stepping outside the framework of brother and sister, she could finally remember the biology lessons that had vanished somewhere along with her memory.
At this point, she might as well review the facts.
First: A biological brother has no sexual identity in her mind.
Second: Xie Xunzhao was not her biological brother.
Finally: Xie Xunzhao had the physical makeup of an adult man.
Conclusion: What she had been touching all this time had never been his wrist bone!
Rong Ci felt as though her thoughts were going around in circles. Her peripheral vision instinctively flicked toward Xie Xunzhao, only to freeze—
His pajamas were made of lightweight silk, with obvious creases across the front.
In the past, Rong Ci would never have wondered how those creases had gotten there. But now… she couldn’t help picturing herself curled up against him, making those very creases.
Ah! Her brain was going to break.
Rong Ci collapsed back onto her pillow, pulled the blanket over her head, and tried to pretend nothing had happened.
But Xie Xunzhao caught the fleeting flush across her cheeks and a subtle change passed over his previously calm expression.
After enjoying the sight for a moment, Xie Xunzhao finally rose from the bed as calmly as ever and said evenly, “It’s a normal physiological reaction. Don’t be afraid.”
“…I’m not afraid,” Rong Ci mumbled from beneath the blanket.
“Good.”
“Don’t sleep with your head covered by the blanket.” Xie Xunzhao reminded her of that before heading to the bathroom.
The familiar sound of his footsteps gradually faded away. Rong Ci listened with her ears perked, then cautiously lifted one corner of the blanket.
The next second, Xie Xunzhao suddenly turned around in front of the glass partition, catching Rong Ci red-handed as she peeked out from beneath the blanket.
A smile played faintly on his thin lips as he said casually, “You’ll be seeing it every day from now on.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
She was already used to the internet being cut off at nine-thirty every night.
This day was a Saturday, and Xie Xunzhao was away on a business trip.
Uncle Ye brought Rong Ci some good news. “Madam, Sir said this morning that starting this weekend, the internet will be cut off at ten instead.”
Rong Ci was sitting on the carpet playing with her “Zeus” blocks set, and hearing Uncle Ye’s words out of nowhere, she was still a bit distracted. “Ten? Ten what?”
Uncle Ye put on an exaggeratedly dramatic performance and pretended to wipe away tears. “Congratulations, Madam. Congratulations!”
“You finally have internet after nine-thirty.”
Rong Ci finally processed what he meant a beat later. Big Brother… no, Xie Xunzhao… President Xie?
Ahhh, ahh, ahh.
What was she supposed to call him?
Rong Ci’s thoughts were a complete mess.
Meanwhile, he had it easy. After playing Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix, he had simply walked away without a care.
And now she didn’t even know what to call him. Anyway, why had that man suddenly… become so generous?
No matter how much she had begged before, the internet had always been cut off at exactly nine-thirty, not a minute off. And now he was giving her an entire extra half hour!
The next second, pink-and-white roses came fluttering down from above. They were even varieties she wasn’t allergic to.
Uncle Ye had actually ordered the servants to prepare flower petals and was having them shower her with them.
Rong Ci was lightly pelted in the face. “Um…”
“Actually… this is a little too grand.”
Uncle Ye said solemnly, “This is unprecedented progress. It must be celebrated.”
Translated into Rong Ci’s brain, that became: Progress? What progress?
The progress from siblings to something else?
Rong Ci had no heart for work. She opened her social feed intending to shift her attention and to review her dear friends’ lives of gilded excess and unrestrained spending while she was at it. Had they secretly made another little group without her again?
Sure enough, Rong Ci spotted something suspicious. She picked up a cherry and held it between her lips, her gaze fixed on the screen—
Why was it Chen Xuanning again?
A yacht birthday party. Fireworks over the sea.
Rong Ci immediately tagged Chen Xuanning in the big Lingcheng second-generation group chat and @’d Chen Xuanning.
astraia: [You’re having your birthday party tomorrow. Do I have an invitation?]
Good heavens.
When the little devil Rong spoke, who would dare say “no”?
The previously quiet group exploded at once.
[@Chen Xuanning, the young lady is asking you a question. Come out.]
[@Chen Xuanning]
[…]
Chen Xuanning looked miserable as his fingers flew across the screen. [Yes, yes, yes!]
[The young lady’s invitation has to be inlaid with gold and jade, so naturally it’s arriving a little later than everyone else’s.]
[Please, young lady, you absolutely must honor me with your presence.]
[And please, whatever you do, don’t bring a birthday present.]
[I’m not worthy of receiving one.]
astraia: [I’m a person with class. Since you don’t want a birthday present, how about this… I’ll cover the fireworks. Put it on my brother’s account.]
The culprit who had scrambled her brain—Rong Qingtiao!
!!!
