After sending Violet into the exam centre, Sebastian decided to chill for a freshly pressed mango smoothie by the roadside as he watched the ocean peacefully. It had been just a couple of days in Kung Tap, and yet it felt like he had never left this place at all. He dreaded the thought of returning the next day. It took him a while to realise his phone had been vibrating with a continuous stream of incoming messages from his agency.
They were pushing for him to return tonight itself, as he had a last-minute advertisement job scheduled tomorrow. He frowned and recalled his medical report stating he was on sick leave till today as he took a deep breath, trying to contain his anger.
He had seen them coming. Though he was dreading it, he had to gear himself up for a short war. He was glad he sorted everything out with Violet, and his love life was a bliss.
By the time Violet stepped out of the exam hall, she was stretching with a wide smile, knowing she had aced the exams. All of this was quickly cut short when Sebastian, who embraced her in a hug, shared the news of their early departure.
She knew trouble did not leave them the moment they landed in Phut Bi. On the flight, she was restless. She could not help but anticipate all the bad possibilities that would happen.
Sebastian held her hands in his to calm her down. "Everything will be fine. Trust me, alright? At least, Sam…" Sebastian coaxed as Violet forced herself to nod before snuggling tightly with him, wishing time could stop.
When they landed, there were lots of reporters gathering at the entrance. She instantly thought it was for Sebastian.
"How did they know you were here… No way… This agent…" She was about to curse when he dragged her to the side. He moved his hands quickly to disguise her with a scarf and a hat before putting on her shades. He then nudged her to take her lipstick from her bag to apply it with his chin, but she frowned in confusion as he chuckled.
He leaned down a little to face her closer. "You make me disguise myself this way; don't you think you need a little lipstick to make those lips disguised with the other setup?" He teased by stealing a kiss, which shocked her.
"Hey! There are reporters…" She smacked him as he quickly tried to dig through her bag for the lipstick, only for her to beat him to it. She applied it by using his shades to see her reflection before smiling.
"Pretty?" She giggled as he snarled at her playfully for using his shades before holding her on her waist and escorting her safely past the crowd who had no idea it was the couple they were waiting for.
They was about to get into Sam's car only for Fang Li to walk up to the couple and tried to reveal their identity but Violet was alert to notice them rushing to them earlier.
"What do you want?" Violet walked up to Fang Li after shoving Sebastian into the car before slamming the door shut. Sam stepped out of the driver's seat to defend Violet.
"Escaping the reporters with your boyfriend? Thought you weren't returning?" Fang Li said sarcastically, though she suspected the figure looked like Sebastian.
"Turning into a paparazzi, I see? Fascinating, I am an artist now, isn't it?" Violet replied sarcastically, which turned away Fang Li's suspicion fortunately.
"If we didn't track you, how would we get to Sebastian? Now, where is Sebastian?" Fang Li directed the question to Sam.
"The schedule is for tonight. I am here to pick up my sister and my future brother-in-law. What obligations do we have to report to you on private matters?" Sam presented a strong point Fang Li could not retaliate against as she glared sharply at Violet with hatred before stomping off with the other crew members.
Sam quickly dragged Violet into the front seat as he rushed to drive off cause he knew Fang Li was going to lure the reporters to them. True enough, she did, but it was too late as Sam had already sped off far from the airport.
"I will go with him tonight. You should spend more time with Jade." Violet said to Sam as she held on tightly to her safety belt. Not even Sebastian dared to probe Sam for details as he was seriously concentrating on speeding home to get them both safely changed before the agency crew members chased them into the condominium.
Only when they had entered the unit the siblings were living in did Sam begin his briefing.
"You can go tonight. But…" Sam raised a finger at Violet as a warning. Jade, who wanted to greet them all, paused. Instead, she exchanged polite nods with Sebastian, who was equally worried about the siblings' tension.
"You must be on full alert. Fang Li was provoking you earlier. If I weren't there, you would have gotten him exposed." Sam's finger hastily pointed at Sebastian before returning to Violet, who nodded.
"What's the job tonight? A photoshoot?" Violet questioned as Sam sighed.
