Su Ning slowly lowered her phone after the call ended, the faint sound of the disconnected line fading into the quiet ocean breeze around her. A small, amused smirk appeared on her lips as she leaned back against the cushioned seat on the yacht.
The gentle rocking of the vessel beneath her feet blended with the distant rhythm of waves meeting the shore, creating an almost peaceful atmosphere. Yet behind that calm expression, her mind was already turning with quiet calculation.
The thought of the ROYAL 6 families trying to scheme against her made the smirk on her lips deepen slightly.
About an hour earlier, Chen Anya's mother, Liu Ting, had called to tell her that the madams from the Gu and Li Madams visited Luminous for the first time.
According to her, both women had suddenly appeared for a spa treatment and had behaved unusually friendly toward her throughout their visit.
They chatted casually during the treatment session, but their conversation gradually shifted in a very deliberate direction. The two women had begun asking subtle questions about Su Ning—where she came from, what kind of family she belonged to, and how Liu Ting had gotten to know her.
They had even asked about Liu Ting's own business plans, suggesting that someone like her should open a luxury spa of her own someday.
Finally, just before leaving, they had given Liu Ting a formal invitation to an upcoming upper-class dinner party scheduled for the following week.
When Liu Ting explained all this to Su Ning earlier, the hidden intentions behind the visit were obvious.
The ROYAL 6 families had clearly started investigating her background through indirect methods.
Now, thinking about it again, Su Ning could not help but feel amused.
They were still trying so hard to figure out who she really was.
But what they didn't realize was that soon, none of them would still be standing proudly in the same positions they held today.
The golden light of the sunset reflected across the calm sea, drawing her attention away from her thoughts. The sky above Avery Coast had begun transforming into a breathtaking canvas of colors. Shades of orange, gold, pink, and soft purple spread across the horizon as the sun slowly dipped lower toward the ocean.
Su Ning stretched lazily on the luxurious white deck of the yacht, one arm resting behind her head as she gazed at the beautiful view.
The warm sunlight gently touched her skin, giving her complexion a glowing radiance.
The quiet beauty of the moment stirred something playful in her. She angled her phone casually to take a picture of herself.
She recently discovered she had started enjoying taking selfies. It was slowly turning into another one of her hobbies.
It was almost funny when she thought about it. In her previous life, she had never had the luxury of such things. But now, after returning to this life, she decided to indulge herself to the fullest.
She lowered her phone to look, and even though she had expected the picture to look beautiful, she still paused for a moment in genuine surprise.
Su Ning blinked.
Then she laughed quietly to herself.
She might actually be the only person in the world who could still be stunned by her own photos every time she took one.
The image displayed on the screen looked almost unreal.
In the photo, she was lying gracefully across the white deck of the yacht, her long, dazzling black hair spreading around her like silk. The golden rays of the setting sun flowed across her delicate features, creating soft shadows that made her look almost dreamlike.
The gentle ocean breeze had slightly lifted a few strands of her hair, giving the entire image a natural and ethereal quality.
Her slender figure was perfectly framed against the glowing sunset, making the photo look like something taken straight from a high-end fashion magazine.
For a moment, she simply admired the picture.
Then she smiled in satisfaction.
"This one is really good," she said quietly.
Without hesitation, she selected the photo and sent it directly to Qi Xiyue.
Along with the image, she typed a short message.
"Do you like it?"
After sending the message, she opened the Startok app and logged into her account. Her fingers moved smoothly across the screen as she uploaded the same photo to her page.
For the caption, she simply wrote:
"Enjoying the sunset."
The moment the post went live, the reaction was almost immediate.
The notification icon began flashing rapidly.
Within seconds, the post started gaining attention at an explosive speed.
However, Su Ning barely looked at it.
Instead, she noticed her message inbox was flooded with new notifications from days ago.
Curious, she opened it.
Her eyes immediately widened slightly when she saw the sheer number of messages waiting for her.
Many of them came from brands and companies.
Some were small businesses hoping for publicity, but several stood out clearly.
One from a very famous clothing brand known throughout the country, another from a highly respected skincare company that dominated the luxury beauty market.
Two large fashion blogs had also contacted her, politely asking if she would consider collaborating with them for exclusive features.
Another message in particular came from a well-known entertainment company. Their representative had written a carefully worded invitation, inviting her to attend their annual awards ceremony as a special guest.
Su Ning stared at the screen for a moment.
Then she laughed.
The sound of her laughter drifted softly across the quiet deck of the yacht.
Represent their brands? If it was in her previous life, perhaps she would have been so happy to receive such invitations.
But now, why would she bother promoting someone else's company?
Her own brand was already on the way.
With that thought, she casually closed the messages and ignored the offers completely.
Meanwhile, her phone continued buzzing nonstop with notifications from Startok.
Curiosity finally made her check the engagement on her post.
When she opened the statistics page, even she raised an eyebrow slightly.
In just five minutes, the post had already passed three hundred thousand views.
The like count had reached over two hundred fifty-six thousand.
