"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
Charlotte never expected that Renee, who had always been a pushover, had the guts to fight back."You shameless witch!" She cursed furiously. "Why don't you take a look in the mirror and realize how wicked and depraved you are? You're just a gold digger whose family was financially ruined! Nothing about you says you're worthy of my cousin, and yet, you have the nerve to delay the divorce?""Do you think there'd be any use of you dragging this out?" Charlotte hissed. "Don't you see how Bri's belly is getting bigger and bigger every day now? Her marriage to Stefan will undoubtedly happen! You have no right to decide whether or not you'll get a divorce!""I won't discuss whether or not I have the right to decide that right now," Renee calmly responded. "But in any case, what's certain is that you have no say in it whatsoever."And so what if her belly is getting bigger? As long as your cousin and I haven't finalized our divorce, I am still his lawful wife and she is just his mistress,
"Can I wake her up?" Stefan seemed to be asking them and himself. He shook his head in self-hatred. "I'm afraid I'm the reason why she wants to escape this world. She must hate me to the core and refuse to see me. She might know that I'm here, so she's avoiding me and refuses to wake up."He recalled how much he had harmed her. He was not confident to wake her up, let alone face her."Yes, you're sinful, ut you must be held accountable for it!" Justin could not bother to waste his time talking to Stefan. He pushed Stefan into the ward instead. "You made her so angry, she's in a coma now. So, you have to wake her up. If she doesn't, you can't leave the ward!""Agreed!"Jovan was standing on the other side. He and Justin seemed to have formed a barrier and refused to let Stefan back down.After some contemplation, Stefan decided to face the music. He closed the ward door and quietly went to Renee's bed. It was the first time he was alone with her after a long time."You're tr
Unsurprisingly, Renee remained irresponsive. Justin gradually grew depressed. Before, he was confident. Seeing that he was getting no response from her, his confidence waned. Undeniably, he was probably not that important to her. If not, she wouldn't remain indifferent. She would have sensed that he was around. "I got it. You don't need me." Justin smiled helplessly. He felt pathetic too. He took a deep breath and finally stood up to exit the ward."How's it going?" Stefan asked.He kept waiting outside the ward, paying close attention to it in hopes that Renee could wake up. He also felt that Justin could bring Renee wonderful things and hope. She would wake up when she sensed that Justin was calling for her. "Hmph! Isn't it obvious? Of course, he couldn't wake her up!" Jovan casually leaned against the bench in the corridor, not even looking up. He sounded vicious. "He's just a backup guy. Of course she doesn't care about him! She's not in love with him." Justin glared at J
Stefan remained quiet as he calmly watched Renee. He extended his hand to touch her face but retrieved it before he could.She used to be the woman he was familiar with and the one he had hugged and kissed countless times, but now, he didn't even dare to touch her. "I think she doesn't even want you here. She must hate you so much and is disappointed in you. She'll be even more pressured if you stay here, and it'll push her further from this world. So please, get the hell out of here if you want the best for her!"Justin could not hold himself back from scolding Stefan. If Jovan was telling the truth, Stefan must be aware of the fact that Jovan was holding Renee hostage. Yet, he remained indifferent and feigned ignorance. He didn't even care if Renee was fine. What a cruel bastard! Justin was disappointed in Stefan. He wanted nothing more than to see what was really on Stefan's mind."Take good care of her." Stefan did not want to defend himself. He glanced at Renee, relucta
"What did you do to her?!" Stefan interrogated Jovan coldly, his eyes teary. "She isn't the kind to kill herself! What the hell did you do to her?" "Try to wake her up if you want to know." Jovan was pale. His previous sickness, coupled with his recent blood donation to Renee, made him very weak. Despite that, he refused to stop infuriating others. "Do you think I can't do anything to you? Do you really think that?" Stefan could no longer hold himself back and strangled Jovan. "I'm going to kill you! Repent for the terrible things you've done!"He couldn't imagine the kind of thing that could force the strong and stubborn Renee to resist by using such a desperate means. "You obviously won't go easy on me! I'm sure of that!" Jovan sneered. His pale face turned flushed as he suffocated from Stefan's powerful grip. "But you'd better kill yourself first if you want to avenge her! She ended up like this because of you." "What?" Stefan's face was frosty. He strengthened his grip a
