Shi Sui arranged to meet Theodore for their first formal offline meeting at Santa Monica Beach.

The sea breeze here was pleasant, and in the evening when the red sun set in the west, taking a stroll here was indeed a refreshing and romantic location.

Taking advantage of this meeting, Shi Sui finally memorized Theodore’s appearance.

Although he was of Chinese-American mixed heritage, apart from his platinum blonde hair, his overall bone structure leaned more toward the gentle Eastern features.

Especially when those black eyes looked down at her slightly.

It made Shi Sui’s pupils dilate, leaving her in a trance for a long time.

Then Theodore smiled. When he smiled, his eyes curved into crescents, with deep double eyelid creases.

This was vastly different from that person’s thin eyelids, who always smiled without the smile reaching his eyes in that cold manner.

Shi Sui immediately snapped back to her senses, inconspicuously lowering her eyes.

“Although I grew up in America, my mother is Chinese, and my Chinese isn’t bad either,” Theodore would generally communicate with her in Chinese.

Shi Sui smiled: “Indeed, it’s quite good.”

They shared a sumptuous dinner at a restaurant by the beach.

Theodore’s overall behavior was gentlemanly and gentle, especially skilled at making girls happy.

Under the warm yellow lights, he was generous with his compliments to her: “Your eyes are like Aphrodite’s – you’re the most beautiful Chinese girl I’ve ever seen.”

“Your eyes,” Shi Sui smiled faintly, saying softly, “…I like them very much too.”

The overall atmosphere that evening was quite pleasant, and Shi Sui didn’t reject contact with him.

Before parting, Theodore suggested that he hoped she could kiss him.

Shi Sui didn’t agree.

Although she understood that in the dating culture here, men and women would kiss and embrace after just one meeting, and even have more intimate relations, none of this applied to her.

She was inherently a rule-abiding personality.

Moreover, that one time in her life when she stepped out of line had nearly exhausted all her strength and energy.

So Shi Sui expressed to him her conservative attitude and viewpoint, preferring to first understand each other mutually and confirm their relationship before taking the next step in contact.

If he couldn’t accept this, they could just be friends, and there was no need to waste more time afterward.

Theodore looked at her for a long time, disappointment evident in his eyes.

Thinking this encounter would end briefly here, she didn’t expect that a few days later, Theodore extended a second invitation, expressing acceptance of her viewpoint and willingness to pursue her one-on-one until she was willing.

“Oh my, this guy’s not bad,” Zhou Xuyan said in the video call while applying a face mask, expressing approval of Theodore’s behavior. “You can continue getting to know him.”

Shi Sui nodded: “Then I’ll listen to you.”

Zhou Xuyan found it amusing: “What do you mean, listen to me? I’m not looking for a man for myself. What about you – don’t you like him? Aren’t you moved by him?”

Shi Sui thought for a while before slowly saying, “I don’t dislike him.”

“Don’t dislike? Well, I don’t dislike those guys pursuing me either, but I’m not willing to be with them,” Zhou Xuyan said. “Is there anything you particularly like about him? Any characteristics?”

Eyes.

This answer immediately popped into Shi Sui’s mind.

But the next second, she felt an inexplicable panic and quickly said: “Maybe we’ve known each other for too short a time. Let me have more contact with him a few more times.”

“That’s true,” Zhou Xuyan said. “Then continue your evaluation.”

Over the next two months, Shi Sui made time to meet Theodore several more times.

They went to downtown art exhibitions, listened to concerts, or took walks and photos in national parks.

Every time they met, Theodore would ask her for a kiss.

Initially, Shi Sui could firmly refuse, but after many times, seeing him cast wounded light from those black eyes toward her, she couldn’t help but soften her refusal slightly.

“Sui.”

He had learned her Chinese name and called her by the single character, “Do I lack charm? I’m very frustrated.”

Shi Sui looked at him with a heart like still water, not knowing what to say.

“Fine.” Theodore shrugged, his expression not looking good.

