"What else is there?" Renee turned around, staring at the man's hand around her wrist, her expression as calm as still water. "Would you like to return the favor, Mr. Hunt?"Stefan was silent as he stared at her coldly. His deep gaze held a million unspoken words. Renee boldly stepped forward, and her face was now inches away from his. Her lips curved into a smirk, and she whispered mockingly, "You’re famous for holding grudges, Mr. Hunt, so why pretend? If you're upset, just get even and slap me."Naturally, Stefan didn't lift a finger. Instead, he looked at the people around them, silently commanding them to leave.Soon, they were the only two left in the large restaurant.Stefan let go of her, and exhaled deeply. "I never wanted to use you… I may have been lying when I said I loved you, but I truly am sorry for hurting you."The light of the chandelier accentuated the man's beautiful features, making him look like some kind of ethereal being. He was so near, yet so far."Are
"With who now?" Renee couldn't understand a single thing Leia was saying. She didn't really take Leia's screaming seriously, since she had always been quite dramatic."With Stefan Hunt!" Leia screeched. "Girl, if you really slept with him, I'm going to be so disappointed in you… I know I used to support the two of you, but that cretin crossed the line! Didn't you say you wanted to divorce him? How could you sleep with him?!"Leia was only angry out of concern for her best friend. She didn't want Renee to get hurt again."Who said I did that?" Renee felt awkward, realizing Leia must've watched the livestream from last night. "It was all just for show. Sure, we might have kissed, but I also got to slap him as compensation."Renee didn't find the kiss much of a sacrifice, as it was great being able to slap Stefan across the face. 'Damn, that felt so satisfying!'"Oh, so you slapped him… Nice one, Ren!" Leia exclaimed, then turned serious again. "But that's still not a good enough rea
"You should stop watching dramas." Stefan scoffed. "I've been living in the opposite unit for four whole years. If anyone's a stalker here, it's you.""What did you say? You… live in the other unit?" Only then did Renee notice that the door to the opposite unit was ajar. She awkwardly scratched her head, wishing she could dig a hole in the ground and hide.'So he wasn't stalking me… He actually lives here! Oh no, I called him all sorts of names earlier… It feels like I'm the narcissistic one here, assuming that he was stalking me like that!'Stefan's sharp gaze scanned her room nonchalantly, and finally landed on her bedroom door."Your bedroom looks pretty different from mine." Stefan walked towards it, intending to head inside.Suddenly, Renee remembered that she had a pile of books about parenting still lying on her bed. She thought, 'If Hunt sees them, he'll find out about my pregnancy!'"No!" She screamed as she stopped him, right before he got to the door."Let me through,
Stefan furrowed his eyebrows, picking up the call with a scowl."Mr. Hunt, the infamous hacker, Haze, has arrived at the Hunt Enterprise main offices. He said he can find out who Phoenix is, and he would like to see you now.""Oh?" Stefan instantly got to his feet upon hearing this.He wondered. 'So… that hacker who made a fool out of Hunt Enterprise is finally going to be unmasked? Interesting!'"Tell him to wait for a while, I'll head over right now." Stefan hung up and started straightening his clothes. The sudden coldness and hostility on his face were such a stark contrast to the passionate expression he had on earlier.Having been so close to the man while he was on the phone, Renee had naturally overheard the conversation as well.She had actually intended to meet with Haze for quite some time but never had the opportunity to. Now that the opportunity had presented itself, she couldn't possibly allow herself to miss it."Leaving already, Mr. Hunt?" Renee asked softly as s
A man dressed in black clothing was there, his legs set on a desk as if he were some kind of young delinquent. He was turning around in the revolving chair he was sitting in nonchalantly, clearly not showing any respect to the others in the room.He was wearing a cap that covered half of his face, only revealing his sharp nose and thin lips.He was, in fact, the one and only idol to many within the IT field, the four-year consecutive champion of the Global Hackers Union competition, one of the two legendary figures amongst all hackers—Haze."Please wait just a little bit longer, Mr. Haze! Mr. Hunt will be right with you any time now!""You must be tired from all this waiting! Here, let me give you a massage!"Having been given the honor to meet their idol, many employees from the technical department were gushing over Haze, with some even asking for photographs and signatures. It was quite a desperate sight."Don't you all have work to do?!" Elijah was the first to witness this a
"Okay, it's a deal." Stefan's icy gaze was fixed on the 'Run' button on the screen. "Go ahead.""Awesome!" Haze clicked on the button without thinking twice.Everyone held their breath, and all eyes were focused on the monitor screen. Some of Phoenix's fans clenched their fists, their hearts pounding in excitement."Almost there! Almost got it!""The identity of the mysterious legendary hacker Phoenix is going to be exposed!"Fifteen minutes seemed to fly by. Everyone started counting down."10, 9, 8, 7…"At that moment, Renee nonchalantly returned to the scene."Aren't you done yet?" She asked mockingly as she watched Haze, who was frowning deeply. "Are you sure you can do it? I think there's some errors in your code. If it turns out that you've been chasing your own tail this whole time, aren't you worried that you'll have to call someone Daddy instead?""What does a woman like you know about coding? All you know how to do is clean up garbage."Haze was so full of disdain f
