Renee seemed unruffled by Laura's questions. She responded calmly, "The only way for a technology company to last in the long run and avoid being a middleman dealer is to establish major centers for production as well as research and development. Meanwhile, a normal enterprise generally needs three to five years from inception to profitability…""Azure Group has been established for four years. Soon, we'll reach the fifth year. I promise you that this year will be a good year. Everyone here will make a big fortune!"The management unceremoniously disagreed with Renee's ambitious words."You're talking big again… Ms. Everheart, you've been talking big for the past four years. When will we get something real?""The industry is declining now. Our competitors are cutting back costs with layoffs and plant closures. Keeping costs low is the most important right now, while you… How could you increase spending to build more production and R&D centres? That's such a waste of money!""I hea
"We're going to The Blue Inn. I booked the best seats and the strongest alcohol. We won't be going home sober tonight!" Leia sounded like she was already tipsy and excited.The Blue Inn!This bar was very popular as of late. Renee had heard about it a long time ago.The Blue Inn was the place women frequented when they wanted to be entertained.In the current era, women in the city were under a lot of stress. Those who worked, those who had failed relationships, those with children, and those taking exams… Like men, they all needed a way to relax.When this bar was launched, it became very popular right away. That's why Renee hadn't been able to make a reservation there all this time. She had long wanted to go there to experience what it felt like.Without wasting any time, Renee walked out of the office and hailed a taxi to get to The Blue Inn.Although it wasn't even nighttime yet, The Blue Inn was already crowded.All the men who worked there, including the waiters, the bart
The music being played in the bar was excellent, and the lighting was also splendid. Renee and Leia, two women who weren't faring well in their love lives, each held a bottle of alcohol in their hands. They danced fervently to the upbeat music and ignored everything and everyone else."Ren, you're not an emotionless person. I'm sure you feel something about Stefan being gone. I'm certain you're feeling sad right now. You want to cry and let it all out, don't you?" Leia asked."Don't think too much. Just cry to your heart's content. All the women here cry over love, and I'm one of them. Stop pretending to be strong. It's not wrong for women to cry!" Leia shouted amidst the loud chatter around them."Hahaha! I'm not sad. I'm happy. Can't you see?" Renee was smiling from ear to ear. She took a few more large gulps of alcohol. "That guy is like a ticking time bomb. I couldn't even sleep in peace with him around. Now that he's detonated on his own, I'm no longer in danger. If anything, I
The women were very protective of Isaac.In the beginning, Renee didn't take them seriously. However, after watching this male escort dance, she realized he really was gifted for this industry.His full hips, thin lips, and those long fingers… Who could resist?"Isaac, you're so handsome! Isaac! Isaac!"Under the influence of alcohol, Renee was behaving completely unlike her usual self. Like the women around her, she began screaming excitedly at the men on stage.Perhaps, this was when women could truly relax.Leia was a little surprised by how Renee completely let herself go. It turned out this was what Renee liked… If she'd known earlier, she'd have made arrangements sooner!After the show ended, Isaac went off the stage. Everyone was still shouting for an encore.Renee jumped and screamed so hard that she was sweating and out of breath.After she and Leia returned to their seats, Renee immediately quenched her thirst by drinking alcohol. She soon finished drinking another b
Renee felt gravity pulling away from her. She wrapped her arms around Isaac's neck. "Hey, you sure are a professional male escort. You picked me up like a princess right away. Such a good boy!"Renee touched his face.His chin was extremely attractive, and the stubble on it was also a little prickly. His male hormones went through the roof!Isaac carried Renee into a high-class, private room under all the women's gazes.The room had dim lights that created a romantic ambiance. A large, round water bed was in the center of the room. Clearly, it was specifically designed for rich folks. It was hard not to think of inappropriate thoughts when one was inside."Why did you bring me here? You're not offering your body for money, are you? I didn't bring any money with me today. I can't afford you. Put me down!" Renee struggled to set herself free. She was at least sober enough to protect her own reputation. "I have boundaries. Although you are my type, I don't sleep with gigolos. Besides
His eyes lit up beneath the mask. Although he was intentionally making these seductive remarks, it didn't seem like he was fooling around. On the contrary, he seemed to mean every word he said.In that instant, Renee was nearly convinced. When their gazes locked, Renee felt a jolt of electricity coursing through her body. She instantly came to her senses and sighed while she shook her head. "Tsk, tsk. Look at you. You're very professional, and you know the right things to say, but… At the end of the day, it's all fake. My ex-husband died. Even if you looked like him, you'd only look like a dead person."The man's stiff lips curved upward. He was smiling playfully. "You seem very sad. You must have loved your ex-husband a lot. Were you devastated by his death?""Not quite!" Renee burped. She then lay down on the couch and looked up at the ceiling. "I just feel… That it happened too suddenly. It's like finding out the author had stopped writing just as you arrived at the most interest
