Xia Tingwang turned and returned to her room. Opening the door, she found no one in the living room. The other two bedroom doors were ajar. She walked over to take a look; one was occupied by Zhuang Yan and the other by Yin Wei.
“Where is Sang Ying?” she asked Zhuang Yan.
“She is staying in a standard guest room with Assistant Bai.”
“Who told her to stay in a standard room?” Xia Tingwang raked her fingers through her hair. She had specifically insisted on bringing Sang Ying on this trip to keep her close.
Zhuang Yan realized her intent and picked up his unopened luggage. “I will switch with her right now.”
“Switch with what?” Xia Tingwang glared at him, then turned to look at the room next door. “Yin Wei!”
Yin Wei leisurely emerged from the room, clearly having heard Xia Tingwang. “Tingwang, you are so unfair. Why make me switch?”
“He is my bodyguard,” Xia Tingwang said, pointing at Zhuang Yan. “His duty is to protect me at all times. You, the Third Young Lady of the Yin family and head of the Deep Ocean Company, are you trying to mooch off my hotel stay?”
Yin Wei leaned against the doorframe. “I can protect you, too.”
Xia Tingwang could not be bothered to argue and instructed Zhuang Yan, “Have Sang Ying bring her luggage up.”
As Zhuang Yan went off to make the call, Yin Wei pouted. “Sang Ying is just a streamer. Why are you treating her better than you treat me?”
Xia Tingwang tapped on her phone. “I booked a small suite next door for you.”
It seemed to be her way of telling Yin Wei that she was a good friend, and naturally, she would treat her well.
Yin Wei was not satisfied. “Let her stay next door.”
Xia Tingwang put down her phone and looked at Yin Wei with a darkened expression. Yin Wei knew her temper. If she pushed any further, Xia Tingwang would get angry, and the little princess was not easily coaxed once upset.
She raised her hands in surrender and turned to pack her luggage. Since she had switched to summer clothes, her suitcase had already been opened. As she stuffed her clothes back into the case, she saw the small black bottle inside and her expression darkened; she quickly covered it with her clothes.
She locked the suitcase and pushed it out just as Sang Ying arrived, pushing her own luggage.
Yin Wei squinted. Sang Ying had changed into summer clothes—a simple white T-shirt, jeans, and white sneakers. She looked clean, capable, yet still possessed a youthful, naive aura.
How had this little Alpha managed to impress Xia Tingwang so much?
Xia Tingwang pointed toward Yin Wei’s direction. “Sang Ying, you are staying there.”
One person pushed a suitcase in, the other pushed a suitcase out. As they brushed past each other, Yin Wei caught a faint scent of Sang Ying’s mint pheromones. In the thirty-degree heat, it gave off a refreshing, comfortable vibe.
The room Xia Tingwang had booked for Sang Ying was three doors down—a small one-bedroom suite. Yin Wei dropped her suitcase, reopened it to hang her clothes in the closet, and took out the little black bottle she had seen earlier.
The bottle was only the size of a thumb. Shaking it gently, one could hear the sound of granules colliding inside.
Faint voices drifted in from outside. Yin Wei set the medicine bottle down. Outside the balcony was the hotel pool, and people were swimming. One white figure in the pool caught Yin Wei’s eye instantly.
By the pool, Sang Ying sat cross-legged, holding a book and reading aloud in a soft, gentle voice.
Yin Wei pushed open the door, but just as she was about to step out, the phone on her bed rang.
She glanced back; it was her Omega mother. Yin Wei frowned and walked over, staring down at the phone for a long time until the call ended automatically.
When the phone rang a second time, Yin Wei lit a cigarette, picked up the phone, and leaned against the balcony doorframe to smoke slowly. “What is it?”
“Are you there?”
“Yes.”
“Are you staying with Tingwang?”
Yin Wei exhaled a ring of smoke and poked through it. “No.”
“That is fine, too,” her mother’s voice rose with excitement. “Find a chance to have Tingwang take that medicine. Once it is done, your marriage will be set.”
“Mom,” Yin Wei interrupted her. “Tingwang is my only friend. I do not want to lose her.”
“Who is asking you to lose her? If this happens, your marriage will be set.”
Her mother sounded exasperated, as if she were disappointed that Yin Wei did not understand the gravity of the situation. “If you are married, you will never lose Tingwang. I watched Tingwang grow up; I would not harm her. This medicine was specially concocted by a friend of mine. It has no side effects, so use it on her with confidence. When she wakes up, she will not remember a thing.”
“Chinese New Year is in a few days,” her mother said. “The Old Master is increasingly intent on pairing Yin Chong with Tingwang. Once the Old Master makes the arrangements, you will have no chance left. Yin Wei, this is your only opportunity. Do you want to watch Tingwang become your sister-in-law or your wife?”
Xia Tingwang swam another lap and switched to backstroke. Her figure was graceful, and her long hair floating in the water made her look like a mermaid.
Yin Wei was mesmerized. Any Alpha would want a Xia Tingwang like this, and she was no exception. Liking Xia Tingwang was easy, but Xia Tingwang’s status as the center of attention often made Yin Wei feel inferior.
She never dared to take a step further, hovering by her side in the identity of a good friend.
Sister-in-law. Wife.
Thinking of these two identities made her heart contract. She could not bear to see Xia Tingwang become her sister-in-law, another man’s wife.
Such a Xia Tingwang belonged to her.
Yin Wei stubbed out her cigarette and pushed the door open to step out, but remembering the smell of smoke on her, she turned back and took a shower instead.