Regarding this issue, strategist Zhou Xuyan concluded: “Dating requires some physiological impulse. You two just go out to see exhibitions and stroll through parks. Why don’t you try being slightly more intimate with him?”

Shi Sui: “We’ll see.”

But a kind of unspeakable restlessness rose in her heart.

Up to now, apart from being overly eager to take the next step, Theodore’s performance in other aspects was still decent.

But why did she still have no impulse whatsoever to get closer to him?

Noticing this matter occupied too much of her mental energy, Shi Sui simply stopped thinking about it and threw herself back into creative work.

Soon it was spring.

At this moment, on the other side of the ocean, the domestic financial and technology sectors were exploded by a piece of news.

In early March, Zhilian Future held its bell-ringing ceremony on the US NASDAQ. Upon listing, the stock price soared exponentially that day, with valuations approaching the experts’ predicted hundred billion dollars, ultimately reaching an astonishing 120 billion dollars.

That day, the press conference was held at the NASDAQ exchange.

Zhilian Future’s current chairman Yan Zecheng, accompanied by vice chairman Song Jie and other main board members, attended the media press conference.

The previous steps were all routine, but the entire venue reached its climax when Yan Zecheng introduced his son, Zhilian Future’s current technical director and executive president, Yan Tingli.

Camera flashes reached a frequency of thousands per second.

For no other reason than this face was unbelievably young.

No one could believe that such a world-shocking new technology came from the hands of this young person before them.

When Yan Tingli appeared, he wore a black modern Chinese-style jacket with diagonal button design, the cuffs subtly adorned with dark gold embroidered patterns, making him appear even more scholarly, handsome, and invaluably noble.

When reporters swarmed with questions, he smiled faintly, his dark pupils calmly sweeping toward the audience below: “Feel free, everyone. I will share everything I know and hold nothing back.”

Zhilian Future’s listing not only set the entire NASDAQ exchange boiling but also almost revitalized the entire sluggish A-share market.

When the news reached home in the early morning hours, it exploded the headlines of several domestic sectors and, with lightning speed, drove all concept stocks related to “CN” in A-shares to consecutive limit-ups.

Entertainment news regarding Yan Tingli’s press conference video also ignited the entire internet at an unprecedented explosive speed. Western media even exaggeratedly called him “the genius AI prince from the East.”

All top business magazines, including editors from financial, technology, and entertainment sectors, exhausted their resources and means, all queuing to contact this hot young President Yan.

Shi Sui was caught off guard when she saw Yan Tingli’s face again – it was when Theodore held up the latest issue of Forbes, pointing at the young man’s face on the cover, half-jokingly saying to her: “My friend said I look somewhat like him. Sui, what do you think?”

At that time, Shi Sui was drawing storyboards on her usual lawn. Hearing Theodore’s voice, she turned her head.

The next second.

The drawing pen in Shi Sui’s hand fell to the ground as she stared blankly at the face on the cover.

She was in a trance for a long time.

How long had it been since they last met?

Shi Sui struggled to think.

She couldn’t remember clearly.

But it must have been a very, very long time. So long that when she saw this face again, she needed to carefully distinguish whether the person before her eyes and the boy in that photo buried at the very bottom of her camera roll were the same.

Back then, he wasn’t even willing to have his photo taken, but now he was willing to appear on magazine covers.

In the image, the young man wasn’t wearing the cookie-cutter well-tailored suits, but instead a black modern Chinese-style diagonal-buttoned top with delicate green bamboo patterns embroidered on the chest.

Shi Sui had to admit that this kind of clothing looked incredibly good on him – the cover’s description of “Eastern Prince” wasn’t an exaggeration.

Her gaze moved downward.

She saw Ping’an lazily sprawled across the young man’s casually positioned legs, squinting sleepily at the camera.

In the world’s top business magazine, he had casually brought along a little stray cat and appeared on the cover together.

