"Nine years ago, the Gu Corporation declared bankruptcy. Gu Xiao'ai's father was sentenced to twenty years in prison, and her mother couldn't handle the pressure, so she jumped off a building. Since then, Gu Xiao'ai has been living with her uncle and working at his magazine company," the secretary's voice droned on, but Li Juefeng had already hung up the phone.
Bankruptcy?
Prison?
Suicide?
Interesting.
Li Juefeng glanced down at Gu Xiao'ai, still fast asleep. So, she wasn't the proud princess anymore—just a fallen socialite. A mocking smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he reached under the blanket and squeezed her harshly.
Gu Xiao'ai woke up in pain, staring blankly at him for a moment before her expression shifted to one of guarded disdain. She clutched the blanket tightly.
She had passed out.
No footage, and she'd been taken advantage of again.
This time, she had walked right into the lion's den.
Gu Xiao'ai, you're a fool.
"Be my mistress until I grow tired of you," Li Juefeng suddenly said, his face tilted to one side, his eyes clouded with darkness as they bore into her. "One million a month."
"Sick b*st*rd!" Gu Xiao'ai spat the insult, throwing off the blanket and getting out of bed, only to realize she had already been dressed in a bathrobe. Swallowing her shame, she grabbed her jeans and began pulling them on.
"You're after celebrity scandals, aren't you? Every time you sleep with me, I'll give you an exclusive," Li Juefeng's deep, sensual voice taunted from behind her.
Gu Xiao'ai froze mid-action as she bent down to put on her shoes. She didn't know why, but she hesitated. She should slap this detestable man and walk out without a second thought, but she hesitated.
The offer was too tempting.
If every time came with a major scoop, her uncle's magazine would quickly rise from the ashes, profits rolling in. Her uncle wouldn't have to endure the daily scorn of her aunt anymore…
But Gu Xiao'ai…do you understand the cost? It's selling yourself.
Selling yourself to this beast…
You're actually considering it?
Li Juefeng watched her tense back with a smirk. To him, women were commodities with price tags, and Gu Xiao'ai, a fallen heiress, was no exception.
"You're smart. The profits from these exclusives are worth far more than a million a month, and my interest in you won't last more than three weeks," he said as he sat down and wrapped an arm around her, his hand sliding up to cup her breast through the bathrobe. His voice dropped to a raspy whisper. "Should we draft a contract?"
She had zero interest in him!
Gu Xiao'ai stared at the hand on her chest in disgust. She wanted to lash out, but in the end, she didn't push him away.
She had learned how to weigh the pros and cons ever since her family's downfall at thirteen, when she helped her aunt haggle with vegetable sellers over two yuan for a head of cabbage.
As her aunt used to say, "Dignity? It's worth pennies. Whoever wants it can have it."
In the face of money, selling her already tarnished body didn't seem like a loss, did it?
Sleeping with him once for an exclusive—it seemed like a win for her, didn't it? She didn't want her uncle's household to remain in constant turmoil, nor did she want him to work himself to exhaustion for her and the family…
If money could solve her problems, and someone was willing to pay, why not?
Her purity had already been destroyed by this man. What was the difference between losing it once or ten times? She might as well gain something from it.
But could he really provide such big exclusives?
Looking at his age, he couldn't be over thirty. Living in such a high-end neighborhood like Shallow Bay, he had to be one of three types: a rich heir, a political scion, or a military second-generation.
Could such a second-generation heir wield enough power to access major exclusives?
"Why should I believe you?" Gu Xiao'ai asked, turning to face him.
The moment the words left her lips, he knew she had agreed.
A woman who knew how to use herself was clever, but had her pride and dignity already crumbled?
Her face was too calm, making her unreadable for a moment.
"Because of the name Li Juefeng," he said as he pulled aside her hair and let his lips linger sensually on the back of her neck. "Give me the footage you took."
Li Juefeng?
That was his name?
Gu Xiao'ai offered no resistance as she handed him the memory card containing the footage of his scandal with Guan Nana in the car. "I didn't keep a copy," she said flatly.
"Good girl."
Li Juefeng smiled as he snapped the small card in half and tossed it into the trash. Problem solved.
No one would ever use such scandalous footage to blackmail him.
If such a scandal broke out, the Li family's empire would be thrown into chaos.
"Where's my video?" Gu Xiao'ai held out her hand to him.
Li Juefeng handed her a memory card from his phone and kissed her cheek. "Don't lose it. Enjoy watching."
Enjoy it?!
How could he say something so shameless?
"You scumbag!" Gu Xiao'ai glared at him, stuffing the memory card into her bag. It was a video she never wanted to watch again.
She looked around at the vast room, stood up from the bed, and grabbed her undergarments and shirt, heading toward the bathroom.
Li Juefeng's eyes gleamed darkly as he tilted his head. "Change in front of me."
"Get help for your sickness."
Gu Xiao'ai retorted, but as soon as she turned, he grabbed her arm.
She had already agreed to be his mistress, could he not leave her alone for now?
Gu Xiao'ai frowned as she faced him again, meeting his angry gaze. His finger nearly poked her in the face as he seethed, "Gu Xiao'ai, I'm warning you—you're just a mistress. Don't act so high and mighty in front of me."
If she had agreed to be his mistress, why still put on this lofty attitude? Was she playing hard to get?
"So what? Are you going to r*p* me again? Go ahead," Gu Xiao'ai said coldly.
She had nothing left to lose—no dignity, no pride. What was there to fear?
This woman…
"Gu Xiao'ai!" Li Juefeng ground his teeth. "Don't push me, or I'll hit you!"
Hit her?
Was he also a violent man?!
"Mr. Li, let me make something clear—we are in an equal exchange," Gu Xiao'ai said coldly, her voice firm and assertive.
"An equal exchange?" Li Juefeng sneered, pulling out a folder from a nearby drawer and tossing it to her.
He would show her the true meaning of equal exchange.
Gu Xiao'ai, stripped of her high-status background, was about to find out what she was really worth.
Curious, Gu Xiao'ai opened the folder and found photos of Guan Nana and South Korea's top star ELA sharing a scandalous kiss by the beach. The photographer had clearly been skilled, capturing the celebrities' faces perfectly.
It was indeed a major scoop.
She should have felt excited, but instead, she wanted to cry.
This scandal felt like a mockery of her. Her value… was equivalent to a few scandalous photos of others.
Yet she had no right to shed tears. It was she who had sold herself for such a low price.
Li Juefeng sat on the sofa, leaning back with his hands clasped under his chin, watching her with an amused glint in his eyes. There was no trace of sympathy.
"So, do you want to take this folder and leave?"
Gu Xiao'ai stared at him in silence, unable to utter a single word of protest.
"Don't act so high and mighty. Strip," Li Juefeng commanded.
He would shatter her lofty demeanor, her pride, her dignity—piece by piece.
And he would savor every moment of it.