Sang Ying picked up her water glass for a sip, set it down, and saw Xia Tingwang pulling herself out of the pool by the railing. Her white swimsuit accentuated her exquisite, curvy figure—full breasts, rounded hips, and a waist so slender it could be encircled by one’s hands. Her skin was fair and tight, and she walked toward Sang Ying with her long, slender legs.
Sang Ying nearly forgot to breathe. She hurriedly lowered her eyes, unable to find her place in the book for a long time.
Her throat felt inexplicably dry and tight.
Xia Tingwang wrapped herself in a white bath towel and lay on a lounge chair, putting a glass of lemonade to her lips. “Continue.”
Sang Ying murmured an acknowledgement and, finally finding her place, continued reading.
The sunset cast its glow over Sang Ying, while the pool beside them reflected colorful, shimmering light. Xia Tingwang turned her head to look curiously, dangling her small feet.
Remembering something, she touched her body, but found it empty.
She reached her hand out toward Sang Ying. “Phone.”
Sang Ying straightened up abruptly, startled. She looked at Xia Tingwang, looking puzzled.
“Phone!” Xia Tingwang wiggled her fingers.
Sang Ying took out her phone and handed it to her. Xia Tingwang opened the camera and looked for an angle. “Do not look at me. Look down at the book.”
Sang Ying obediently lowered her head. Xia Tingwang felt the sitting angle was not good, so she stood up. The bath towel on her shoulders slipped, so she quickly grabbed it and tossed it onto the chair.
After standing and crouching repeatedly, she finally managed to get a good shot. Looking at the result, she was slightly dissatisfied; the light spots were not as obvious as she had seen just moments ago.
However, the Sang Ying in the photo felt different. With her head bowed, her jawline was sharp yet gentle.
She looked much cuter than the stiff, straightforward person she usually was in conversation.
Xia Tingwang handed the phone back to Sang Ying and lay back on the chair. “Send the photo to me.”
She said it as if it were a matter of course.
Sang Ying opened the photo and saw that she was the subject. She asked directly, “Why?”
The photo belonged to her; she could have refused, but her heart could not help but be curious. Why did Xia Tingwang want a photo of her?
Xia Tingwang took a bite of watermelon and said, “The light was good.”
“What light is good?” Yin Wei walked over right on cue and sat on the other side of Xia Tingwang.
Xia Tingwang pointed at the pool. “The sunset.”
Yin Wei took a glance, uninterested in such things. She reached out and draped the towel over Xia Tingwang. “Go back and take a shower; do not catch a cold.”
Xia Tingwang put down the watermelon rind and sniffed. “Did you take a shower?”
God was probably fair; while Xia Tingwang had been born with a hearing impairment, He had gifted her with an exceptionally sharp nose. Yin Wei smiled. “Yes.”
“You smoked again,” Xia Tingwang said, looking as if she had seen right through her.
Yin Wei gave her a thumbs-up.
Sang Ying locked her phone. The intimate and tacit exchange between the two made her feel uneasy. She closed her book. “You guys chat. I need to make a call to my family.”
She took her book and left, her gait as steady as she could manage. Only when she entered the house did she reach out to touch her racing heart.
She did not know if it was from seeing Xia Tingwang’s suggestive figure or from her own frustration at always being curious about what Xia Tingwang was thinking.
She lowered her head and tapped on her phone. Looking at the photo again, she realized that at first glance, she was the main subject, but in reality, it was the light around her.
Multi-colored.
So that was it. She had just happened to be sitting in that patch of light. She found her own thoughts ridiculous, sent the photo to Xia Tingwang, and then deleted the photo from her device.
The next day, they officially inspected the raw material supplier. The new material they provided was “Zhongyirui” extracted from “Zhuxinyujia.” According to their experiments, Zhongyirui could accelerate metabolism, making the skin look brand new. It could achieve beauty results that previously required injections.
The manufacturers spoke convincingly, but as the client, Xia Tingwang did not take their word for it. She had Sang Ying join their team in the laboratory to verify the findings personally.
Sang Ying put on a lab coat, transparent safety goggles, and white medical gloves. Standing among a group of experienced laboratory researchers, she lost her usual youthful awkwardness, appearing like a true, mesmerizing Alpha.
Xia Tingwang stood outside the lab. She was truly someone praised by Professor Guo; her eye for talent was excellent. She had seen the prowess of the little streamer at a glance.
“She seems quite knowledgeable,” Yin Wei remarked. “What did she do before this?”
“A chemistry student at Wen University,” Xia Tingwang could not suppress the smile at the corner of her mouth. “She knows a lot about skincare and can even make it herself.”
Recently, the servants at home had been reporting the results of using Qingdeng skincare products every day to Xia Tingwang. Based on the servants’ findings and her own observations, Sang Ying’s skincare products were not to be underestimated.
Yin Wei raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Your alumna, too? Since she is so talented, is it not a waste of her talent to just be a streamer?”
Sang Ying picked up a vessel and held it before her eyes, her face full of seriousness. Xia Tingwang was momentarily stunned by the sight. A moment later, she asked, “What did you say?”
Yin Wei’s gaze flickered between the two. The special treatment Xia Tingwang showed Sang Ying made her feel strange. Xia Tingwang had been pampered since childhood and grew up in the palms of Old Master Xia. The Old Master was strict but kind, and despite Xia Tingwang’s princess status, she lacked the princess syndrome.
Other than being a bit self-centered, she had no major flaws. Yin Wei had never seen her be this concerned for anyone.
Suddenly, Yin Wei felt uneasy. She had not felt this way when her Omega mother told her that the Old Master wanted to pair Yin Chong with Xia Tingwang, because she knew Xia Tingwang was not interested in Yin Chong.
But with this young Alpha who had suddenly appeared, Yin Wei was no longer so sure.