Tech Giants: Starting from Bankrupt Companies

66: Chapter 66: Sea Breeze and HeartbeatAt 7:00 AM on Saturday, Lin Wan’s biological clock woke her up right on time.

She didn’t get up immediately, but lay in bed for an extra five minutes—a habit she had recently developed, forcing herself to have five minutes every day where she thought about nothing.

Outside the window, Shenzhen had already awakened, and the faint sound of traffic drifted in from afar.

She got up, washed, and changed into loungewear.

When Lin Wan walked to the dining room, the housekeeper had already prepared breakfast: whole-wheat bread, a boiled egg, and a cup of black coffee.

She habitually opened the laptop sitting on the dining table, and just as her fingers touched the trackpad—

”No work allowed today.”

A pair of hands reached out from behind her and closed her laptop screen.

Lin Wan was startled and turned around to see Su Chen standing there.

He wasn’t wearing a suit today, but was dressed in light grey casual wear, with his hair left loose, making him look a few years younger than usual.

”Su Chen? How did you...” Before Lin Wan could finish her sentence, Su Chen placed the laptop to the side of the dining table and pushed it toward her: ”You have been placed on mandatory leave by the CEO today. 48 hours, destination Sanya. I’ve already had the housekeeper pack your luggage, and the car is waiting downstairs.”

Lin Wan froze. She looked out the window, confirming that it was indeed Saturday. Then she looked at Su Chen, trying to find a trace of a joke on his face—but there was none. He was serious.

”But there’s a supply chain meeting this afternoon,” Lin Wan said instinctively, her hand already reaching back toward the laptop.

Su Chen took the laptop away directly. ”The meeting is canceled. I asked Zhang Zhen to handle it. The reason is quite sufficient: the Chairman and the COO are both unreachable, and the company has urgent matters to attend to.”

He sat down across from Lin Wan and picked up a slice of bread, slowly spreading jam on it: ”In the past month, we’ve held 27 formal meetings and signed 15 major contracts. Lin Wan, Spark Group won’t stop running just because we’re gone for 48 hours. But if we don’t rest now, we might really stop running.”

Lin Wan looked at Su Chen. She noticed the faint shadows under his eyes, the traces of long-term sleep deprivation. She raised a hand to touch her own cheek—she didn’t need to look in a mirror to know that her own condition wasn’t much better than his.

”Just the two of us?” she asked softly.

”Just the two of us.” Su Chen nodded, ”I’ve told everyone, unless the company is on fire, don’t call.”

Lin Wan was silent for a few seconds, then smiled. There was helplessness in her smile, but more than that, it was a sense of relief. ”When did you plan this?”

”A week ago.” Su Chen confessed honestly, ”That day, seeing you still replying to emails at three in the morning, I knew I had to force the pause button. I had my assistant find three alternatives: watching the sea in Sanya, looking at mountains in Yunnan, or seeing the grasslands in Western Sichuan. In the end, I chose the sea—thinking that we’ve seen enough reinforced concrete, it’s time to see something truly vast.”

He stood up and reached out his hand toward Lin Wan: ”So, Ms. Lin, are you willing to be kidnapped by me for 48 hours?”

Lin Wan took his hand: ”If all kidnappers were this handsome, I would be willing.”

Above the Clouds. At 8:30 AM, the Spark Group Gulfstream G650 business jet took off from Baoan Airport.

The plane climbed through the clouds, and sunlight instantly flooded the cabin windows. A flight attendant smiled and served breakfast: a fresh fruit platter, croissants, and two glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice. After setting down the meal, she discreetly retreated to the front cabin and closed the curtain.

Lin Wan leaned back in the spacious airline seat, looking out the window. The sea of clouds spread out beneath her feet, like a giant white velvet blanket. The silhouette of Shenzhen had long since vanished, leaving only pure blue and white.

”It seems... it’s really been a long time since we’ve done this.” she said softly.

Su Chen held her hand. His palm was warm and dry, with slight calluses on his fingertips from long-term pen usage. ”When was the last time we traveled together?”

Lin Wan thought for a moment: ”Autumn 2015, going to Hangzhou to attend a forum. But that doesn’t count as a trip; we held meetings during the day and edited PPTs at night.”

”What about before that?”

”Before that...” Lin Wan’s gaze drifted away, ”It was back in college. The spring of my senior year, I went to climb Mount Tai with a club. I remember, when we climbed to the South Heaven Gate, it started raining, and my best friend and I squeezed under one raincoat?”

