Dana seemed to be taken aback and looked awkward. Unlike Miss Cheng, she was not used to such steamy scenes. Not daring to see the view on the beach, she blushed and hid behind Miss Cheng.
Instead, it was the men who followed that whistled their approval as the majority of the young people getting a suntan on the beach were young women. As they approached, they could clearly see the figures and complexion of the women.
Su Man, walking ahead stridently, did not look aside. Miss Cheng was secretly wondering if Su Man had a thing for men. She looked around and found that there were several men who were comparably decent. They were not Indians, African-Americans, or people from the surrounding states, but instead seemed to resemble Asians along with some Caucasians in their midst. Su Man would have found them more pleasing to the eye.
“Young master, you’ve finally reached. Young madam has been awaiting your arrival.” An elderly man in his fifties walked up with a young man and a young woman in tow with a warm and gentle smile.
The young woman raised her eyebrows and hearts burst out of her hearts when she saw Su Man. “Dear Uncle Beautiful, Bailing has not seen you for a long time.” She leaped forward and was about to kiss him.
Beauty Su deftly moved aside and the woman missed her target. She quickly came back and clung onto Su Man like an octopus. “Uncle Beautiful, I know you do not like women, but could you allow me to hug you and kiss you, please?” Bailing pouted and shouted.
No sooner than that, she planted her beautiful lips onto Beauty Su’s lips.
Uncle Beautiful? Cheng Anya shuddered at how Bailing addressed Beauty Su. Su Man had impeccable looks that seemed as though he was stuck in perpetual puberty. While Bailing was a few years younger than him, the two of them seemed more like siblings rather than an entire generation apart.
Miss Cheng was a little ecstatic. A little voice in her screamed, ‘Kiss, kiss, kiss!’ She really wanted to see it…
She was awed at how evil her machinations could get.
Su Man turned away and pulled Bailing away. “Stop fooling around. Bai Lin, please keep her away.”
Bai Lin, who was at a corner, quickly pulled Bailing away. Bailing wanted to indignantly pounce on Su Man once again, and her eyes suddenly lit up. “Wow, Uncle Beautiful, who’s this woman? I’ve never seen her before. Who is she?? Wow, you brought a woman with you!? Handsome, I’m so gonna faint… Somebody help me up…”
They had seen Dana but no other woman apart from Dana. Since Miss Cheng did not dress like Su Man’s maidservants, she especially drew attention. Bailing immediately gave up on Su Man and scooted up to Miss Cheng. “Who are you? How are you related to my Uncle Beautiful? Are you pursuing my Uncle Beautiful? I must tell you that Uncle Beautiful belongs to me, and you will not snatch him from my clutches.”
Bailing cutely raised her fists in protest, and Cheng Anya was at a loss as to whether to cry or laugh. How did that issue even come into view? Bailing, the little cutie, asked many questions and Cheng Anya had no idea how to begin answering them. She settled on the easiest question.
“I am Cheng Anya.”
Su Man looked at Bai Lin with eyes raised. Bai Lin got the instruction and immediately pulled Bailing to the side. The young chap broke into an alluring smile. “Uncle Beautiful, this way, please!”
Beauty Su harrumphed. “Where’s she?” he asked the old butler.
“Young madam has gone up the hill to collect herbs and will be back in a moment. Young master may want to take a break for now. Young madam misses you…” the old butler replied respectfully.
The old butler wanted to wax and wane his praise for his young madam for how she pined for the young master. Su Man waved his sleeves and walked away in style, leaving everybody else to catch up. Bailing waited for the old butler unhappily and blamed him for messing things up. The old butler looked at Bai Lin and Bailing innocently. Was it his fault? If people did not want him to speak, there was no way he, even with his glib tongue, could help.
Cheng Anya looked at the young-at-heart old butler and the cute siblings whilst secretly guessing their relationship. Su Man said he was picking somebody up. Who? She was slightly baffled.
To think that somebody could have Beauty Su personally arrived and not the other way… Said person must have quite an identity.
“Anya, Anya, how are you related to Uncle Beautiful?” Bailing was a cute girl and actively reached out to her. She held Cheng Anya and came close to her, her lively eyes sizing her up, hoping for an answer.
Bai Lin and the old butler listened in.
Cheng Anya broke into her typical smile. “I am his patient.”
“Ah…” Bailing’s eyes were filled with disappointment and she then clapped excitedly. “Yay! You are not related to Uncle Beautiful in any way. He’s my uncle, and I love you…”
Bailing leaped forward in a good mood whereas Su Man coldly looked back. Bailing did not seem to be afraid of him and had her own way. Beauty Su did not seem to be as agile as Bailing, and he broke into a smile after Bailing managed to hug him after some tussling.