Seeing Shi Sui stare at the magazine cover for a long time, even her eyes reddening, Theodore was puzzled. He put away the magazine and waved his palm in front of her: “Hey, stop looking. Even if you look, this man isn’t yours.”

Shi Sui came back to her senses, wiped her eyes, then silently withdrew her gaze. She extended her slender white hand: “Let me look at the magazine.”

Theodore: “I won’t give it to you.”

Shi Sui then packed up her tablet and stood up.

“Where are you going?”

Regarding her coldness, Theodore felt increasingly dissatisfied. Several times he wanted to give up, but thinking about all the time he’d already wasted, giving up now would be even more worthless.

This contradiction made him even more irritated.

Shi Sui glanced at him: “To buy the magazine.”

“I’ll show it to you then,” Theodore said.

Shi Sui sat back down and flipped through the magazine.

The interview section that followed was routinely filled with professional questions, all in English with somewhat difficult vocabulary that Shi Sui struggled to understand.

At the final personal questions, her fingers paused, her gaze stopping on that passage of text.

Reporter: “Is this cat yours? It’s too cute.”

“Mm.”

“What’s its name?”

“Ping’an.”

“Oh? Such an interesting name, is there some story behind it?”

“The previous one was called Suisui.”

Because it was in English, this “Suisui” was also changed to the phonetic letters “suisui.”

“Oh! Good name,” the reporter continued, asking, “Then where is your Suisui?”

“Ran away.”

“That’s too bad.”

“Not really. If it runs away again, I’ll just lock it up.”

“Oh! You’re too interesting.”

“Very interesting? I think so too.”

“Do I need to remind you,” Theodore said boredly from the side, “you’ve been staring at this magazine for half an hour.”

Shi Sui came back to her senses and expressionlessly returned the magazine to him: “Thank you.”

Theodore then propped himself up from the grass, placing the magazine next to his own face, still unwilling to give up as he asked: “Do he and I really look alike?”

“Not alike,” Shi Sui packed her backpack, saying absent-mindedly.

“Why?”

“Not alike anywhere,” Shi Sui walked toward the dormitory.

If they were even a little alike, she wouldn’t have been unable to feel even the slightest bit moved for so long.

Theodore suddenly seemed to lose all interest.

Shrugging his shoulders, watching her walk away: “Hey, tomorrow we’re going to the beach, are you coming or not?”

Shi Sui’s steps paused, and she nodded in agreement. Some things needed to be made clear with him, too – she couldn’t have feelings for him, so there was no need to waste more time.

That night, Shi Sui went back and had very long dreams.

She dreamed again of that small town’s summer.

Yan Tingli, with wet hair and a disheveled appearance everywhere, competing with her at skipping stones, would smile brilliantly when he won.

They found two-month-old Ping’an in the bushes.

He stubbornly pulled her hand, saying this was their cat, belonging to both of them.

How old was Ping’an now?

She couldn’t remember clearly.

The scene shifted.

It came to that rainy day, Yan Tingli standing in front of the main building all day with a pale face.

She watched him gradually dissolve into the crowd.

Finally, the dream somehow shifted to somewhere else, with darkness all around, she heard the sound of chains, and her whole body couldn’t move.

Cold fingertips tightened around her neck, Yan Tingli laughed lowly by her ear, using the threatening tone she feared most: “You still dare to appear before me.”

“Then let’s be locked together for a lifetime, okay?”

Shi Sui suddenly woke up with a start, only to find she was covered in sweat, her cheeks also wet with tears.

Her heart was both sour and afraid, still not having emerged from the dream’s emotions.

Looking at the window where dawn was just breaking, it was only past 4 AM, but the sky already showed signs of brightening.

California’s sunshine was indeed good, but at this moment, Shi Sui suddenly missed everyone back home immensely, missed the homeland with its distinct four seasons, summer rain, and winter snow.

She wanted to return to her parents’ side, to be the simplest and happiest ordinary person.

Working on weekdays, sleeping in, and shopping on weekends.

