His wealth hadn't simply been carried into his palms by a random gust of wind either.

The waitress smoothly returned to our side a moment later.

"Sir, may I inquire if you still intend to utilize the exclusive couples' discount?"

Julian's gaze softened slightly, his face anchoring a perfectly composed, serene expression.

"Is it acceptable if I simply deliver a brief kiss onto my girlfriend's cheek? The surrounding crowd is entirely too dense here, and she is exceptionally prone to bouts of intense shyness."

The waitress mulled over the modification for a brief second before offering an understanding nod, her tone thoroughly accommodating: "Very well, purely on account of how exceptionally handsome you are."

I...

Did a single individual present possess the common courtesy to solicit my input?

And then.

Julian's lips lightly brushed against my cheek, as brief and gentle as a dragonfly skimming across the surface of a placid pond.

The waitress completed the order logging, walking away with an expression of absolute satisfaction.

For some entirely inexplicable reason.

I failed to experience any palpable wave of intense awkwardness because of it.

Presumably, the reality stemmed from the fact that Julian and I were simply entirely too familiar with one another.

On the contrary, he was the one behaving oddly—despite maintaining a perfectly serene, composed front moments ago.

Right now, for some entirely mysterious reason, the absolute edges of his earlobes were flushed with a vibrant crimson hue.

A handful of moments later, a highly suspicious blush began to systematically bloom across his features as well.

"Are you holding up fine?" I pitched the question toward him.

"Pardon?"

"Your face is burning incredibly red."

A fleeting ripple of intense embarrassment and visible panic flashed across Julian's features, yet he managed to recapture his composure with remarkable speed.

He lifted a palm to rapidly fan the air in front of his face a couple of times, stating with absolute gravity:

"The climate is entirely too sweltering. Don't you perceive the interior temperature of this establishment to be exceptionally elevated?"

Sweltering?

How come my senses failed to register even a single shred of heat?

33

While we were still waiting for our dishes to arrive, I stepped away to visit the restroom.

Upon emerging, I crossed paths with someone in the corridor.

It was Christian.

He was leaning his back against the wall, his features thoroughly devoid of any distinct facial expression.

He appeared to be clearing his mind completely solo.

Or perhaps he was lingering to await a particular individual.

Naturally, I harbored zero intention of granting him any attention, choosing to march straight past his frame.

"Clara."

He called out to halt my footsteps.

I completely ignored the prompt.

"Are you romantically involved with Julian?"

What an absolute lunatic.

"So you actually possess a fondness for engaging in this type of forbidden romance?"

"Don't you perceive a couple masquerading under a sibling dynamic to be exceptionally revolting?"

I froze my footsteps in place, turning my gaze to lock onto him:

"Does that concern you in the absolute slightest?"

Christian let out a cold, sharp sneer:

"It possesses zero connection to me, yet it revolts my senses profoundly."

I mirrored his expression with an equally icy sneer:

"It suits my personal pleasure perfectly. Do you honestly believe you possess the authority to micromanage my life?"

The exact instant I spun around to depart, a hand violently yanked back against my wrist.

Christian slammed my frame flush against the wall, his ink-black pupils contracting with sudden intensity.

The severe gloom anchoring his expression resembled the suffocating prelude to a violent thunderstorm, radiating a crushing psychological weight.

"Clara, are you deliberately utilizing this exact methodology to capture my undivided attention?"

I was rendered completely speechless.

To think that the traditionally aloof, aristocratic young master of the C family would actually vocalize such an absurdly self-absorbed, delusional sentiment.

"Narcissistic delusion is a clinical pathology; you should immediately register for a psychiatric appointment at a hospital."

The pure, unfiltered disgust anchoring my features was blindingly obvious.

Christian's expression turned entirely, bone-chillingly cold.

Following a long, heavy silence, a sarcastic, casual smirk curled onto the edge of his lips.

"It is best if that is truly the reality."

Returning to our dining area.

I caught sight of Christian's frame occupying a table situated a short distance from our position.

Seated directly across from his seat was an exceptionally beautiful woman dressed in high fashion.

The duo appeared to be locked in a formal romantic date.

No wonder.

