Playing for real now?

"Actually... I don't mind turning a fake act into reality."

Yoo Jimin's eyes suddenly lost their clarity, fixing on her prey like a snake darting its tongue.

There was a hint of deliberate teasing in her words, but deep down, Yoo Jimin knew there was also a touch of sincerity.

Although they had known each other for less than half a month, and it was hard to speak of any deep emotional foundation...

Yet, whether viewed from subjective or objective factors, a handsome, powerful, and interesting man was worth being with—even if things didn't work out in the end, keeping company with him could never hurt.

Not wanting to be treated by Yoo Jimin as a naive kid whose head was only filled with romance, Xia Xing rested his elbow on the armrest of the bench, propped his chin in his hand, and replied with a feigned, interested tone:

"Oh? And how do you plan to turn this fake act into reality?"

"How?"

Yoo Jimin uttered an enigmatic hum. Suddenly closing the distance between them, a faint scent of camellia drifted over.

She lightly brushed her head against his shoulder, tracing an upward curve from his trapezius to his neck, her red lips parting slightly as she breathed against the collar of his white shirt.

A tingling sensation spread uncontrollably and rapidly across his shoulder blades like a virus.

"Just like this—direct seduction."

Feeling the gentle force pushing her away, Yoo Jimin let out a scoff and pulled herself back up to sit properly. "No fun at all."

Suppressing his accelerating breathing rhythm and rising chest, Xia Xing pressed his dry lips together and responded in a calm tone:

"The one who's no fun is you. Did you really think you could seduce me like that? You seem rather inexperienced in this area."

"Hey... yeah, I'm not like those women in clubs who throw themselves at you the moment you crook a finger."

She seemed stung by Xia Xing's counterattack, a trace of displeasure coloring her tone.

Perhaps... Yoo Jimin simply couldn't accept the idea of someone not being interested in her.

"Alright, don't be mad."

"Who's mad? We're not even friends."

"Pfft..." Xia Xing couldn't help but laugh out loud. Yoo Jimin crossing her arms over her chest and putting on a pretense of indifference was actually rather amusing.

Suddenly thinking of something, he pulled an exquisite gift package out of his bag and sighed with a touch of regret: "Not friends? And here I was, originally intending to get a gift for a friend."

Though it wasn't very obvious, Xia Xing noticed Yoo Jimin's ears twitch slightly and her furtive glance drifting toward him.

"I know you won't believe me when I say this, but I'm really not the kind of player who takes relationships casually."

"I'm the type of person who carefully prepares gifts for friends."

"Hmph..." She turned her head toward the dimly lit, distant reaches of the park, attempting to hide her thoughts in the dark night.

"A signature pen by Shaw. If I remember correctly... you happen to be the brand ambassador for Shaw, right?"

The gift box, adorned with gold patterns on a black background, was held out in both hands toward Yoo Jimin. Though she refused to look at the man beside her, she could almost feel the sincere and burning gaze of the gift-giver.

"I'm really not mad..."

"You put a lot of thought into this..."

Sighing as if surrendering, Yoo Jimin reached out and took the gift box, holding it close to her chest with both arms.

Involuntarily shifting her gaze back from the end of the park pathway, she bit her lower lip, trying her best to calm her fluctuating emotions.

A flash of inspiration crossed her mind. Regaining her previous composure, she curved the corners of her mouth slightly: "Making such a big deal out of it and giving gifts—you don't really want to turn this fake act into reality, do you?"

"I just thought..."

Xia Xing was about to say something, but Yoo Jimin hastily interrupted him: "Alright, we came out today to talk about business."

She placed the gift box back into her black tote bag and pulled out an invitation letter instead: "Take a look."

Filled with bewilderment, Xia Xing opened the invitation, but its contents made his vision go dark.

Pan-Island International was inviting the girl group aespa to perform as guest artists at Chairman Xia Xuhe's seventieth birthday banquet.

Seeing the signature on the invitation, the corners of Xia Xing's mouth twitched slightly.

His cheap, opportunistic uncle-in-law, Kim Sungmin, really was a troublemaker who loved stirring up chaos. To think he could actually come up with the idea of inviting aespa—a girl group that debuted in the 2020s—to perform at Xia Xuhe's seventieth birthday party...

Among Xia Xuhe's social circle, there were probably very few who even looked upon Lee Sooman with favor, let alone anyone who knew who aespa were.

Just imagining these four young women dancing to songs like *Next Level* in front of a crowd of elderly people... it wasn't hard to picture all those old folks wearing the expression of the classic "subway old man looking at phone" meme.

Yet, every coin has two sides. It was precisely this chaotic enthusiasm of his—constantly finding various ways to ingratiate himself with Xia Xuhe and Xia Minji—that allowed him to leap from a lowly team leader in charge of insurance financial planning under Pan-Island Finance to become the Chief Operating Officer of Pan-Island International Group.

Xia Xing merely uttered a silent internal complaint before connecting this to the matter of someone within the family attempting to expose his identity, deepening his suspicions even further.

Perhaps in the script written by that family insider and Dispatch, this seventieth birthday celebration was meant to be the exact catalyst for him and Yoo Jimin to meet.

They certainly knew how to weave a fine story.

However, a man with such an unstable foundation who clearly climbed to his position by riding his wife's coattails would never have the guts to pull off such a stunt.

If someone authorized him to do this, who was the person truly calling the shots?

Could it be his eldest aunt, Xia Minji? If it were her, ever since she ruthlessly bit off a piece of Pan-Island Real Estate half a year ago, her relations with the rest of the Xia family had indeed become strained.

Even her own biological son, Park Semin, was increasingly reluctant to bother with Xia Minji, leaving her relationship with the Xia family to be maintained solely by an outsider like Kim Sungmin.

In Park Semin's words, he would rather accept Kim Sungmin as a stepfather than accept that traitorous old mother of his.

Though, as far as Park Semin was concerned, "traitorous" might not simply refer to Xia Minji swallowing up Pan-Island Real Estate's prime assets at a low price—he didn't have the brains to think about things on that deep a level.

"Aunt?" His gaze turned cold as he handed the invitation back untouched: "Thank you so much. This information is crucial to me."

Though he had always harbored suspicions about his eldest aunt, Xia Minji, after all, she was the one who had constantly shouted about splitting up the family assets.

"Aren't you going to take a photo or something?" Yoo Jimin put the invitation back into her tote bag and stood up. "As evidence for later."

"Evidence?" Xia Xing laughed in spite of himself. "Leaving evidence will only bring trouble upon you, silly girl."

"Oh... are you worried that I'll face retaliation from this Kim Sungmin?"

"Not him. He doesn't have the guts." Xia Xing sighed softly. "At most, he's just skimming a few kickbacks off your appearance fees. That's the extent of his ambition."

Seeing him tacitly confirm her guess, Yoo Jimin's mood improved somewhat. She let out another huff, though her tone carried a slightly coquettish edge.

"Well, thanks for your concern. I should head back now."

"Don't just stand there, walk me out."

Under the streetlights, at that same parting intersection from before, Xia Xing watched Yoo Jimin board a taxi.

He thought once more of the fountain pen he had given her and let out a silent sigh in his heart.

That fountain pen was actually just something he bought earlier today while shopping because he liked the look of it, intending to use it for practicing his calligraphy. He had only found out this afternoon from a poster that Yoo Jimin was the ambassador for Shaw.

After arranging to meet Yoo Jimin, he had rushed home, dropped off the couple hoodies and dolls from his shopping bag, and hurried out again—completely forgetting to take the signature pen out of his backpack.

"I seem to be getting... better and better at lying."