How hot was it? So hot that even girls wearing skimpy tank tops and shorts barely covering their thighs had to fan themselves while waiting for the subway.

It was this oppressive heat in Jiangzhou, and Beijing wasn't much better, which is why Qu Jingyou, having spent the summer traveling like a vagabond, felt restless after only a few days back in the capital. Finally, she booked a flight south, heading to Jiangzhou to find Wang Zhuo.

After the attempted kidnapping incident, she had already booked a ticket to Jiangzhou, and Wang Zhuo had agreed to have a “face-to-face talk” with her. But just as she steeled herself for a "negotiation" with Wang Zhuo, he suddenly called, saying he had serious business to attend to and couldn't see her for a while.

You say you won't see me, just like that? Qu Jingyou was instantly agitated. But Wang Zhuo calmly reassured her, telling her not to worry about the photographs, and even joked that he, Wang Zhuo, wouldn't stoop so low as to sell his own charms just to get revenge on a woman.

Qu Jingyou was nothing but annoyed and furious. The reason the 2008 photo scandal was never traced back to the mastermind was that he was incredibly cautious, only distributing images, not videos, as the latter were technically easier to track. And the photos Wang Zhuo had taken that night were strikingly similar to those 2008 pictures—most of them being of the ‘eating a banana’ variety!

This was actually quite understandable. Because during the act, the man was often relatively free, able to enjoy himself while simultaneously operating the camera with his free hands, snapping pictures however he pleased. But precisely because of this, the resulting photos captured the woman's face along with humiliatingly compromising positions. If these pictures were to leak, their destructive power could even surpass that of actual intercourse photos.

And Wang Zhuo’s reference to his “charms” naturally meant the part of him that Qu Jingyou had sampled. How could Miss Qu bear this? So, you won't let others see your 'red sausage,' but my explicit photos are somehow less valuable?

The crux of the matter was this: if those photos spread, the public could recognize Miss Qu in them, but who in the world could identify Wang Zhuo from a picture of his ‘red sausage’? That was just insulting!

But regardless, since Wang Zhuo refused to meet her, she wasn't about to lose face by showing up uninvited. Helpless, Qu Jingyou took a deep breath and changed her flight ticket to another route, setting off for a trip instead!

She was gone for nearly four months—after all, her family's financial standing could support her traveling like this for four hundred years without a worry—so there were no immediate concerns. It was only facing her boyfriend that she felt too ashamed. Especially since the handsome guy, who was two years her junior, loved kissing so much. Upon returning to the capital, Qu Jingyou finally broke up with her boyfriend completely. She realized with chagrin that although the night of April 30th had been extremely risqué and violent, it had altered many of her perspectives. No matter how vicious or despicable Wang Zhuo was, that night had undoubtedly been the most ‘sexually fulfilling’ evening of her life.

Compared to Wang Zhuo’s masterful control, the men she had been with previously were simply lackluster! Furthermore, Wang Zhuo’s dominance throughout the entire encounter was etched into her memory—he firmly held the lead. Qu Jingyou had always been the one to be cherished and obeyed; when had she ever experienced anything like this?

To put it plainly, her previous men catered to her as the young mistress, afraid to disobey her or displease her. But Wang Zhuo cared nothing for that—his assertive and domineering nature allowed Qu Jingyou to truly taste what a man was like.

Though Qu Jingyou didn’t want to admit it, in her heart she understood that Wang Zhuo's performance was what a real man was. In contrast, her current and former boyfriends were simply wimps compared to him!

After lunch, Wang Zhuo was in the lab, attending to the remains of a few white mice. The doorbell suddenly chimed… Ding-dong.

Cleaning the lab trash was supposed to be the Meng sisters’ job, but they had gone back to Taoyuan Village for summer vacation. Thus, Siyuan, who was also enjoying her break, had temporarily taken over the duty.

The lab was a confidential area within the research facility, and Wang Zhuo’s experimental methods differed significantly from others. For this reason, he had always employed only completely trustworthy insiders and had no plans to take on interns for the time being.

After lunch, Gan Shuang came to ask Fu Xinran and Siyuan to go shopping. Wang Zhuo certainly wasn't going to waste his precious time on such a trivial activity, so he waved his hand, letting the three of them leave.

As he was peeling off his gloves, Wang Zhuo casually glanced outside with his X-ray vision and paused, freezing mid-action.

Exiting the lab led to Wang Zhuo’s enormous office. Now, outside the reception room adjoining his office, a tall woman stood by the door. Despite significant changes, Wang Zhuo recognized her instantly. It was the eldest daughter of the Qu family, Qu Jingyou!

Unseen for nearly four months, Qu Jingyou’s skin had tanned to a light caramel color. Her figure remained as temptingly alluring as ever. She wore a pair of oversized sunglasses, the kind favored by celebrities like Ning Yao, obscuring half her face. Her attire was simple yet stylish: a tight-fitting tank top paired with loose, baggy capri pants, and fashionable woven leather sandals on her feet.

Why is this woman here? Wang Zhuo managed a dry chuckle, dropped his gloves, and strode out of the lab.

Opening the door, he scrutinized Qu Jingyou with feigned surprise, pretending not to recognize her.

