Chapter Five

Although the daytime temperature in Nice wasn't high, the sun was shining brightly, and Su Xian was perfectly dressed in a light gray satin shirt and high-waisted trousers. Zhi Ran, on the other hand, wore a thin sweater and kept complaining of being hot, insisting on running back to the hotel bathroom to change into a lighter garment after a day of sightseeing. With all this commotion, the sun had already set by the time they arrived in Port Vauban.

The speedboat carrying Su Xuan and the others sped toward the bay south of Antibes. It was already completely dark, and the four-story superyacht was brightly lit, like a white palace on the sea.

The speedboat approached and stopped on the yacht. On the second-floor main deck, there was a large jacuzzi with three skylights at the bottom, allowing light from the lower level to refract through the water. Passing the white marble bar in front of the jacuzzi, the glass doors opened automatically.

In the salon on the main deck, reddish-brown oak floors and light-colored walls decorated with Macasa ebony, along with symmetrically placed, off-white curved sofas, exude a soft glow under the interior lighting. A row of windows on each side of the ship allows the dark sea and inky night sky to filter in, creating a series of tranquil oil paintings.

As expected, he had come to broaden his horizons. Su Xuan remained calm, glanced around, and then looked away.

Hearing the noise, the man and woman on the sofa turned around. The round-faced man spoke first, "Oh! Our distinguished guests have arrived late!"

Zhi Ran rolled her eyes. "Steamed Fish, can you please stop being so sarcastic?"

"Then could you please call me by my name properly, especially in front of a big star?" Zheng Yu said bluntly.

"Alright, alright." Zheng Yu's wife, Fang Hui, greeted him with a smile. She and Zheng Yu looked very much like a married couple, with her eyes crinkling and her demeanor very approachable. "You two shouldn't start arguing as soon as you meet."

"He was the one who said I was late first," Zhang Zhiran muttered.

"Don't listen to his nonsense. You've arrived just in time; we were just about to start eating," Fang Hui said, trying to smooth things over.

"Great! I'm so hungry! Where's Yuan-ge?"

“He just came over from a meeting, he should be upstairs,” Zheng Yu replied. “You have a lot of influence, Huihui and I are here for the first time.”

“I begged for a long time. You’re not as good at begging as I am. Do you want me to teach you a few tricks?” Zhi Ran proudly raised her chin at him.

"Do you need to teach me? Keep it for yourself and use it slowly."

"you..."

"Every time you two meet, I can't get any peace and quiet." A voice suddenly appeared behind her, interrupting Zhi Ran's words.

Where have I heard that voice before?

Su Xian turned around and saw a man in a sharp black suit with fair skin and a deep, sculpted face, but with the gentle features of an Easterner.

Is this the man she was eavesdropping on at the exhibition hall? But from that fleeting glance in the café, Su Xuan wasn't sure.

"Brother Yuan, let me introduce you. This is my good friend, Su Xian."

"Xiaoxian, this is my cousin Lin Zhiyuan."

That's right, Mr. Lin.

Lin Zhiyuan stepped forward and extended his hand to her. "Ms. Su, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Su Xian skillfully flashed a polite smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lin. I'm sorry to bother you." Only then did she notice that his smiling eyes were deep brown, like chestnuts in winter, warm and delicate. A gentle force came from her palm, and Su Xian was momentarily stunned, but soon their hands were separated.

She wasn't short, but she still had to tilt her head slightly to look at him. She should have worn high heels. The yacht's overhead lights were so bright; why didn't she think to touch up her lipstick before boarding?

Lin Zhiyuan smiled and said, "You're welcome. I hope you have fun." He looked at Zhiran and said, "Are you hungry? Let's eat first."

Zhang Zhiran pulled Su Xian along, following behind that tall and slender figure, past the TV wall, and towards the dining room. The oval dining table was already set, the edges of the white porcelain bowls and plates decorated with princess-blue half-lace patterns, and silver cutlery laid out on either side of the plates. The sea breeze that slipped in through the window stirred the crystals on the chandelier, producing a soft, chiming sound like wind chimes.

Su Xian and Zhang Zhiran sat down to Lin Zhiyuan's right. A servant came forward to lay out napkins for them and served appetizers: scallops and capers with caviar and herbs.

Su Xian picked up her knife and fork. The scallops were pan-fried until golden brown, but still tender. The combination of the sourness of the loofah and the saltiness of the caviar made them fragrant and juicy.

Zheng Yu recently wanted to acquire a French catering company in an attempt to enter the European market, so he consulted Lin Zhiyuan. Zhi Ran and Fang Hui chattered about their experiences in Nice over the past two days, while Su Xian listened absentmindedly, occasionally chiming in with a few words.

"Xiaoxian, the gradient skirt you wore at the fashion show the other day was really beautiful," Fang Hui said, taking the initiative to steer the conversation towards her.

"Thank you." Su Xian picked up the wine glass on the table and took a sip of white wine.

