Picking the Golden Romance

Singapore

Grandma's parties always end very late, and Astrid usually chooses to stay at Tethyr Manor.If Cassian was sleeping soundly, she would rather not wake him up, and go to sleep in the bedroom she had prepared for her since she was a child-because she used to come there when she was a child (right opposite Nick).Her loving grandmother custom-made eccentric Italian hand-carved furniture for her, and her favorite fairy tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" is painted on the walls.To this day, Astrid still enjoys occasional sleepovers in this childhood bedroom: the dreamiest dolls, stuffed animals, tea sets she spared no expense in... nothing has changed.

But tonight, even after midnight, Astrid decided not to stay the night.She held Cassian in her arms, buckled him in the car seat, and prepared to drive back to her apartment.She really wanted to know if Mike was "over"—it was just self-deception that he could pretend he didn't see that Mike was flirting with other people.

She wasn't like other wives, and she didn't want to play the victim role—like Eddie's wife, Fiona.The weeks of doubt and uncertainty had weighed heavily on her mind, and she had to deal with it once and for all.She wanted to see her husband, she wanted to smell him, she wanted to know if there really was another woman.In fact, if she had been honest with herself, she should have known the answer when the text message flashed on her husband's phone screen.

But this is the price one must pay for falling in love with Mike, a man no woman can resist.

[-], Singapore

When Astrid first met Mike, he was wearing camouflage swimming trunks.

It's usually against Astrid's taste to wear swim briefs for anyone over the age of ten, but Mike was seen striding down the runway in Custo trunks, with one arm wrapped around a black Rosa Cha swimsuit, When the emerald necklace was placed on the shoulder of a boyish girl, Astrid froze for a moment.

She had been drawn to the Churchill Club to attend a charity fashion show held by a cousin surnamed Liang.For her, who is used to sitting in the first row in front of Jean-Paul Gaultier's carefully designed art stage, this hastily constructed runway, with its dull yellow light and cheap fake palm leaves, Even the flickering lights looked like an underfunded community theater.Astrid had to sit in his seat bored and pass the time.

Later, he appeared.

From that moment on, she felt like she was in a dream, and felt that everything in front of her was playing in slow motion.Taller than the average Asian man, Mike has an attractive dark maroon tan—something you can't get in a salon; The incongruous high nose; then the pair of sharp and deep eyes, and the eight-pack abs displayed by the lean figure...

Mike appeared on the runway for less than 30 seconds, but when he showed up at Andy Wang's birthday party a few weeks later, Astrid recognized him immediately - even though he had changed Wear a V-neck T-shirt with faded gray jeans.

This time it was Mike who noticed her first.

In the Wang family's house, he, Andy and some other friends were leaning on the innermost window sill in the garden, and saw Astrid wearing a delicate white lace hollow linen dress and walking slowly into the balcony.

This girl is not a good fit for this party, he thought.

She quickly noticed the birthday person that day, and walked towards them, giving Andy a hug, causing the boys on the side to look sideways.

"Happy Birthday!" She handed the host of the party a delicate little gift wrapped in purple silk.

"Oh, Astrid, no more!" said Andy.

"It's just a little thing I brought back from Paris, I think you'll like it."

"So you went there to vent your emotions? Now you decide not to go?"

"I'm not sure yet," Astrid replied cautiously.

All the other boys squeezed in. Although they didn't want to, Andy felt that it was rude not to introduce at this time: "Astrid, please allow me to introduce you to Li Shanwei, Mike Zhang and Terrence Chen — all fellow soldiers.”

Astrid gave everyone a sweet smile before finally falling on Mike. "If I remember correctly, I saw you in swimming trunks," she said.

The other boys were all dazed by her words, and Mike just shook his head and laughed.

"Uh... what is she talking about?" Shanwei asked.

Astrid stared at Mike's muscular figure—even in a baggy T-shirt. "Yeah, that's you! At the Churchill Club fashion show where teens could go, remember?"

"Mike, are you going to be a model in a fashion show?" Shanwei asked in disbelief.

"Showing the swimming trunks?" Terrence added.

"It was a charity meeting, and I was dragged away!" Mike muttered, blushing.

"So you're not a professional model?" Astrid asked.

The others roared with laughter. "He is! He is! He is Mike Zulander!" Andy said with a smile.

"No, seriously," Astrid pressed, "if you want to be a professional model, I know a couple of companies in Paris that would be happy to work with you."

Mike just looked at her, not knowing how to respond.There was a tense atmosphere in the air, and the others didn't know what to say.

"I'm starving to death. I'm going to eat those delicious-looking Javanese noodles." After Astrid finished speaking, she quickly kissed Andy on the cheek, and then walked into the house.

"Okay, pretty boy, what are you waiting for? It's obvious that he's interested in you." Shanwei said to Mike.

"Don't get your hopes up, Mike, she's out of reach," Andy warned.

"What do you mean 'out of reach'?" Shanwei asked.

"Astrid wouldn't date someone of our class, do you know who she almost married before? Charlie Hu - the son of tech tycoon Hu Haolian. They were both engaged, but then the woman ruined got engaged because her family didn't think even Charlie was good enough," Andy said.

