Shirley flinched, her face going pale. She was in her twenties and had done all kinds of things, but she had a clear conscience and no regrets… except sleeping with Xavier's father. Technically, it hadn't been her intention. Xavier's father had been scheming to get her for ages, and had drugged her drink. However, she didn't call the police or complain about it to Xavier after she had slept with Xavier's father, and instead tried to use that incident to make Xavier's father promote her. In the end, things had gotten out of hand. When the affair was exposed, Xavier cut off all ties from Shirley though he had once doted on her. He no longer gave her any resources, and that was when Shirley learned the truth—it was the seemingly frivolous Xavier that was running Universal Entertainment and the Stuart family, even though it looked like his father was the one in charge. Shirley hadn't gotten any benefits from her affair, and she had lost a man who loved her because of her choice."Yeah,
Renee flinched as if struck, and her heart twisted painfully. "Why... are you asking me that?" Renee glared at Shirley, immediately cautious. She had only told Leia about Stefan cheating on her with Briar. She didn't want others to learn about such a humiliating affair that could ruin her dignity."Ms. Everheart, why are you so nervous? I know that Mr. Hunt is one of those rare good men. He's rich and handsome, and also very loyal to you," Shirley said meaningfully, and it made Renee wonder if Shirley knew anything. When Renee didn't reply, Shirley continued, "But even the perfect partner can make mistakes. I'm just curious to know if you'd forgive him if you were in this situation. If you would, then you can't say that Xavier wouldn't forgive me. There's nothing wrong in seeking forgiveness. Am I so despicable that all of you will always think the worst of me?" Renee averted her gaze guiltily. "I... I'm not sure.""What are you not sure about?" Shirley urged. "I'm not sure if I
"It doesn't matter!" Renee said firmly, "I don't know about others, but Jeffrey is pure and humble. He isn't greedy either, so he won't go down the wrong path." Renee just wanted to explain that Jeffrey was different, but somehow, all her words sounded like criticisms of Shirley.Shirley quietly clenched her fists and said slowly, "Ms. Everheart, you shouldn't judge others so quickly when you've never been in their shoes. You're a rich young lady—you've never been in a position where you've had nothing, so you might never understand why some people are forced to take extreme measures. Though they know what they're doing is illegal, they're scared of losing their stability and falling back into that place of being helpless. It's harder to lose something once you've already experienced it." Shirley knew that she was not an honorable person, and was cunning enough to do anything to achieve her goal. However, it didn't mean that she was a villain. She was merely born with a bad fate and w
Xavier's displeasure was obvious. "I don't think that's necessary.""Why not? She has the right to know your thoughts. If you choose to forgive Shirley, Lei can think about whether she wants to forgive you since she's your current girlfriend." Previously, she couldn't understand why Leia felt so conflicted and hurt in her relationship with Xavier, but now she did—Xavier's hesitation and fickleness filled Leia with insecurity. What a despicable man! On one hand, Xavier shamelessly and constantly pursued Leia, but on the other hand, he faked generosity and tried to reconcile with his first love. He was clearly fooling around. How could such a disloyal man make Leia happy? Renee wanted Leia to know the truth."This is between her and me. You don't know the situation, so stop meddling in our relationship." Xavier had always been casual and indifferent, but his relationship with Leia had made him frustrated and miserable. He would easily get upset when someone brought up Leia."What are
"The Heart of the Grassland?" Renee usually scrolled through entertainment news and had long heard of this IP. It was one of the novels of the Grassland trilogy written by Juniper, a famous novelist. It described the story of a modern urban woman who was stressed about life, and chose to travel to Bellcoast. There, she ran into a handsome and pure youth on the grassland, and they fell in love. The plot was quite straightforward, and the characters were only the heroine, hero, and the animals living on the grassland. However, the novelist's descriptive writing of the wilderness and the characters' budding romance made the novel very enchanting, and it had gained a lot of fans."Is there a problem with it?" Xavier asked curiously. He felt that it was a great IP, and countless top stars were vying for that role. Him suggesting giving the role to an unknown youth was already doing Renee a great favor. "No, that's not it." Renee explained patiently, "I feel that this IP is very influenti
