"Don't think having a bit of dirty money makes you remarkable, it's nothing more than what you earned selling your flesh!"

Initially, I had merely intended for Julian to help me extract a minor bit of revenge. Yet he offered a package deal, and the exact moment Tiffany finished her insult—"Boom!"—another heavy crash erupted.

Chapter 33: Refusing to Reform

Failing to sit securely, I was shaken slightly by the momentum of the vehicle, and Julian pressed a hand onto my shoulder. Looking up once more, the BMW looked rather pathetic this time.

Tiffany looked on the verge of exploding on the spot, but the man beside her held her back. Julian tossed out a business card, offering an incredibly sincere smile. "I'm truly terribly sorry about that, please contact my secretary regarding the repair costs."

The man picked up the business card, and taking a single glance, his expression turned frantic as he murmured submissively, "Mr. Julian, it's my fault, it's entirely my fault for blocking your path."

Having successfully put on a dominant display, Julian looked thoroughly triumphant.

Letting out a long breath, I murmured quietly, "Fortunately things turned out this way, otherwise crashing it to this extent would be more than I could afford to replace." Julian froze for a fraction of a second, caught between laughter and tears. "Don't worry, even if something catastrophic happens, I wouldn't make you pay for it."

Returning to the ward, Christian was currently holding a video conference. The premium suite was fully equipped with amenities like a microwave and a refrigerator. I reheated the food that had grown cold. Christian had already closed his laptop. "How did your clothes get damp? Did you get caught in the rain yet you're still in such a wonderful mood?"

My mood truly was rather wonderful.

By the time Logan arrived to pick me up and take me home in the evening, my chest remained incredibly bright. Logan arrived a dozen minutes later than usual today, and when I stepped out, I spotted him standing in the corridor, leaning against the wall with dark circles under his eyes, looking completely drained of energy.

He had almost certainly lost money gambling again.

Logan called out my name with a miserable face, trailing behind me. I halted my steps. "If you have something to say, speak plainly."

Logan stammered, "Ma'am, money has been a bit tight lately, could you perhaps lend me some cash?" The corners of my mouth flattened, erasing my smile completely. "You know very well that I despise gamblers more than anything."

He had already borrowed from me multiple times.

Refusing to reform.

Logan opened his mouth, a look of frustration flashing across his features before his expression suddenly darkened, and he spoke slowly with a heavily threatening tone: "Ma'am, don't you think Director Christian would be incredibly shocked if he found out Mr. Julian was the one who delivered you to the hospital that day?"

Christian had zero awareness of Logan's gambling vice; if he found out, he would absolutely never keep him around. Logan had picked up the habit after beginning his employment under Christian, gambling on a relatively minor scale initially, which I later discovered by chance.

Following Logan's endless begging, I had agreed to keep the secret for him, though I held my own calculations within my heart; individuals like him were precisely the types whose vulnerabilities could be firmly gripped in one's hand. There might very well come a time when he could prove useful in the future.

However, keeping such a person around simultaneously invited constant trouble. Clearly, this bastard had tasted the sweetness from my hands last time, and he got straight to the point: "As long as you help me clear my gambling debts, everything is perfectly fine. It's not a massive sum, just ten thousand, and my lips are sealed. Otherwise, I might accidentally let it slip one day, and things won't look pleasant for you either."

Folding my arms across my chest, I leveled a cold gaze at him, countering with a question: "And what do you think Christian's reaction would be if he found out you gamble?"

Logan's face turned entirely grim, a cold gleam flashing within the depths of his eyes as he ground out each word toward me: "Worst comes to worst, we both go down together. After all, what I stand to lose is merely a job, whereas what you stand to lose is Director Christian's absolute trust."

He extended two fingers, waving them right before my eyes. "To be completely frank with you, it has happened twice now. Throughout this week at the hospital, I caught you stepping down from Mr. Julian's car on two separate occasions. Tell me, should I deliver this information to Director Christian, reminding him to watch his step regarding the relationship between you and Mr. Julian?" Pulling out his phone, he added another line while opening his album: "I even have photos."

In reality, they weren't any indecent or scandalous photos, merely capturing the scene of me stepping out of Julian's car, failing to even capture Julian's silhouette, yet that alone was more than enough to thoroughly shatter Christian's trust in me.

Chapter 34: As Long As You Are Happy

Desperately steadying my breaths, I forced myself to remain completely calm. Pulling a card from my bag, I hurled it at him. "Delete them and get the hell out." The little bastard deleted the photos completely right in front of my face, offering a cheerful guarantee that he wouldn't expose the secret before departing.

The next morning, I escorted Christian home upon his discharge, and in the afternoon, Sera called, mentioning she had reserved a restaurant and wanted me to join her for a meal. Sera provided the name and address—a high-end seafood establishment nestled in the city center.

Sera urged over the phone, "Move quickly, I'm giving you half an hour to arrive." Hearing that this little ancestor's mood was off, I offered a good-tempered response, rushing straight over without even changing my clothes.

Arriving at the restaurant, I spotted Sera slumped unceremoniously against the sofa chair, entirely betraying her flawless makeup and her delicate black dress. Her eyelids drooped, and her entire being was a textbook definition of pure dejection.

Glancing through the menu, I raised my eyes to glare at her. "Why are you being so wasteful today, did you secure a scholarship?"

Usually, whenever the two of us gathered, our most frequent destination was a local Sichuan eatery that offered a decent environment and reasonable prices. Having known each other for over a decade, the places we frequented were highly grounded, operating entirely on whatever felt most comfortable.

Sera looked utterly defeated, slumping over the table. "Waaah... William..."

Although the girl had constantly kept Julian on her lips since that fateful night, the only man truly residing within her heart was William. Faced with a countenance like William's—a man who had graced the covers of top-tier magazines as a model—what girl could possibly remain unmoved?

As it turned out, Sera had wanted to express her gratitude to William, inviting him out for a meal, and the other side hadn't refused, agreeing to it seamlessly. Who could have known that just as Sera finalized the restaurant reservation, William claimed a sudden emergency arose, canceling on her directly.

Sera lamented, "Honestly, I just wanted to meet up with him, why must a simple meeting be this incredibly difficult! I haven't even actively begun pursuing him yet, yet I've already encountered so many trials and tribulations. If I truly start pursuing him, what am I supposed to do then?"

Massaging my temples, I looked at her helplessly with curled lips. "You haven't truly fallen for him, have you? Besides, his work is bound to be busy, he can't exactly neglect his duties just for you."

Sera sat up straight in an instant, looking as if she had been completely re-energized, her entire face radiating brilliant color. "Exactly! He's a man destined for great affairs, so work naturally comes first. I must be understanding of him!"

Recalling William's exaggerated graffiti shirt, I nodded. Yeah, great affairs...

As long as you are happy.

Throughout the course of the meal, Sera's mood improved considerably. Yet a sliver of dissatisfaction still lingered in her chest, dragging me along to a bar for some drinks. We had barely ordered our alcohol when Sera suddenly stood up, staring toward the other end of the counter, uttering a quiet curse. "Holy shit, why does that man's silhouette look so remarkably, handsomely familiar?"

Following her gaze, I spotted a man in a suit seated beside a woman, their behavior incredibly intimate. The dim, warm lights of the bar struck his frame, revealing a sharply sculpted jawline. He was swirling a cocktail in his hand, his face pressed close as he conversed with the woman beside him, causing her to smile like a blooming flower.

William—the very same William who was supposedly occupied with great affairs.