There was no endless summer.

But there were friends and family.

And also.

Yan Tingli.

She murmured this name in her heart.

Although she didn’t want to repeat the same mistakes as before, being able to return home, to be a little closer to him, occasionally hearing Zhou Xuyan and the others mention some recent news about him would be quite nice.

“You look very tired,” Theodore said, raising an eyebrow when he drove over to pick her up the next afternoon.

Shi Sui put her hand over her eyes: “Had some insomnia last night.”

“Alright,” Theodore said.

Their recent conversations were like this – Shi Sui could feel his perfunctory attitude, only thinking about finding an appropriate opportunity to cut off contact.

After a not particularly delicious dinner, Theodore suggested going to a bar to have some fun and sing for her.

Theodore ordered drinks for her, but Shi Sui left them there without taking a single sip.

He still enthusiastically went on stage and sang a song for her with piano accompaniment.

In the beautiful piano music, Shi Sui’s mood improved slightly, and she was willing to end their connection more gently with him.

Coming out of the bar, night had already fallen deep.

In the driver’s seat, Theodore didn’t immediately start the vehicle.

He turned his head, his dark eyes focused on her face, saying gently: “Sui, we’ve known each other for five months now.”

“These five months, I’ve only been in contact with you. You’re the first girl I’ve been this serious about.” He pulled Shi Sui’s wrist and placed it on his chest. “Don’t you know what my feelings are for you?”

Shi Sui pressed her lips together and said flatly: “Let go of me first.”

“I won’t let go.”

He said domineeringly, “I want to kiss you.”

These words made Shi Sui freeze in shock.

She felt her heart skip a beat after a long time, like a feather brushing across it, but it was fleeting.

Perhaps her distraction was taken as consent.

Theodore’s eyes darkened as he leaned closer.

Shi Sui watched him slowly approach, not immediately dodging.

She was indeed somewhat curious whether she could accept the closeness of a man she didn’t particularly dislike.

Until she smelled the mixture of tobacco and sweat on his body as he drew near.

This strange and indescribable odor made Shi Sui immediately frown and instinctively reject: “No.”

But a piercing car light was faster than her voice, the bright white light cutting through like a blade.

She was so dazzled she had to cover her eyes with her hand. Turning her head, she couldn’t see anything.

She could only hear the roaring engine sound of a black supercar approaching straight toward them at a reckless speed.

Five hundred meters, three hundred meters, one hundred meters.

With a kind of reckless madness.

“Fuck,” Theodore hurriedly started the ignition and turned the steering wheel, so panicked he switched to English, “Who let this lunatic in here?”

His movements were still a step too slow. Seeing they were about to collide, Shi Sui covered her eyes, her scream reaching her throat.

Fortunately, that supercar seemed to have calculated precisely, slightly adjusting its direction at the last moment and scraping past their car.

The friction sound was sharp and piercing, making a spine-chilling noise.

Shi Sui covered her ears.

After the roaring sound faded and that supercar turned a corner and disappeared into the night.

But for a long time after, her heart that had jumped to her throat still hadn’t calmed down, her pupils dilated as she stared ahead.

Just now.

For that instant, she truly felt she was only a moment away from death.

That car was intended to perish together with them.

America had a lot of crazy people – she wanted to go home even more.

Shi Sui thought.

Theodore got out of the car to look at the large patch of paint scraped off, cursing continuously.

Shi Sui steadied herself and got out of the car.

She had no energy left to continue and said to Theodore, “I have no feelings for you. Let’s end it here.”

Theodore’s expression became even worse.

He kicked the car several times and said “fuck” several times in a row, unclear whether he was cursing her or that car.

Shi Sui was even more disinterested, walked out of the bar street, and took a taxi back to school.

After she left, Theodore returned to the bar.

A guitarist he knew came over and asked: “What, still didn’t hook up?”

“Don’t mention it, ran into a nun,” he kicked a chair, “didn’t sleep with her, and wasted so much time.”

