Edinburgh, Scotland, 19:05;

As the Bugatti drove through the silent roads of Dunedin, Rong Xinghe took a shine to the dreamlike city. The lights blinked back to them from the huge finely-built buildings, as they passed by at a considerably safe pace. Beside her, Xi Yuan sat, his eyes focussed on the road in front of him. He wasn't yet done spoiling her. There was, but one more thing, on his list tonight. But he intended to keep it as a surprise from her.

She had spent the entire noon shopping today, hunting for souvenirs for her family, and for his. It was a thoughtful gesture, so the man hadn't stood in the way of it initially, and only when she'd started to feel exhausted did he rush her out of the busy, crowded streets.

"Thank you for today, Lover.", the girl turned to her darling, smiling at him sweetly.

"Just down your energy drink.", the man replied, his tone earnest, "And try to get some sleep if possible, okay?"

"I am fine.", Rong Xinghe sighed, "Don't worry."

"Seriously?", Xi Yuan then glared at the girl beside him, "Why did you fight with that woman?! By the end of your little argument, you were trembling, Xinghe. Literally."

"She pushed you!", the girl shot back, infuriated, "You could've tripped."

"It was a flea market."

"So?"

"You do remember we were masked and that not everyone in Scotland knows us, right?", Xi Yuan tabled, "She must've taken me for a local..."

"But you're not. Even among commoners, you stand out, Mr. Xi."

"Flirting is not going to help here, woman!", the man squinted his eyes at the girl, his soft voice telling otherwise.

Noticing her escape, the girl let out a burst of nervous laughter, "Let bygones be bygones, please?"

"Alright.", the man said after a few seconds of consideration, "But on one condition."

"What?!", the girl gasped, "I am not going to kiss you just for the sake of forgiveness. Let me make that very clear."

Xi Yuan then hit the brakes, as the car came to halt in front of the red-light traffic signal. Fixing his attention at her stern expression, he then smirked, "I was going to ask you to guzzle down two more bottles of the energy drink."

"Oh...", the girl looked away from him, embarrassed.

"But please go on.", the man chuckled, closing in on her, "I really want to know exactly what kind of novels and mangas you've been reading lately, Military Chief. Please. Enlighten me."

"I--"

But before she could say any further, the man captured her perfectly sculpted red lips into his. The touch of his hands, and that of his lips against her skin, was indescribably fierce. As if he wanted to own the whole her. And yet, he released her shortly after, leaving her to crave for more.

"There you go.", he winked at her then, a breezy laugh resounding through the warm atmosphere, "I honored your indecent fantasies."

"Wha-", the girl's eyes widened as she smacked the man's arm repeatedly, "Those are not my fantasies!!"

But Xi Yuan loved to tease her. He enjoyed her childishness the most, for she barely revealed this side of hers to the world. With the kind of responsibilities she carried upon her shoulders, she had to put on a tough, reserved, and mature exterior. And that was understandably fine too.

However, she was at absolute liberty to behave the way she wished to, in front of him. Lazy, crazy, sensual, and emotional. What was the use of having a partner if she couldn't be her real self with him by her side, right?

________________

Country X, City A, 00:10;

Whilst Xinguan was busy enjoying the fascinating land of Scotland, immersed in each other's invigorating presence, a woman strode through one of the still corridors of a western-style high-rise hotel, the sound of her heels resonating throughout the empty space. She took a turn to the right, and then, entered a VIP Suite.

Presidential Suite-1001, to be exact.

"President Rong.", she addressed the man sitting over the couch, her voice filled with confidence.

"Miss Huang...", the man raised his head up at the disturbance, a devious smile making way to his mouth, "Welcome. Please make yourself comfortable.", he added next.

"If you insist.", Huang Biu smiled back, grabbing a seat opposite him, "I wonder why, someone as powerful as the Young Master of the Rong family, would summon me?"

"What's the hurry?", Rong Yufan responded with a question, his eyes glued to the sparkling claret wine in his glass, "Let's start with a few drinks, shall we?"

"As you wish.", the woman shrugged, pouring herself some wine too. In the quiet then, she did not utter another word to him. Rong Yufan wasn't the kind of person one could just joke around with. Huang Biu was smart enough to know that by now. A person with an unparalleled reputation in hypnosis could be considered much more dangerous than terrorists and murderers out there. Not to mention, the way he had climbed up in the world of business since the past two years was frighteningly odd. There was no way he would've been able to achieve so much without someone strong backing him up.

But even then, she had her reasons to come to such a person so late at night.

"Of all the things I know about you...", the man said after some time, "I never thought of you as a quitter."

"What do you mean?", the woman frowned.

"Your brother asked you to give up on Xi Yuan and you did, despite liking him for so long.", Rong Yufan explained, "I don't know what relationship he shares with Xinghe, but the fact that he compromised his own sister's happiness for her sake, is too disturbing.

"Honestly, I've always shipped you and Mr. Xi. You both would've been quite the match, may I dare say."

There. That was her reason. That, and her vengeance for Rong Xinghe. As punishment for troubling Rong Xinghe's 'private' life, her elder brother, Huang Ling, had ripped her off of all her powers in the Huang Business Empire. Both her career and her love were ruined by that woman; something she could never forget. She wanted Xi Yuan to fall for her, yes. But more than anything else, she wanted to defeat Rong Xinghe. Making the life of Country X's Military Chief a living hell was, at this point, her one and only desire.