"We can't go. We'll be discovered," Leng Chuanjin said in a low voice.
"But if we don't, we won't know their next moves!" Xia Sanghuan said anxiously. She tried to shake off his hand, but overexerted herself and almost fell on the slippery ground.
"Yun Ye is there," he said in a whisper next to her ear as he quickly reached out to steady her by the shoulders. "Look," he said, pointing to Yun Ye, who was in disguise.
Yun Ye seemed to sense their gazes and turned to wave at them.
"We came here well-prepared, but so did they. They often attend such events, so they must have made more comprehensive preparations than us."
"You mean..."
"They've probably investigated everyone around your sister. How could they not recognize us? So, to be on the safe side, let's just watch the show from outside." He winked at her. "Yun Ye and the others are inside."
Hearing his words, the girl, who had been anxious just now, immediately stopped in her tracks. She had been about to get closer to Kevin and Aria.
Leng Chuanjin was right. At this stage, it would be counterproductive to act rashly and alert the enemy.
They watched the crowd leave and then walked back to the beach chairs where they had been sitting.
"Do you know why Aria has so many resources?"
"Because she's beautiful," Xia Sanghuan said as she picked up a second coconut and sipped through the straw.
"Wrong," Leng Chuanjin said, waving to a waiter to bring some non-alcoholic drinks and two fruit platters of tropical fruits. These fruits were not available in Yuntan at the moment, so it was a rare opportunity to treat his girlfriend to as much as she wanted.
"Because she's famous?"
"Also wrong."
"Because she has an outstanding temperament!" the girl said in frustration. That was all she could think of. How could you expect a medical student who spent most of her time around herbs to be interested in the fashion industry?
Seeing that she was getting impatient, Leng Chuanjin stopped being mysterious. "Because she has Kevin as her agent." He cut up the larger fruits on the platter and placed it in front of the girl.
"What do you mean?"
"Remember someone saying that Aria was Kevin's puppet? It's more like the relationship between a puppet and a puppeteer than that between a model and an agent."
She felt there was something off about this. For some reason, it sounded completely different coming from Leng Chuanjin than what she had read online.
"So... is it true?" She already had the answer in her mind but still asked the question.
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
"The idle playboys like to talk about these things at their parties," he said with a smile. He had only been forced by Leng Qiuhua to attend such parties a few times when he was underage. After he turned 18, he never went to such events again.
Although Xia Sanghuan had never been in these circles, she understood what he meant.
"Kevin is using Aria for prostitution," she said calmly. Then she looked at him firmly. "Right?"
The man was silent for a moment and then nodded. "You're right. But since Aria is the company's ace, they've hidden this very well."
"So that's why we couldn't find any information about her from the past three years..." the girl murmured. "Then isn't her title of 'Asteria' a lie?"
"Yes. And since she became famous, many high-end luxury brands that prefer pure female models have taken a fancy to her. She's even the exclusive model for a few brands' new products. But that's not the problem." The man's eyes were dark. "The problem is that the founders of these luxury brands are religious. Aria's behavior is an insult to their character. That's something they can't tolerate."
Looking at his shadowed profile, Xia Sanghuan suddenly felt like she didn't know him. Was this how he was in the business world? No wonder her classmates were a bit afraid of him.
"So we're here to collect evidence," he said, realizing that his expression might have been a bit scary. He quickly put on a smile and turned to look at her. "Just a little bit of crucial evidence, and we can ruin Kevin and Aria's reputations."
How terrifying. That was Xia Sanghuan's first thought when she heard the man say that. She thought he would take things step by step. But instead, he was going straight for the kill. It was like they were all sitting around a table playing cards. Everyone knew Leng Chuanjin had good cards, but in the end, they found out he had all the aces.
Although she realized how terrifying the man was, the girl still couldn't help but laugh at her own thought.
"What are you laughing at?" Leng Chuanjin reached out and pinched her cheek.
"Nothing."
Just as the man was about to ask further, the speakers by the pool suddenly blared out music that almost shattered their eardrums. He instinctively covered Xia Sanghuan's ears. She was stunned for a moment at his action and then quickly reacted, reaching out to cover his ears as well. Their actions were a bit comical, and Leng Chuanjin couldn't help but laugh.
"Let's go. Let's wait somewhere else," the man said as he stood up from the beach chair.
In the distance, the crowd had started to dance to the music. And the most eye-catching one was Aria. Her long, silky golden hair almost glowed under the strobe lights. But if you looked closely, you would notice that all the dancers were women. The men were lying on the lounge chairs, chatting casually. Kevin was lying in the middle.
"Wait a bit longer," Xia Sanghuan stopped Leng Chuanjin. "What are they talking about?" She looked through the crowd at Kevin's annoying face and the charming Aria. She no longer had anything to do with the title of Asteria. The plump, pale bodies of the women made the girl feel dizzy.
"Probably talking about tonight's price," Leng Chuanjin said. Hearing this, she looked at him in surprise. "Aria's price for tonight," he said without any emotion, as if she wasn't a living person but just an object for making money. But this wasn't his decision. It was determined by the environment. If Aria didn't respect herself, then they didn't have to either.
"Don't worry. Yun Ye will handle everything."