The next day, Renee woke up with a terrible headache. 'Damn, being hungover is awful… I'm too old for this! I shouldn't drink so much next time.'Renee stretched a little, threw her blanket off her, and got out of bed. A flash of yellow caught her eye, and she turned to see a bouquet of sunflowers, her favorite flower, next to her pillow. There was a card beneath it, and she picked it up curiously."Good morning, sunshine. I hope you felt better after last night. You're always welcome to come see me again… XOXO, your confidant."Confidant?!Renee could only remember bits and pieces of last night, but even those few memories made her blush.She knew she had a lot of alcohol, and had a fantastic time with Leia. In the end, Leia paid for a male escort for her, and she happily accepted her friend's gift. They'd kissed, and…Renee's cheeks turned red, and she shook her head vigorously. She didn't dare think about it anymore.She quickly looked down, and upon realizing her clothes wer
Leia gripped Renee's shoulders, staring intently at her. "Unless you forcibly slept with him, what you're worried about couldn't possibly have happened… So tell me, did you sleep with the escort? If you did, I'll probably have to pay him more than seventy thousand!"Renee's cheeks turned red. "I-I don't think so." To be honest, Renee wasn't sure if they slept together or not, but the kiss definitely happened. She knew it because she felt the same way when Stefan kissed her!Despite being in her twenties, Renee had only ever kissed and had sex with one man - Stefan. That's why she wasn't sure… Was that how all kisses felt?"What do you mean?" Leia instantly felt something was amiss. "Did you really sleep with him after getting drunk? If you did, I'll believe you've truly moved on from that scumbag!"Renee had no choice but to come clean. "To tell you the truth, I think we kissed while I was drunk. It felt like I was kissing Stefan—it was so familiar…"Renee stared at her best frien
Liam hit the nail on the head. "If you informed Xavier to join the rescue, you must be lying. It's illogical! But it's weirder if it's the other way around. He should have informed his buddy to come to the rescue instead of the guy's rival in love. Am I right?"Justin leaned against the seat and said calmly, "How strange. Why is it illogical if I informed Xavier to come here?""If you learn that your beloved woman is in danger, you'll come to her rescue immediately instead of wasting time with your rival's buddy. Telling your rival is risky, too. He might even snatch the chance to save the damsel in distress. Am I right?" Liam analyzed logically, his logic irrefutable. Justin spread his hands helplessly. "No wonder you've been Phoenix's lackey for so many years. You're meticulous. Yes, I found out from Xavier. He hoped I could come with my men to fight the fort. He knows that among many families, only mine could acquire such a powerful rescue team."In the past, among the thre
Previously, Liam felt that Benjamin was very kind to his daughter Amber despite his aloofness. Amber should be his weakness. Gradually, Liam learned that Benjamin was a naturally aloof man who always weighed the pros and cons. No one would ever be his weakness unless it affected his interests. If Amber were truly his weakness, he would first consider her lifetime happiness. Instead, he cared about his interests and reputation. He had quickly agreed to let Amber marry an unsuitable match. "He has no weakness…" Justin touched his chin and frowned contemplatively, then sighed. "It'll be very hard to handle him if he has no weakness. He's crazy and desperate. If we fight him, I'm afraid things will be out of control.""No, we won't fight him," Renee said calmly. "Plus, he has a weakness. It isn't a human, but his interest and power."Liam spent a long time to find that out, but Renee saw through Benjamin the first time she confronted him. At that time, Amber challenged Benjamin to
"It's because Phoenix and I share a telepathic connection!" Justin remained carefree and sounded ambiguous."Telepathic? Why didn't you say it was a tarot reading?" Liam glared at Justin grumpily."Do you take me as a kid? Stop using such a bizarre excuse! If you share that with her, you would be the one who had kids with her."Justin's expression grew hideous because of Liam's nasty words. He complained to Renee, who was sitting beside him. "Phoenix, your lackey is fierce as if I'm indebted to him. He and I don't hold grudges against each other. Plus, I saved him. Why does he find me an eyesore?""Don't take him too seriously." Renee remained indifferent. "He's just worried about me and that you might hold some bad ideas about me.""Well, his worries aren't wrong." Justin didn't hide his feelings for Renee. "Yeah, I do have feelings for you. I wouldn't waste so much time and make such a huge effort to come here to rescue you if I don't want anything to happen between us… Now th
