"Oh, yeah, it's you, Joan! I can finally see properly. Hey old friend!" The two were especially friendly with her.Nearly everyone in the hospital knew who Renee was, as she had been frequenting the place with Jovan for his medical treatments and checkups. Hence, all of them were familiar with each other by now.The woman then continued to talk to them for a bit. With that, not only did she find out where Seraphina's surgery was ongoing, she even found out which hotel they were currently staying at in the town."I'm going to check up on Van now. Bye, guys!" Renee nodded softly at the nurses and left the stairway once she was done smoking. Initially, she was going to head back to Jovan's ward, but her body walked toward the operating rooms unconsciously.She hid around the corner, peeking out of the wall carefully. She quickly noticed Stefan, who was standing by the doors.He was still wearing the casual white dress shirt she had seen in the morning. However, it was now drenched
Watching as Stefan happily finished the dumplings, Renee started smiling behind the wall around the corner as well.'That's right! Good food always helps to melt your worries away!'A couple of hours later, the doors to the operating room finally swung open. As the doctors exited, Stefan immediately approached them nervously."Don't worry, she's still alive, but her back and legs are severely injured. The patient will be required to stay in bed for a while," the doctor spoke up. "As her guardian, you'll have to take care of her during this period of time.""Thank goodness she's okay." Stefan let out a sigh of relief as a weight instantly got lifted off his chest.Renee, who was still standing in the corner, gulped. 'What? Seraphina hurt her back too?! This is such a coincidence!'Moreover, she had no clue that all the orthopedic wards were on the same floor, which meant that… Jovan and Seraphina's rooms would be near. 'That means we're going to bump into each other no matter wh
"Mr. Hunt, here are your dumplings. Have some while they're still warm!" The nurse then placed the bowl down on the table."Thanks." Stefan nodded, feeling as if he was about to drool at any moment. Habits were indeed quite an odd tendency, as the man soon got used to eating them, despite only having them for four days.Sensing a threat, Seraphina shot the nurse a dirty glare. She asked coldly, "Where did these dumplings come from? Isn't it Aeos cuisine? Can I have some too?""Uhm… No!" The nurse refused without any hesitation. After all, Joan had specially bought these dumplings for Stefan. She couldn't possibly make another bowl."Why not? Could it be that you've been personally making these for my fiance? Aren't you being a little too considerate then?""No… I…" The nurse felt awkward and failed to explain herself.Stefan quickly came to the nurse's defense. "You're still recovering, and seafood is prohibited.""Yes, yes! Eating seafood may affect wound recovery, which might
Still doubtful, Stefan intentionally headed to the hospital food court during dinner."I'd like some seafood dumplings," he said to the staff through the window.The staff was immediately confused upon hearing his order."Do you guys not have seafood dumplings?" Stefan asked again, emphasizing his words this time."No." The staff glared at him as if he were a fool, pointing to the menu. "Everything's on the menu. Order anything you want."Scanning through the piece of laminated paper, Stefan realized that it was, in fact, filled with foreign cuisine. There wasn't a single dish originating from Aeos, let alone seafood dumplings. 'So that nurse was lying?'Stefan returned to the main hospital building and found the nurse who delivered those dumplings to him every day."I think we need to talk."The nurse's expression stiffened anxiously. "Mr. Hunt, what… what would you like to talk about?""You know why I'm here.""I don't know. I don't know anything at all." The nurse shook
Renee then stood up and stubbed out her cigarette, her slender figure disappearing into the dark…Stefan, on the other hand, waited for an entire day but never received the bowl of dumplings he longed for.He was still able to endure the wait when he realized that the dumplings hadn't arrived in the afternoon. However, as supper time arrived, he just couldn't believe that none had been delivered to him.The man was losing patience."What happened? Why are there no dumplings today?" Stefan stopped and questioned the patrolling nurse while Seraphina was resting."W… Well…" The nurse rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "They stopped serving it. Why don't you check out our other offerings, Mr. Hunt? We have steak, hamburgers, spaghetti…""I don't want any of that. I just want dumplings, seafood dumplings." Stefan completely shed his image as a CEO and started demanding for his food like a child. The nurse was speechless. "Please don't tell me you haven't eaten for the whole day.
