Lu Mi was true to her word, actually giving Shang Zhitao a bikini. Bright red, three-piece, as vibrant as could be.

Shang Zhitao followed behind Lu Mi with her hands covering her chest. The sunlight beat down fiercely on her skin, making it feel hot. But not as hot as her face—this was too stimulating. Yet there were so many girls on the beach wearing bikinis that her covering her chest seemed somewhat unnecessary.

Lu Mi turned around and scolded her: “Put your hands down! No covering!”

“No, no,” Shang Zhitao waved her hands but quickly returned them to her chest. “I don’t feel comfortable.”

“It’s not like others don’t have these!” Lu Mi pointed in the distance. “See that? That girl’s figure is far worse than yours, but isn’t she enjoying herself? It’s your own body, do what you want with it.”

“Oh.”

Shang Zhitao finally lowered her hands, and Lu Mi patted her back: “Chest out!”

Shang Zhitao’s good figure, usually hidden under clothing, now shone brilliantly in the sunlight. The most striking aspect was her curves—her lovely breasts had a certain magnificence, but at the waistline, everything gently curved inward, then outward again at the hips.

It immediately showed how beautiful she was, a vibrant person. Walking with Lu Mi on the beach, countless eyes were drawn to them.

“Such a beautiful girl deserves what kind of man!” Lu Mi teased her, pointing to a foreigner in the distance. “See him? Based on his sister’s years of experience, he should be quite strong.”

“Strong where?” Shang Zhitao genuinely didn’t understand.

“An inch long, an inch strong,” Lu Mi chuckled, pulling Shang Zhitao toward a beach umbrella. “Let’s find a place to lie down and sunbathe. That foreign hunk will come over soon—he’s been looking at you several times.”

“Fine. Just come back to the room later.” Shang Zhitao played along. When they talked privately, they spoke without restraint, without taboos, never taking it seriously.

A person was lying under the beach umbrella with a newspaper covering his face, seemingly asleep. There were three umbrellas, and he chose to lie under the middle one, separating the other two, which was rather annoying. Lu Mi went forward to ask him to change places. The man removed the newspaper from his face, looked at Lu Mi, then at Shang Zhitao: “Expressing yourself freely?” It was Luan Nian.

Shang Zhitao suddenly blushed a little, not daring to look at Luan Nian, feeling strange about wearing so little. But Luan Nian didn’t look at her much. Instead, he smiled at Lu Mi: “Some also say that among five short things, there must be one long one. Your theory is narrow-minded.” Then he lay back on the lounge chair, treating them like air.

He had been very busy the past few days and hadn’t slept well. These days, he had been thinking about sunbathing by the seaside to absorb calcium and relax for a few days. But after lying there for just a while, he heard Lu Mi and Shang Zhitao talking about catching foreign hunks. He inwardly laughed at how ridiculous they were—two country girls trying to aim too high. When he lifted the newspaper, he saw how the two were dressed, frowned slightly, then lay back down with the newspaper covering his face, ignoring them.

He appreciated women who dared to show their charm, but “women” didn’t include Shang Zhitao. Luan Nian was displeased but said nothing.

There was another empty chair further away, but that would separate the two friends. Since Luan Nian didn’t want to change places, they each took a chair on either side of him.

Now Lu Mi was feeling shy, covering important parts with her towel. But Shang Zhitao’s rare rebellious streak acted up again, and she refused to cover herself, just lying there, curious to see if that foreign hunk would come over.

She even mentally lit incense, praying for that handsome guy to come quickly. As if his arrival would allow her to lift her head high.

But surprisingly, that foreign hunk didn’t come, which made Shang Zhitao a bit disappointed. She messaged Lu Mi: “I’m going to buy coconuts. Do you want one?”

“Yes! Get one for your sister.”

Shang Zhitao stood up and left. Now she wasn’t afraid anymore. Lu Mi was right—it’s her body, she can show it whenever she wants. She was pleasing herself, not others, including Luan Nian.

Sometimes understanding a principle is that simple. She stood at the coconut stand watching the vendor crack a coconut when she heard someone greeting her in broken Chinese. She turned around and saw that foreign hunk.

He said: “Hello, I noticed you earlier.”

Shang Zhitao suddenly laughed: “I know.”

She couldn’t pretend to be surprised; knowing was knowing. The foreign boy became somewhat shy, rubbing the back of his head as he smiled: “May I buy coconuts for you and your friend?”

“Sure, thank you.”

The two walked back holding coconuts. The boy asked when she was leaving and about her plans for the next few days. Shang Zhitao answered each question. When they parted, the boy said to her: “You’re really beautiful. If there’s a chance, we could have dinner together.”

She said: “Sure, thank you.”

So direct compliments from the opposite sex could be this pleasant, Shang Zhitao realized. She walked back and saw Lu Mi looking at her in surprise. She winked at Lu Mi and handed her the coconut. Lu Mi pointed at Luan Nian, asking why she didn’t buy one for him.

Shang Zhitao shrugged. Why should she?

Why buy him one? Because he was occupying the middle lounge chair without moving?

Lu Mi pointed at her phone. Shang Zhitao opened her messages to see Lu Mi’s warning: Don’t provoke trouble—while you were buying coconuts, he received a call and got very angry.

Oh.

