11. You are the only one who didn’t eat
It was still very cold near the sea. Yao Ling went to the pool alone, slipped into her wet clothes, and left barefoot.
Deng Shilang hadn't gotten on yet. After saying goodbye to Luca and the others, he'd swam several laps on his own until his erection had subsided. It hadn't been what he'd expected, but he could control his reaction. If he couldn't, he'd be no different from an animal. And he was clear-headed. This was the punishment for losing the game.
After swimming to the pool ladder, Deng Shilang surfaced, with a group of people playing behind him. He went to the bathroom to wash up and saw Yao Ling coming out. She had wet hair and was putting on her clothes, but she didn't even glance at him, just passing him by.
He had returned to normal, his body showing no reaction, and he remained unconcerned with her attitude, just like usual. Even though they had just had a moment of intimacy, as exes, they still had a tacit understanding of boundaries.
Yao Ling returned to her previous room and recalled her flirting experiences with the opposite sex in the past five years: once in language school, countless times in college, and later at work. She admired Pierre more after meeting him. He was talented, eloquent, elegant, and could also have fun with her in bed. Their sp relationship was not a perfect match, but it was a win-win situation for both of them.
She wasn't out of line in this situation; after all, she'd seen it before, done it before, and Deng Shilang was just one of many. Deng Shilang had anticipated this, so once the game was over, he was able to remain calm, save for the inevitable physiological effects that needed time to subside.
Deng Shilang washed up and changed back into his sweatshirt. The pool was still crowded, but Valentina and Luca were nowhere to be seen. He approached Valentina's assistant and asked where the photographer was. After receiving directions, he went to Yao Ling's room, knocked on the door, and found her with her laptop open. Valentina and Luca stood behind her, reviewing some photos. Valentina held a Polaroid camera.
Luca was the first to see Deng Shilang standing at the door with a cheerful smile on his face, "You are here."
Deng Shilang also smiled faintly and replied, "We should go."
Yao Ling and Valentina whispered to each other for a few words, then closed her laptop, took the Polaroid camera from Valentina's hand, and said to Deng Shilang, "I'll take a couple of pictures of them and then we can leave."
"Thank you, Rosalie, for taking photos for us for free after work." Luca said excitedly.
Yao Ling understood; it was just two Polaroids, a simple task to capture their party time. Valentina liked Yao Ling's on-set coordination, allowing the models maximum freedom to express themselves. She also appreciated her slow shutter speed and highly saturated colors, so she continued to let her guide their performance. She asked them what vibe and style they were aiming for, and Valentina said they wanted something sexy.
Yao Ling responded lightly, "Okay."
She held up the camera, thought for a moment on the spot, pulled a chair in front of the elegant velvet plain curtains, gestured her ideas to them vividly, asked them to pose themselves, and then she would adjust based on this and find the angle to shoot.
The first time Deng Shilang saw her doing photography, he remembered her as someone with very high standards for herself. Sure enough, she had strict professional standards, and once she took a photo for them, the result didn't meet her expectations.
After some adjustments, everything went smoothly. As the photographer, Yao Ling knew perfectly well that Luca's impressive presence, with his natural blond hair and muscular arms, was perfect for this style of photoshoot. Meanwhile, Valentina was tall and perfectly proportioned. Their interaction in front of the camera was sexy, and simply matching her desired poses didn't require any elaborate adjustments.
Afterward, Valentina and Yao Ling exchanged three kisses, the Italian way of saying goodbye. They parted ways, promising to collaborate in Milan someday. The four of them exchanged Instagram accounts and followed each other, with Yao Ling and Deng Shilang being the only ones who didn't. Neither of them mentioned the incident.
Yao Ling waited for the two to leave and asked Deng Shilang, "Have you been drinking?"
"Not a drop." Deng Shilang knew that she had drunk and could not drive. If he had drunk, neither of them could drive.
"Then you drive."
Deng Shilang nodded and turned to wait for her outside. A few minutes later, she packed up and walked with him to the villa entrance. Suddenly, she was stopped in the living room by the European who organized the party.
Whether bartending or filming, they both charged by the hour, clearly stating their working hours. Anything beyond that was considered freelance work, outside of the contract. The European was incredibly friendly and welcoming. He had close friends in Repulse Bay, and aside from the diamond company's CEO and his team, the rest of the attendees were connections from the other side. They were all relaxed and invited the villa residents to hang out after work, which made everyone feel comfortable joining in.
The Europeans toasted to them, thanked them, and had them escorted out of the villa. It was already midnight when they got into the car, the sky was dark, and the waves were rustling.
There was silence all the way. Deng Shilang turned on the radio and the only sound in the whole carriage was singing.
Yao Ling rolled down the window a bit, letting the ocean breeze in. She lowered her head to scroll through her phone. She'd been busy all day, barely checking it, and the notifications were already filling up her screen. She glanced briefly, noticing Valentina and Luca's posts, and then she clicked a heart in response to Tracy's thankful message on WhatsApp.
Deng Shilang drove from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon Peninsula and suddenly remembered that she had stayed in the room for so long, so he asked her, "Did you not eat?"
"I don't have time to eat." Yao Ling turned off the screen of her mobile phone. Her voice was very thin and a little tired.
"You're not afraid of getting drunk even if you drink on an empty stomach." Deng Shilang chuckled, holding the steering wheel with one hand and raising the other hand to touch the screen and lower the radio volume.
Yao Ling heard the chorus being lowered, "Do you want to know how much I can drink?"
"Tell me about it."
"One bottle of whiskey and one-third of red wine."
"Not bad."
Yao Ling didn't want to continue the conversation and said, "We're almost there. Just find a place nearby to stop."
Driving to Tsim Sha Tsui, Deng Shilang stopped in front of a 7-Eleven shop with a 24-hour sign. He got out first, opened the door of the 7-Eleven and got in. Yao Ling unbuckled her seat belt and followed.
"A bowl of fish ball cart noodles and a box of lemon tea, take them away." Deng Shilang said to the cashier and took out his Octopus from his wallet to pay.
Yao Ling came up to him and was about to say the same thing to the cashier, but he turned around and said to her, "I bought this for you, but I won't eat it."
"You're having dinner tonight."
"You're the only one who hasn't eaten."
Soon, Deng Shilang took the bag, handed it to her, asked her to go back to the car, and sent her downstairs to the B&B.
The distance was short. Yao Ling got out of the car, carrying her own belongings and Qizi's bag, and walked a few hundred meters back. As she walked under the streetlights, she thought of how he had looked at Qizi just now, wearing a sweatshirt and sneakers, buying these two things for her, just like when they were dating.
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