Despite suddenly becoming the target of everyone's critical gazes, Renee remained perfectly calm."Wait," she chuckled, "surely you guys aren't suspecting me of being Phoenix, are you?""I'd just gone out to the restroom for a few minutes," she said incredulously, "and in that time, I somehow turned into a famous genius hacker! What a magical turn of events! Perhaps I should celebrate it with fireworks!""I think it's all just a coincidence," Elijah chimed in quickly. "Based on my understanding of Mrs. Hunt's character, her shrewdness and practicality are more suited for a housewife. Her proficiency with computers is limited to watching movies and videos online. She doesn't even play any video games… If someone like her is a genius hacker, then I must be the president of this country!"Although his words were unflattering at Renee's expense, he had only said that to help get her out of trouble, and it worked well. Everyone thought that Elijah's words made a lot of sense."That's r
After Haze left, the atmosphere became calm again."If there's nothing else," said Renee to Stefan, "then I'm leaving now."After all, she had performed the obligatory public display of affection, and even Haze had left. There was simply no reason for her to remain at H Group."Free up your evening," Stefan ordered as he sat at his office table, burying himself in his work. Renee was extremely irritated by the authoritative air he exuded, as if he was ordering her around."What for?" She growled.Stefan did not answer her. Instead, he opened a drawer and took out a beautiful gift box. He handed it to Renee and said, "Be at the banquet hall on the first floor of the Cosmopolitan Hotel this evening, at eight o'clock sharp. Make sure to dress well.""What's this? You're giving me a present?" Renee found it so surprising that she wondered if the sun was going to rise in the west tomorrow.Unable to stifle her curiosity, she opened up the present. Inside, she found a silvery dress
The Baldwin family was so excited that they couldn't sleep. They waited at the exit of the airport eagerly for a long time."Dad, you can't be this fierce. The past is the past. What's important now is Justin has brought Ms. Ren home. He didn't let us down. And don't scare her off again. Just smile!" Sophia boldly reminded Austin, who looked stiff, for the sake of the bigger picture."Why should I smile? I'm born like this. I hate smiling!" Austin retorted stubbornly. His face grew stiffer and he looked more solemn. "Why can't you take my advice? Ms. Ren came to a strange city all alone. I'm sure she's scared, but you're going to be so fierce to her. If you scare her off, you'll make a scene again. It'll be too late if you regret it by then!" Sophia nagged, insistent on explaining the interests at stake."Okay, stop. Dad's always like that. He's a general. No general loves to smile. When did he ever smile? Stop forcing him. We'll do the smiling." Jack dragged Sophia to the side, f
In the past, Renee recalled hurting Justin once. If she chose to get off the plane, she couldn't regret it. For a moment, she was unsure. She wondered if she was ready to make such a huge decision."It's fine. I told you, it's not too late if you don't get off the plane," Justin whispered. Although he looked hurt, he remained gentle and kind. "You have one minute to reconsider.""No, that's unnecessary." After taking a deep breath, Renee finally made up her mind. "I'll go with you."She had made such a decision after much contemplation. Since she was bold enough to board the plane, then she could get off it."Alright!" Justin's eyes brightened. He walked over and interlocked his fingers with hers. "You don't have to be scared. I'll be with you every step of the way. Let's face everything together."They walked side-by-side as they got off the plane.They took an individual pathway to exit the airport since they rode the exclusive plane of the Baldwin family. The Baldwin family ha
"I'm sorry!" Renee blurted—she realized her selfishness."I admit that I took you as a substitute. I wanted to get out of that suffering relationship, and I didn't care about your feelings. I'm so sorry."At first, she wanted to forget Stefan and start a new relationship. And then, Justin risked his life to save her. On top of that, they were compatible in various aspects. She felt that she could spend the rest of her life with him.However, Renee realized that her actions were purely self-serving. She never considered Justin's feelings or asked about his willingness. She merely took him as a convenient tool. "No, you did nothing wrong," Justin said. "You have your choices. Likewise, I have my choices too."He stared at Renee passionately, his teary eyes filled with pain, and held her hand. "I chose you. I want to stay with you while you're trying to forget about him. I want you to be happy with me.""You…" Renee looked into Justin's eyes. His generosity, firmness, and thoug