“You don’t recognize me?” Qu Jingyou removed her sunglasses, looking at him with a half-smile. “You look quite unique in that white coat.”

“Qu Jingyou!” Wang Zhuo exclaimed with a sudden realization, his tone joyful. “You’ve changed a lot. Come in and sit down…”

He led Qu Jingyou directly into the office. Qu Jingyou looked curiously around the hundred-plus square meter space. “Are you the only one here?”

“There were two others, but they went out shopping…” Wang Zhuo replied while walking over to an integrated refrigerator.

Qu Jingyou hummed. “Shopping? Two women, I presume?”

“You guessed right. A bottle of mineral water is your prize.” Wang Zhuo smiled, returning with a chilled bottle and handing it to her.

Qu Jingyou hesitated for a moment before reaching out and taking it, her expression growing slightly awkward. “Thank you, I was quite thirsty…”

Watching her twist the cap and take an elegant sip, Wang Zhuo laughed. “How did you get so tanned? You’ve turned into a dark girl.”

“I stayed on the plateau for a month—didn’t use sunscreen,” Qu Jingyou said with a self-deprecating laugh, then asked, “Have I become ugly?”

Wang Zhuo blinked, grinned, and replied, “Whether you’ve become ugly, I can’t say, but this look is rather sexy…”

“Sexy?” Qu Jingyou glanced at him. “You certainly have peculiar tastes.”

Wang Zhuo shrugged nonchalantly, thinking to himself, Peculiar indeed. How many men would dare sleep with a femme fatale like this?

After a few seconds of silence, Qu Jingyou suddenly stated, “I broke up with my boyfriend…”

The words seemed to come out of nowhere. Wang Zhuo paused briefly, then chuckled. “Good riddance, if you ask me.”

“Do you think I’m cheap, unworthy of love?” Qu Jingyou asked coldly.

“How could I think that?” Wang Zhuo shook his head. “If this were wartime, you’d definitely be a hero among women…”

Qu Jingyou scoffed. “Too bad it’s not, so I’m just a stupid woman, right?”

“I don’t think you’re stupid,” Wang Zhuo said sincerely. “That’s the truth.”

He silently added to himself, You certainly learned the G-string massage technique quickly.

“There’s one thing I’ve always wondered about,” Qu Jingyou asked with a wry smile. “That night, at what exact moment did I give myself away?”

Of course, you gave yourself away before you even entered the door, because I have X-ray vision! Wang Zhuo grumbled internally, while adopting a profound expression. “You did very well. You were just a hair’s breadth from success. Unfortunately, you still underestimated me…”

“I definitely underestimated you, in many ways…” Qu Jingyou admitted. As for the specific ways, they didn't need to be stated; they both understood implicitly.

Wang Zhuo gave a dry chuckle. Qu Jingyou then said, “Can you tell me?”

“Tell you so you can learn a lesson and scheme against someone else next time?” Wang Zhuo scoffed, shaking his head.

“I’ve already paid an unbearable price for one failure,” Qu Jingyou sighed softly, letting out a long breath.

“It’s actually very simple. Details determine success or failure,” Wang Zhuo shrugged, leaning forward.

They were sitting on opposite ends of a three-seater sofa. Qu Jingyou flinched at Wang Zhuo’s sudden movement, but then saw him retrieve something bundled up from behind the sofa's backrest. It seemed he wasn't planning on getting physically close.

“Do you recognize this?” Placing the wad of black silk fabric between them, Wang Zhuo looked at Qu Jingyou with a teasing smirk.

Picking it up, Qu Jingyou suddenly understood, and a long-standing doubt in her mind was resolved!

It was a pair of high-end stockings, imported from France, precisely the brand she favored. And this particular style was one she had only just… Seeing these stockings, Qu Jingyou immediately connected them to the brand she was wearing that night. How could a woman providing an outcall service wear something this expensive? Stockings were consumables; once they snagged or tore, they couldn't be worn again. Even the most high-class escort wouldn't dare wear a thousand-dollar luxury item for work!

“You even recognize something like this…” she said with a bitter smile. “You really are an old hand in the world of pleasure…”

Wang Zhuo shrugged. “But I don’t patronize prostitutes.”

Qu Jingyou bit her lower lip. “But I was selling myself that day…”

Wang Zhuo pouted. “If selling yourself once earned you a few billion, I’d do it too.”

“Hahahaha!” Qu Jingyou suddenly burst into bright, clear laughter. “With your looks, you definitely have the capital to sell yourself. You could fetch a very high price.”

Was that a jab or a compliment? Wang Zhuo grinned sheepishly and scratched his head. Facing this woman who had once tried to kill him, he felt no anger. Had his four months of self-cultivation taken effect so quickly? Or was it simply because she was a woman, and he couldn't be bothered to stoop to her level?

Or perhaps, because she had truly pleased him so well that night, his anger had subsided?

“Do you still have those photos and videos from that day on your phone?” Qu Jingyou suddenly asked.

“Of course,” Wang Zhuo nodded.

“How could you keep them on your phone?” Qu Jingyou instantly became agitated. “What if you lose your phone?”

“The person capable of stealing my phone hasn't been born yet,” Wang Zhuo said, pulling out his phone and tossing it into her lap. “Look through it. If you can find anything at all in there, this phone is yours.”