Lin Chu hurried out of the lounge and went to the monitoring room on the top floor of the main building.

The two security guards, who were slacking off, were stunned to see the boss himself show up. They immediately shot to their feet to greet him.

One of them had been smoking. When he heard the door open, he instinctively snuffed out his cigarette but hadn’t exhaled yet. As he greeted Lin Chu, wisps of smoke escaped his mouth.

It was a rather comical sight.

Smoking wasn’t allowed in the monitoring room, but Lin Chu had no intention of making an issue of it. He waved a hand. "You two can go for now."

The two security guards immediately hurried out the door.

The surveillance cameras in the club’s main hall were high-definition, providing 360-degree coverage with no blind spots.

On camera #14, positioned above the exhibition hall, Lin Chu saw that the three of them were close together, all captured in the same frame.

Zooming in, he saw that Yang Huixian’s expression was wooden. She looked dazed, as if she was completely at a loss.

Liao Meili and a wealthy woman who had to be her mother were still happily picking out clothes. They were the picture of a harmonious mother-daughter pair, their smiles radiant.

The contrast between their expressions told Lin Chu everything he needed to know.

’Yang Huixian must have overheard something.’

’Liao Meili, on the other hand, is likely still in a state of blissful ignorance.’

Lin Chu breathed a small sigh of relief, pulled out his phone, and dialed Yang Huixian’s number.

"What are you doing?"

Lin Chu asked nonchalantly, his voice tinged with a smile, as if he were in a great mood.

Yang Huixian glanced at the mother and daughter, still browsing the clothes. She took a deep breath, not answering immediately. Forcibly suppressing her panic, she walked toward the exit of the exhibition hall. After taking a few more deep breaths, she said as nonchalantly as she could, "I’m in the exhibition hall. I was just setting things up."

She was doing her best to hide her emotions, trying to keep Lin Chu from noticing anything, but her voice still trembled slightly.

Following her path, Lin Chu switched the feed to camera #2. He saw her clutching her phone tightly, her eyes a little red. She looked like a quail before a blizzard—panicked and hurt.

’That expression...’

Lin Chu couldn’t help but sigh.

’Even though I’ve already done so much "prep work," now that it’s actually happening, I can’t help but feel a strange pang of guilt.’

’Not much.’

’But it’s there.’

’After all, I’m no "Shen Liushu." How old was that character in the show? Over fifty? He was already a grade-A old scumbag.’

’I only count as a junior-league scumbag.’

"Come to my office. I have something to tell you."

Since she was acting calm, Lin Chu also spoke calmly.

Hearing his words, Yang Huixian suddenly seemed to realize something. She glanced up at the camera overhead, feeling as if Lin Chu was spying on her, that he knew exactly what she was doing.

’Of course. This is his territory; he can obviously pull up the surveillance feed.’

’Then...’

’The identity of that mother and daughter was self-evident.’

"Okay, I’m coming over now."

Yang Huixian said softly. Walking into the main hall, she glanced again in the direction of the mother and daughter. Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared in her line of sight.

Gao Haitao.

Gao Haitao was subtly positioned between her and the mother-daughter pair. While it wasn’t obvious, Yang Huixian’s sixth sense picked up on it.

’Heh.’

’This driver.’

’Accomplice!’

’If I’m not mistaken, it must have been him who saw something earlier.’

’A woman is clever, but a fool in love.’

Yang Huixian felt terrifyingly sharp at that moment—the fact that this lyric had even come to mind was proof. The truth was, there had been plenty of signs that this man was involved in all sorts of things on the side. She had just refused to think too deeply about it, deceiving herself and choosing to let things slide.

But now, she’d finally seen it.

’That girl is really beautiful. She has a great air about her, too, like a celebrity.’

’Though, I’m not so bad myself.’

Yang Huixian shot Gao Haitao a fierce glare, then turned and walked in the other direction, heading upstairs straight for Lin Chu’s office.

Inside the office, Lin Chu had already dismissed Liang Jieyu. He opened the door himself, ushered Yang Huixian in, and casually locked it behind them.

Yang Huixian watched him lock the door without a word. Her eyes betrayed a stubbornness that was half iceberg, half flame.

She knew she had already lost control of her expression.

But she was sure Lin Chu already knew that she knew.

"What did you want to see me about?"

"I have two clients downstairs. I was hoping for an auspicious first sale."

Yang Huixian said quietly, rapidly trying to regain her composure. She didn’t know what Lin Chu was going to decide, but she honestly had no idea what she herself should do.

Inwardly, she had actually fantasized about it before: what would it be like to get into a catfight with another woman over a man?

Or how satisfying it would be to find out a future partner was cheating, to confront him, to scorn him.

But now that the moment had actually come, she was filled with an indescribable, tangled conflict.

It was just like that lyric said: a woman is clever, but a fool in love.

Instead, what filled her mind were images of the last time she was with Lin Chu, of him mentally lashing her while physically conquering her. What a perfect union of flesh and spirit that had been.

It had also, to a large extent, healed her.

"Those two aren’t just your clients. They’re my clients, too."

"Her father, a Chinese-American, is one of the shareholders in the Wanhao Hotel Group."

"I’ve wronged you."

Lin Chu reached out and stroked her head.

This information made Yang Huixian’s eyes widen. She looked at him in disbelief as two thoughts quietly surfaced in her mind.

First: ’He’s lying to me. He has to be lying to me!’