"You can still make one more, right? Please, Miss, just this once!" Renee begged with sincerity."You can come back tomorrow. It's just some dumplings. People won't die just from not having one, right?""No, no, someone might really die without those dumplings… Basically, it's super important, so please make one more! I'm a regular, aren't I? You wouldn't let me go back empty-handed, would you?""Oh, you, alright, alright! Come on!" The storekeeper shook her head helplessly and opened up her kitchen again just to fulfill Renee's request.In actuality, the storekeeper wasn't the only one who cared for Renee. The entire town loved her and would do anything to help her out.Naturally, they sympathized with her because she had to take care of a disabled man, despite her fragile figure. However, she managed to win them over with her sincere and adorable nature, along with her diligence. She had always helped many elderly who lived alone with technology, so everyone thought of her as
Renee walked out of the restaurant with the dumplings. On the way back to the hospital, she took a small whiff, which brought a faint smile to her face.Just as she lifted her gaze, she noticed the man before her, who seemed to have been waiting for quite some time."You…" The woman felt as if she was completely stunned, freezing on the spot."So you've been the one sending those dumplings all along?" Stefan stood a few feet away, staring at her with surprise and confusion."I… I have no idea what you're talking about," Renee stuttered, trying her best to deny everything."Stop denying. The nurse told me everything…" Stefan walked towards the woman, looming over her as he questioned. "So, what's your purpose for doing all this?"Seeing how she couldn't talk out of this, Renee spoke truthfully. "What else could it be? I was just worried that you'd starve!"Why would that matter to you? Do we know each other?" Huffing coldly, Stefan seemed alerted. "Or is it because you know I hav
Since that day, Renee and Stefan never bumped into each other again.It was as if they were two parallel lines that headed in the wrong direction, yet realigned back to their own tracks after briefly intersecting.Stefan stayed by Seraphina's side, all while dealing with the group's affairs at the same time.Under Stefan's efforts, Hunt Enterprise finally survived its crisis over the past six months. They found a new chip partner, with the sales of listed electronic products increasing as well. The company's achievements were unbelievably astounding, to say the least.At the same time, the strongest rival of Hunt Enterprise, Azure Group, which was founded by Renee, had also expanded greatly with the help of KCL Holdings. Its efficiency was soon ranked among the top three in the industry, nearly surpassing that of Hunt Enterprise.Although the two families were rivals, the two companies remained out of each other's hair, directly avoiding any conflict with each other, as if they ha
When Renee noticed Lucas' growing trust in her, she started begging for mercy for Leia.Unexpectedly, Lucas turned hostile and cunning. "So, you said that much to me just because you wanted to beg for mercy for your friend. Were you talking nonsense?" he snapped. "No, it was a sincere suggestion! I mean it! I wanted to help you make this company bigger and stronger." Renee swallowed, and added, "My friend and I are close. A normal person like me wouldn't want her to suffer so much." "Yes, any normal person wouldn't. But people in our industry can't afford to be normal. Only crazy people can do this kind of work."Lucas raised his brow, and looked at Leia before turning back to Renee. "How about this? You punish her to prove your loyalty. Then, I'll believe that you're on my side. What do you think?" "Motherfucker! Just come at me! Stop talking crap! I'm not afraid of you!" Leia suddenly shrieked.Lying on the table, her initial fear gradually turned into anger. Finally, sh
"Flying Clouds? What does that mean? What do you want?" Leia demanded. She trembled all over and subconsciously retreated.Two guards held her and pushed her on the table. They untied her shackles and tied her limbs to the four corners of the table. Then, another guard carried a basin of hot water over. It was steaming."Just start!" Lucas ordered as he sat. He took a drag of his cigarette as he watched Leia's slightly revealed figure while struggling. He looked very obscene. Renee, standing at the side, grew nervous. However, she tried her best to put on a smile and said to Lucas, "Lucas, we can talk it out. You told us we could help you earn a lot. We're your best tool for earning money. But if you do this and ruin your tool, you'll suffer." "Calm down…" Lucas turned to Renee, finding her quite obedient and sensible. He said to a guard, "Bring a chair for this pretty girl and make her learn well. When our business gets big, she can be a manager!"The guard quickly carried
There were various kinds of torture instruments hanging around the cage. There was even a saw that would function with just a pull.Upon closer inspection, Renee noticed bloodstains on the instruments. The corners were full of piles of human hair. There was also a rotten and damp scent lingering around."What… What kind of place is this?" Leia screamed.She stood at the door of the cage and swallowed in fright, now timid. She found that place very familiar. After some contemplation, she realized it was something related to what she had seen before in the deep web.The so-called deep web was more horrible than the dark web. Only ten percent of netizens could find the websites. These websites weren't under supervision, and were full of outrageous videos and business deals.For example, the sellers would buy beautiful models to make vulgar videos of for the buyers' viewing. The buyers would make outrageous requests based on their insane desires. They would spend some money for the se
