The Reckless One
“Damn, how can someone like Bo Yun exist?” Jiang Zhuoye flopped back onto the bed, completely frustrated.
Just thinking about living with someone like this for three years—or, at the very least, one year—made life feel bleak and hopeless.
Because of the morning incident, Jiang Zhuoye went out feeling a little listless.
Being woken by Bo Yun’s alarm made it hard for him to sleep deeply, so when he came rock climbing today, his enthusiasm was lacking.
Chloe and her brother were very attentive, especially Leo, who reached out to check if he was feeling okay.
“I’m fine,” Jiang Zhuoye said quickly. “It’s my terrible partner—he deliberately woke me with the alarm this morning and ruined my sleep.”
He used Mon copain—my boyfriend.
The siblings raised their eyebrows, a little surprised.
They actually knew who Jiang Zhuoye was. The day they first met him, they had looked up his profile and seen his recent lavish wedding.
But they hadn’t seen a partner by his side and had assumed he came to the island alone.
Leo squinted under the sun, his fair face tinged with pink, lips pursed as he asked knowingly: “Uhm… what boyfriend? I haven’t seen any partner with you all these days.”
Jiang Zhuoye didn’t bother hiding it: “Oh, I’m married—to a man. This trip is our honeymoon.”
He lay back on the sand, squinting: “Oh, I forgot to tell you, didn’t I?”
“Indeed,” Chloe said, sitting beside him with a bright smile. “But why have you been here alone all these days? Where’s he? Aren’t honeymoons supposed to be all lovey-dovey?”
Hah.
Lovey-dovey.
As soon as she said it, Jiang Zhuoye wanted to laugh—thinking about himself and Bo Yun, it was kind of disgusting.
He shrugged casually and met Chloe’s eyes: “Not every couple who marries is deeply in love.”
He recalled Bo Yun’s annoying attitude that morning and scowled.
“For example, my partner—sometimes I wish I could throw him into the sea. Let the sharks take him, I wouldn’t care.”
He curved his lips coldly, but after a while, he pushed Bo Yun out of his mind.
“Anyway, enough about him,” he changed the topic. “I’m going sea fishing today. You guys coming?”
Leo smiled: “Sure.”
….
Over the next few days, Jiang Zhuoye continued to hang out with the siblings.
But in a blink, a week had almost passed. In two days, he would return to the mainland with Bo Yun.
He told the siblings, having enjoyed his time with them. Though they weren’t close friends, it had been a pleasant experience.
Sipping coconut water, he smiled politely: “I’ll miss you guys when I go back.”
The siblings hadn’t expected him to leave so soon. They thought he would stay for a month at least.
They exchanged a glance. Chloe squinted slightly, showing a hint of displeasure, but quickly smiled again and touched Jiang Zhuoye’s elbow: “That’s too fast. Is it your partner who’s leaving? But Leo and I would really miss you. Why don’t we let your partner leave first, and you can stay a little longer? We’ll make sure to send you back later.”
Indeed, Bo Yun had to fly back for work.
But Jiang Zhuoye was a little bored too. No matter how beautiful the island, he wasn’t suited for seclusion.
So he said firmly: “No, I’ve got my own things to do.”
Chloe didn’t argue further. She picked up an olive from her drink, biting it with her full red lips, moistening her lower lip.
She smiled at Jiang Zhuoye: “Alright then, looks like your holiday is over. But you’ll still be here tomorrow, right? How about we go out on the island? It’s only twenty minutes by helicopter to Bahl City. We can grab a drink; I know a club that’s really fun. There’s a light show tomorrow night with a top dance troupe.”
Jiang Zhuoye thought for a moment and agreed: “Sure, nothing planned for tomorrow night anyway.”
During dinner, he decided to inform Bo Yun about this.
“I won’t be back tomorrow night. I’m going out with some newly made friends—they’re also guests on the island, so don’t worry. But I’ll be back before morning.”
He said it while scooping soup, eyes on the TV, paying little attention otherwise.
He was merely informing his cohabitant in case Bo Yun noticed his absence.
Bo Yun, however, frowned upon hearing this.
“Friends… the siblings? From Villa Seven?”
“Yes.”
Jiang Zhuoye was slightly surprised, looking at Bo Yun: “You know them?”
After a moment, he frowned: “And you knew I’d been hanging out with them these past few days?”
Bo Yun wiped his mouth with a napkin, put down his knife and fork, and felt his appetite vanish.
He didn’t answer the second question, only the first:
“You’re going out with that sibling pair?” he asked Jiang Zhuoye. “I advise against it.”
Jiang Zhuoye stopped watching TV, fixing his gaze on Bo Yun: “Why?”
Bo Yun considered carefully. He generally disliked gossip and didn’t care about other people’s lifestyles.
But looking at Jiang Zhuoye’s bold yet naive face gave him a headache.
“Maybe next time you make friends, you should do some background checks,” Bo Yun said. “That sibling pair is actually quite famous in certain circles. Their mother is Wang Keyi, the sole heir of Mitong Group; their father is a French marquis. They’re divorced, and the siblings live with their father. Very free and uninhibited.”
“So?” Jiang Zhuoye wiped his mouth. “You’re discriminating against single-parent families?”
He didn’t see anything wrong.
He hadn’t bothered to check their backgrounds because it wasn’t necessary.
They were just casual playmates; everyone on this island was wealthy, and no one would do anything extreme.
But Bo Yun felt like rolling his eyes at Jiang Zhuoye’s selective focus.
“They are free and uninhibited,” Bo Yun emphasized. “Even before reaching adulthood, the siblings attended various adult parties. They’ve been caught by the media several times, engaging in wild behavior, even some borderline illegal stuff. And I happen to know someone who interacted with them—they said being invited was eye-opening.”