After coming up with a plan, Jeffrey was almost a part of the entertainment circle. Xavier temporarily made Jeffrey and Shirley the male and female leads of The Heart of the Grassland, which he would have a grand startup ceremony for a week later.Renee felt more relaxed after returning from Universal Entertainment. She was glad her focus was broadening to something outside of her children, Stefan, and her. She went to meet Leia at a roadside stall to eat.Leia was confused when Renee told her the whole story. "Ren, I don't get you. What's with you and Jeffrey? Why do you insist on making him famous?" She took a big gulp of her beer. "Yes, that kid is handsome, but he's just a boy. You need a man." Renee stared at her friend helplessly, then placed some beef on Leia's plate. "You like beef, don't you? Eat more and talk less.""Was I mistaken?" Leia munched on the beef happily, then continued, "Look—there are many young handsome guys in the entertainment field. It's okay if you hav
Coincidentally, the startup ceremony of The Heart of the Grassland happened to be the same day as the graduation photograph session of the kindergarten, so Renee asked Leia to take Jeffrey to the startup ceremony. Although Leia was reluctant, she agreed so Renee could go with her kids without worrying. She drove her convertible out of Everheart Manor to go to Santa Fe, the place Universal Entertainment had booked. During the car ride, Jeffrey was cautious and awkward as he didn't know Leia that well yet. "Leia, thank you for doing this. I… can actually just take a cab there.""No, you can't do that." Leia had her sunglasses on, and held the steering wheel with one hand, enjoying the breeze as she drove. "Ren is worried about you, and she'll kill me if you get lost or someone bullies you during the startup ceremony, so it's best I bring you there. Stop overthinking—think of me as your agent, and just tell me if you need anything. I'll protect you as well as Ren since she's working
Suddenly, the paparazzi shifted their focus, turning their cameras in another direction."Here they come! Mr. Stuart is here, and he's with Ms. White!""Wow, they look so close! Did they get back together?""Of course! I heard that Mr. Stuart purposely made The Heart of the Grassland for Ms. White!"The media kept taking photos as they gossiped.At that moment, Xavier and Shirley walked onto the red carpet hand in hand, generously letting people take photos of them. They looked like a sweet couple from afar. Leia was immediately frozen to the spot as she stared at them blankly."What's wrong, Leia?" Jeffrey asked carefully when she suddenly went quiet. "I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble and embarrassing you. I'm just a nobody, so it's normal that they wouldn't recognize me. Don't be mad… Huh? Isn't that Xavier and Ms. White? It's good they're here—they know me!" Jeffrey immediately brightened when he saw Xavier and Shirley, and enthusiastically waved at them. "Xavier, M
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
A week later, Renee and Leia flew to Goldshire without anyone's knowledge.Goldshire was a primitive, old, remote city full of speeding motorbikes and leering men. Beautiful Aeos women like Renee and Leia were very eye-catching there. It was easy to predict the kind of obstacles they would face. A slim, tanned man in an old-fashioned T-shirt blocked them casually while smoking. "Hey gorgeous, are you here for a trip or business? I'm a local. I can accompany you!" At that time, both Renee and Leia had just gotten off the plane. They were waiting for their luggage at the baggage carousel. The other passengers who rode in the same plane were either men, families, or foreigners. Renee and Leia were the best candidates to accost. "No, thank you. I've been here before, and I'm quite familiar with this place." Renee waved, not wanting to have much to do with the man. Although she was good at fighting, it was hard to fight a local tyrant. She wouldn't make a big scene if she could hel
"Don't worry, I'm not unhappy. Maybe I wasn't sensible or prudent enough, but my feelings for Liam are honorable. I see him as my younger brother. Since my brother is going to get married, of course I'll happily give him my blessings." Renee was feeling quite helpless because she had no idea how she should explain herself."I see…" Leia looked disappointed. "If Liam hears this, I guess he'll be disappointed and unhappy.""Then he shouldn't get married," Renee said, hitting the nail on the head."He'll still feel that way. You can't be easily replaced. Maybe no one will ever replace you for him. As his sister, I'm sure of it," Leia said. She didn't blame Renee, but she found it unacceptable for her loyal brother.On second thought, nothing could be done. The relationships in the world were closely linked together. It was hard to find two people who were mutually in love with each other. There was no fairness. Besides, no one could change that just by working hard. It depended