Shang Zhitao drank a few sips of coconut juice and lay back on the lounge chair, put her earphones in, covered herself with a towel, and closed her eyes to listen to music. During that period, she needed to listen to music frantically—any music would do. There was a small gap in her heart that nothing could fill.

Just because Luan Nian had said on the phone, “Then I’ll bring flowers to see you,” and then actually gave Zang Yao a bouquet. It was just such a small thing.

Phuket’s sunshine was truly good, burning hot on the body, the humid sea breeze blowing on the face—perfect for sleeping. When Shang Zhitao opened her eyes, the sun was already setting. She picked up her phone and saw Lu Mi’s message: “I’m going to check the dinner menu first. Alex assigned this task to me. When you wake up, come to the west side of the hotel. We’ll have dinner on that beach.”

“Okay, I’m awake.”

Shang Zhitao replied and sat up, seeing Phuket’s sunset.

The sunset’s afterglow dyed the beach red, the sparkling seawater gleaming there like stars dropped by heaven. She couldn’t think of any poetry to describe the scene before her eyes, only feeling in her heart: It’s too beautiful.

She stared at it a bit dazed.

Hearing movement from the lounge chair beside her, she turned her head to see Luan Nian wake up. Shang Zhitao greeted him: “Luke, are you awake? Lu Mi said dinner is in half an hour.”

Luan Nian’s eyes fell on Shang Zhitao’s bikini-clad body. He pointed to the foreign girls playing beach volleyball in the distance: “See them? Bikinis are suitable for them.” Those girls were all exceptionally fit, different from Eastern women’s beauty.

In the past, Shang Zhitao would have felt ashamed, but today she was different. She understood that no matter how she dressed, it was to please herself, having nothing to do with others. With her beautiful, gentle eyes smiling, she said word by word: “I know they look good, but I like dressing this way. It has nothing to do with others.”

Shang Zhitao stood up and walked toward her room. She didn’t care how Luan Nian saw her. After all, he had seen so many beautiful women that no matter how she looked, she couldn’t earn a word of praise from him.

She walked toward her room and heard hurried footsteps behind her. When she turned to look, she was pushed into a nearby room, so quickly that she couldn’t dodge. Her hands pressed between them, all the anger had disappeared, and her voice even trembled: “People might see us.”

“Don’t wear this again.”

“I’m happy with it. I like it.”

Luan Nian’s hand reached under her bikini and pressed hard, his mouth biting her shoulder fiercely, like an animal. He bit hard, and the pain made Shang Zhitao feel fear, finally compromising: “I won’t wear it anymore.”

The anger in Luan Nian’s heart mostly subsided, but his hand wouldn’t withdraw. In the dim light, he looked at Shang Zhitao’s eyes. She seemed to have an indescribable grievance. This softened Luan Nian’s heart, and he said something he would never have said before: “I don’t like other men looking at you like that.”

“Because you look damn good today.”

Shang Zhitao bit her lip without speaking. She knew that if she opened her mouth, she might cry. Luan Nian saying she looked good was so rare, rare enough to make her heart ache. Her hand pressed on his, which had not yet withdrawn. Her brows slightly furrowed, and her breathing became irregular. Her trembling lips sought his, her tongue offering itself to him, allowing him to envelop it fiercely, drawing it into his mouth.

The phone ringing made them separate in panic. Luan Nian went to the bedside to answer the call, his eyes still on Shang Zhitao. He calmed down and realized that he had just lost his rationality by bringing her into his room under such circumstances. If they were not careful, how much trouble would it bring them? He could handle it calmly, but what about her? She would probably collapse.

After hanging up, he walked to the door, opened it, and saw the corridor was empty.

Just parting like this, both felt somewhat disappointed.

Shang Zhitao returned to her room and changed into a spaghetti strap dress. Remembering the shoulder Luan Nian had bitten, she added a cover-up over the dress.

The beach BBQ was exceptionally lively. The company was generous—lobster, crab, cocktails, everything was available. Everyone stood waiting for Luan Nian to make a toast, but he only said: “Everyone has worked hard. There will be a special bonus package with next month’s payment. I hope everyone enjoys themselves.”

Everyone applauded and cheered, opened their drinks, clinked glasses, took a simple sip, and then went to the food tables to get their meals, eating seafood by the candlelight, enjoying the sea breeze—it was delightful.

Lu Mi and Shang Zhitao shared a piece of cake. Lu Mi wiped the cream from the corner of her mouth and suddenly asked: “After I left, did Luke give you a hard time?”

“Huh?”

“At the lounge chairs, did he get angry with you or anything?”

“No.”

“That’s good.” Lu Mi was relieved. “You don’t know, but when you were buying coconuts, he got really angry, telling the person on the phone to either do the job or get lost.”

No matter how angry Luan Nian had been in the past, he had never spoken like that. He was just strict.

“What was it about?” Shang Zhitao asked.

“I don’t know.” Lu Mi shrugged.

Shang Zhitao turned to look for Luan Nian. He was sitting with Alex at a table by the sea, the two talking about something unknown, both with serious expressions.

A colleague was darting through the crowd with a video camera, asking everyone to say hello, saying they would edit a travel promotional video back at the office—a regular activity for the marketing department’s team building.

Other colleagues just symbolically nodded at the camera, but only Shang Zhitao earnestly greeted it: “Hello, I’m Shang Zhitao.” She was extremely adorable.