”We had such good stamina when we were young.” Lin Wan sighed with emotion, ”If I were to climb Mount Tai now, I’d probably have to call for rescue halfway up.”

The two were quiet for a while, enjoying this rare leisure. The plane flew steadily, the sound of the engines acting as a low-pitched background noise.

”I have a proposal.” Su Chen suddenly spoke up, ”On this trip, let’s set a rule: whoever brings up work first has to accept a penalty.”

Lin Wan raised an eyebrow: ”What kind of penalty?”

”Hmm...” Su Chen thought about it, ”If it’s brought up on land, the penalty is to give the other person a ten-minute massage. If it’s brought up in the sea—like when we’re diving later—the penalty is to carry the other person’s air tank for an extra ten minutes.”

Lin Wan was amused: ”That sounds like a bet between elementary school students.”

”As long as it’s effective.” Su Chen said seriously, ”I’m serious, Lin Wan. 48 hours, just us, no KPI, no stock prices, no technical roadmaps. Just looking at the sea, feeling the breeze, and talking.”

Lin Wan looked at the rare, completely relaxed light in his eyes and nodded: ”Okay. I promise.”

She picked up her orange juice and clinked glasses with Su Chen: ”To 48 hours of freedom.”

”To freedom.” Su Chen smiled.

The plane continued southward, flying toward that expanse of azure sea.

Diving: The Quiet World Under the Sea (10:00 AM). At the private diving base in Yalong Bay, the coaching team was already ready.

Lin Wan changed into her wetsuit and stood by the pier, looking at the crystal-clear water, feeling a bit nervous. She knew how to swim, but this was her first time diving.

”Don’t worry.” Su Chen was already fully geared up and walked over to hold her hand, ”The coach said this is a beginner dive site with a maximum depth of 12 meters. Plus, it’s a one-on-two service, with two coaches following us the whole time.”

Lin Wan took a deep breath and nodded. The coach began the final checks: air tank pressure, regulator, and BCD buoyancy vest. Then came a short review: how to breathe with the regulator, how to equalize ear pressure, and how to clear the mask.

”Remember, if you feel uncomfortable at any time, just use the hand signals, and we will surface immediately.” The coach was a tanned Hainan local, his Mandarin carrying an island accent, ”Relax, the fish in the sea are more nervous than you are.”

The process of entering the water was smoother than imagined. Lin Wan bit down on the regulator and rolled backward into the water from the edge of the pier. The warm seawater instantly enveloped her entire body, and she instinctively held her breath—until she saw Su Chen making a ”breathe” hand signal to her underwater.

She tried to inhale. The airflow made a gurgling sound through the regulator, but she could indeed breathe. She slowly relaxed and gave Su Chen an ”OK” hand signal.

The coach led them in a slow descent. Lin Wan had never seen a world like this.

Sunlight pierced through the water surface, casting flickering light spots on the seabed. The coral clusters were like a forest on the ocean floor; staghorn corals stretched out like branches, while brain corals lay still like giant boulders. Schools of colorful tropical fish swam through them—clownfish hid between anemone tentacles, blue tangs swam by in groups like flowing silk, and a hawksbill turtle swam slowly over their heads, casting an elegant shadow.

Su Chen held Lin Wan’s hand the entire time. He could feel her initial tension gradually relaxing as she saw the beauty of the seabed. He gently squeezed her hand, and Lin Wan turned to look at him.

Su Chen took the prepared underwater writing slate from his waist and wrote with a waterproof pen: ”Doesn’t this look like our drone swarm?”

Lin Wan paused for a moment, then shook her head and smiled. She snatched the writing slate, wiped away the writing, and wrote again: ”Violation. Penalty: Help me dry my hair after we get ashore.”

Su Chen made a gesture of surrender. The two continued forward.

The coach led them through a coral tunnel. The tunnel was very narrow, requiring careful control of buoyancy to pass through. While passing through, Lin Wan accidentally brushed her mask against the coral, and some water got in. She felt a bit panicked instinctively but immediately remembered the method the coach had taught—press the top of the mask and exhale through the nose.

The water was cleared. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned to see Su Chen looking at her with concern. She gave an ”OK” signal and then pointed forward—at the tunnel exit, a group of large parrotfish were gnawing on the coral, making crunching sounds.

They stayed on the seabed for forty minutes. When ascending, Lin Wan actually felt a bit reluctant.

