Sunset Glow

S City is located in the south, where temperatures stay above freezing all year round.

It is a place that sees no snow in winter and no frost in autumn.

Although last year, S City seemed like a middle-aged woman going through menopause, unexpectedly dropping several uncharacteristically heavy snowfalls.

But that was just an exception.

Blistering heat is its true norm.

Case in point.

This year, it was as if S City wanted to win back its pride as a southern city.

The heat was absolutely maddening.

Especially over these past few days.

The maximum temperature had even reached forty-one degrees Celsius.

At this temperature, you could crack an egg on the asphalt and eat it a moment later.

Yet, even this scorching sunlight that could cook an egg felt like rays of light filtering through ice when it fell upon Xu Mingyao. It could do absolutely nothing to ease the chill she felt radiating from her very bones.

Initially, Xu Mingyao had harbored a sliver of hope.

Could it be a glitch in the app?

Or perhaps Tao Yaoyao had just gone into some shop, mall, or restaurant right next to the hotel, and they were just too small to show up on the app?

Or maybe, just maybe, Tao Yaoyao was only having a meeting in the hotel?

Until this very moment.

The moment Xu Mingyao stood across the street, looking at the front of the hotel.

All the illusions and desperate hopes in her heart shattered completely.

The hotel before her wasn't considered the most high-end, luxurious hotel in S City.

But it was surprisingly famous.

Because it was the largest love hotel in all of S City.

Inside, it had every kind of prop you could think of, and ones you couldn't; things you had seen, and things you hadn't.

The sheer variety of themed rooms was enough to make one blush and feel entirely overwhelmed.

If you were willing to spend the money, the hotel even sold all sorts of disposable uniforms.

Guaranteed to earn rave reviews from the guests.

Xu Mingyao knew this hotel very well.

Not just because she used to be a regular here.

She also used to be the owner of this hotel.

Therefore, she couldn't be more familiar with it.

And precisely because of this familiarity, Xu Mingyao knew that absolutely no one, or any company, would come here to hold meetings or business events.

There was only one type of guest who came here.

Couples.

And there was only one thing they would do here...

...

Xu Mingyao could hear the loud, rapid heartbeat thumping in her chest.

Her hands, hanging by her trouser seams, were clenched into tight fists. Her nails dug into her flesh, sending sharp waves of pain through her palms, but Xu Mingyao didn't care.

Because compared to the tsunami of emotions surging in her heart, this little bit of physical pain felt like a mere tickle.

She trembled, taking rapid, forceful deep breaths.

She breathed so hard that her entire body shook with the tremors of her inhalations.

Her body seemed to have reached its absolute limit due to some extreme emotion.

Yet, Xu Mingyao felt very calm.

Extremely calm.

Almost eerily calm.

Even her body began to turn unbelievably cold.

Xu Mingyao didn't know why she was reacting like this.

And she didn't care.

Before getting out of the car, the chaotic thoughts in her mind had all vanished.

Her brain seemed to turn blank and transparent at this moment.

It was as if it had been frozen into a solid block of ice, handing complete control of this body back to primal instinct.

Xu Mingyao turned around and walked away.

She searched around the street and finally found what she was looking for.

Holding a steel-bladed fruit knife with a wooden handle and a wooden sheath, she stood back in front of the love hotel's entrance.

Xu Mingyao did not storm inside.

She looked left and right, then turned and walked into a fast-food restaurant, finding a seat by the window.

She just sat quietly by the window, watching the crowds going in and out of the love hotel.

Waiting without saying a single word.

She was waiting for an answer.

And based on that answer, she would make her response...

...

Time ticked by little by little before Xu Mingyao's eyes.

When the extreme anger faded away.

The thoughts that had been forcefully suppressed in her mind began to stir uncontrollably.

Past memories began to surge like rolling waves.

Xu Mingyao chose to turn a blind eye to them.

But when those waves of memory slowly washed over her skin.

No matter how hard she tried to ignore them, she couldn't strip away the feelings etched into her soul.

Xu Mingyao clenched her jaw.

In this crowded fast-food restaurant, no one would notice her sitting in the corner.

Especially since she was wearing sunglasses, a baseball cap, and a face mask; no one would pay any attention or show interest in someone dressed like that.

But even so.

Xu Mingyao was fighting hard to resist the emotions reviving in the depths of her heart, refusing to take a single step back.

But she still lost.

Tears spilled uncontrollably from her eyes.

Tracing down her beautiful, pale face...

...

After an incredibly long wait.

From the high, scorching sun until the golden dusk, Xu Mingyao finally got the answer she had been waiting for.

Through the revolving doors of the love hotel, two people behaving intimately slowly walked out.

The woman's body was pressed almost entirely against the man's.

Yet, her expression wasn't sweet like the other couples coming in and out of the hotel; instead, it revealed a rather out-of-place tension.

It turned out that the man's arm had been wrapped tightly around her waist all along, controlling her movements.

During the summer in City S.

Dusk is not the end, but the beginning.

As the sun sets,

the temperature in the air drops, and a hint of coolness unique to summer nights emerges.

People who have been cooped up indoors all day spontaneously step out of their homes to enjoy this refreshing breeze together.

The crowds on the streets gradually begin to swell.

Yet the man acted as if he couldn't see them.

Right there in public, his hand naturally slid down. As if playing with a toy devoid of dignity, his large hand grabbed forcefully, squeezing and kneading a couple of times in enjoyment.

The woman's chest subconsciously arched forward, her body jolting in shock.

But the harassed woman did not do anything in response, she simply blushed and accepted it in silence.

After indulging itself for a moment, the large hand finally let go.

Through the silky black fabric, the man patted her firm, round bottom, as if saying goodbye.

Like a clever and obedient pet, the woman understood his meaning.

Clutching her handbag, she lowered her head and stepped down the stairs, preparing to leave.

However, she hadn't taken more than a few steps before she stopped and turned back, looking at him in confusion.

She saw the man standing at the top of the stairs, angling one cheek toward her with his chin slightly tilted.

The golden sunset clouds, tinged with a tangerine hue, spilled over the woman's fair skin.

It made it impossible to tell what exactly the rosy flush on her face was.

Lowering her gaze, she obediently walked back to him.

She raised her chin, leaning her pink lips forward.

Standing on her tiptoes, she pressed a gentle kiss against the man's sun-weathered, bronzed skin.

At this moment.

The sunset glow falling upon her face seemed to grow even deeper.