"What do you mean?" Renee was confused. She looked toward the soldiers, and found them familiar. "They're… They're…"Justin didn't reply to her, and instead said to the high-spirited team, "Don't just stand there! Salute!"The soldiers saluted Renee in unison and shouted, "General!""General? Me?" Renee asked in disbelief, her eyes widening even more. "Of course!" Justin smirked and added, "Did you forget? This is the wedding gift my grandpa got for you. He's been training them recently. Now, it's finally the time to make great use of them. They performed well this time and didn't embarrass the Baldwin army.""Oh, I remember that…" Renee instantly remembered how that army came about.Back then, she occasionally went to North City with Justin. The entire Baldwin family liked her, especially Austin. He insisted on her getting married to Justin and gave her the most elite army team as a wedding gift without any hesitation. At that time, Renee loved that team very much. She also s
Renee shook her head and frowned. She asked Xavier solemnly, "You weren't the one who spoke just now. So… Who else came with you?" They were tied up just now, so Renee could not see who threatened their enemies behind them. However, she was sure that Xavier didn't come alone for the rescue."Who else do you hope came with me?" Xavier smiled and asked Renee curiously."I don't hold such hope. All I know is that no matter who came to save us, they wanted some value in us in exchange," Renee said, her tone calm but her words cruel.Of course, one person would appear in her mind. Yet, she was too timid to hold such hope. Besides, that wasn't his voice either. Someone else must have come with Xavier. "Who else could it be? It must be someone powerful to outflank Macsen's men. I'm sure you know who that is," Leia said meaningfully. "He finally did something good.""Stop saying nonsense since you don't know." Xavier tried to stop Leia because of the complicated situation. It couldn't
"It's you?" Leia's eyes went wide. She looked at the man before her in surprise. Everything happened so suddenly, making her seriously doubt if it was her illusion before she got killed.It was none other than Xavier, her only regret before she died. "Yes, it's me!" Xavier hugged Leia, feeling sorry for her. He kissed her lips, which had gone pale because of her fear. He kept kissing her as if he had finally found the treasure that he had lost. Surprise and sadness overcame him. "Luckily, I came in time. You're still alive… I'm sorry to have made you suffer. I'm a useless boyfriend!"When his passion grew, he ignored the rest and kissed Leia passionately."Mm…" The kissing made Leia dizzy. She frowned in embarrassment and turned away. "What's going on? What are you doing here?""I got news that you're in trouble." Guilt gleamed in Xavier's eyes. "I should have paid more attention to you. I wasn't worried when you told me that you went on a trip with Renee. After all, she's
While Macsen was talking, his subordinate reached Leia and grabbed her neck with one hand. A light was reflected on the shiny machete; it seemed he was about to slash Leia.Frightened, Leia hunched and screamed in terror. "Ah, no! Save me, Liam! Ren, save me!" "Stop!" Reia yelled at Macsen, anxious. "What do you want to let us go? Tell me, I'll do it!"At first, she was carefree. She was fine even if she got killed and couldn't be bothered to resist. However, she grew restless since her friend was about to be harmed. She would rather take Leia's place. "Stop stalling for time. You've used this trick too many times tonight. Do you think I'll be fooled again?" Macsen sneered. "You're too vicious and nearly bit off my neck. I'm just avenging myself!""Then, you're asking for trouble!" Renee's gaze grew sharp. "Listen. If you harm her, you'll die very miserably right away!""Hahaha! Stop bluffing!" Macsen laughed. "People who can save you now can't even protect themselves. Plus, th
"What?" When Leia heard that, she swallowed and her hair stood on end. Although she didn't know what it meant, using human skin was terrifying. "You guys look confused. I'm sure you don't know what that is…" Macsen was calmer since his neck was bandaged. He said generously to his subordinate, "Come and explain it to them. Prepare them for fear that the lamp might not be bright enough because they're too nervous.""Okay, boss!" Macsen's subordinate nodded. He walked to them and said arrogantly, "Well, we'll use a machete to skin people from head to toe to make lamps. The light from these lamps is blurry and beautiful. It's a top and valuable item.""That's crazy!" After listening to that explanation, a chill ran down Leia's spine. She gnashed her teeth and said to Macsen, "Are you out of your mind? That's a crazy habit! Aren't you worried the victims might come demanding your life in the middle of the night?"The people here were used to a human lamp, so it became common among th
The three of them rolled their eyes in unison and looked speechless."Look, Liam. She's the top love-struck idiot. She'll never learn though she'd suffered much." Leia shook her head and sighed. She felt sorry for Renee's bad luck and disappointing actions.Although Leia was a love-struck fool herself, she was better than Renee. She would quickly retreat if she found anything wrong unless the guy shamelessly pestered her. Also, he had to show his sincerity. Only then would she forgive him. Renee was way worse. She suffered countless times because of one single man, but she didn't even hate him. She even wanted to ask him if they could start over.No one could be as "humble" as her.Renee used to be a bright and awesome figure, and it seemed like there was nothing she could not resolve. Yet, she lost herself several times because of a man. It infuriated Leia. Leia was not alone in feeling that way. Liam shared her sentiments and gnashed his teeth furiously. "Seriously, I wonde