"I know you're in there. Open the door, okay? Let's talk."

  "Su Yumian! Do you hear me?"

  ...

  "Good job, Su Yumian. Really, good job! Not opening the door, huh? Do you think that’ll keep me out?"

  From pleading to calm, then gradually to anger, Jiang Yihuai's patience was wearing thin.

  Just as he finally gave up and turned to leave, he was caught off guard by a pair of cold, piercing eyes. Jiang Yihuai froze in pce, frowning deeply.

  In the dimly lit stairwell, Shao Wenbai stood on the steps, as if he had just arrived on this floor. At this hour, showing up here—anyone with half a brain could guess why he was here.

  After the scene with Shen Shiyan the other day, and now with Shao Wenbai appearing out of nowhere, Jiang Yihuai was both irritated and forced to acknowledge that the "flies" swarming around Su Yumian weren’t ordinary.

  So, after calming down, the first thing he did was have someone investigate Shao Wenbai’s background. Turns out, he was the third son of the Shao family—no wonder even Shen Shiyan gave him some leeway.

  Jiang Yihuai: "Here to see Su Yumian?"

  Shao Wenbai spoke indifferently: "So what if I am? So what if I’m not?"

  "You should know what my retionship with her is."

  "And?"

  Jiang Yihuai narrowed his eyes. "If you had any sense, you’d stay away from her."

  "Sorry, but I’m famous for not having any sense."

  "Su Yumian is mine! She always will be, and right now, she’s just throwing a tantrum. In the future, she’ll still only be mine."

  Shao Wenbai frowned. "She’s a person, not an object. She doesn’t belong to anyone. If you must say she belongs to someone, then she only belongs to herself."

  Jiang Yihuai sneered. "Professor Shao, for someone so well-read, you don’t seem to understand women very well. Ever heard the saying, 'the deeper the love, the deeper the hate'? Su Yumian is acting this way because she loves me too much."

  "If you don’t believe me, try knocking. She won’t open the door for you either. So stop coveting what’s not yours—it’s a waste of time."

  With that, Jiang Yihuai brushed past him and strode downstairs.

  Shao Wenbai watched him leave, then gnced at Su Yumian’s door, furrowing his brows in confusion.

  Of course, he knew she wouldn’t open the door for him.

  To be precise, she wouldn’t open the door for anyone.

  Because—

  She wasn’t even home.

  —

  Maldives.

  Clear blue skies, the sound of waves crashing.

  The turquoise waters were so transparent that fish could be seen swimming below. The sun was warm, the breeze gentle, and the waves pped softly at the shore.

  Three days ago, Su Yumian received a call from Shao Yuwei.

  She had just finished delivering a project, and her little puppy of a boyfriend had gone home for winter break. After sleeping for two days out of boredom, she decided to take an impromptu trip and invited Su Yumian to join.

  "As for the destination…" Shao Yuwei tapped her chin. "Let’s go to Maldives."

  Su Yumian thought for two seconds and agreed. "Alright."

  Partly to escape the mess caused by Shen Shiyan and Jiang Yihuai, and partly because she genuinely wanted to rex.

  Though she loved books and research, she also knew that being too tense wasn’t good. Bance is key to long-term stability.

  Now, lying on a beach chair, listening to the waves crashing against the rocks, basking in the warm sun, she was convinced she had made the right decision.

  She picked up the mango juice beside her and took a sip—not too sweet, not too bnd, just right.

  Not far away, Shao Yuwei, dressed in a sultry swimsuit, walked barefoot on the sand. Seeing Su Yumian so rexed, she flopped onto the chair beside her.

  "Ah~ this is the life. You really know how to enjoy yourself." She put on her sungsses, took a sip of coconut juice, and smirked in satisfaction.

  Su Yumian crossed her legs and zily turned over. "Weren’t you supposed to be on a date?"

  Shao Yuwei wrinkled her nose in distaste. "That blonde guy was all muscles—I thought he’d be amazing, but he was just a pretty shell. Even my little puppy is better."

  Su Yumian chuckled. "The one I met st time… Kevin?"

  "Already repced. This new one’s a sunshine type—cute face, cute personality, smells good all over, and best of all, he can cook! His food is so good!"

  "But you," Shao Yuwei turned to her, teasing through her sungsses, "Not thinking about getting another boyfriend?"

  Sticking to one guy forever? How boring.

  Dating different people was way more fun!

  Su Yumian gazed out at the ocean. "Not interested. No time, no energy, no need."

  "Fair," Shao Yuwei clicked her tongue. "Men only slow down a genius’s problem-solving speed and tank their exam scores."

  Stretching zily, she suddenly sat up. "Speaking of which… I just saw a hot blue-eyed guy. I’m gonna go chat him up. You enjoy yourself!"

  Su Yumian raised her gss in a toast. "Have fun."

  —

  Back in Jiang Yihuai’s office.

  "Did you confirm it?" Jiang Yihuai stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, his sharp gaze locked on his assistant. "You're sure it’s not another mistake?"

  The assistant trembled. "Apologies, Mr. Jiang, st time… was my oversight. But this time, it’s confirmed—Miss Su didn’t fly to Harbin. She went to Maldives."

  "Are you certain?"

  "Here’s the boarding information—her name is on the passenger list."

  Jiang Yihuai didn’t need to look—he trusted it was correct this time.

  The st mistake wasn’t entirely his assistant’s fault. Who could have predicted that Shen Shiyan would be so underhanded, swapping Su Yumian’s travel records with another passenger just to mislead his investigation?

  Jiang Yihuai: "Book me the earliest flight there."

  The assistant checked his phone. "The earliest flight is at 7 AM tomorrow."

  "Book it."

  "Understood. If there's nothing else, I’ll take my leave."

  Jiang Yihuai waved him off. The assistant left, carefully closing the door behind him. Outside, a colleague noticed his sweaty face. "Mr. Lin, did Mr. Jiang yell at you?"

  Lin Ming waved it off. "Forget it. Oh, by the way, book Mr. Jiang a 7 AM flight to Maldives. I don’t have time—I have to go to my kid’s parent-teacher meeting."

  "Got it! Don’t worry, I’ll handle it."

  Lin Ming chuckled. "You’ve only been here a few days—don’t be too cocky, or it'll come back to bite you."

  "Come on, how hard is it to book a flight? You underestimate me!"

  "Alright, hurry up. I gotta go before my kid nags me for a month…"

  The female assistant pulled up the booking system. Since Jiang Yihuai’s passenger info was already saved, two tickets popped up at checkout.

  Her first instinct was to call Lin Ming for crification—should she book for just Mr. Jiang, or also include the other passenger, Shi Muxi?

  But before she could ask, Lin Ming declined the call. She hesitated, then reasoned—Mr. Jiang wasn’t flying to the Maldives for business, right? If it was a trip, he’d definitely bring his girlfriend.

  Yep, two tickets sounded just right!

  xiaoxingxing