On the edge of the city, adjacent to the sea, within a lush pristine forest, stands a mysterious castle that pierces the sky.
It's magnificent and overwhelming.
At that moment, a blood-red sun, slowly sank into the deep sea.
Only the tide's surge echoed silently in the desolate forest...
...
Within the blink of an eye, the dark night shrouded the earth.
Above the castle, dozens of pure white spires, under the sketching of the night sky, flicker with a hazy faint halo, making the castle's mysterious profile even more illusory and fascinating.
Inside the castle, in a European style dining hall, at a long dining table, there is a dazzling array of exquisite dishes: Thai food, Italian food, Australian cuisine, Japanese food, Western cuisine... it can accommodate up to a hundred diners, but now, only two people are seated.
A girl sits at the end of the table.
She is wearing a blue and white school uniform, surrounded by fifty maids in brown-red uniforms. As soon as the girl's eyes glance over a dish, a maid rushes over to serve her that dish.
But often, she just smells it and pouts her small cherry lips. The maid immediately puts the dish back in its place, knowing better than to argue.
"Miss Ella, you have chosen more than sixty dishes, haven't you found something you like yet?" The maid in charge, Auntie Meng, shows an anxious expression.
So far, Ella Lacey has spent half an hour choosing dishes at the table and has not taken a single bite.
She blinks her large watery eyes, sighs, and seems uninterested in all the variously colored dishes.
At the other end of the table, seated a handsome man. His beautiful eye color changed as he looked over the scene.
His proud figure spewed out a strong, cold aura, like an emperor overseeing the mountains and rivers. The whole dining room instantly blanketed under a freezing boundary line.
Ella Lacey was very familiar with this feeling.
A suffocating sensation that only Arthur Lindsey exuded.
Arthur Lindsey, a man of many identities. He is the master of this mysterious castle hidden between the ocean and the forest. He is the ruler of the Lindsey group, renowned in Yunhai City. At a young age of under twenty-five, he sat at the top of Forbes' global billionaire list.
Other people believed him to be cold and ruthless, utterly relentless in achieving his goals.
As for his real character, perhaps no one understood it better than Auntie Meng. She was Arthur's nanny, and she had watched little Arthur rise step by step to become the commanding man he is today.
Now, she interpreted Arthur's signals to mean: "Very well! If there is nothing you like, then you don't have to eat. Get out!"
Ella Lacey was also scared at this moment, afraid of his anger. It was way too scary… On the way to the castle, she had been mumbling to herself, "Wow, Arthur indeed is a man of his word. The speed of fulfilling his promise is super fast. Can't believe I can come to the castle tonight, far beyond my expectations!"
She even started to sing, "Today is a good day, all the things that I wish for can come true…".
At this moment, she kept repeating in her mind, "Arthur, please don't send Ella away, I've come to the castle after such a long time... Please don't, sob sob sob…"
The maids around her seemed to be enjoying the situation. For tonight's banquet, they had been preparing everything in a tight schedule since the moment they received Arthur's orders at noon. There were only a few hours, it was very stressful. They had to prepare more than a hundred famous dishes from around the world, no repetitions, each one fresh and authentic.
Arthur's demands were higher than ever before!
Only tonight did they learn that it was all for a young girl, a student sister they had never met. Moreover, this girl clearly had not been out much, like that last dish, a Thai Coconut Rice, still right out of the pot, maintaining a fresh color, full grains, sweet coconut juice, she just let it be taken away without batting an eye.
You ignorant young girl, you don't even realize how lucky you are to dine in the mysterious castle!
Poor girl, you're screwed! Now you've offended Arthur!
If he opens his mouth now, he'll surely have you thrown out of the castle!
The maids were all smirking, exchanging knowing looks as if they had already won.
On the other hand, Ella, looked terribly nervous, her little face was pale, as if she would be overwhelmed by Arthur's imposing aura…
Sure enough, not long after, Arthur spoke on cue.
His magnetic and elegant voice rings out, like a plucked string, capturing the soul, but shockingly angry:
"Get out!!! All of you get out! If you can't even come up with a dish that Ella likes, all of you can fuck off!"