Downtown Aster City:
"Hey, Zhu! I just saw a story saying people are scared to help old ladies who fall down!"
"Is it really that bad?"
Inside a Lamborghini, a fashionably dressed "young man" ate ice cream and chatted away while scrolling through news on their phone.
Zhu, the girl beside her, scoffed.
"Zhou Mengnan, wake up. That's not news anymore. It's old gossip."
Zhu leaned her head on Zhou Mengnan's shoulder as she played with her phone.
"Baby, I wish you were a real boy. I'd marry you in a second."
"You can marry me anyway! I'll make you my empress," Zhou Mengnan grinned.
Zhu: "Your majesty wishes to bear your children."
"I want a whole dozen."
Zhou Mengnan: "Piggy! You're talking about litters now?"
A bright, innocent smile spread across her beautiful face as she playfully raised a fist to tap Zhu.
Zhu giggled and covered her head. "No! Young Leader! I won't have kids. I'll just cause trouble with you. What're we doing today?"
"Better," Zhou Mengnan said, lowering her hand.
The two girls were best friends, classmates, and partners in chaos.
Mengnan suddenly lit up like she'd discovered something new.
"Zhu, I just thought of something fun."
Zhu didn't look up from her phone.
"Another stupid idea? Last time you dressed up as a pretty boy and made some girl fall head over heels for you!"
"She even slit her wrists! If Sun the Reviver hadn't saved her, she'd be dead!"
Zhou Mengnan tossed her head carelessly.
"I wanna see what happens if I lie in the middle of the road. Will anyone help me up?"
After reading the news, a silly idea had popped into her head.
She wanted to run a one-hour experiment.
Mengnan was playful and restless. She hated studying but loved martial arts and adventure.
Zhu stared at the stunning Zhou Mengnan and shook her head.
"If you lie in the road, you'll attract a whole pack of girls chasing you."
"You're way too good-looking."
"You might not even be able to get back up."
Zhou Mengnan scratched her head.
"I'll put on beggar clothes."
"Let's see if anyone still helps me."
Zhu laughed. "That actually sounds fun."
The two girls were at the age where mischief felt like life itself.
Zhou Mengnan especially loved pretending to be a handsome young man and causing chaos everywhere.
She drove the car into an alley where a few beggars were sitting.
"Hey, give me your clothes," Zhou Mengnan said, dropping $1,000 and holding her nose.
"Whoa, big spender today!"
A young beggar quickly took off his dirty clothes and brought them over to the luxury car.
Zhu held her nose. "Just leave it there. Now go away!"
The beggar took the money, glanced into the car, and nearly fell over in shock.
It was Zhou Mengnan!
The young leader of Skyline Industries!
Skyline Industries had a vast empire:
hotel chains, cafes, clothing stores, and many secretive business sectors.
The family fortune exceeded $1 billion.
Her mother, Zhou Min, was ruthless, operating in both legal and gray areas.
They called her the Black Widow.
She only had one daughter — Zhou Mengnan — whom she spoiled rotten.
That was why Zhou Mengnan was so wild and willful.
Zhou Mengnan used a stick to lift the beggar's clothes,
then changed into them inside the car.
She rubbed dirt on her face too.
Now she looked like a filthy young beggar.
"Lie down. I'll call for help," Zhu laughed.
Zhou Mengnan lay stiff in the middle of the road.
"Help! Someone help!"
"A person collapsed here!"
Zhu cupped her hands and shouted.
A crowd quickly gathered.
But when they saw a beggar lying on the road, everyone just shook their heads.
Lots of onlookers. No helpers.
Everyone was afraid of being scammed.
Just days earlier, an old woman had faked a fall and framed the person who helped her.
The incident had shocked all of Aster City
and become the biggest news story around.
At that moment, a hearse slowly approached. People stepped aside.
Only Zhou Mengnan stayed lying there, pretending to be unconscious.
The hearse had to stop and carefully drive around her.
After receiving her mother's call, Sophia drove to pick up Kayson.
Screech!
Her car pulled up outside the shantytown.
Kayson looked out the window and saw his wife's car.
He shouted excitedly, "Mom! My wife is here!"
He acted as if some VIP had arrived, overjoyed.
After three years, this was Sophia's first visit.
"Oh no! Your wife's here and I have nothing ready! No gifts at all!"
Yang Cuihua panicked, stamping her feet.
"No need. I have things to do at home. I'll be leaving soon," Sophia said as she stepped out.
She placed a bag of premium fruit and boxes of supplements on the kitchen counter.
Yang Cuihua took one look and gasped.
Good heavens!
Her daughter-in-law was breathtaking!
Like a fairy descended to earth.
Perfect for her son.
"Dear! Come in, sit down!"
Yang Cuihua rushed around, wanting to pick fresh fruit from the yard to treat her.
"There's no need. I have family business. I must go."
Sophia glanced at Kayson, then got back into her car.
Kayson understood the silent command.
She was telling him to get in and come with her.
How to describe Sophia?
Words like stunning, graceful, and ethereal felt too small.
She carried a unique aura — beautiful but not arrogant, cold but not heartless.
"Mom! I'll visit another day!"
Kayson said goodbye and climbed into the car.
Sophia's pale, delicate hands gripped the steering wheel as she smoothly turned the car around and headed back to the Sullivan apartment.
"Thank you. Thank you for sending $100,000 for Mom,"
Kayson said sincerely from the passenger seat.
The hospital hadn't cured his mother in the end,
but Sophia's money had bought that golden half-hour.
He could never forget that kindness.
"Don't thank me. We paid you $200,000 for you to act as a luck charm for my sister.
You've cooked and cleaned for my family for three years. Consider this your wages. We're even."
Sophia spoke calmly, her eyes on the road.
Kayson said, "I still thank you. You sent the money when I needed it most.
That money saved her life. I swore I would repay anyone who helped me then with my whole life."
"What?"
Sophia glanced at him in the rearview mirror.
"Repay with your life? You just mean you want to keep leeching off my family, right?"
"Dream on! We're not real husband and wife. It was all fake."
"The three-year contract ends tomorrow.
We'll go to the courthouse and get divorced. Don't play any games with me."