Bo Yun spoke expressionlessly.
In truth, in wealthy circles, such behavior wasn’t shocking. Young heirs abroad indulge in pleasure all the time.
But this was Jiang Zhuoye—his legal partner.
Bo Yun knew Jiang Zhuoye wasn’t entirely innocent, but he felt Jiang Zhuoye was different from those siblings.
Even if the thought sounded ridiculous.
Bo Yun’s gaze flicked over Jiang Zhuoye’s lips, recalling what he saw a few days ago.
He had many reasons to suspect that the siblings’ attention toward Jiang Zhuoye wasn’t purely innocent.
Jiang Zhuoye didn’t realize this.
He didn’t know how to react, only slightly raising an eyebrow.
He thought to himself, people really are different. He was about the same age as the siblings, also a rich kid—so why had he never dared such reckless indulgence?
“People really can’t be judged by appearances,” Jiang Zhuoye muttered.
He understood Bo Yun’s warning but didn’t take it too seriously. He didn’t plan to interact with the siblings long-term, so no deep connection would form.
“I get it,” he said, lifting his glass and taking a sip. “Don’t worry. I’m just going out for a few drinks with them, nothing extreme. Even if they invite me to do something wild, I’ll refuse. You won’t see your legal partner in the tabloids.”
He gave Bo Yun a slightly teasing smile.
In his view, Bo Yun’s warning was probably just to avoid embarrassing headlines that might affect the Bo family.
Besides, the club they were going to was a legitimate venue, unlikely to cause trouble.
And Chloe and her brother weren’t naive—everyone on the island was a guest. If he refused to do something risky, they couldn’t force him.
Though the siblings were more audacious than he expected, he still enjoyed spending time with them and didn’t want to refuse their hospitality.
Bo Yun frowned. According to him, Jiang Zhuoye would be better off staying home tomorrow.
But he looked at Jiang Zhuoye and knew very clearly that, although they were partners, he had no right to interfere with Jiang Zhuoye’s actions.
All he could do was speak quietly: “You’d better remember to take your bodyguard.”
Jiang Zhuoye smiled ambiguously, making it unclear whether he had heard or not.
….
The next night, Jiang Zhuoye, accompanied by a female bodyguard, took a helicopter with Chloe and Leo to the nearest city, Bahl City.
Being a coastal city, it had stunning coastlines and famous entertainment venues.
Every year, countless tourists visited.
Chloe and Leo were surprised to see Jiang Zhuoye with a bodyguard since they themselves had bodyguards and had told Jiang Zhuoye so.
“My partner made me bring one,” Jiang Zhuoye explained expressionlessly. “I told you how annoying he is—so demanding. He feels better if someone is watching me.”
Leo raised an eyebrow slightly and said softly, “Looks like your husband cares about you a lot.”
Jiang Zhuoye made a disgusted face at that comment.
“Forget it. Don’t mention him to me,” he said.
The helicopter soon landed atop a building, and Jiang Zhuoye followed the siblings down to the bar.
Because of Bo Yun’s “revelation” the night before, Jiang Zhuoye had initially been on alert for a brief moment.
He looked at the two siblings beside him—their delicate, beautiful faces made it hard to link them to the reports he’d read in the news.
But tonight, everything was normal.
The club was vast, containing a pool used for special pool parties.
That night’s theme was “Golden Age Retro.”
Servers in elegant black skirts and sexy vests weaved through the crowd, delivering dishes and chips to guests.
The light show looked ambiguous and mysterious, but the performance itself was top-notch.
The dancers were truly excellent. On a stage filled with pink smoke and lighting, their movements were striking—provocative enough to make one sweat, yet artistically captivating.
All wore white masks and sparkling black or white dresses, resembling a flock of black and white swans, appearing and disappearing through the smoke.
They would spin and approach guests to interact.
Dry ice was sprayed around seating areas, and simulated rain sprinkled fine droplets on guests.
A dancer in a dress sparkling like diamonds approached Jiang Zhuoye.
Her eyes were the color of the ocean as she teasingly brushed her fingers across his chin.
Jiang Zhuoye froze for a moment, then smiled and blew her a flying kiss.
Though inexperienced in love, he had an innate talent for flirting.
Anyone unfamiliar with him would think he was a charming rogue.
The blue-eyed dancer was clearly amused, smiling brightly at him.
All of this was being captured by Jiang Zhuoye’s bodyguard through hidden cameras and faithfully transmitted to Bo Yun.
Bo Yun had just finished a transnational meeting. Looking down, he saw photo after photo of Jiang Zhuoye.
In the dimly lit club, Jiang Zhuoye’s shirt was soaked, smiling as he talked with the younger sibling, who leaned close to his ear.
He blew flying kisses to the dancers.
One dancer danced over to him, pulled him into interactions, guiding his hands on her waist to complete a difficult move.
Roses floated down from above, scattering across him.
He tilted his head back, eyes sparkling in the dim, seductive atmosphere, like stars glowing in the night, attracting gazes—some obvious, some subtle—including those of the sibling pair.
Reckless. Bold.
Bo Yun thought.
He stared at the photos expressionlessly. Jiang Zhuoye hadn’t done anything too extreme. The club’s guests were there to party and relax.
Jiang Zhuoye was merely drinking and enjoying the performance—already considered well-behaved.
Yet he inexplicably felt that Jiang Zhuoye stood out too much.
But he had no right to interfere and didn’t need to worry.
They weren’t truly affectionate partners anyway.
So Bo Yun closed the app and set his phone aside.