Chapter 1: Leave After Sleeping With Him

In the hotel suite, the ambiguous atmosphere dissipated.

Aylin looked at the handsome man beside her, her face showing embarrassment and complexity.

At last night's party, she drank some wine. Sensing something was wrong, she quickly left and stumbled into a guest room with an open door.

A tall and handsome figure appeared in her sight.

"Get out!"

That was the first thing he said to her. He looked cold and angry.

Feeling unwell at the time, she didn't hear clearly. She only thought he looked extremely attractive, his cool aura irresistibly drawing her closer...

Aylin furrowed her brows, too embarrassed to recall further.

The person beside her suddenly moved, startling her back to reality. She nervously stared at his exquisite features.

After a few seconds, he didn't wake up.

She breathed a sigh of relief, carefully lifted the blanket, got out of bed, and quickly picked up her scattered clothes despite her discomfort.

Leaving without a word after a one-night stand made her feel a sense of guilt.

Fully dressed, Aylin stood by the bed, looking at the still-sleeping man. His face was indeed very handsome. She had seen many attractive men but never someone so striking.

Just a bit fierce, especially last night...

Ambiguous images suddenly flooded her mind. Aylin's face heated up, and she immediately stopped recalling.

After thinking for a moment, she took out a check from her bag and placed it gently on the bedside table. Still feeling uneasy, she added a note to it.

Then she turned and left.

In the elevator, her phone rang. Aylin answered, "Hello."

"Hmm? What's wrong with you? You sound exhausted this early in the morning," a woman asked sharply over the phone.

Aylin coughed lightly and whispered, "I had insomnia last night and didn't sleep well."

"Insomnia? Why?"

"Nothing." Aylin pinched her brow, not wanting to continue this topic, so she changed the subject. "Why are you calling me so early?"

"Oh, Joaquin's people came to the gallery again. They offered ten times the price for your painting. Will you consider it?"

Aylin didn't respond immediately.

Afraid of her refusal, the woman quickly added, "Sweetie, do you know who Joaquin Beckham is? The CEO of the ZenZest! Powerful and ruthless. No one dares to cross him! It's clear he really wants this painting. I already refused him once. I'm worried about my safety if I refuse again."

Rumor had it that Joaquin took charge of the Beckham family at 16, ended family conflicts by 18, and became the president of the ZenZest. Now only 26, he had multiplied the ZenZest's market value several times over, a true business emperor.

No one knew what he looked like outside, but rumors about him never ceased.

After pondering for a moment, Aylin said, "Alright, give it to him."

The painting was originally meant for the Rodway family. Now, it wasn't necessary anymore.

The Rodway family despised her humble origins and refused to honor their promise to her father. She also didn't want to marry a playboy.

The woman sighed in relief, unable to hide her joy. "Great! I'll transfer the money as soon as the deal is done."

Aylin spoke up, "No need for ten times the price. Just sell it at the original price."

The woman chuckled, "I know. Even if he dares to give it, I wouldn't dare take it."

It was Saturday. Her roommates were all out.

Back at the the University of Faypine's dormitory, Aylin rushed into the bathroom first thing without looking at the marks on her body.

After showering and changing clothes, she sat at her desk and quickly hacked into the hotel's surveillance system with her laptop.

Coincidentally, last night's lobby surveillance camera was broken and recorded nothing.

She didn't believe in such coincidences. After thinking for a while, her slender fingers tapped on the keyboard again. Minutes later, she stopped and stared coldly at the screen.

It was indeed her.

Pausing briefly, Aylin switched to the hotel's guest room footage and frowned slightly at seeing herself entering the man's room but didn't delete it. The check bore her seal. Deleting surveillance footage would be pointless.

She didn't intend to avoid this matter. She just found it awkward and ran away from the hotel.

If he wasn't satisfied with this resolution, they could discuss it further.

But she hoped he'd accept the check as if nothing had happened.

In the hotel room,

Joaquin stood by the bed, his dark eyes fixed on a note in his hand.

The note wrote, "Sorry for last night. I was set up. Thank you for helping me. This check is for you. Let's pretend nothing happened."

His gaze turned cold as he crumpled the note into a ball and looked at it again with an increasingly cold expression.

If not for suddenly losing control due to toxins in his body last night, he wouldn't have given any woman such an opportunity.

Leaving after sleeping with him, how dare she insult him like this?

Joaquin tossed away the paper ball and picked up his phone to call his assistant. His gaze inadvertently fell on a spot of red on the bedsheet...

An hour later, his assistant, Gary Salwey, cautiously approached Joaquin's side. "Mr. Beckham, we found out."

On the sofa with closed eyes and a stern face, Joaquin exuded a domineering aura that sent chills down Gary's spine. "Speak!"

"Aylin, 20 years old, a junior in computer science at the the University of Faypine. She's an excellent student but from a poor family. Her father passed away. Her mother remarried. She's now alone at Faypine studying. Last night was their class reunion party."

"Poor family?" Joaquin suddenly opened his eyes in doubt. "Then what's with this check?"

A seven-figure check meant little to him but wasn't a small amount for an ordinary student.

"There's a rumor at the the University of Faypine that her father once helped a wealthy family there. Before dying, he entrusted them with his daughter, hoping she'd marry into their family, but they refused, seemingly giving her some money instead."

Joaquin glanced at the check on the coffee table, narrowing his eyes. The expression on his handsome face was unreadable, making it hard to guess what he was thinking about.

Gary glanced sideways. This might be his boss's smallest-denomination check ever seen. Sleeping with his boss and then daring such humiliation, this woman seemed doomed!

"Mr. Beckham, should we bring her from the the University of Faypine?"

After a moment's silence, Joaquin ordered, "Don't act at school. Bring her to Rosewood Point."

"Yes." Gary then remembered something else, adding, "Also, Mr. Beckham, Ms. Latimer agreed to sell that painting. Do you want it to be sent to Rosewood Point or Herdington Manor?"

Securing his desired painting slightly eased Joaquin's expression. "You send it to Rosewood Point personally and have it framed for the reception hall."

Gary nodded. "Yes, I'll go right away."