Chapter 54: Encountering a Swindler  

"Th-thank you." 

"Ah, but don't mistake this for mercy." His smirk sharpened as he adjusted his belt. "See my current state? How am I to leave like this?" 

Yao Yao paled. "I… I don't know how—" 

"Bargaining?" His laugh held an edge. He'd spared her maidenhead—wasn't that concession enough? 

"I truly can't… *mmph!*" 

Minutes later… 

Yu Aotian straightened his collar, satisfaction curling his lips. Yao Yao fled to the bathroom, retching as she scrubbed her mouth raw. *Disgusting. What had she become?* 

"Little lamb." 

She froze at his voice. Leaning against the doorway, Yu Aotian tossed a slip of paper at her feet. "Pick it up." 

"A… check?" Her hands trembled. *100,000 yuan?* "I don't want tips!" She needed the promised million. 

"Tips?" He barked a laugh. "You think I'd pay for unfinished goods? That's your cut." 

"My… cut?" 

"Standard payment." Every woman who warmed his bed received compensation. 

Confusion etched her face. "I don't understand." 

"Of course not. Amateur." He turned to leave. "The company that sold you? A shell operation. Your precious million? Gone. If you're so desperate for cash…" His gaze raked over her. "…consider becoming mine." 

The door slammed. Yu Aotian's mask cracked the moment he exited—had he not intervened, another might've claimed his prey tonight. 

*Damn her.* Innocent or act, she'd entangled herself in his game. And he *never* released what he caught. 

--- 

Back at the penthouse, Yu Aotian stormed into Long Ye's suite. "Where's the report?" 

"Coming!" Long Qi lounged on the sofa. "Why investigate Flat Chest anyway?" 

"None of your business." 

The door swung open. Long Ye entered with Han Lishang, a dossier in hand. "Two revelations!" Long Ye perched on the TV console. "First—our little lamb's a member of Karlo Gate!" 

Three pairs of eyes sharpened. 

"The high-IQ society?" Han Lishang's brow arched. 

"Correct! Her IQ? 205—just five points below Aotian's." 

Long Qi gaped. "That idiot genius? Why work as an elevator girl?!" 

Long Ye shrugged. "From age twelve: top Chinese student sent to Japan, full scholarships, graduated China's top university at nineteen." He tossed the file on the table. "Awards fill pages." 

"Book-smart airhead," Long Qi muttered, flipping through. "Explains why she's clueless otherwise." 

Yu Aotian's silence thickened the room. 

"Aotian?" Long Ye hesitated. "You wanted her pre-twelve records?" 

"And?" 

"Classified. Intelligence agency lockdown. Even her Japanese records were hard-won." 

Yu Aotian stood abruptly, exiting without a word. 

"Why pre-twelve?" Long Qi frowned. 

Han Lishang's voice dropped. "Two reasons for classified files: extreme danger… or extreme privilege." 

The implication hung like smoke. 

--- 

"No money. No calls. He was right—they scammed me!" Yao Yao stared at her silent phone, tears blurring the hospital corridor. *Swindled.* After selling her soul, fate demanded this cruelty? 

Naïveté had blinded her to society's underbelly. Two weeks in the real world had taught more than textbooks ever could. 

"Mom, Grandpa…" She wiped her face, forcing steel into her voice before entering the ward. Survival left no room for breakdowns—not when family depended on her. 

But as she pasted on a smile, one truth crystallized: Yu Aotian's game had only begun. And this time, she lacked even the illusion of choice.