Back on the boat, the coach helped them take off their gear. The sea breeze blew, and Lin Wan shivered. Su Chen immediately grabbed a large towel to wrap around her, then picked up another towel and began to carefully dry her hair.

”Are you really penalizing me?” Lin Wan smiled.

”A bet is a bet.” Su Chen’s movements were gentle, ”But the scene just now was really similar—the schooling behavior of the fish and our drone formation algorithms, the underlying logic is similar.”

Lin Wan turned to look at him: ”Bringing up work again?”

”This doesn’t count.” Su Chen looked innocent, ”This is interdisciplinary thinking between biology and engineering.”

Lin Wan smiled and didn’t pursue it further. The two sat on the deck chairs at the stern of the boat, drinking the ginger tea prepared by the coach. The sun rose to its zenith, and the sea surface shimmered like scattered gold.

”The seabed is so quiet.” Lin Wan said, ”Except for the sound of breathing, you can’t hear anything else. But it doesn’t feel lonely—there is so much life around.”

Su Chen nodded: ”Next time, we can get a diving certification and go to deeper places. I heard there are shipwrecks in the Red Sea and schools of hammerhead sharks in the Galapagos.”

”It’s a deal then.” Lin Wan replied naturally, ”After the Red Flag project is released, we’ll go get the certification.”

As the words left her mouth, both of them froze for a moment—they had mentioned work again.

”This one is on me.” Lin Wan smiled, ”Ten minutes of massage once we get ashore, I accept the penalty.”

Horseback Riding by the Sea: Silhouette Under the Sunset (5:00 PM). After a short rest in the afternoon, they arrived at a private beach in Haitang Bay.

Two thoroughbred horses were already waiting in the shade by the beach. One was chestnut, and one was white, both groomed cleanly and beautifully. The equestrian coach was a young girl, and after giving a simple briefing on precautions, she tactfully retreated to a distance.

”I thought you would choose a more docile breed.” Lin Wan stroked the white horse’s mane, and it gently rubbed against her hand.

”The coach said these two are veterans of beach riding, and their temperaments are very steady.” Su Chen tried to step into the stirrup, his movements slightly clumsy. The horse felt his tension and shook its head slightly.

Lin Wan smiled. She nimbly mounted the horse, her movements fluid. ”I can’t tell, Mr. Su. You can manage a company with a market value of hundreds of billions, but you can’t manage a horse?”

Su Chen finally sat steadily, controlling the reins to make the horse turn: ”The control logic for both is completely different. A company is reasonable, but a horse has its own ideas.”

”Then don’t control it.” Lin Wan rode forward slowly, ”Follow its rhythm, feel how it walks.”

Su Chen did as she said. Sure enough, when he stopped trying to forcefully control it, the horse’s gait became steadier. The two rode side by side along the beach, their hooves stepping on the damp sand, making dull sounds.

The setting sun began to sink into the west. The sky transitioned from azure to orange-yellow, and then to pink-purple. The clouds were tinged with golden edges, and the sea surface reflected sparkling light. In the distance, a fishing boat was heading home, leaving a long wake on the calm sea.

Lin Wan made the horse stop, looking at the scenery before her, and did not speak for a long time.

Su Chen also stopped and turned his head to look at her. The light of the setting sun outlined the contour of her profile, and her eyelashes cast long, thin shadows on her cheeks. The sea breeze blew the stray hairs at her temples, and she casually tucked them behind her ear—this simple movement, against the backdrop of this moment, was as beautiful as a scene from a movie.

”Click.” The sound of a shutter rang out. The two turned their heads to see a photographer arranged by the hotel holding a camera on the beach not far away. Seeing them look over, the photographer waved in greeting.

”Would you like to see?” The photographer walked over and pulled up the photo just taken.

Lin Wan leaned in to look. In the photo, she and Su Chen were on horseback, with the background of the sky full of sunset glow and the endless sea. Their silhouettes were plated with a layer of gold, the horses stood quietly, and the waves broke into white foam beneath their feet.

”This one...” Lin Wan said softly, ”Can we enlarge one and put it in the office?”

Su Chen was a bit surprised: ”The office?”

”Yes.” Lin Wan nodded, ”Put it in a place where we can see it as soon as we look up. To remind us that besides financial reports, meetings, and negotiations, there are such moments in the world. Work is for a better life, not the other way around.”

Su Chen looked at the photo, then at Lin Wan. ”Then let’s enlarge two. One for your office, one for mine. And print a small one to keep in our wallets.”