Jovan slowly got up from the ground, looking incredibly weak. He whispered, "She lost too much blood. The doctor claimed she's out of danger, but…she hasn't woken up.""What did you say?" Stefan and Justin were bewildered. They couldn't process his words."So, she was the female college student who tried to kill herself?" Stefan said. He staggered after linking the information he had heard from a nurse with the things that Jovan had said."Stop acting dumb! You're so smart, how could you have missed that?" Jovan glared coldly stared at Stefan, scrutinizing him in disdain. "You were just too scared to face the truth and your woman! You're such a coward! You're an embarrassment to your family!""Agreed!" Justin added; he suddenly found Jovan useful, especially when the latter started insulting Stefan. It felt just right."Although I'm a fallback guy, I'm braver than you. I accept that she doesn't love me, and I'm willing to give it a try with her. And although this guy's a vill
Stefan frowned, doubtful. He looked vigilantly at Jovan, who had collapsed on the ground. "What do you mean by this?"Jovan kept coughing and said nothing. His lips grew pale as he sneered.Justin's eyes were cold, and he held back his urge to beat up Jovan. "Hmph! Obviously, this is a scam!"He demanded condescendingly, "How dare you barge into my territory and take away my woman! Don't you fear my family and me at all?"Jovan, filled with disdain, looked at Justin as if he was a fool. "Stop talking. You don't even have the right to join this battle."To Jovan, only Stefan was qualified and powerful enough to be his enemy."How dare you say that!" Justin was infuriated. He got down on one knee and grabbed Jovan. "Your family always says nasty things! You two are the same. If we start fighting, I'll make sure to cut your tongue first!""Did I say something wrong?" Jovan sized Justin up, ridiculing Justin with mock compassion. "Don't you have any self-awareness? You're just a fal
Stefan frowned and asked solemnly, "Aren't you a top hacker? Hack into this hospital's inpatient system. Then, we'll know where she is.""Yes, you're right." Still, Justin wanted to challenge Stefan. He said indifferently, "But you're Jovan's cousin. It's more convenient for you to make a call instead of me hacking into their system."Yes, Justin could hack into their system, but calling Jovan would be quicker. And what they needed the most was time."He and I…" Stefan sneered, flexing his fingers. "The fact we didn't kill each other is considered peaceful. He's not as obedient as you think.""You'll know by calling him."Justin had heard about the complicated internal fights of the Hunt family, but he felt that Stefan was exaggerating."Jovan is a Hunt no matter what. Plus, he's still working at Hunt Enterprise. Just call him," Justin said. "Fine." Stefan found Justin logical. His private grudges with Jovan were not important because finding Renee immediately was the most impo
Both Stefan and Justin arrived at Grace Hospital quickly. However, Stefan suddenly stopped before he entered the hospital. He looked at Justin curiously."Let's go! It's urgent. Stop standing here!"Justin hurriedly ran. When he turned around, he found that Stefan had not caught up with him. Confused, he asked Stefan, "Something is puzzling me. Don't you want me to stop seeing her? Why did you let me come with you?" Stefan narrowed his eyes and interrogated Justin suspiciously, "Did you lie to me? Or are you plotting something?" "That's nonsense! Don't take me as you. I'm not full of schemes like you!" Justin sounded disdainful. In comparison to Stefan, Justin was not full of schemes. He also looked down upon Stefan since the latter was always vigilant.Justin answered honestly, "Yeah, I don't want you to meet her ever, but I'm sure she wants to see you if she's in danger. Yes, I hate you—but I want her to be happy." He guessed that Renee must be in a serious state since Jov
"Uh…" After some contemplation, Elijah nodded. "I know what to do, Mr. Hunt. It looks like you can see far beyond the current situation. Just leave this to me.""Of course, the most important thing is to have fun."Stefan remained calm; he didn't feel like he had stepped over the line. He merely wanted Justin to learn about the cruelty of the world since Justin was always being protected so well. Whenever he did something wrong, he had to pay a price for it.Besides, Stefan merely did it for his aunt, who had taken the gunshot for nothing. When they reached a consensus, Justin came to meet Stefan. "Hey…" After a pause, he said with dissatisfaction and helplessness, "Would you like to go with me?"Stefan raised his brows in confusion."I mean, do you want to visit Phoenix with me?" Justin sighed. He looked naive, like a college student, as he confessed, "I found Jovan. I don't know why he's so good at countersurveillance. After exiting the emergency room, he transferred her to