A Graduation Gift

"I forgot to mention, this cottage belongs to my friend. It hasn't started serving officially yet. But, you can stay here tonight and be the first guests. I believe it will be an exotic experience."

Amanda snapped her fingers. A steward approached her and bowed.

"Miss Ke, is there anything I can help you with?"

His politeness was impeccable. He clearly seemed trained very well for this job.

"Ready the best room for Mr. Tang and Miss Luo. They are going to spend the night here post dinner."

It seemed like Amanda knew this place and the staff very well.

"Okay, Miss Ke."

The steward bowed again before he exited the dining room. Amanda finished the last piece of steak on her plate and stood up, saying, "The atmosphere here is quite soothing. Though it may not be as good as the most famous shore cities, it has a feeling of its own. If you still want any more food, feel free to ask the steward to prepare it for you. I will excuse myself, now. Good night. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Tang."

She shook hands with both Ivy and Lionel, then waved them goodbye, walking out.

As she stepped outside the place, Amanda turned back to glance at the cottage. Her smiling eyes turned to squinting.

'Ivy, don't blame me for being too cruel. This is how the real world works—the more powerful ones prey on the weaker ones. Unfortunately, you are too weak to be a predator, so take this chance and be my prey, ' she thought smugly.

Lionel and Ivy still sat at the table. It had been forever since they had dinner together. They gazed at each other in awe in the flickering glow of the candle light, feeling the unprecedented charm of the other.

Ivy's alluring red lips were slightly parted. Her eyes seemed to twinkle like stars.

"Lionel, you might be getting really tired these days. I noticed you don't even sleep in late like you used to."

Just like the dinner, it had been long since Ivy said anything caring or empathetic to Lionel. He felt some warmth emanating from her voice.

"Yeah...the tension between Tang Group and Dawn Star Group has heightened to another level. I cannot afford to relax."

As soon as he mentioned business, he recalled Horace's disappointed face whenever he looked at him. Almost immediately, the elation was replaced by depression.

to work with you in the future. I don't like to see you

her hand toward his, clutching

nails painted rose-red. Looking at her

and instantly fell into musings of the past.

the time when they had first started their relationship. He stood on the ground near her dorm, waiting for her to finish showering. When she came out, her long hair, still mildly wet, rested down on her

dwell in her own reveries too. Both found the world around them fading, turning into the lovely past they had shared with each other.

they might as well have felt a fire warming their hearts. They kept

their trance, the steward walked into the restaurant and reported in a respectful tone, "Mr. Tang, Miss Luo,

waiting for. They got up, and still holding hands,

spacious and very carefully

and closed the door behind him as

had entered a small world of their own. They continued to gaze

the shore, as if they were telling

morning, Ivy woke up with a heavy head. She could barely make her

of torrents, which kept beating the reef.

night she had spent with Lionel

managed to open her eyes. A man lay next to her with his

stirred in his sleep, slowly waking up. His mumbling voice sounded unfamiliar. Finally, he turned on his back and looked at Ivy

shock!

"Ah!"

utterly terrified.

strange man recovered from his daze and

you. What

but his smile was cunning and

are you? How did you get

started to spin. It felt like the

beautiful? We slept together and then dozed off about 2 hours ago. Have you

smile remained which only annoyed Ivy

I spent the night with my boyfriend!

Ivy was horrified.