The morning air crackles with heat, but Cheng Yixie barely notices. His attention is fixed on River, who's knelt at the water's edge, chattering to a seashell like it owes her answers. "Dada, it's a secret keeper," she announces, holding up a broken conch. "It knows when strangers are bad."

He snorts, wiping his surfboard with a rag so hard the wax squeaks. "Strangers are always bad," he grunts, not looking up. "Stay close."

River pouts but doesn't argue—she knows better than to test his tone when it's that gravelly. She plops down cross-legged, drawing patterns in the sand with a stick, her tiny tongue poking out in concentration. Cheng Yixie watches her from the corner of his eye, his jaw tight. She's the only thing that makes his pulse slow, the only thing worth not breaking. But that doesn't mean he'll let anyone near her.

Movement. Sudden. Unwelcome.

He straightens so fast his muscles ache, eyes narrowing on the figure down the beach. A woman, standing where the waves kiss the sand, her back to him. She's wearing cutoff shorts and a white tank top that clings to her curves when the breeze picks up. No tourist—too still, too at ease. Like she thinks she belongs here.

Cheng Yixie's fingers curl into fists. This is his beach. His territory. And she's trespassing.

River sees her next, gasping loud enough to wake the dead. "Dada! Look! Pretty lady!"

"Stay," he snaps, but River's already on her feet, legs pumping as she sprints toward the stranger. Cheng Yixie curses under his breath, grabbing his board and following—slowly, deliberately, letting the woman see him coming. Let her see the threat.

By the time he reaches them, River's got her hand in the woman's, babbling a mile a minute about seashells and mermaids. The woman is smiling, kneeling to meet River's eyes, and something in Cheng Yixie snaps. That smile—soft, warm, inviting—isn't allowed here. Not on his beach. Not near his daughter.

He drops the board with a thud that makes both of them jump. River startles, clinging to the woman's leg, and Cheng Yixie steps forward until he's towering over them, shadow swallowing both. "You lost, sweetheart?" he growls, his voice low and thick with warning.

The woman stands, slowly, her gaze flicking up to his. There's no fear in her eyes—just curiosity. That only makes him angrier. He reaches out, fingers wrapping around River's upper arm and yanking her roughly to his side. River whimpers, but he ignores it, his stare boring into the woman's skin.

"This is my beach," he says, each word a punch. "My daughter. You got a problem with that?"

She opens her mouth to speak, but he doesn't let her. He takes a step closer, crowding her space until their chests are almost touching, until he can smell the coconut in her hair and see the way her pupils dilate. "Answer me," he snarls, his hand sliding up her arm, fingers digging into her bicep hard enough to leave marks.

River tugs at his shirt,小声说 (whispering), "Dada, she's nice..."

He doesn't look down. His thumb brushes the skin of her shoulder, slow and deliberate, a promise of more if she pushes back. "Nice don't mean safe, River," he says, never breaking eye contact. "And this one?"

He leans in, lips brushing her ear, his voice a dark purr that makes her shiver.

"She's dangerous."

The waves crash behind them, loud and hungry. River's gone quiet, sensing the tension. And Cheng Yixie? He's just getting started.