45. Jealousy

Night fell, and the lights of the Starry Dream Hot Spring Hotel flickered to life.

In the most luxurious outdoor hot spring pool, amidst the rising steam, Tara leaned lazily against the pool wall, feeling as if every cell in her body had opened up in comfort.

"So, I didn't lie to you, right, Tara? Isn't this pure bliss?" Cassidy turned back to look at her.

Tara nodded. "Mhm, mhm."

Chloe smiled as well. "It really is comfortable."

She met Cassidy's eyes with a meaningful look. "Hey, Cassie, didn't you say another friend was coming? Where is he?"

Just as she finished speaking, a deep male voice suddenly rang out.

"Apologies, I've arrived late."

Following the voice, a man wearing a white bathrobe walked slowly through the entrance of the hot spring.

Tara looked at him with curious eyes.

He was tall, seemingly around 185cm, with a refined and elegant appearance and very fair skin. His entire aura could be described in four words: gentle as polished jade.

A rare handsome guy,

Tara thought.

Of course, he still wasn't as good-looking as Killian.

Realizing what she was thinking, she froze for a moment, followed by a flash of annoyance.

I promised not to think about Killian, so why did he cross my mind again?

She bit her lower lip gloomily and closed her round, beautiful apricot eyes, attempting to shut him out of her mind. A few seconds later, she opened them again.

However, the moment she opened her eyes, she happened to look directly into the smiling gaze of the man walking toward them.

Tara's gaze faltered slightly.

For some reason, she felt the way he looked at her was strange, though she couldn't put her finger on why.

Out of politeness, she curved her eyes into a small smile as a greeting.

Seeing this, the man's expression froze for a split second.

But it was gone in an instant. His smile grew more pronounced as he gave Tara a gentle nod, then glanced at Chloe before introducing himself.

"I am Felix Song, a good friend of Cassie’s and the owner of this hot spring hotel. It is a great honor to welcome Miss Su and Miss Tang. If there is anything lacking in our hospitality, I hope you will be patient with us."

"Boss, I found them. Miss Tang and the others are currently at Hot Spring Pool A."

At the foot of the mountain, Leo respectfully handed the tablet showing the feed to the handsome young man leaning lazily against the car door.

After exhaling a thick cloud of smoke, he reached out to take it, his dark eyes focusing on the video.

In the massive outdoor hot spring pool, the well-behaved, beautiful girl was chatting and laughing with a strange man. The atmosphere looked exceptionally good.

Whether it was Leo's imagination or not, he felt the surrounding temperature suddenly drop.

He couldn't help but steal a glance at his Boss, only to see that a trace of ruthlessness had somehow colored those handsome features.

The unburnt cigarette in his hand was ruthlessly crushed. His cold, heavy voice spat out four words as if tempered in ice: "Notify the others."

With that, he stepped out with his long legs, striding toward the hotel entrance.

"Achoo!"

Hot Spring Pool A.

Seeing Tara cough violently twice and then let out another heavy sneeze, Felix couldn't help but knit his brows in worry. "Miss Tang, are you really alright?"

Tara rubbed the tip of her nose. "I'm fine."

She added casually, "Maybe I stayed in too long and caught a chill."

The hot spring was at a constant temperature; normally, one shouldn't catch a cold while soaking.

But Felix looked at the delicate girl before him and thought it wasn't impossible.

Perhaps the night wind was too strong and had indeed chilled her.

"My apologies, I didn't consider that carefully enough."

"Miss Tang, why don't we move to the sauna room? It would be perfect for driving out the cold."

He spoke in an old-fashioned, scholarly manner, and his behavior throughout was very polite and gentlemanly, making it hard to refuse.

Chloe and Cassidy had vanished to eat barbecue, and after being patiently entertained by him for so long, Tara didn't want to dismiss his kindness. She nodded. "Okay."

A moment later, inside the sauna.

In the steam-filled space, Felix had specially called for a female masseuse to give Tara a thoughtful massage.

Comfortable pressure traveled through her neck and shoulders. It was a royal-level indulgence. Tara was so relaxed she felt herself drifting off, to the point where her conversation with Felix became fragmented.

Seeing this, Felix perceptively reduced his talking, simply watching her silently with a faint smile.

He thought she was perhaps the most heart-stirring girl he had seen in his twenty-plus years of life.

She was beautiful—pure and obedient, yet exuding an unintentional charm.

Her personality seemed gentle as well, like a well-behaved, soft little rabbit that made one want to hold her.

His heart rate was truly breaking the rules.

He stared unblinkingly at her soft profile as she grew drowsy.

Having talked with her for so long, he felt his groundwork was perhaps sufficient.

With that thought, he finally couldn't resist speaking softly.

"Miss Tang, I was very interested in the drawings you showed me earlier. I'd love to commission a few pieces from you. Would it be alright if I added you on WeChat?"

Silence stretched out.

The female technician didn't stop her work but looked up and whispered to him, "Boss, it seems Miss Tang has fallen asleep."

"Asleep?" Felix looked at Tara, who was sitting up straight with her eyes closed and unmoving. His expression was one of disbelief. "She can sleep while sitting that upright?"

He murmured to himself, then suddenly smiled, his gaze deep as he looked at her. "Truly adorable..."

Just then, an urgent knock sounded at the door. "Boss, someone is causing trouble in the lobby. The person seems to be quite powerful and is demanding you by name."

Hearing this, Felix's brow furrowed.

Felix eventually left, and the sauna suddenly became quiet, leaving only Tara and the masseuse.

However, a moment later, the door opened again.

The female masseuse looked at the tall young man who had entered wearing a massage uniform and couldn't help but be surprised. "You..."

"I'll take over. Go rest," the young man said calmly, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the girl sitting obediently.

"Alright, thank you for the hard work." The masseuse marveled inwardly at the young man's excessively handsome looks and, without thinking much of it, got up and left the sauna.

"Mmh..."

Tara was woken up by a ticklish sensation on her waist.

She opened her eyes groggily. Looking down, she saw a pair of exceptionally long, beautiful hands pressing into her waist with focus.

The pressure was comfortable; as they pressed into her waist, the slender knuckles sank slightly into the soft flesh.

It was inexplicably suggestive.

And these hands...

Her heart rate quickened uncontrollably. She slowly turned her head and crashed into a pair of deep, beautiful phoenix eyes.

Her breath hitched.

"You—"

Tara stared blankly at the familiar, handsome face, her brain almost short-circuiting. The next second, she tried to get up and flee.

But before she could move, he easily caught her wrist. With a slight pull backward, he effortlessly trapped her in his embrace.

"Let me go, Killian! You—mmph!"

Her struggling cry had only just begun when it was completely smothered by a scorching kiss.

Tara recoiled sensitively, her strength to struggle being siphoned away bit by bit by the kiss, until finally her body went completely limp, leaning helplessly against his chest.