A while later, Vivian stepped out of the hotel, the sun bouncing off the penthouse glass and catching in her blonde hair. The valet was hustling toward the car, opening doors and adjusting mirrors. Lin Fang's eyes, however, were fixed elsewhere.

The roar of a motorcycle broke the hotel's quiet, and he came sliding to a stop beside the sleek black limousine. Vivian turned, eyebrow raised, a little surprised.

"You're not coming with me?" she asked, voice carrying equal parts curiosity and amusement.

Lin Fang shook his head calmly. "I'm not getting into that kind of car," he said, gesturing at the ultra-luxurious four-seater limo. "It draws stupid attention. You go ahead—I'll ride my bike."

"Motorcycle?" Vivian blinked. Then she glanced at him, and a mischievous smile tugged at her lips. Without another word, she strode past the limousine, looping an arm over his shoulder.

"All right," she said lightly, almost casually. "I'll come with you."

Lin Fang froze for half a heartbeat, surprise flickering across his face. "You really want to ride a motorcycle?"

She shrugged. "It's not my first time."

He handed her the helmet he pulled from his backpack. "Here, take this. I don't have a pair for you."

Vivian raised an eyebrow, tilting her head. "What about you?"

Lin Fang smirked faintly, sliding on his own helmet. "I'm a hunter. I don't need to follow such safety steps."

She laughed softly, the sound carried in the morning air, and slid carefully behind him, gripping his waist lightly but firmly.

The motorcycle's engine purred to life before leaving toward the gates.

Up on the sixth-floor balcony, Mark stared after them, jaw clenched so tight the vein at his temple throbbed. He slammed his fist onto the railing, the metal ringing under the blow.

"This bitch—" he muttered, each word grinding out like stone. "She's gone too far. Now she wants to openly cheat on me because of some little shit who's stronger than me… No. He is not the problem." He breathed fast, eyes burning with something colder than anger. "She is the problem…"

He paced a single step, then stopped, and the promise left him in a low, dangerous tone. "Fine. Just you wait."

Below, the motorcycle became a speck as it went farther and farther away from the hotel.

*

The city mall buzzed with kids running between stores, shoppers juggling bags, and the hum of escalators filling the air. The Thursday morning rush hours brought many people to the mall for the discounted prices.

Lin Fang and Vivian moved through the crowd, the blonde practically glowing with excitement as she darted from display to display. handbags, shoes—her arms were full in no time, while Lin Fang trailed behind, hands in his pockets, nodding occasionally, not intending to carry her shopping bags at all.

In the end, they ended up in the dress section. She went on trying on dresses over and over again, showing off to Lin Fang and asking his opinion every time, but only simple diplomatic but disinterested words escaped his mouth.

"What do you think?" she asked, twirling in a light blue dress.

"It's good," Lin Fang replied flatly.

She tried another—a red evening gown. "And now?"

"Yeah… good."

Another—a white summer dress.

"Okay," he nodded.

Vivian pouted, puffing her cheeks in frustration. "Can't you give a more enthusiastic answer?!"

Lin Fang just shrugged. "They all look fine."

After a dozen attempts, Vivian stopped and gave him a pointed glare. "You're… really noncooperative," she said.

Lin Fang shrugged casually. "It's not like we're familiar. I'm not bold enough to act like that."

Vivian narrowed her eyes and stared at him for a few seconds. Suddenly, her eyes wandered around, spotting that only a couple of shoppers were around apart from the staff members nearby, and something clicked in her head.

With a huff, Vivian turned and stomped back into the fitting room, clearly not satisfied with his lack of excitement.

After a moment of silence, she peeked out from behind the curtain, her head barely visible. Her voice was sweet yet playful as she called, "Lin Fang~"

He raised an eyebrow, sensing trouble. "What?"

She giggled. "I need some help."

Lin Fang frowned. "With what?"

"The zipper," she said, her tone innocent. "I can't reach it."

He hesitated. "Why are you calling me?"

"Who else am I supposed to call? The strangers?" she teased. "Come on, I can't stay in here forever!"

As Lin Fang hesitated, Vivian then said, "Aren't you my bodyguard who was supposed to protect me? Now, Your Miss is in trouble of facing embarrassment. Shouldn't you help her out?"

Lin Fang wasn't convinced by her logic, but not wanting any trouble, he sighed and stepped inside the fitting room, expecting to see another one of her usual dresses. But when his eyes landed on her, he froze.

Vivian stood there in a tight, one-piece swimsuit, her thighs exposed, her smooth skin practically glowing under the soft light. The suit hugged her figure, accentuating her curves in a way that made Lin Fang uncomfortable.

He quickly averted his gaze, focusing on the zipper rather than the sight before him. "Just stay still," he muttered.

She smirked, clearly enjoying his reaction. "Why are you looking away? It's just a swimsuit. Moreover, for someone who looked me bare naked, don't you think you're feeling an embarrassment, a joke now?"

Ignoring her teasing, he swiftly unzipped the back of the swimsuit, stepping away as soon as the task was done. "There, it's done."

Vivian hummed. "Thanks~ but don't go just yet."