"Yes. But this is a very strange request… It came last minute for a small brand. I know Cao Tao is desperate to squeeze him for money, but this new brand, Szemine osmanthus biscuits…" Sam raised an eyebrow as he threw several samples over the kitchen counter, and Sebastian frowned when he checked the manufacturer.
"Another Cao… " Sebastian pointed out as they all noticed the factory name as Cao Kong Tang.
"Sze Min is the youngest daughter of the Cao's family. She has absolutely no idea how to run a business." Sebastian alerted, as Sam nodded.
"Definitely a trap…" Jade added as Violet sighed with worry.
"I believe that's why Fang Li was worried I would spoil the agency's plan. You know what? You shall follow Fang Li as usual, whereas I will trail you all from behind. Call me and leave the call on a black screen so that I can hear if there are any changes…" Violet explained her plans to Sebastian, who shook his head.
"You shouldn't come…" Sebastian concluded.
"I want to. I could always call him to rescue us anytime. He tracks my GPS. That's why he knew where we were most of the time." Violet reminded him as Sebastian sighed in defeat and gave in. Jade shared a comforting smile with Violet. She understood it was Violet's little ways to keep herself calm while Sebastian was away.
True enough, Fang Li and the crew left Sebastian surrounded by reporters on purpose, without trying to stop them from getting close to Sebastian. His fans were chasing him as well.
Within the chaos, Violet was worried about Sebastian, but she was more concerned about his fans. They were clearly the victims of the aggressive reporters. She quickly rushed forward without thinking much when she anticipated the fall of a young lady being shoved by the reporter.
It was a huge commotion, and everyone's eyes were on the reporter, who hastily apologised before chasing after Sebastian, who had caught sight of Violet being crushed by another lady.
"Are you alright?" Violet quickly checked on the lady as she nodded. "Thank you, big sister. Sorry for the inconvenience." She apologised.
"Don't be." Violet helped her stand. After ensuring she was fine, Violet stepped forward furiously.
"Do you have no manners? Do you not know how to apologise to others?!" Violet directed her scolding towards the reporter as Sebastian met with Violet's gaze while all the fans were chanting for an apology from the reporter, who was embarrassed.
Violet discreetly signalled to Sebastian to leave the vicinity as she whispered to each fan to help distract the reporters. The reporter had no choice but to apologise openly to the fan with a bow as they continued their chase after Sebastian, who was already inside the filming site.
The lady earlier went back to Violet and recognised her. "I know you… You're Sebastian's assistant!" The lady announced as Violet nodded humbly, trying not to attract much attention as she put a finger over her lips.
"Could you keep it a secret and keep a low profile, please? We are here to help Sebastian work better despite his hectic schedule. Thank you for the help earlier too... What's your name?" Violet asked the lady whom she saved.
"Jia Le. And you're?" Jia Le asked in return.
"Vi…" She smiled as the other girls were excited to find her being so friendly.
"Alright, I need to head back to work. Stay safe, alright? Don't stay too late either. He will end very late, but I will make sure he heads home safely and rests well. I will get him to post updates later, okay?" Violet cheered with the fans who agreed and escorted her to the entrance of the filming site.
She had never expected them to be his protector in the end. With them around and the reporters who actually were siding with the agency, she could easily drive the reporters away by having Sebastian post on his social media to thank his fans.
While she was toying with the thought, she was pulled to a corner by someone. When she caught her breath and saw it was none other than Sebastian, she hugged him. "Aren't you afraid of being caught?" She teased him as he chuckled.
"Aren't you afraid? Being so bold?" She let go of him as their gazes met.
"I know this is a hidden corner; otherwise, you wouldn't pull me here. Now, listen. Quickly post an appreciation post to thank your fans. This will keep you safe all the time. Only today did I learn you have fans who are like hawks protecting you…" She praised as he chuckled.
"It wasn't their first time…" He teased as he took a selfie and posted the appreciation post. "What do you mean?" Violet asked, but soon his notifications were flooding in with gratitude for his nice and pretty assistant helping them out earlier.
He smiled and kept the suspense for her as they went into the filming site with poker faces.