Chen Xuanning sucked in a sharp breath. [I absolutely wouldn’t dare trouble President Rong over something this trivial!]
[The fireworks are already completely prepared.]
[The young lady being willing to lower herself enough to attend my birthday party is already the best birthday present I could ask for.]
Rong Ci ended the group chat. Then she opened her private chat with Wen Jin.
Little Ancestor’s Dowry Item: [Your husband keeps such a tight leash on you. Can you even leave the house? And now you’re going out to sea?]
astraia: [I solemnly declare this for the last time: In our family, I’m the one who calls the shots. Got it?]
Little Ancestor’s Dowry Item: […Understood.]
[Are you physically up to it?]
astraia: [I have so much energy with nowhere to put it.]
Little Ancestor’s Dowry Item: [Don’t hit me.]
Wen Jin immediately changed the subject. [Why did you suddenly decide to go out to sea?]
astraia: [I want to feel the sea breeze.]
So, she wouldn’t spend meals thinking about Xie Xunzhao, sleep thinking about Xie Xunzhao, draw thinking about Xie Xunzhao, scroll through videos thinking about Xie Xunzhao, play with the cat thinking about Xie Xunzhao, walk around thinking about Xie Xunzhao…
Every possible form addressing Xie Xunzhao kept tugging back and forth in her head, with Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix playing as the background music.
Rong Ci planned to use the sea breeze to blow Xie Xunzhao right out of her head, but just as she was thinking about blowing Xie Xunzhao away, her fingers habitually opened “Memo” again.
[Checking in.jpg]
[Checking in.jpg]
[Checking in.jpg]
[Checking in.jpg]
[Checking in.jpg]
Big Brother Isn’t Big Brother: [What are you doing?]
Rong Ci had changed Xie Xunzhao’s contact name.
When she saw his reply, Rong Ci instinctively recorded a short video of herself eating cherries and sent it to him, with the message: [Eating cherries.]
The moment she sent it, she suddenly realized something was wrong.
astraia: [I’m the one checking on you, not the other way around!]
After a full ten minutes had passed, only then did Xie Xunzhao send her a photo. The background was the presidential suite of a hotel.
Xie Xunzhao had projected the short video of her eating cherries onto a screen.
Big Brother Isn’t Big Brother: [I’m looking at you.]
In the hotel room, Xie Xunzhao braced one arm on the sofa armrest, and after replying, his gaze returned to the screen.
Rong Ci held the slender stem between her snow-white teeth, and as the camera recorded, the wet red cherry swayed beside her pale pink lips, like she were holding his own vividly beating heart between her teeth.
Xie Xunzhao watched the clip over and over, countless times.
…
Meanwhile, Rong Ci looked as though the sky had fallen.
The good news: Xie Xunzhao was still away on business, so he couldn’t interfere with her going out to sea.
The bad news: It’s over. Her Big Brother might actually be a little twisted.
Her head felt even more muddled. Getting out to sea to “blow Xie Xunzhao away” couldn’t wait.
What Rong Ci never imagined was—this yacht trip wouldn’t blow Xie Xunzhao away at all. It would nearly blow her away instead.
In the walk-in closet, Rong Ci stood before the full-length mirror.
After not seeing her “dear friends” for so long, she absolutely had to blind them with her beauty.
Rong Ci changed into a black evening dress. She left her hair unstyled, letting it fall simply past her waist, but her features were so exquisitely delicate that she looked like a snow-white, fresh bud pushing out from a sky overflowing with night.
When she lifted the hem of her dress and walked out, even the blazing lights seemed less brilliant than her dazzling, natural beauty. She looked like the most precious, proud little peacock.
Rong Ci pressed her red lips together and called Wen Jin. “Come pick me up.”
Although Rong Ci never corrected her mistakes, she was exceptionally good at reflecting on them.
After her previous experience of sneaking out and getting caught, this time she waited until she had taken Wen Jin’s private plane to Lingcheng and boarded the yacht before sending Uncle Ye a scheduled email:
I’ve run away from home!
~~
An international business forum organized by the National Business Federation was being held in Shencheng, with most of the invitees being promising young business figures from various countries.
At the center of the enormous conference room sat Xie Xunzhao, Rong Qingtiao, and Jiang Fulan.
All three possessed exceptional looks and striking physiques, standing on an entirely different level from the other attendees.
After all, among the so-called rising stars of the business world, apart from the three of them, even the youngest of the others had to be over thirty just to clear the threshold.
During the break, the three sat in the most central area, chatting as though no one else existed.
Xie Xunzhao was looking at his phone, his expression calm and indifferent.
When he wasn’t smiling, his outward appearance carried a piercing coldness that kept people a thousand miles away. Anyone who didn’t know better might have assumed he was reading some important document.
