Lin Mo, fueled by the thought "If I don't spend this idiot brother's money, the female lead will!", marched through the mall. She bought the latest, most expensive phone. Then she hit every luxury boutique, shopping bags multiplying until all three of them were laden.
Her mood lifted slightly. Unseen, the paparazzi Li Huanyu had summoned were packing up... until they spotted Shen Yhan with another girl! Shutters clicked frantically. Shen Yihan was internet royalty – devastatingly handsome, filthy rich, ruthlessly efficient, yet known as the Capital City's Buddha Prince for his prayer beads. His rumored romance with rising starlet Li Huanyu was massive gossip fodder! They'd been hired for sweet couple shots. But seasoned paparazzi knew drama outsold fluff. Buddha Prince dumps sweetheart for new flame? Explosive! Disguised as a janitor, the photographer nearly wept with joy at his luck.
However, Shen Yihan stayed close to the girl, flanked by his assistant. The paparazzo couldn't get a clear front shot, only side profiles and back views. It was enough. Posted online by 7 PM, the hashtags exploded:
#ShenYihanSpendsMillionsShoppingWithMysteryBeauty Boom!#ShenYihanLiHuanyuOver?
#BuddhaPrincesNewFlameInside a moving, custom grey Rolls-Royce:
Jin Yang glanced at his phone and sneered, turning to his boss. "CEO Xie, Shen Yihan's in the news again. Lately, he's been acting possessed, obsessed with women. Should we reduce our investment in Starflash? Their Q2 profits are dipping." He couldn't fathom what Xie Guanyan saw in Starflash. Since Shen Yihan took over, Xie had continually invested, expanding the other's empire.
Seated on the right, the man in pristine white tailored suit adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses. His face was impossibly beautiful, ethereal and untouchable as an immortal. Yet a tea-colored mole on the tip of his nose, caught in the flickering streetlights outside, added a startling, sensual vibrancy. He seemed weary, removing his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Which starlet this time?" he asked lazily.
Jin Yang shook his head, zooming in on a photo. "Unclear. Paparazzi missed her face. But her profile and figure suggest a beauty."
Xie Guanyan held his glasses loosely, his gaze drifting casually to Jin Yang's phone screen. The photo showed three people: the imposing Shen Yihan, prayer-bead wrist weighed down by five shopping bags; his tall, coolly elegant assistant similarly laden; and the girl between them, only her profile visible.
Xie Guanyan's focus snapped instantly to the girl.
Long hair cascaded over her shoulders. Her profile was exquisite, porcelain-fine.
There were no identifying details.
Yet, in that single glance, the world dissolved.
His breath hitched. All sound vanished except the deafening hammer of his own heart.
THUD! THUD!! THUD!!!Jin Yang's phone was suddenly wrenched from his hand.
Startled, he looked at his boss.
His pupils contracted in shock.
He had never seen the ethereal, untouchable Xie Guanyan wear an expression of such obsessive hunger, such undisguised, cloying intensity.