He was oblivious of his surroundings. He did not know that there was a girl not too far, watching him from the shadows.

The girl seated herself a safe distance away from Xue Guangxi. She was hugging her flexed knees while watching him. She seemed to be troubled. Although she was watching him closely, it seemed that she did not have any plans of approaching him.

After a while she went away quietly.

----

Kang Sola was riding her bike along the road one windy afternoon. Upon reaching the area near the lake, she saw a familiar figure sprawled on the gra.s.s near the lake's edge. 'It's Xue Guangxi.'

She decided to check on him. Guiding her bike, she descended from the highway to the lakesh.o.r.e. It was around half past three in the afternoon.

"Marketing Director." She called. There was no response from him.

"Second Young Master." She called again. Still no response.

"Guangxi." She whispered relatively loudly in a well-modulated voice. She cupped her hand along the side of her mouth as gesture of undertone. If he's really sleeping she did not want to surprise him. He might suffer from heart attack.

However, Xue Guangxi still did not respond.

'It must have been the head phones. Perhaps he could not hear me. Is he still alive? Did he collape?' She shuddered. She extended her hand and poked him gingerly with her index finger. Xue Guangxi's hand moved in reflex, grabbing Kang Sola's hand. Her senses heightened. She felt her blood flow increased tremendously.

She did not want to surprise Xue Guangxi, yet it was her who was so taken aback that she would have suffered a heart attack.

She tried to retrieve his hand but to no avail. His grasp was too strong. His eyes slowly opened.

"Mhmm.. It's you Kang Sola" He slowly released her hand. "What do you want?" He asked her, maintaining his lying position.

"I-I was just checking on you. I saw you while I was on my bike. You weren't moving. You weren't answering when I called your name. Maybe you could not hear because of your headphones so I… I… nudged you once. A little. Just a little."

From his tone, it was quite apparent that he was in no good mood. Kang Sola stuttered. She was specifically scared of this version of Guangxi.

At some point, he's simply being a jerk, with a dry humour and just, simply scary. That was how Kang Sola thought of him currently.

"You were with a girl before, but the girl left so I was not sure if you were okay. You seemed to be okay now. I better get going." She was prepared to stand up.

Xue Guangxi caught her wrist. "Stay. You said there's a girl here? You weren't talking about yourself?"

"No. Before I came there's another girl. She was seated there." She pointed at where the mysterious girl sat before. "She seemed to be watching you, but she left. When I reached you she was gone."

Xue Guangxi did not think about it too seriously. The girl was probably one of her exes, or an aspiring one. It was common knowledge that this young master changed his girlfriend too frequently.

Kang Sola joined him in his reverie. She also lied down on her back at a relatively acceptable distance from him. They could still talk while not being too near with each other. She stared at the deep blue sky. There were dragonflies hovering over them.

Guangxi changed his headphones into earphones. He offered one to Kang Sola. She put it in her ear nearer Guangxi. They listened to the music in peace.

"Are you really okay, Second Young Master?"

"Drop the formality. Call me Guangxi. Why do you always revert to that?!" He said, irritated.

"En. Okay. Guangxi.

"How about you, how do you want to be called? If I may ask, as I haven't yet. I only a.s.sumed the most normal, casual way." Guangxi said.

"Just Sola. The usual." She answered while being quite flabbergasted by the question.

"Just Sola it is." Guangxi was being mischievous.

"Hey, Just Sola." He called her.

Kang Sola's face turned red violet, almost competing with her hair's purple highlights.

Guangxi laughed out loud. "HAHAHAHAHA!!!!" His laughter reverberated in the meadows. Kang Sola sighed. "Are you feeling better now?" She let his playfulness pa.s.s. She somehow got used to it.

"En. I know you'll react that way. You always do whenever I tease you. It's funny." There was slight enjoyment in his tone but he sighed deeply afterwards - so deep as if he's carrying the world's problems.

"What's the matter?" Kang Sola probed.

"Nothing. Work-related." He closed his eyes then rubbed his face. He was immensely exasperated by something.

"Perhaps that's how it is in the world of the rich." She said loudly, but it was more of thinking out loud.

Xue Guangxi glanced at her and studied her closely. "That's why you have to value your carefree lifestyle. Not everyone can afford it."

"I told you if you have issues you can share it with me. Just to alleviate your burden." She consoled.

"It won't change anything." Xue Guangxi declined. His scowl evident on his face.

For ordinary spectators, there were only two of them on the lakesh.o.r.e. However, as Butler Lee had reported to the Chen couple that same day in Apartment 301, Guangxi was heavily guarded. His security team was nowhere in sight but was always around him.

Due to the time spent with the Second Young Master, the security team was already familiar to his ways. They, too, knew too well his affinity with girls, and thus have adapted their style considering that information. They were hiding behind trees nearby, inside the car, along the highway, giving the Second Young Master and the girl their privacy.

Of course, being said that, they had seen and noted the girl that first accompanied the Second Young Master.

Guangxi tried to remember the last time he had such a carefree afternoon. His mind scanned quite randomly and had touched one of his more sensitive memories – one which he had intentionally kept at the farthest corner of his head – that day of the picnic. 'That day I was betrayed.' His eyes and whole aura became scary.

Kang Sola sensed the change in his aura. She shuddered involuntarily.

He abruptly stood up. His movement also pulling away the earphones from Kang Sola's ear. "A friendly reminder to you vlogger Kang Sola. If you don't want trouble, you better stay away from me. I am trouble." He said while walking away. He waved his hand signaling his farewell, without looking back at her.

'What does he mean by that?' Sola pondered while being left behind.