"Mmph!" Renee was sitting beside the window, watching the floating clouds up in the sky when a sudden pain gripped her heart—as if it was clenched tight. "What's wrong?" Justin asked nervously. Sitting across from her, he could feel something wrong with her. "I'm fine." Renee shook her head and tried to soothe her stuffy chest. "My heart suddenly hurt just now. I guess it's because of the sudden weightlessness when the plane took off."Justin sighed in relief. "I've heard that some people might get dizzy or feel their ears ring because of weightlessness, but I've never heard of hearts aching.""It's fine. It's something rare, I guess. I'll feel better after a while." Renee waved his concerns away, taking a deep breath. She picked up the cup in front of her and sipped some water, and felt better. Perhaps the water had cooled her heart. However, Justin felt a little uneasy. He knew her heart wasn't his though their destination was the same."If you can't forget about him, yo
Stefan got involved with Briar. At the same time, something seemed to be wrong with Renee and she insisted on meeting Justin's parents. In short, they were lying to themselves.Xavier found it ridiculous that they would break up and date someone else, when in truth they loved each other passionately and had gone through so much together. They were just cowards who refused to face their problems head-on."Well said! I agree." For the first time, Leia and Xavier shared the same thoughts on the issues related to love. Aside from Stefan and Renee, there were many similar examples. Leia was convinced Liam was doing the same thing. She couldn't understand why they had to hurt themselves like that. It would be better to make peace.Suddenly, Xavier turned around and looked at Leia passionately, and declared with utmost seriousness, "So, we can't do that!" Having his face so close to hers so suddenly, Leia's heartbeat quickened. She pursed her lips and stood up shyly. "You're nuts
Justin walked over and tapped his wristwatch. "It's almost time. Let's go.""Okay." Renee nodded, then said to Leia, "Just go home and take good care of Liam. Tell my brother and kids that I'm fine. I'll be back at Beach City soon.""Uh…" Leia wanted to stop Renee from going to Beach City, but she couldn't find a reason to make Renee refuse. Of course, Renee had to stop the program which never responded."Fine. Take care. Call me immediately if anything happens!" Leia, enlightened, decided to respect Renee's choices. She hugged Renee and sobbed, "I hope you'll pick happiness no matter who you choose to be with!""Of course. I want you to do the same." Renee hugged Leia firmly.Then, she got into the small private plane bound for North City with Justin."She left…" Xavier muttered. He watched the plane take off for North City as he sat in the lobby, feeling complicated. He felt sorry for Stefan, but at the same time, he felt that Stefan had brought it upon himself. Being on
However, Leia didn't believe that Renee would have given up on Stefan. Based on their night chats a while ago, she could tell from Renee's tone that the latter was still confused about Stefan and couldn't part with him.It wasn't long ago, but now, Renee wanted to marry someone else. It was abnormal."Yes, I did…" Renee coldly looked ahead and added, "I did just now.""What?" Leia's eyes went wide, and she didn't stop questioning Renee. "What happened just now? Nothing happened!""Let me be frank with you." Renee decided to be honest with Leia since Leia insisted on getting to the bottom of it. "Justin told me something the night he saved us. Stefan informed him and asked him to come to our rescue.""I know that. And then?"Leia had heard the same story from Justin. She and Liam kept cursing Stefan for being a dirty coward all night long. It was infuriating. Stefan didn't try to save his beloved woman, but made his rival in love do so instead. It seemed he had given up his belo
"What? You're going to meet his parents?" Leia cried in agitation when she heard that. She glared at Justin, then dragged Renee to the side to interrogate the latter."What's wrong with you, Ren? Why are you marrying someone else just after one night?" Leia pausing, finding her words odd, then corrected herself. "Oh, no! Are you going to remarry?""Justin is a good man. His grandpa was my grandpa's old comrade. Plus, his family is nice to me. And we survived this time because of the army Grandpa Baldwin gave me. I can't be ungrateful," Renee said, her tone calm and cold.Although it was ridiculous, Austin did give Renee that army as a wedding gift. She used that gift at a critical time, which meant she had accepted the Baldwin family. Naturally, she had to take her relationship with Justin to another level. "But…" Leia frowned, feeling that Renee was being impulsive. "But you were forced to use that army under that circumstance. It wasn't because you loved Justin that drove
Liam was an unruly rich heir who loved freedom, while Amber was a pure and ignorant young woman. It seemed they were a perfect match."Why did she suddenly give you a wedding gown? Obviously, she wants to marry you. Are you sure you don't want to say anything to her before leaving?" Xavier teased Liam, trying to sound the latter out.Everyone could tell that Amber liked Liam. Besides, it seemed like Liam also fancied Amber. If they parted ways, they might never see each other again. Their romance might end with a failure. What a pity! "There's nothing to say to her." Liam purposely looked aloof. "All I want is to get the hell out of here. I don't even want to waste another second here."Then, he strode into the airport lobby. Renee quickened her pace and walked alongside him. She looked at him, feeling sorry for him. "Are you sure you're going to leave like this?""I should long be gone." Liam kept his coldness, his tone impassive. "If I don't go now, I can't leave forever.""