What a cute girl, Cheng Anya secretly thought to herself. She felt that girls should be like her: cheerful, lively, and joy-bringer. She talked the most along the way.
As she only met Dana once, they did not know each other particularly well. Once they had connected, they felt as though they were long-lost friends.
They reached a wide mansion which was ringed by trees and had vines creeping up its walls. Although the mansion seemed uninhabited, it was after entering that they learned it was an altogether different world.
The green trees, clear water, gardens, suspension bridges, and a waterside pavilion made for a naturally beautiful scene. The owner of the mansion seemed to have taken a liking to ancient Chinese architecture, and the mansion was styled like the Suzhou Gardens with its curving walkways, cooling waterside pavilions, and pools full of hibiscus. Although the hibiscus blooming season had passed, the air was filled with the scent of hibiscus.
The courtyard was filled with many exotic plants that left Cheng Anya surprised as she could not recognize many of them. She seemed to have seen similar plants in Su Man’s home.
She saw a beautiful flower and was about to touch it when Bailing stopped her. “Sister Anya, do not anyhow touch the plants. That one is extremely poisonous.” The little girl smiled.
Cheng Anya was afraid for her dear life and immediately pulled her hand back. Bailing chuckled from the side.
There was nary a person in the huge mansion. Bai Lin led the men to rest whilst Su Man, Cheng Anya, and Dana rested in the great hall. A short moment later, the butler brought over some fragrant tea and a few plates of desserts.
As everybody helped themselves to the tea and desserts, they suddenly heard a hoarse beast-like roar. They could not tell whether the person was male or female but knew that there was desperation in the roar that sounded for help and a struggle at once.
Cheng Anya was shocked whereas Su Man simply raised his eyebrows. “What’s going on?”
“Dear young master, young madam picked up a weird person by the beach who seemed to be jabbed up with something. She seemed extremely off-whack and was extremely aggressive. She almost killed over ten people on the island yesterday, and young madam stopped the islanders who wanted to kill her. She brought her back and had her bound in silk chains in the adjacent room for now. Young madam wishes to cure her.”
Su Man acknowledged and did not pursue the question further. The roar suddenly became louder and even more agonizing. Cheng Anya could not help but frown. Bailing happened to be holding some tidbits that girls liked and passed them to Cheng Anya and Dana. She said, “That woman was extremely capable! Really capable! She could leap nine meters high like some pugilist in those wuxia novels. Her fists could punch through walls and tree trunks. Yesterday, when the islanders wanted to kill her because she was a threat, she stopped over thirty bullets fired from more than ten guns. She is indeed amazing!”
“What a load of bull!” Beauty Su coldly replied. “How could there be such a person in the world?”
“It’s true! Uncle Beautiful, I am not lying! There’s something about her that is even more terrifying. While Master Beautiful initially had her bound in chains for fear of her becoming berserk, she broke free of the chains in the night and almost killed Master Beautiful.” Bailing described the terrifying scene animatedly, and everybody felt as though they witnessed it first-hand.
“Is there somebody who is that capable?” Cheng Anya murmured to herself. She was not afraid of such a person but said person’s roars instead. The person sounded… a little pitiful. “Why is she all bound up? She must be in agonizing pain.”
“When she went berserk last night, she could not recognize anybody and was nothing short of feral. If she is set free, she will kill people. The islanders have said that Master Beautiful will not allow her to roam about if she wants to take her in, lest they shoot her on sight,” Bailing sadly replied. “I feel that she is a little pitiful too.”
“How did she become like this?” Su Man asked.
“I don’t know. Master Beautiful said that the virus altered her constitution,” Bailing honestly replied. As Su Man frowned, he suddenly heard bright laughter.
Before the person arrived, the scent of hibiscus flowers became even more intense and was intoxicating. A beautiful woman who was holding a few stalks of flowers slowly walked into the great hall. The flowers in her hands did not seem to diminish her looks at all.
Even Cheng Anya, who had seen beautiful women, also felt that she gave the impression she was no older than thirty years old. Her simple white shirt and black trousers were simple yet elegant as though they were a godsend. She had a pair of purple eyes and delicate features that were not particularly accentuated. Her unique temperament made her even more stunning.
While her beauty was secondary, her temperament was what stood out. It was extremely eminent and could not be surpassed. She, on a close look, had some resemblance to Su Man and Rong Yan.
Su Man’s smile was slightly cold, and her beauty had a hint of warmth to it.
“Man Man, that’s really obedient of you…”