Xingchen hadn't expected him here.
And now, barely twenty meters separated their groups.
If her eyes didn't deceive her, Xu Yan stood beside him.
Leaning back against Zenan's chest moments ago, absorbed in her clumsy swing, the contact felt innocent. Now, an inexplicable guilt prickled her skin. Especially when Bai Yeqing's icy gaze flickered over them – a glance colder than the autumn air – sending her pulse hammering wildly.
"This…" she faltered, trying to slip her hand from Zenan's grasp. "Maybe… golf isn't my thing? We could do something else?"
Zenan's sharp eyes darted from her flushed face to the imposing presidential entourage nearby. A playful pout formed. "Ever since His Majesty appeared, you've been mentally orbiting him. Am I really such a bore?"
"Don't be ridiculous! I haven't!"
"Haven't?" Zenan scoffed, wagging a finger inches from her eyes. "You were boring holes into him with that stare!"
"I wasn't looking at him!" Xingchen stubbornly refused to admit it.
"Then who? The Italian?"
Her chin lifted defiantly. "Him. The translator beside the foreigner."
"Pulling my leg?"
"He was my first love," Xingchen admitted, pushing the club forward awkwardly. "Long over. He's marrying my stepsister soon."
"…Ouch." Zenan winced dramatically. "Brutal."
"Less gloating!"
"Hey," Zenan nudged her shoulder conspiratorially, his posture deliberately lazy. "Look alive. Pretty sure Mr. First Love just shot me daggers. Saw it when I touched you."
Xingchen glanced towards Xu Yan. Sure enough, his gaze locked onto hers. She offered a small, strained smile.
It felt strange. The lingering ache of their unfinished story had faded significantly in such a short time. Instead... her attention drifted helplessly towards the solitary figure seated in the VIP lounge.
Bai Yeqing sat with impeccable posture, conversing with Signor Meini. Framed by aides and security, his innate authority radiated like a gravitational field, palpable even at this distance.
As if sensing her scrutiny, his head turned. His eyes met hers – cool, distant, devoid of warmth.
Xingchen's breath hitched. She whipped her head away, heart thudding erratically against her ribs.
"Want to test his reaction?" Zenan murmured suddenly.
"What?" Test who?
Before she could react, Zenan's arm snaked firmly around her waist, pulling her flush against him. The sudden surge of masculine warmth and the solid press of his chest stunned her. Heat flooded her cheeks.
"Hey! What are you—?"
"Hold still!" Zenan chuckled low in her ear. "Check out First Love's face – looks fit to spontaneously combust! And… huh. Interesting. The President doesn't exactly look thrilled either."
Xingchen bit her lip, shoving him away, face burning. "You absolute creep!"
Zenan threw his hands up in mock surrender, grinning. "Just helping you gauge the lingering feelings! Clearly, the ex isn't over it!"
"Helping? That was pure opportunism!" Xingchen brandished her golf club menacingly.
Did Bai Yeqing misunderstand? The thought flickered. But why would he care? Presidential duties surely left no room for trivial matters like her casual embrace.
"Ow! Who knew you were so soft?" Zenan dodged her swing, laughter bubbling. "Nice figure too!"
"You—!" Her blush deepened crimson.
Zenan caught the club mid-swing, amusement dancing in his eyes at her flustered state. "Don't be mad! Compensation offered – feel free to cop a feel right back. I promise I'm surprisingly touchable..."
He playfully guided her hand towards his chest. Xingchen swatted him away, torn between outrage and reluctant laughter. "As if! I have some shame!"
Zenan's booming laughter echoed across the green.
...
That laughter, rich and carefree, carried the twenty meters with irritating clarity.
Leng Fei watched his President's expression darken steadily, the atmosphere thickening into glacial silence after Signor Meini moved to take his shot.
"Sir," Leng Fei murmured discreetly. "The gentleman with Miss Xia… he's the Vice President's younger brother."
"I know." Bai Yeqing's recognition was instant. Yu Zenan, freshly returned, was hard to miss.
"Any idea why he's so… familiar with Miss Xia? Could he be aware of her connection to you? Targeting her?"
"..." Bai Yeqing remained silent, lips pressed into a thin, forbidding line. The sounds of their playful argument washed over him like grating static. Deliberately, his gaze remained fixed forward, refusing another glance towards the source of the disturbance.
Leng Fei stood perplexed, utterly unable to decipher the storm brewing beneath his President's icy facade.
...
Much later, Xingchen retreated towards the clubhouse restroom, weary from the awkward tension. Passing the presidential group, she felt the weight of Xu Yan's gaze tracking her.
Bai Yeqing, however…
His gaze swept over her as though she were nothing more substantial than the breeze.
Ignoring the unwelcome pang of disappointment, Xingchen pushed into the ladies' room.
Minutes later, emerging while drying her hands, she collided headlong with a solid chest.
Startled, she looked up.
Xu Yan's troubled gaze met hers.
"What are you doing here?" Xingchen managed a weak smile, nodding towards the sign. "This is the ladies' room."
"I… was waiting for you."
"Me?"
Xu Yan nodded, his expression complex, layered with old pain and fresh confusion. "Is he your boyfriend? The one who took you away that night?"
The melancholy etched into his features was unmistakable. A trace of that old, bittersweet ache surfaced – first love, pristine in memory.
Instinctively, the lie slipped out. "Yes. Haven't had a chance to introduce him properly."
"Oh…" His voice dipped, shadowed by a profound melancholy. He watched her in silence, the seconds stretching uncomfortably.
The air grew thick with unspoken history and regret. Xingchen forced a polite smile. "Well… if that's all?" She moved to step around him.
Her slender wrist was captured before she took a single step.
Shock registered first. Then, reflexive resistance. Xu Yan's grip tightened, holding her fast.