"Stella, we're not a good match."
It was the summer solstice.
The air was heavy with humidity, and the evening temperature remained stiflingly hot and muggy.
In the frigidly air-conditioned lobby of an office building, the boyfriend Stella Sterling had been dating for all of ten days was breaking up with her.
Stella's lips twisted into an unsurprised smile. "You could have just sent me a text, you know."
'On a day this hot, too. It would have saved me the trip.'
Justin was taken aback, his expression turning awkward.
He lowered his gaze, sizing up the girl before him.
A conventional bun, slightly geeky black-framed glasses, a white t-shirt, and a pair of faded jeans—she stood in stark contrast to the glamorous, well-dressed career women all around them.
Looking at her now, Justin felt even more certain that breaking up was the right decision.
"I called you here to tell you in person out of respect. Stella, look around you, then look at yourself."
Justin took a breath, preparing to deliver the final blow. "You're just a junior clerk with no ambition. Being unsuccessful is one thing, but you can't even provide the most basic emotional support. Being with you is exhausting."
Justin's rapid-fire barrage didn't seem to faze Stella in the slightest.
Her mind wandered. 'Have the expectations for women gotten this high?'
'You have to be successful in your career *and* provide emotional support just to be in a relationship now?'
Stella snapped back to reality, suddenly losing all interest.
She calmly said two words, "All right."
Then she turned and walked away.
Seeing that Stella wasn't going to make a scene, Justin breathed a sigh of relief.
As he turned to go back, he made a call, cupping his hand over the receiver. "Babe," he said, as if looking for praise, "I made things clear with her."
On the other side of the lobby.
The building's property manager kept glancing in the direction Stella had gone.
His subordinate followed his lead, also looking over. "Manager, what are you looking at?"
The property manager ignored his subordinate, his heart filled with worry.
'I think I just saw the daughter of our boss, Chairman Sterling.'
'She was dressed so simply, and she showed up without any notice. Could she be here to do a secret inspection?'
「Nightfall. The Gilded Orchid.」
As one of Calderin City's most exclusive clubs, The Gilded Orchid was an establishment owned by her best friend, Claire Shawcross.
The penthouse suite.
Claire Shawcross, a cigarette held between her fingers, doubled over with laughter after hearing Stella's story. "He actually said you were unsuccessful?"
Stella's expression was languid. "Well, he wasn't wrong."
"Oh, come on." Claire shot Stella a look. "It's obvious that scumbag Justin is unreliable. He was clearly trying to PUA you."
Claire had been there from the very beginning of Stella's relationship with Justin.
If the incredibly ambitious Justin knew Stella's true identity, she wondered if he'd still be able to say such ridiculous things.
Claire opened two bottles of beer and was about to offer a few words of comfort when she turned her head and froze.
Under the warm-toned strip lighting—
Stella had taken off her black-framed glasses and undone the tie holding her bun, sinking into the sofa with an air of pure languor.
In the interplay of light and shadow, her long, flowing hair accentuated her strong, defined features. She radiated a natural charisma, like a classic beauty straight out of a vintage Hong Kong film.
'With looks like that, even I'm captivated, and I'm a woman. And that scumbag Justin dared to break up with her?!'
'Is he out of his mind?'
Claire collected herself and asked Stella, "So how far did things go with Justin?"
"They didn't." Stella pouted, pressing her index and middle fingers together. "We dated for ten days. He was on a business trip for five of them. We met twice and had one meal, after which he was hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis."
To be honest, for most of those ten days, she barely even realized she was dating Justin.
Claire: "..."
'What terrible luck,' she thought. 'It's hard to say which one of them was the jinx for the other.'
Claire looked at Stella sympathetically. "So what's your plan now?"
Stella was silent for two seconds. "Find the next one."
Her life had been set on a predetermined track from the moment she was born.
This current period of letting loose was just a temporary derailment.
Stella had always wondered what was so magical about love that it could make her older sister give up a vast fortune and run away.
That was why Stella, single for all twenty-four years of her life, had finally, for the first time ever, decided to try dating.
"You're going to look for another one?" Claire asked tentatively. "You're not going to consider... you-know-who?"
Stella looked confused. "Who's you-know-who?"
Clearly, the two of them were not on the same wavelength.
The corners of Claire's mouth twitched, and she tried a more roundabout approach. "There are plenty of eligible young men in our circle, like..."
Before she could finish, Stella cut her off dismissively. "It's people I know. There's no spark."
Claire: "..." 'Got it.'
'So it's harder to make a move on someone she knows inside and out.'
As they were talking, the phone on the table rang.
The caller ID showed the number was from the Port Vesper area.
Stella answered. It was unclear what the other person said, but she pressed her fingers to her temple, her eyes brightening slightly. "Okay, have Mr. Coleman pick me up tomorrow."
「The next day, a weekend.」
Past noon, a Bentley with dual Sino-Portia license plates sped toward the border crossing.
The driver glanced at the rearview mirror. "Miss Sterling, the Second Young Master asked me to take you directly to Point Sable."
Stella looked up from her phone. "Alright. Thank you, Mr. Coleman."
Mr. Coleman smiled but said no more, focusing on driving.
They arrived at their destination at three in the afternoon.
As Stella got out of the car, she saw a man in a blue suit and a floral shirt leaning against a sports car, smoking a cigarette.
Ian Jarvis, the second young master of the Jarvis Family of Port Vesper.
His mother was Stella's aunt.
The two families were in-laws who had grown quite close in recent years.
Ian Jarvis held his cigarette, looking at his phone.
When he saw Stella, he teased her in his thick Port Vesper accent, "Heard your little romance was a bust?"
Stella: "..." 'This has Claire's fingerprints all over it.'
Thinking he'd hit a sore spot, Ian quickly changed the subject. "Don't worry about it! The next one will be better. The world-class mixologist Alan is at the party tonight. You can drink as much as you want—we're not leaving sober!"
Her close friends all knew that Stella loved to drink, had an extremely high tolerance, and was particularly fond of the molecular cocktails on Vesper Island.
Ian happened to need a favor from Stella, so he had invited her to Port Vesper, catering to her tastes.
At this, Stella's expression softened. "I'll take your word for it."
Ian looked lost. "Take my word for what?"
Stella smiled. "That the next one will be better."
The sun sank toward the horizon, its last rays painting the sea a magnificent golden-crimson.
A small luxury yacht was moored at Point Sable Pier.
Tonight, a private cocktail tasting was being held on board.
The guest list was packed with successful figures from all walks of life, including Port Vesper socialites, entrepreneurs, and executives from foreign corporations.
Shortly after six, the lounge was already teeming with celebrities and socialites, a veritable sea of people.
The clinking of glasses and exchange of pleasantries in this theater of fame and fortune seemed convivial, but it was all just a tedious, insincere performance.
Stella hadn't come here to socialize, but simply to enjoy the drinks.
While Ian was busy networking, she bypassed the lounge's seating area and headed straight for the tasting room next door.
Meanwhile, a message spread through the boisterous main lounge, causing the various luminaries to look up with expressions of ecstatic anticipation.
A crew member from below had just reported that the VIP guest of honor invited to the party had boarded the yacht.
The yacht was about to leave the harbor.