"Mike will prove you wrong. That's a very blatant invitation, don't be so afraid of losing!" Shanwei said.

Mike didn't know what to do with the girl sitting across from him.

This date should never have happened: Astrid was not his type, the kind of girl who would shop in an expensive boutique on Orchard Road, or sit in a luxury car with her banker boyfriend. A girl drinking double macchiato coffee in a hotel cafe.

He didn't even know why he'd asked her out—it wasn't his style to be so obvious about pursuing a girl.In his life so far, he has never had to run after women, they have always given him unconditional devotion, beginning with his brother's girlfriend, which happened when he was 14 years old.

In theory, Astrid was the first to make the first move, so he didn't mind following.He was so offended by what Andy said about "he can't reach her" that he figured it would be fun to slap Andy hard by getting involved with her.

Mike had never thought she would agree to a date, but here they were sitting—almost a week later, in a restaurant in Dunhill.

Cobalt-blue candle cups were lit at every table (he hated trendy restaurants full of Western customers), and the two were not on the same page.They have nothing in common, except that they both know Andy.She didn't go to work, and his work was classified, so this couldn't be a topic of conversation.She has been living in Paris for the past few years, which means she is completely out of touch with Singapore.OMG, she doesn't even look like a real Singaporean - because of her British accent and demeanor.

But he's unbelievably obsessed with her—she's nothing like the girls he's dated before.

Even though he knew she came from an extremely wealthy family, she didn't wear a famous brand or any jewelry, and she didn't even wear makeup, but she was still very sexy.

This girl didn't have the temperament of a young lady as others said. After dinner, she suggested that the two of them compete in billiards.It turned out that she was a very good pool player, and knowing that made her even sexier for him.But she was clearly not the kind of girl he could easily flirt with.

He felt ashamed, but still couldn't help but just stare at her face, feeling like he couldn't get enough of it.He was pretty sure he lost the match partly because her face distracted him.At the end of the date, he walked her to her car (surprisingly, an Acura), opened the door for her, and when she got in the car, he thought he might never see her again.

Lying in bed that night, Astrid tried to read Bernard-Henry Levi's latest book, but couldn't concentrate.She couldn't help but keep thinking about the dismal date she had just had with Mike - the poor guy really didn't know much about talking anymore, and he was a total stranger to dating.

This is actually understandable, men like him don't really need to work hard to pursue women.

But what influenced him to want to go out with a girl who was almost unattainable?
He was the perfect man she had never met before, exuding masculinity, and this man caused a physical reaction that she didn't know she had.

…………

Astrid turned off the bedside lamp and lay in the dark on a bed draped in a mosquito net in the Peranakan terrace house she had inherited.

How she wished Mike could understand her mood at the moment!
She wanted him to climb the outer wall of her father's house in night camouflage, avoiding the sentry guards and patrolling German shepherds; she wanted him to climb the guava tree by the window of her bedroom, silently Sneak into her bedroom and stand at the foot of the bed for a while, even if there is only a dark figure; she even hopes that he will tear off her clothes, cover her mouth with his rough hands, and occupy her body until dawn...

She was twenty-seven, and for the first time in her life she realized what it was like to truly desire a man's touch.

She fumbled for her mobile phone and subconsciously called Mike.

The phone connected after two rings.

Astrid heard that the other party seemed to be in a noisy bar, and she immediately hung up the phone. After 15 seconds, her phone rang and she let it ring five times before pressing the call button.

"Why did you call me and hang up?" Mike's calm and low voice came from the other end of the microphone.

"I didn't call you. My cell phone must have been in my bag and I accidentally dialed your number." Astrid said pretending to be indifferent.

"uh-huh."

After a while of silence, Mike said casually: "I'm at Harry's Bar now, but I'll drive back to Mrs. Hill's hotel room later. Mrs. Hill is very close to your house, right?"

Astrid recoiled from his audacity: who did he think he was?She felt hot on her face and wanted to hang up on him again.

Instead, she turned on the bedside light. "Give me the room number," she said curtly.

[-], Singapore
Astrid was driving on the winding Guluni Road, but her heart was wandering in the ocean of her own thoughts.

Ever since she arrived at Tethyr Manor tonight, she has been fantasizing about her husband having a hot fight with a nasty woman in a one-star hotel in Hong Kong.

Even as she unconsciously talked to her own family, she couldn't stop picturing in her head: breaking into the dingy suite, grabbing whatever was at hand—lamps, kettles, cheap coffee makers—and smashing it. to them...

After listening to Oliver's words, Astrid's brain suddenly fell into a darker imagination.

She deeply believed that Oliver was not mistaken, the man he saw in Hong Kong was her husband--Mike's smelly skin would never be mistaken.At the same time, Oliver is good at planning and diplomacy, and he is clearly implying himself.

But—who is that little boy?Did Mike have a baby with another woman?Who is that woman?

Turning right onto Great Way Road, Astrid was still in her own world, oblivious to the truck parked a few yards away—a group of night maintenance crews were working on a towering street light while the truck stopped. In the middle of the road.

Suddenly, one of the workers opened the car door, and Astrid turned the steering wheel sharply to the right...

Before he could scream, the windshield shattered.

And Astrid, before losing consciousness, saw only a battered banyan tree and its tangled roots.