He turned to the photographer: ”Could you please take a few more?”

Over the next half hour, the photographer captured many scenes: the two riding slowly, walking side by side on the beach after dismounting, Su Chen helping Lin Wan pick up seashells, Lin Wan laughing and dodging the small waves lapping at them...

The last photo was of the two with their backs to the camera, facing the sea. The setting sun stretched their shadows long, so long that they seemed to extend beyond the horizon.

”This one is the best.” said the photographer, ”It has negative space and lingering charm.”

Paragliding: An Embrace in the Sky (3:00 PM on Sunday). After a nap in the afternoon, they arrived at the Fenghuangling Paragliding Base.

Standing on the takeoff platform, Lin Wan looked at the steep slope beneath her feet and the sea in the distance, her heart rate accelerating slightly.

She had only seen paragliding in videos; flying for real, especially in a tandem glider—meaning she and Su Chen would be strapped together—was a different matter.

“Scared?” Su Chen asked.

“A little,” Lin Wan said honestly, “but also excited.”

The instructor gave a brief training: “Run with me when we take off, don’t stop. Once we’re airborne, just sit steady, and I’ll control the direction. When we land, lift your legs like you’re sitting in a chair.”

Then the instructor began helping them put on the gear.

Lin Wan was in front, Su Chen in back; the two were strapped into the same harness, back pressed against chest.

Su Chen’s arms naturally wrapped around Lin Wan’s waist, securing the safety belt.

“Ready?” the instructor asked.

Lin Wan took a deep breath and nodded.

“Run!”

The three of them rushed forward together.

After a few steps, the paraglider wing was inflated by the wind, and a force pulling upward was felt.

Lin Wan felt her feet become light—they had left the ground.

The first few seconds were instinctive tension caused by weightlessness.

But soon, the paraglider rose steadily, and the tension was replaced by awe.

They flew higher and higher.

The entire Sanya Bay was in full view.

The azure bay was like a giant gemstone, the white beach its border, and the green coconut groves its embellishment.

The distant islands looked like scattered pearls, and yachts drew thin white lines on the sea.

Yalong Bay, Haitang Bay, Dadonghai... familiar place names turned into concrete scenery.

“So beautiful...” Lin Wan murmured.

The wind whistled in her ears, but strangely, the high altitude felt quiet—far away from all the noise of the ground, there was only the pure sound of the wind and each other’s breathing.

Su Chen said in her ear: “Look, we are now flying higher than all the drones.”

Lin Wan laughed and leaned back into his arms, relaxed: “This doesn’t count as a work topic—this is pure altitude.”

The instructor controlled the wing to turn, and they began to circle.

With every turn, the perspective of the view changed.

Sunlight spilled down from different directions, and the color of the sea changed accordingly—transparent light green near the shore, deep azure in the distance.

“How does it feel?” Su Chen asked.

“Free,” Lin Wan closed her eyes, feeling the wind brush against her cheeks, “Like a bird.”

They flew in the air for twenty minutes.

The landing was very smooth, gently grazing the grass before stopping steadily.

The instructor unbuckled the safety clips, but Lin Wan was still a bit dazed, as if her soul were still in the sky.

“You can try flying yourself next time,” the instructor said, “A solo glider is even more interesting.”

Lin Wan looked at Su Chen, and they smiled at each other.

They didn’t say when the next time would be, but they both knew it definitely would happen.

Beach Dinner (7:00 PM)

When they returned to the hotel, it was already completely dark.

They were staying in a detached seaside villa with its own small courtyard and a stretch of private beach.

The butler had already arranged everything—when they pushed open the courtyard gate, they saw a candlelight dinner on the beach.

A small round table was placed in the center of the beach, covered with a pristine white tablecloth.

Three candelabras flickered on the table, with chilled champagne nearby.

On the sand not far away, star patterns were laid out with shells and candles.

The butler smiled and gestured: “Dinner is ready; it was specially designed by the chef according to your tastes. If you need service, please ring the bell. Otherwise, no one will disturb you.”

He bowed elegantly and then left.

Lin Wan looked at the scene before her, and her eyes suddenly felt hot.

“Did you arrange this?” she asked softly.

“I gave the hotel a general direction, and they executed the specifics,” Su Chen pulled out a chair for her, “Do you like it?”

“I do,” Lin Wan sat down, “I love it.”

The dinner was exquisite: the appetizer was local chilled mango shrimp, the main course was pan-seared Wagyu beef with black truffles, and the dessert was coconut mousse.