He must have witnessed the exact scene of Julian delivering that brief kiss onto my cheek moments ago.

Utterly unhinged.

"Why has your complexion withered to such a dreadful state?"

Julian instantaneously registered the sudden shift in my emotional currents, tracing the trajectory of my gaze across the room.

His facial expression shifted with subtle gravity.

"Did you cross paths with Christian just now?"

I offered a soft "yeah" in confirmation.

"What exactly did he articulate to you?"

"Nothing of any significance."

Discerning my desire to retreat into silence, Julian tactfully dropped the subject, completely refraining from pressing for further details.

Concluding our dinner courses, the two of us commenced the drive back to the residence.

I remained completely oblivious as to the exact milestone when my consciousness slipped away, only blinking my eyes open to discover the vehicle parked securely outside the borders of the courtyard.

Draped over my chest was Julian's heavy down coat, and the vehicle's climate controls were pumping comforting warmth throughout the cabin space.

Meanwhile, the man himself was sitting serenely within the passenger seat, quietly scrolling through news feeds on his smartphone.

"Why didn't you rouse me once we arrived?" I murmured, rubbing my drowsy, half-opened eyes.

"You appeared to be sleeping exceptionally peacefully."

"Why didn't you drive the vehicle inside the gates?"

"I was deeply concerned that the ambient noise generated by the household staff would instantly shatter your sleep."

I...

Glancing at the digital clock display, I discovered to my absolute shock that I had been dead to the world for easily close to an hour and a half.

Julian had presumably arrived back at the estate an entire hour ago.

I was genuinely defeated by his actions.

To think he didn't even perceive the waiting to be tedious.

34

Later that exact evening.

My corporate department was logistically locked into an overtime schedule to navigate a mandatory departmental evaluation.

The presentation had barely launched into motion when my smartphone vibrated with an incoming notification.

It was a call from Sera.

Seizing the window while my colleague was actively organizing the PowerPoint slides up on the stage, I smoothly retrieved my earphones and slipped them into place.

"Sera, what's going on?"

Zero response echoed through the line.

"Hello? Sera?"

Still absolute thin air.

It appeared to be a classic scenario of an accidental pocket dial on her end.

I refrained from executing an immediate hang-up, choosing to linger on the line for a handful of moments longer.

The connection maintained an active digital call link.

Her surrounding environment was intensely quiet.

An occasional rustle of rushing wind currents leaked through the speaker.

It simulated the auditory profile of operating a motor vehicle.

The connection lingered in this exact state for easily twenty minutes, and seeing that Sera continued to deliver zero verbal engagement, I prepared to terminate the call.

Yet the exact instant before my finger could depress the red icon, a crystal-clear voice cut sharply through the line:

"Brother Zhou, have you arrived at the lounge establishment yet?"

A violent jolt of pure adrenaline surged straight through my entire physical form.

That was Chloe's unmistakable voice.

Why on earth did Sera maintain absolute, total silence?

Could it be that the two of them were currently occupying the exact same vehicle?

Was Sera choosing to withhold her voice, or was she physically incapacitated from uttering a single syllable?

Brother Zhou?

A lounge establishment?

My consciousness instantaneously flashed back to a milestone buried many years in the past, when Chloe had maliciously tricked Sera into entering the borders of the Queen Lounge. I bolted upright, storming straight out of the active conference room.

Christian's personal smartphone digits instantaneously materialized within the front of my mind.

Despite the massive passage of years, I shockingly still retained a flawless, vivid recollection of the sequence.

Refusing to break the active digital call link on my smartphone, I gripped the receiver of the standard office landline resting on my desk, rapidly punching in the digits to connect with Christian's device.

Following a pair of sharp, droning ringback tones.

A thoroughly familiar, aloof, and distant voice materialized beside my ear:

"Who is speaking?"

"Christian, it's Clara. Is Sera currently locked in the company of Chloe this evening?"

A heavy silence hung on the other end for a split second before he delivered a flat, thoroughly passive response:

"Sera traveled back to the family mansion this evening to celebrate my mother's birthday. She consumed a minor volume of alcohol, and Chloe is currently escorting her back to her residence."