Rong Qingtiao propped up his chin lazily, apparently finding it all dull, and glanced over. “Xie Xunzhao, you’ve watched my sister eat cherries a hundred times right under my nose.”
“Do you even see me as your brother-in-law?”
Xie Xunzhao’s expression didn’t change. “Is watching my own wife against the law?”
Jiang Fulan was slacking off too. In his spare moments, he had been watching a few tutorials on how to braid hair.
Hearing that the two beside him were practically about to start fighting, he finally closed the video. “Not against the law. A little twisted, though.”
Xie Xunzhao said mildly, “Watching hair-braiding tutorials is more twisted.”
Jiang Fulan: “?”
He was just about to respond when—
Rong Qingtiao’s private secretary, Xi Yun, came over holding a tablet. “President Rong, a yacht exploded in a private stretch of water off Lingcheng. It was the birthday party of the Chen family’s future heir, and a group of second- and third-generation rich kids had been invited.”
“Chen Xuanning.”
Rong Qingtiao looked at the news page, at the thick smoke rising from the explosion and the footage of the scene being sealed off, and said thoughtfully, “Is he one of the people Rong Mumu usually hangs out with?”
“Exactly.”
Xi Yun sighed. “Fortunately, Miss Rong went to Beicheng. Otherwise, considering how she’s always itching to fly off somewhere, she would definitely have been at this yacht party too.”
Xie Xunzhao, who hadn’t spoken this whole time, suddenly raised a hand, his voice cold and taut. “Let me see.”
“Yes.”
Xi Yun hurriedly handed him the tablet.
Xie Xunzhao appeared perfectly calm, but the curve of his eyes had sharpened, as though hiding blades beneath them, and gave an order to Su Qingyan behind him: “Secretary Su, investigate the yacht accident in Lingcheng thoroughly.”
“Give me Madam’s location.”
At the same time, Xie Xunzhao called Rong Ci. She didn’t answer.
“What’s going on?” Rong Qingtiao immediately sensed something wrong and frowned slightly. “Mumu is on that yacht too?”
Jiang Fulan said, “Wasn’t Mumu in Beicheng?”
Beicheng and Lingcheng were a thousand li apart.
Rong Qingtiao knew his sister well. It wasn’t just that she could cross a thousand li. Wherever Rong Ci wanted to go, she could be in Beicheng today and overseas tomorrow. “Not necessarily.”
When it came to Rong Ci, Xie Xunzhao never overlooked even the slightest possibility.
Before Secretary Su could locate Rong Ci, Uncle Ye’s call finally came through. “Madam has run away from home!”
Xie Xunzhao’s gaze remained fixed on the blurry photograph of the yacht explosion occupying the news homepage. His instincts told him clearly: Rong Ci had to be on that yacht.
The next moment, he rose from his seat and walked straight out. “Prepare the car. We’re going to Lingcheng.”
In the height of the summer heat, the man’s tall, stern figure seemed to bring with it a howling, bitter wind.
Rong Qingtiao and Jiang Fulan followed close behind, their expressions equally grim.
Wearing a Bluetooth earpiece, Secretary Su hurried after them, relaying the latest information. “President Xie, we found her.”
“Madam really was on the yacht that exploded. But according to the information coming in from there, everyone was successfully rescued. The more specific details are still unknown; the information has been tightly sealed.”
Xie Xunzhao spoke each word distinctly. “Keep investigating.”
The three suddenly left the forum early, nearly getting blocked by reporters waiting outside the entrance.
Perhaps because their faces were too cold, no one dared approach, and the reporters could only watch from a distance as they got into the extended limousine and sped away.
Rong Qingtiao made several calls, confirming that no bad news had come through, and finally let out a long breath. He casually tugged at his tie, a sharpness showing through on the usually refined and elegant young master. “Rong Mumu, that little brat. When we find her, you really need to teach her a lesson.”
The villain’s role went to Xie Xunzhao.
Jiang Fulan adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, solemnity unmistakable in his eyes. “Knowingly repeating the offense. That makes it even worse.”
Both men looked toward Xie Xunzhao. After all, Rong Mumu’s guardianship now belonged to him.
The light inside the car was dim. Because the occasion today had been important, Xie Xunzhao had slicked his hair back, fully revealing his striking bone structure and sharply handsome features. A few strands loosened by the wind fell across his forehead, making his eyes seem even paler.
With his expression utterly blank, Xie Xunzhao gave off an intimidating, untouchable air. “Did she organize this party?”
…
Secretary Su, sitting in the passenger seat, immediately answered. “No.”
Xie Xunzhao pressed his fingers against his brow, his expression utterly unmoved. “Did she blow up the yacht?”
Secretary Su: “Definitely not.”
Xie Xunzhao looked at the other two and asked calmly, “She neither organized the party nor committed a crime.”
“Then what exactly did she do wrong?”