Each course was paired with different wines.

They ate slowly, chatting about trivial topics—which dish was the most delicious, the most beautiful fish they saw while diving yesterday, how Su Chen’s chestnut horse tried to secretly nibble on grass while they were riding...

The sound of the waves was natural background music, and occasionally fireworks rose in the distance—set off by other resorts, but it felt as if they were blooming for them.

After dinner, the butler cleared the tableware, leaving behind champagne and fruit.

Su Chen suddenly said: “Wait, I have something for you.”

He took a small box out of his pocket.

The box was small, with a dark blue velvet texture.

Lin Wan’s heart skipped a beat.

She looked at the box, then at Su Chen.

“Open it and see,” Su Chen smiled.

Lin Wan opened the box.

Inside were not rings, but a pair of sports watches.

The watch face was a deep blue, like the night sky and the deep sea, and the hands were simple silver.

They looked very much like the next-generation smart bracelet that Spark Group was about to launch, but there were subtle differences.

“This is...” Lin Wan picked up the women’s version, it was very light, and the strap was skin-friendly silicone.

“A custom design,” Su Chen picked up the men’s version, “I had Zhang Yang’s product team make it secretly.

It uses all the technology of the next-generation bracelet: heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen detection, GPS positioning, 50-meter water resistance... but the appearance is specially designed.”

He flipped the watch over and pointed to the back of the watch face for her to see.

Lin Wan looked at the candlelight and saw the words engraved on it: “Stars, the sea, and you.” “—2027.6”

June 2027.

Not this year, but June ten years later.

Lin Wan raised her head, her eyes truly wet.

“When did you...”

“A month ago,” Su Chen said softly, “That night I worked overtime until dawn, and you fell asleep on the sofa.

I looked at you and suddenly thought, we have already walked together for two years.

From the time you joined Spark Group after graduating from college until now, from the brink of bankruptcy to a trillion-dollar market value.

Then I wondered, what would it be like if we walked together for ten years?”

He paused: “So I set this date.

2027, the twelfth year after 2015 when we first met.

A cycle.

At that time, we should be... around thirty-seven years old?

I hope we can still be like today, watching the sea, riding horses, and flying into the sky together.”

Lin Wan couldn’t speak.

She lowered her head and carefully put on the watch.

The size was just right, obviously carefully measured.

“Help me put mine on,” Su Chen extended his left hand.

Lin Wan picked up the men’s watch and helped him put it on.

Their wrists were joined together, and the watch faces glowed softly in the candlelight.

“Ten years from now, we have to come back here,” Su Chen held her hand, “Wearing these watches, to see if today’s promise has been fulfilled.”

Lin Wan nodded, her voice choked: “Okay.”

After dinner, the two walked barefoot on the beach.

The sand still held the residual warmth of the day, and it felt soft under their feet.

The waves rushed up again and again, washing over their ankles, then receding.

They left two sets of footprints, which were soon smoothed away by the waves.

“Sometimes it feels like a dream,” Lin Wan said softly, “Two years ago, we were still squeezed into that dilapidated office, eating instant noodles, calculating how to pay the wages for the month.

Now... private jets, seaside villas, custom watches.”

Su Chen gripped her hand tighter: “What changed were only the numbers and the venue.

What didn’t change is that you have always been by my side.”

They walked to a reef and sat down side by side.

The night sky was clear, and they could see the stars—the starry sky long missed in the city.

“Tell me, what will we be like in ten years?” Lin Wan asked.

Su Chen thought for a moment: “Spark Group should be a real technology empire by then.

Maybe we’ll have our own chip factories, autonomous driving fleets, and maybe even... aerospace business.

Red Flag will become a world-class luxury brand.

Xingchen Heavy Industry’s machine tools will be running in every important factory around the world.”

“And our lives?”

“Life...” Su Chen laughed, “When the Red Flag project is stable, I want to go to Iceland to see the aurora.

When the chip factory is put into production, I want to go to Northern Europe to live in a wooden cabin for a month, just the two of us, walking, reading, and cooking every day.

When...”

Lin Wan suddenly laughed out loud.

“What’s wrong?” Su Chen asked.

“These ‘When... then...’ sentence structures are very similar to the pie-in-the-sky promises we give investors,” Lin Wan said with a smile, “‘When the product is mass-produced, profits will explode,’ ‘When the market opens, valuation will double.’”

Su Chen froze for a moment, then laughed too: “That’s true.

Occupational disease.”