Before he could react, Vivian casually began undressing right in front of him.

Lin Fang turned his head sharply, his face heating up. "What are you doing?!" he scolded.

But when he dared to glance back, he realized that she wasn't naked—she was still wearing her undergarments.

Vivian burst into laughter. "You're so easy to mess with!"

He clenched his jaw, feeling utterly played. "Stop messing around," he grumbled, turning to leave.

Still chuckling, Vivian slipped into another dress. "Be honest. If you think I was naked, why did you glance back? Aren't you taking your chance to see me naked again?"

Lin Fang folded his arms, looking away in embarrassment. His ears turned partially red as he spoke, "No way. Why… why would I like to see you naked? I know that you are wearing a dress underneath."

After a brief pause, he further added. "And for your information, even if you expose yourself in front of me, you can't embarrass me. I'll go out and wait. You finish and come…"

Vivian didn't take his words to heart. But instead, she smirked, a glint of mischief flashing in her eyes. "Oh? You think that wasn't embarrassing?" She stepped closer, tilting her head. "Then maybe I should show you what real teasing looks like."

Lin Fang frowned, sensing trouble. "What are you—"

Before he could finish, Vivian suddenly let out a loud, dramatic moan.

"Aaah~! honey~!" she cried in an exaggerated, sultry voice. "Not here… Aah~ don't touch me there…"

His eyes widened in horror. "What the hell are you doing?!"

She didn't stop. "Mmm~! Honey~ not so rough~! Please be gentle… Aah~"

Lin Fang immediately left the fitting room, but just as he stepped out, he locked eyes with a staff member who had been walking past.

The woman froze.

Lin Fang froze.

The air between them grew painfully awkward.

The staff member's eyes flickered between Lin Fang and the closed fitting room curtain, her expression slowly turning into a knowing smile.

Lin Fang's face turned crimson. Without another word, he spun on his heels and stormed out of the store, his jaw clenched in frustration. Behind him, Vivian burst into laughter. Holding her stomach, she wiped away a tear and grinned. "That was way too funny! Can't believe this is the same cute guy who exhibited such coldness yesterday…"

Several hours later, the sky had darkened, and the streets of the city were glowing with neon lights.

Over the past ten hours, they went shopping, had a lunch date, went to Arcade games, then bowling, then on a street food tour.

And yet, Vivian still wasn't done.

"Come on, one last stop!" she declared just when Lin Fang thought they would return to the hotel.

Lin Fang sighed. "Where now?"

Vivian grinned mischievously. "The movies!"

Lin Fang immediately shook his head. "No, I'm exhausted, not physically. But mentally." After a pause, he sort of complained, "Just how much do you want to spend this day to remove that bad mood you had in the morning?"

Vivian, however, smirked and placed a hand on her hip. "Lin Fang~ did you forget that you promised to protect me 24/7?"

Lin Fang tensed. "…Yes."

"Well then!" She clasped her hands together dramatically. "What if I get attacked inside the theater? What if a dangerous assassin is hiding in the seats?"

Lin Fang pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling sharply. "Seriously?"

"I'm a VIP. You never know when I will be attacked." Vivian giggled in victory and practically skipped ahead toward the movie theater, dragging him along. "Let's watch a romantic movie! I heard Actress Xiaomei's movie is still in theaters…"

Lin Fang didn't even bother arguing anymore. He simply resigned himself to his fate.

And so, he found himself sitting in a dimly lit theater, watching a romance film filled with dramatic confessions, passionate kisses, and emotional love scenes, one of the boldest movies of Zhonggou origin. While he likes to watch such movies too, he doesn't want to watch them with Vivian. He would want to watch it with his girlfriend instead. And moreover, disinterested as he was, as someone from the future who had already seen this movie more than a few times in his life, none of the scenes excited him a bit.

Vivian, on the other hand, was enjoying every second of it. Occasionally, she'd steal glances at him, a satisfied smile playing on her lips.

Today seemed to have been way too fun for her.

For Lin Fang, however, it was one of the most exhausting days of his life. He could only look forward to the day he finishes his 3-day work commitment and returns to Li Liu's side.

After a while, at Hotel Oasis;

Mark Johnson, Vivian's fiance, was striding left and right in the room, looking at his watch every now and then.

"It's already 10:45… how long does it take for her to return…" He muttered in frustration.

After taking a couple of steps, he stopped as a thought crept into his mind. "She will return, right? She won't check into some other hotel with that bast*rd, right? She wasn't even picking up my calls…"

Right then, his phone buzzed, and he hurriedly lifted the call. "Hello, babe…"

Vivian's voice sounded a bit annoying from the other side as she said, "What is it? You called more than thirty times…"

Clenching his fist and taking a deep breath, Mark then said, "Well, I was worried for you…"

"You don't have to be worried for me… I'm on my way, already."

At that, his eyes lit up. "Oh, great… But if you don't mind, shall we meet at Mariotte?"

"Why?"

"Actually, due to the whole incident with your bodyguard and the fight with you, I didn't get the chance to tell you. We are invited by the mayor for his brother's birthday tonight."

"Eh? Mayor?"

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