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Jiang Yuxi's POV

The sun was setting, painting the horizon with streaks of orange, pink, and purple. The warm glow cast long shadows across the beach, turning the sand into glimmering gold. The lively hum of conversation drifted from the beachside bar, mingling with the crash of the waves.

The air had grown cooler as the sun dipped lower, a crisp breeze brushing against my bare arms. I rubbed them absently, shivering. Han Li had promised to find me a blanket before introducing me to someone she said was "worth meeting."

So here I was, standing at the edge of the bar, tapping through my phone.

No new messages.

What was I expecting?

I exhaled softly and tucked the phone away. The chatter around me faded into background noise as I scanned the crowd for her familiar silhouette.

I took a step toward the bar when a voice cut through the night.

> "Hey, pretty lady. Want to join us?"

I froze.

The speaker was tall, broad-shouldered, and reeked of alcohol even from a few feet away. Two other men flanked him, forming a semi-circle in front of me. Their smiles didn't reach their eyes, and the gleam in their gazes made my skin crawl.

I forced a polite smile.

> "No, thank you."

I tried to step around them, but they shifted to block my path.

> "Don't be like that," another said, his tone sickly sweet.

The scent of whiskey clung to him like cheap cologne.

I instinctively stepped back, the sand giving slightly beneath my heels. My heart rate quickened. I could scream, draw attention. But that would embarrass Han Li, and technically, they hadn't done anything… yet.

I kept my voice steady.

> "I have company. She'll be here any second."

The first man chuckled.

> "That's great. She can join us too."

Disgusting.

> "Yeah, I'd take that back if I were you."

The accented voice sliced through the tension like a whip.

The men turned. So did I.

The same blonde from earlier. The one who had draped herself over Han Li with an irritating level of familiarity.

She stood there, arms crossed over her chest, legs braced like she was ready for a fight. Her hair was swept back into a high ponytail, and she wore a slinky red dress that somehow managed to look lethal instead of inviting.

Her lips curled into a smirk.

> "Unless, of course," she added casually, "you want your balls served to you on a silver platter."

The men shifted uneasily. One of them sneered.

> "Jessica, how annoying," he said. "We weren't talking to you."

The second man grinned and leaned toward her.

> "No one's interested in your ran-through ass," he said. "Move aside. We're talking to the pretty little thing here."

Rage flared through me.

"Pretty little thing?"

Before I could react, Jessica stepped forward, heels digging into the sand.

> "Please," she drawled. "I'm way above your pay grade."

Her accent sharpened as she tilted her head, eyes glinting.

> "Leave her alone and run along," she said. "Before you do something you'll regret in the morning."

The leader bristled, squaring his shoulders. His face flushed an angry red.

> "Do you know who my father is?" he spat, voice rising with each word.

Jessica sighed and looked at her manicured nails.

> "Here we go," she muttered.

> "My father—" the man started again.

> "Oh," a voice interrupted softly.

Chilly. Calm. Dangerous.My entire body reacted to that voice before my brain processed who it belonged to.

I turned.

Han Li.

She stood just beyond the group, one arm cradling a light gray blanket, her other hand hanging loosely at her side. Her expression was relaxed, her head tilted slightly as if she found the entire situation mildly amusing.

But her eyes—

Her eyes were ice.

The tension shifted instantly. The men stiffened, their bravado evaporating like mist in the sun.

> "Do tell," Han Li said softly, stepping closer. The sand whispered beneath her shoes. "Who's your father?"

No response.The man's jaw worked, but no words came out. His companions were already backing away.

Jessica barked out a laugh.

> "Told you idiots to leave," she said, shaking her head.

The men turned and scurried off like scolded dogs.I exhaled shakily. My pulse was still racing.

Jessica turned to Han Li with an exaggerated sigh.

> "You owe me one for running to your princess's rescue," she said, giving me an infuriating once-over before tossing a wink at Han Li.

Then she strutted away, hips swaying.Han Li's lips twitched with amusement.

> "She's… persistent," she murmured.

> "She's a menace," I said, unable to mask my irritation.

She chuckled, unfolding the blanket.

> "My bad. I forget what kind of men hang around here sometimes."

She draped the blanket over my shoulders.

The material was soft, warm from her body heat. The scent of her cologne clung to it—clean and sharp, like pine after a rainstorm.

I held the edges tightly, breathing it in.

We walked side by side, leaving our footprints in the damp sand. The tide swirled near our feet, pulling at the edges of the beach before retreating again. I ignore the fast racing of my heart.