“But this time, we will definitely be able to eat this pie,” Lin Wan leaned on his shoulder, “I promise.”

They talked for a long time.

They talked about embarrassing things in college, the hardships of taking over the company in the early days, those moments when they almost couldn’t hold on, and the joy of every breakthrough.

Lin Wan had forgotten many details, but Su Chen remembered them all—remembering her hands shaking from nervousness during her first speech on stage, remembering her staying up late to work for company orders, remembering her jumping up in the office when she signed the first big order...

“You remember all of it.” Lin Wan said softly.

“Of course,” Su Chen looked at the starry sky, “These are my most precious memories.”

At eleven o’clock at night, when they were preparing to return to the room to rest, Su Chen’s phone vibrated.

Lin Wan instinctively became nervous—at this hour, unless there was an emergency, no one would call.

She saw Su Chen take out his phone, and the name displayed on the screen was: Shen Nanpeng.

Su Chen didn’t answer immediately, but looked at Lin Wan, making a helpless expression.

Then he pressed the speakerphone button.

“Old Shen, I’m on vacation.

Unless the company is on fire, you’d better have a good reason.”

Shen Nanpeng’s excited voice came from the other end of the phone: “It’s not bad news! Definitely not bad news! I just received news that SASAC has included us in the first batch of the ‘National Manufacturing Innovation Center’ list! There are only eight companies in the country, and we are the only private enterprise!”

Lin Wan’s eyes lit up.

National Manufacturing Innovation Center—this meant policy support, funding support, tax incentives, and more importantly, this was official recognition of Spark Group’s technical strength at the national level.

Shen Nanpeng continued: “The specific policy package is still waiting for the details, but the preliminary news is: providing no less than 5 billion yuan in R&D subsidies within five years, priority in participating in major national science and technology projects, and a series of benefits such as talent introduction and land supply.

Mr. Su, this is a major benefit!”

Su Chen’s expression was calm: “Got it.

We’ll discuss it at the meeting on Monday.”

“Monday?” Shen Nanpeng was stunned for a moment, “Mr. Su, this news should be announced immediately, it will affect the stock price...”

“Monday,” Su Chen repeated, his tone gentle but unquestionable, “Now is my private time.

Lin Wan is also by my side, we are watching the sea.

So, we’ll talk about it on Monday.”

The other end of the phone was silent for a few seconds, then Shen Nanpeng laughed: “Understood.

I was too impatient.

Then... have a great time.

See you Monday.”

After hanging up, the beach returned to quiet.

Only the sound of the waves, never stopping.

Lin Wan looked at Su Chen: “Can you really hold back? This is a major benefit.”

“No matter how big the benefit is, it can’t compare to now,” Su Chen set his phone to silent and put it back in his pocket, “Besides, Shen Nanpeng being so excited shows that he really treats Spark Group as his own career.

Isn’t this exactly what we want?

To let every core member treat the company as their own business.”

Lin Wan sighed: “Yes.

Even good news, he couldn’t help but want to share with us first.”

“This shows that we have really succeeded,” Su Chen hugged her, “Let’s go, let’s go back to rest.

We can still watch the sunrise tomorrow morning, and then take the plane back to Shenzhen in the afternoon.”

The two walked back to the villa side by side.

Before entering, Lin Wan looked back.

On the beach, the candlelight had gone out, but the star pattern was still there.

The waves rushed up again and again, as if trying to take the tenderness of this night into the deep sea to treasure.

The next morning

When Lin Wan woke up, it was just dawn.

She found Su Chen was not in bed, so she got up and walked to the balcony.

Then she saw him—he was sitting alone on the beach, facing east, waiting for the sunrise.

Lin Wan didn’t disturb him, just stood on the balcony watching.

The sky gradually turned white, and the clouds were dyed a faint pink.

A golden line appeared on the sea level, and then the sun slowly rose—not jumping out, but calmly, bit by bit, spilling light onto the world.

Su Chen’s figure turned into a silhouette in the morning light.

At that moment, Lin Wan suddenly realized very clearly: they were not just lovers, not just partners.

They were the deepest connection in each other’s lives, the people who created miracles together, and the only people who could fully understand each other on this difficult road.

The sun had fully risen.

Su Chen stood up and turned to look at the villa.

Seeing Lin Wan on the balcony, he smiled and waved.

Lin Wan waved back, then turned to enter the room, preparing to go downstairs.

A new day had begun.

And the 48-hour vacation still had a few precious hours left.