"I've seen comments where many people are curious about when you'll stop wearing black. I'd also like to know when you'll switch to a different color?"

Su Xian put down her wine glass. "Probably not for now. I quite like black."

"Is there something special about your liking for it?"

"Black absorbs all visible light in the spectrum and does not reflect any color of light. So black is not actually a color, but all colors. I've always found that very special."

After Fang Hui finished speaking, she opened her mouth but couldn't say anything.

"Talking to a top student must be exhausting," Zhang Zhiran said with an "I understand" expression. "You can't keep up with their intelligence."

"Of course you, a poor student, wouldn't understand," Zheng Yu mocked from the side.

"You, a slacker, can understand this? Come on, explain it to me."

Su Xian smiled, deciding not to join their verbal sparring, and finished the blue lobster on her plate with her knife and fork.

"Miss Su didn't study acting?"

Su Xuan turned her head, and Lin Zhiyuan, who was sitting in the main seat, was looking at her. "I studied applied physics."

“Xiao Xian is a top student who graduated from Gangcheng Polytechnic,” Zhi Ran added.

Su Xuan shook her head, "Compared to my classmates who do scientific research, I don't count."

"Then why did you become an actress?" Lin Zhiyuan looked at her intently. Su Xian's hand gripping the knife and fork tightened inexplicably. The table was unusually quiet; even the usually boisterous Zhi Ran seemed to be silent, as if everyone else didn't exist.

Su Xuan hurriedly lowered her eyes to look at the plate, "I just wanted to try a new field and challenge myself."

She spoke softly, and Su Xian didn't know if he heard her. She used a spoon to carefully remove the beef tongue from the red wine risotto on her plate, then scooped a spoonful of rice into her mouth.

Everyone who asked her why she became an actress received the same standard answer, and the person in the main seat didn't press further. While the maid was changing the plates, Su Xian secretly glanced over and saw Lin Zhiyuan talking to Zheng Yu, no longer looking in her direction.

Su Xian breathed a sigh of relief, inwardly lamenting that she had been too nervous. Perhaps it was because of his good upbringing that he looked at the other person carefully when speaking. She looked away and picked up the small spoon beside her.

"Don't you not eat desserts?" Zhi Ran asked her softly.

Su Xian stopped what she was doing.

“It’s caramel hazelnut brandy mousse,” Zhiran told her, leaning closer.

She'd been so focused on looking over there that she hadn't even noticed the dessert. The caramel-colored mousse on the plate was glistening, sprinkled with hazelnut pieces, and smelled incredibly sweet. To maintain her skin's condition, Su Xian rarely ate sweets, but Zhi Ran was completely powerless against them.

Here, have some.

Zhi Ran, with a spoon in her mouth, nodded happily at her. Su Xian picked up her wine glass, and the delicate fruity aroma of the white wine entered her mouth. She couldn't help but smile; wine was indeed delicious.

"Xiao Xian," Zhang Zhiran called softly. Su Xian put down her wine glass. Zhiran's plate was already empty, and the maid came forward to take it away. Su Xian picked up her plate with one hand and handed it to her. Just as Zhiran took it, she bumped into the maid's hand, which hadn't been pulled back in time. The wine glass tumbled over, and before Su Xian could dodge, a section of her satin sleeve was wet, and wine stained her trousers.

"Sorry, ma'am." The maid apologized hurriedly and tried to get a napkin to help her clean up. Zhi Ran also said sorry in a flustered manner.

“It’s OK, don’t worry.” Su Xuan looked at the maid reassuringly, took the napkin from her hand, and then turned to Zhi Ran and said, “It’s alright.”

"Miss Su, I'll have someone take you back to your room first." Lin Zhiyuan called over another maid and whispered a few instructions.

Su Xian nodded, said "Excuse me," and followed the maid through the corridor behind the restaurant.

Looking up from the back staircase, a huge crystal caviar chandelier hung from the top floor ceiling to the first floor, each small crystal round and translucent, dazzling in its brilliance. Su Xian climbed the agate stone steps to the third floor, but the servants did not stop; instead, they continued upwards.

The top deck of a yacht is usually the owner's area. Just as Su Xian was about to ask if they had led her to the wrong place, the maid opened the door to the left of the stairs and led her in. The room was small, still in white tones, with brass lines crisscrossing on the dark blue soft wall behind the bed, and the deck was visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

The maid put down the luggage, closed the door for Su Xian, and left. Su Xian took off her dirty clothes, took a shower, dried her hair, and changed into her black nightgown. The sea breeze on this spring night was still a bit chilly. Su Xian found an oatmeal-colored shawl in her suitcase and draped it over herself. She walked barefoot to the balcony and took out the ESSE bag from her tote bag.

The bright moon cast a silvery-white path across the dark blue sea, stretching far into the horizon where the sea meets the sky, and the moist air filled the lungs.

Su Xian smiled; it was a rare and leisurely vacation.