Mocking laughter came from all around.

Theodore became more and more unwilling the more he thought about it. After several drinks, he found it even harder to control his lust, licking his lips: “Haven’t encountered someone this pure in a long time – sleeping with her would be exciting.”

“But you can’t sleep with – she wouldn’t even drink alcohol.”

Thinking of Shi Sui, who was almost impenetrable, Theodore irritably kicked the chair again.

It wasn’t until late at night that Theodore stumbled drunkenly out of the bar.

The back street of the bar was filled with music, and people passed out drunk on the roadside.

Leaning against his car smoking a cigarette, he threw down the butt.

Just as he turned around, he caught sight of that supercar in his peripheral vision – a model of which only a few existed globally; he wouldn’t mistake it.

Theodore’s eyes flashed with vicious light, just as he was about to step over.

A disgusting British accent came from behind him, ghostly and light: “Are you looking for me?”

Theodore suddenly looked up.

He saw a man standing behind him at some unknown time.

Black shirt, unusually tall.

But his face was hidden in the darkness, indistinct, only a cold white chin visible.

Theodore rolled up his sleeves: “So you’re the one who ruined my good time and scratched my car?”

The man laughed softly: “You should be grateful your ‘good time’ wasn’t successful.”

“Otherwise, it wouldn’t just be your car that got damaged.”

This man’s tone was refined, but Theodore felt something sinister, like a venomous snake crawling up his spine, hissing with its tongue against his neck.

“What do you want to do?”

“Ask you a few small questions.”

Theodore looked at him warily.

“Which hand did you use to touch her just now?”

Theodore sneered: “What business is it of yours?”

The man laughed again, with a certain excited pleasure.

“That’s fine too.” He nodded while murmuring, “Then let’s disable both.”

Before Theodore could react to the terrifying meaning in his words, he was kicked to the ground by the man who came out of the darkness.

The alcohol in his stomach churned, and he almost vomited immediately.

The man had undergone systematic combat training and knew the human body like the back of his hand.

His strikes were fast and ruthless, all aimed at the most painful spots on the body.

Theodore had almost no ability to resist, let alone fight back.

Until his right hand was stepped on by the man’s shoe.

“Wait!” he quickly said, “It was my left hand! I used my left hand.”

“Is that so,” the man said unhurriedly, with some difficulty, “but I don’t like your right hand either.”

He even crouched down, saying in a strange tone: “Is it long?”

He tilted his head to examine it, then nodded: “It does seem quite long.”

“How disgusting.” His tone was languid.

Theodore, hearing his soliloquy, thought this person was probably sick.

The next second, he let out a sharp scream of pain.

His fingers were stepped on the ground, the man’s sole grinding, his voice becoming cheerful again: “Then I’ll punish you by not allowing you to play piano for a year.”

Theodore had never seen such a lunatic. His mind raced, trying to think of ways to save himself.

“Sui? Are you here because of Shi Sui?”

As soon as the words left his mouth.

The man stepped harder, asking softly: “Who gave you permission to call her name?”

Ah, what a psycho!

Theodore was in pain all over, his nerves nearly collapsed. With a desperate mentality, he shrieked: “Do you care about her a lot? Hahaha! Then you don’t know – I just slept with her, in my bed, she was so slutty—ah!”

The man kicked him in the lower abdomen.

Before he could cry out in pain, something cold pressed against his forehead. Theodore’s breathing almost stopped as he looked up at the gun barrel against his scalp.

At this moment.

He finally saw the man’s face clearly and froze in disbelief.

The man was using that face identical to the Forbes magazine cover, his dark eyes slightly lowered, looking at him with the gaze one would give a dead person.

All expression disappeared from his face as he leaned down, drawing close to his ear.

“Say one more word, and I can’t guarantee this place won’t…”

During the pause, accompanied by the sound of the gun being cocked, the man made a sinister sound by his ear.

“Bang.”

“Explode.”