1. The K Hotel, an established five-star resort on the island, boasts a coveted private beach. Meng Ning, the beach lifeguard, wears a sleek black sports swimsuit, her long dark hair tied up, a tattoo of a black datura inked behind her neck. Gazing across the shore, she resembles a stunningly beautiful dolphin. Unlike other lifeguards, she never removes the prayer beads coiled around her wrist. Someone asks, "Do you believe in Buddhism?" She smiles. "I do." 2. Everyone agrees Meng Ning isn't cold—just distant. On Wen Zenian’s first day as the newly appointed executive manager, fate pairs them for a game at the annual party, where completing the challenge requires them to move a balloon together to a marked spot. Meng Ning forfeits outright, downing three shots of absinthe instead. The next day, during a coastal inspection, Wen Zenian selects Meng Ning as her companion. Standing by a cliff’s edge, Wen Zenian grins: "I’ll count to three and jump. Do you believe me? One, two—" "Hey!" Meng Ning barely manages to catch the chain belt at Wen Zenian’s waist before they both topple backwards into the ocean. Surfacing, Wen Zenian’s soaked white blouse clings to her curves as she leans against Meng Ning’s shoulder: "See? I still got my hug." "Wen Zenian, have you lost your mind?" "Shouldn’t you know best?" Wen Zenian smiles, elegant and coy. "Life doesn’t give you the luxury of counting to three." Then, whispering into Meng Ning’s ear: "And—if we’re pretending to be strangers, shouldn’t you at least feign forgetting my fear of water?" 3. The night they become intimate, Wen Zenian finally removes Meng Ning’s prayer beads, tracing her wrist: "Who wears prayer beads constantly—other than the faithful?" "Liars who spin endless lies, and hopeless souls." 1v1, HE.