Shares were increasing rapidly, and the comment section had already exploded past thirty-seven thousand messages.
The numbers were still climbing rapidly.
Su Ning smirked faintly.
Then she simply logged out of the app.
Just as she was about to set her phone aside, another call appeared on the screen.
I was the Principal, Di Fulin.
She accepted the call immediately.
"Miss Su," Di Fulin's respectful voice came through the line.
"Mm," Su Ning replied calmly.
He began reporting the situation exactly as she had predicted earlier.
True to her expectations, Gu Hongmin had secretly approached every board member of the company one by one. He had offered them large amounts of money in exchange for their support against Su Ning.
But those board members were already under her control.
Following her instructions, they had pretended to accept Gu Hongmin's offers while secretly reporting everything back to her.
Di Fulin's voice carried a trace of excitement as he finished his report.
"In total, Gu Hongmin paid 2.7 billion yuan in cash to buy their loyalty."
For a moment, there was silence on the line.
Then Su Ning suddenly burst out laughing.
Her laughter was clear and bright, echoing across the quiet ocean air.
She leaned back against the chair again, genuinely amused by the situation.
As much as Gu Hongmin hated her, he was unknowingly working hard to make money for her instead.
Just imagining the expression on his face when he eventually realized the truth made her laugh even harder.
"That's perfect," she said between soft laughs.
She praised Di Fulin for executing the plan flawlessly.
On the other end of the line, Di Fulin sounded extremely pleased with her approval.
Then he asked an important question.
"Do you want me to bring the money over?"
Su Ning's eyes gleamed slightly.
"No, I'm currently in London, someone will pick it up soon," she replied calmly.
Di Fulin's breath catched in his throat, he wondered if she was there on vacation or business, he hoped it was the former, because he wasn't sure his heart could handle anymore surprises from her.
"Yes, Miss Su. I'll send you my address."
After ending the call, she immediately dialed another number.
This time, the call connected to her villa.
Ah Ming answered almost instantly.
"Young Miss," her respectful voice greeted her.
Su Ning gave him a short instruction.
She told her to go to Di Fulin's residence and collect several pieces of luggage waiting there. She then gave her the address.
Ah Ming accepted the order without hesitation.
Before hanging up, she casually asked if there had been any trouble at the villa.
"No, Young Miss," Ah Ming replied.
Satisfied, she ended the call.
The peaceful silence of Avery Coast returned once again.
Su Ning stretched comfortably on the yacht, allowing the cool sea breeze to brush against her face.
But the peaceful moment did not last long.
Suddenly, her expression changed.
A faint frown appeared between her brows as she sensed something unusual.
Her body straightened instantly.
A powerful ripple of perception spread outward from her mind.
Her divine senses expanded across the surrounding ocean like an invisible wave.
Within seconds, she detected the disturbance.
About one kilometer away, two speedboats were cutting rapidly through the water.
On those boats were eight men.
Even from that distance, Su Ning could clearly sense the dangerous aura surrounding them.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
The killing intent radiating from them was thick and unmistakable.
These were not ordinary criminals.
Through her divine senses, she carefully observed their movements.
Two of the men were holding a map between them. Their eyes shone with excitement as they looked toward the direction of Avery Coast.
Su Ning focused her senses on the map in their hands, on the paper was a small marked location.
A red circle surrounded a tiny island.
Her island.
She slowly withdrew her divine senses.
Then she stood up from the yacht and looked toward the distant horizon.
The speedboats had now become faintly visible to the naked eye, though they were still quite far away.
Su Ning's expression turned thoughtful.
If mercenaries were coming here with a marked map, it could only mean one thing.
There was something valuable hidden on this island.
Perhaps money.
Perhaps treasure.
She knew very well that corrupt businessmen often liked hiding their illegal wealth in isolated places where no one could trace it.
Avery Coast had likely been used for such purposes before she bought it.
Of course, the mercenaries had no idea that the island now belonged to someone else.
They probably expected it to be deserted, and if they discovered a witness…
Su Ning already knew the answer.
They would kill without hesitation.
She sighed softly.
"Why does trouble always find me?" She rolled her eyes in annoyance.
Just then, two figures appeared running toward the marina.
Ah Ting and Ah Mei had now sensed the hostile auras as well.
"Young Miss!" they called urgently.
Su Ning calmly stepped down from the yacht.
Her expression remained relaxed, almost lazy.
"Retreat, don't show yourselves untill I ask you to," she instructed calmly.
Both of them immediately bowed.
"Yes, Young Miss."
Without another word, they moved swiftly, blending into the shadows.
Su Ning then walked slowly toward the shore.
Her movements were unhurried and calm.
Reaching a large stone near the water's edge, she sat down casually and crossed one leg over the other.
From a distance, she looked like someone simply enjoying the peaceful sunset by the sea.
The two speedboats continued approaching rapidly.
Su Ning watched them quietly.
A faint, lazy smile remained on her lips as she waited patiently for them to arrive.