The man didn't respond at first. He simply stood there in silence and composure, staring at her.
Lan Xia lowered her gaze to her bathrobe. Her face burned with humiliation.
She had lost her handbag. She had no wallet. No ID. Nothing but a towel-soft robe clinging to her still-damp body… and the broken diamond bracelet on her wrist.
A bracelet that Zhao Wang had given her on her eighteenth birthday.
A bracelet that had once held meaning.
Now it felt like a piece of trash.
She bit her lip. Then, gathering what was left of her dignity, she held out her wrist.
"If I did anything… uncharacteristically bold last night, then—you know—because of your professionalism, you wouldn't tell other customers, right? Confidentiality is important in your line of work… I assume."
She tried to laugh lightly, but her voice wobbled.
"You can keep my handbag. But since you followed me all the way here, I guess that wasn't enough. This bracelet is worth more than six figures. No matter how, uh… expensive you are, it should cover the cost of a night with a… a hired companion, right?"
The man still said nothing.
"Please," she pushed. "Take it. I don't remember much, but… thank you for last night."
She felt her cheeks burn at her own words.
But the bracelet remained suspended between them, untouched.
Perplexed, she waited.
Finally, he moved.
She exhaled in relief—until she realized his hand wasn't reaching for the bracelet at all.
It bypassed her wrist entirely, settling instead on her shoulder.
His grip was firm. Far too firm.
Before she could react, he shoved her backward.
Her body fell onto the narrow examination bed behind her. The thin mattress dipped beneath the force, and she found herself staring up at him in shock.
"H-Hey—what are you doing?!"
She kicked at him on instinct, but he stood solid as stone, towering above her.
His hand lowered—straight to the belt of her bathrobe.
Lan Xia's entire body froze.
The robe was loose. One tug, and—
"Stop! Stop! I didn't ask for extra service!" she cried, voice cracking as panic surged up her spine. "Last night was enough! Thank you very much, but no! Let me go!"
He lifted one end of the belt between two fingers, pulling it slowly. Deliberately. As if he had all the time in the world. His movements were so controlled that it made her pulse hammer against her ribs.
She trembled, her eyes welling with helpless anger.
"Service?" he repeated softly, his tone almost amused. "You want to pay for things with money, don't you? Fine."
With a devilish calm, he looked down at her.
"My official net income per day is 1.08 billion RMB. For one night, I can give a fifty percent discount. So I'll charge you five hundred forty million." His smile sharpened. "And I only accept cash. No installment plans. Miss Lan… will you be paying now or later?"
Her jaw dropped.
The belt came loose.
A cold draft brushed her skin.
"L-Liar!" she screamed, twisting away. "Don't try to fool me! There's no male escort in Zinhai City that expensive! Forget about an escort, no wealthy person is that rich here…."
He leaned closer, the shadow of a smirk tugging at his lips. "Oh? So you know everyone's net worth in Zinhai City?"
Her face flushed harder. She lifted her chin in defiance. "Obviously! Don't you know who I am? Let me go, or you'll regret it!"
And then—
Her fist flew up on instinct.
Crack.
Her knuckles connected with his jaw.
Both of them froze.
Lan Xia stared wide-eyed at her hand.
She had punched him.
She had actually punched the most dangerously handsome man she'd ever seen.
He slowly turned his head back toward her.
A low chuckle escaped his throat. "Woman… you really are brave."
She glared back, chest heaving. "The title of Zinhai City's number one socialite isn't handed out for nothing. Someone like you won't scare me!"
Even though her voice shook, she held her ground.
"Hm. Very good."
The man said it like a quiet verdict, then straightened abruptly. His sudden movement startled her, and she scrambled to yank her bathrobe closed again, clutching the front tightly as if that thin fabric could protect her from further humiliation.
He walked to the door at an unhurried pace, every step calm and controlled. When he opened it, she flinched instinctively—only to find another man standing outside, stiff-backed and holding a large shopping bag.
The newcomer barely had time to breathe before the first man plucked the bag from his hand and shut the door in his face with a sharp bang.
Then he tossed the bag toward her. "Change."
She caught it awkwardly, blinking. Inside were neatly matched women's clothes—top, skirt, cardigan, underwear, even shoes. Everything was tasteful, expensive, and precisely her style.
She swallowed her embarrassment and murmured a soft thank-you. Honestly, she was grateful. Wearing a bathrobe in public was humiliating enough; being barefoot and half-soaked in a hospital was unbearable.
But when she glanced up, she realized the man had no intention of leaving.
She hesitated. "Can't you… wait behind the curtain?"
He turned slightly, amusement flickering in his eyes. "Why? What do you think I didn't see last night?"
Her entire body flushed with heat. She practically slammed the curtain shut, gripping the fabric like it was the last shred of dignity she possessed.
Her hands trembled slightly as she dressed. The clothes were a little big, but wearable. She smoothed her damp hair with her fingers, straightened the hem of her skirt, lifted her chin—
And in the mirror, she finally looked like Lan Xia again.
The girl who once walked into ballrooms with every eye following her.
The one who never let her crown slip.
She stepped from behind the curtain just as he held out a golden business card.
"Call me at three this afternoon."
She took it automatically but didn't even glance at it. She intended to throw it away as soon as he left. But when she curled her fingers as if to fold it in half, his voice cut in softly—too soft, too dangerous.
"Oh, and if you're unable to call… for any reason…" He slipped one hand into his pocket, eyes glinting with something sharp. "I'll come look for you personally, Lan Xia. I doubt it'll be hard to find you."
A chill ran down her spine, feeling he would really come and find her.
She quickly tucked the business card into her pocket.
After he left, she sank onto the edge of the little bed, her mind racing. She had met most wealthy people in Zinhai City. She would have recognized almost anyone from the upper class—faces from magazines, charity events, business galas.
But she had never seen him.
Not once.
If he wasn't from the "upper class," then there was only one possibility.
He belonged to the class above that.
A class where wealth was so extreme that it never needed to be flaunted.
A class with so few members that they could be counted on one hand.
There was only one such man she had ever heard of.
The CEO of King's Group.
A man whose name carried more weight than entire corporations.
A man who owned half the country's wealth.
A man who had never allowed a single picture of himself to circulate.
She had assumed he was older.
Not this—young, impossibly handsome, and terrifyingly composed.
It can't be him… right?
It can't…
Still lost in that fear, she stepped out of the nurse's station just as an ER nurse rushed over.
"Miss Lan! Your mother is stable. She's been transferred to the ICU. She's out of danger."
Relief washed through her like warm water. She bowed gratefully, thanking the nurse again and again.
When she finally exhaled, her gaze drifted to the clothes she was wearing.
She froze.
The labels.
The stitching.
The texture.
Everything screamed top-tier luxury.
Her heart pounded violently.
With shaking fingers, she retrieved the golden business card.
The letters gleamed under the fluorescent lights like real gold.
[King's Group – CEO
Fan Yujing]
Her vision swam.
For one horrifying second, she thought she might faint.
"Oh my god," she whispered, her knees weakening. "What did I… say to him?"
Her mind spiraled.
Prostitution.
Payment.
His "service."
His "net worth."
Punching him in the face.
She pressed her palms to her cheeks, feeling them burn like fire.
"I… I want to die," she croaked.