Though the building looked ordinary and old, it was filled with many things.However, it was not very accurate. The place resembled thematic scenes more.The first floor was an ordinary office area. The second floor looked like a hotel, while the third floor looked like classrooms… The themes for each place were centered around obscenity.Renee wasn't dumb. She instantly understood why Lucas brought her and Leia there by force. She also finally understood why Lucas prohibited his subordinate from touching Leia's face even though she had been rude to him. If she guessed right, these bastards wanted her and Leia to shoot pornos. "Do you like these scenes, my friends?" Lucas was smoking, in a great mood to see the film and television site he had established. His eyes gleamed as he looked at Renee and Leia. "Other than wire fraud and online casinos, the thing that makes most money is the limited and short videos. You girls are so pretty. Just work with me and shoot some R-rated
The motorbikes raced the narrow streets noisily, passing through crowds and messy alleyways. After a winding journey, they got on the large roads and drove toward a growingly remote and unknown place.At last, they stopped in front of a large iron gate with guards and two large German Shepherds. There were a few large words above the iron gate that spelled Gold Investment. As Renee and Leia walked inside, they saw a large park, like a factory. Both of them exchanged a look of deep helplessness. They had bumped into something terrible. If they guessed it right, Lucas and his gang were involved in wire fraud. They had been brought to Lucas' scamming site.Men in uniforms happened to walk toward the cafeteria to get food under the supervision of guards. Their faces or bodies were full of new or old injuries. They looked numb and dispirited, as if they had lost all hope in life.Both Renee and Leia exchanged another look. They could confirm they were brought to an infamous scamming
Lucas' lackey brought out a dagger. He pulled Leia, and pushed the dagger against her neck.Lucas stared at Renee, and sneered, "I hope you and your friend can behave. We're from the same country. We can get along, can't we?" "Ren, ignore me! Just get them! I'm sure they can't kill me in front of everyone!" Leia shouted.She was fearless and tried all means to resist, but the man was rather fierce. He pinned her wrists behind her while pushing the dagger against her neck.As Leia wasn't standing still, the blade scratched her neck and caused it to bleed.Renee could only unclench her fists, and asked Lucas coldly, "What do you want?" "Don't be scared. We mean you no harm. We like you girls because we're from the same country. We'd like to invite you to my place as guests," Lucas mouthed off insufferably as he touched his chin. His face was swollen from being punched. "Let my friend go now!" Renee ordered Lucas. She could easily handle those bastards alone, but she was too tim
"I need to congratulate you, since you'll get another person who can teach you how to be a human being aside from Draco from today onward." Renee glared at Lucas angrily, her tone icy."Who? You? Just you?" Lucas held his belly and burst into laughter. "That's hilarious! How could you? You—"The next second, Renee interrupted him and punched him. His head tilted to the side, and his teeth were knocked out and fell off. Renee grabbed his hair and demanded icily, "What about now? Where are our phones?""You… You…" Lucas' cheek was swollen. He couldn't move at all, and waved for his lackeys to act.They jumped off their motorbikes and waved their steel pipes and knives, about to attack Renee."Ren, be careful!" While resisting, Leia reminded Renee to be careful. Renee remained composed as she kept her grip on Lucas' hair. She used him as a shield as she kicked and punched the other men, defeating them with ease.She suffered no injury while attacking others as Lucas had to endur
Renee and Leia crossed the sidewalk and walked toward the bus stop some distance away from them. Before they could enter the bus stop, however, the tanned man who approached them at the airport just now stopped in front of them on a motorbike.Behind him were six or seven men, also on a motorbike, looking fierce and dangerous. "Hey, gorgeous. Didn't you say your friend was coming to get you? Why are you catching a ride here? Listen, I own the buses here. Just tell me where you're going. I'll give you a free ride!"When Leia saw him, she could no longer hold herself back. She rushed forward and grabbed his collar. "You have the nerve to stop us! Give us back our cell phones, or you'll be sorry!" "Cell phones? What do you mean? I don't understand what you're talking about." The man smiled slyly as he held Leia's hand. "What's wrong? Did you lose your phone, gorgeous? Tell me what it looks like. I've got quite a lot of connections. I'll get it back for you quick.""You're asking
Under such circumstances, the best solution was to quickly get away from that man.Both Renee and Leia took the escalator and walked a long way before they finally exited the airport. Only then did Renee breathe a sigh of relief. She said to Leia, "Okay, call Liam. Ask him to get someone to pick us up."They kept their trip to Goldshire a secret from Liam, as he didn't want Leia to attend the wedding with the excuse that the city came with a complicated environment. It would be easy for her to run into bad guys. Giving him her blessings was enough. At first, Leia hesitated to come, but after planning it out with Renee, she became bolder. She felt that it was fine since she was just there to attend a wedding.Unfortunately, they ran into an annoying sleazebag at the airport. It was a real bummer."Okay." Leia nodded. "I know this place would be chaotic, but I didn't expect it to be this serious! What the hell was that? I have to ask Liam to get someone here quickly. If not, thos