bChapter /bb34 /b

bChapter /bb34 /b

bJoshua /bbdidn’t /bmind the little things.

bHe /bbjust /bthought back to thest time he wrapped his arms around Shermaine’s waist—it was soft andfortable. Now, holding her hand, bhe /bnoticed it was just as soft, delicate even.

He mused, ‘Even her hand feels so soft, the other parts of her must be the same. Despite being so soft, this woman can cause a lot of trouble when bshe /bbgets /bmad.’

After they left the hospital, Shermaine said, “I’m hungry.” She bought soup for Lily but hadn’t gotten anything for herself. She hadn’t had time to eat, so she decided to wait until everything was handled before eating.

“What do you want to eat?” Joshua asked.

She replied, “Beef stew.”

Twenty minutester, they were at the restaurant. Joshua sat across from Shermaine, watching as she spooned a mix of meat and veggies into her mouth, one bite at a time.

Joshua didn’t usually eat with women, except for family dinners. And even then, the women in his family were always poised, delicate eaters. The younger ones either dieted or were picky, never really tucking in for a big meal.

But watching Shermaine eat, he felt there was something oddly satisfying about it, like it made him hungry just by watching.

Maybe it was the spice, but her lips were flushed, as if coated in some glossy lip balm, tempting and appetizing. Her eyes gleamed with satisfactionb, /bband /bher smile radiated ba /bgenuine joy.

She nced up and asked, “You want some?”

Joshua called over the waiter. “One more orange juice, please.” It was for Shermaine–her ss was almost empty. He wasn’t ba /bfan of drinks, and water was more than enough for him.

The waiter replied, “Sure thing, sir.”

Joshua slipped off his coat and casually draped it over the back of his chair.

Even though the AC was on, the warmth from the hot dishes on the table made him loosen his tie and unbutton two buttons on his shirt. He looked rxed but still had that effortless elegance.

Good thing they were in a private room. The screen blocked the view from the rest of the restauránt, or else they’d probably be the center of attention.

With Joshua now joining her, Shermaine ate with more gusto. It was ba /blot more fun to eat with someone else.

By 10 PMb, /bthey were back home.

Joshua said to her, “When you shower, don’t let your right hand get wet.”

Shermaine nodded. “Got it. Goodnight.”

He said, “Goodnight.”

After her shower, Shermaine came out in a slip dress, looking a little seductive. Her long hair cascaded over her shouldersb, /bframing her delicate

corbones.

Her legs were slender and straight. The soft glow of the room made her seem almost like a fairyb, /bespecially with that mix bof /bpurity and allure bon /bbher /bface.

Though it was autumn, the room had a built–in climate control system, and despite the persistent rainb, /bbthe /bair inside felt warm and cozy.

147 Sat 31 May BGü

bChapter /bb34 /b

bShermaine /bbsat /bbon /bbthe /bbchair/bb, /bone bleg /bbpropped /bup, a thin nket draped bover /bher legs. The bptop /bwas booting bup/bb, /band she slowly bsipped /bbon /bthe stron bliquor /bbJoshua /bbhad /bgiven her.

bOnce /bbshe /bfinished her drink, she bgot /bback to work. After all, this was a three–million–dor job, and she wanted to get it done as bquickly /bas bpossible /bto pers

bthe /bmoney.

With her sses during the day, she couldn’t work on it while at school, so it had to be done at night. But if every day was as busy as today, this task wouldn’t be finished in ten days.

bIf /bShermaine had checked out the International Tech Forum, she’d have seen that just today, one tinum–level expert had also taken on the bsame /bbtask/b, and she was already being talked about by everyone.

Bing a tinum–level expert required continuouslypleting tasks and umting points. Once one’s points reached the standard, they’d bbe /bupgraded to tinum–level. In this forum, tinum–level experts were extremely rare.

Jaden was ecstatic because this tinum–level expert was always a mystery, but when she took on a task, it was always an S–level, and she had never failed. This time, they were all sure their project would make a breakthrough.

That expert’s ID was Dolcie Chapman, a woman from the Republic of Wallington, but her real identity was hidden.

No one knew who she was in real life, but she had a huge fan base on the forum. When she took the task, it sparked an immediate buzz.

A: [Since my goddess takes the task, no one else gets a chance.]

B: [Exactly, the three million dors is definitely Dolcie’s. The other day, some clueless person took it on, and I thought they were a big deal. Turns outb, /bthey’ve only done D–level tasks. LMAO.]

C: [I know the person you’re talking about. She’s Boa Hanks. At first, I was going to diss her, but then I saw she used the name of the Empress, so I bheld /bback. Who can argue with the Empress’s fans?]

D: [The task is so difficult. I wonder how long Dolcie will take.]

Dolcie responded to thement, saying she would need a month to finish the task.

D: [A month? That’s amazing.]

E: [The gold–level expert who took this task before would finish it in three months. Goddess is so impressive.]

Shermaine wouldn’t waste time in the forum after taking a task. She kept working until 1 a.m. and decided to go to bed.

As she was about to turn off herptop, the firewall turned red, which meant someone was trying to contact her. Of course, they wouldn’t be able to

break in.

A message popped upi: /i[Mdy, why don’t you respond to my messages?b] /b

Shermaine ignored the person. She simply shut down theptop and went to bed.

Seeing the signal cut off, Roy, feeling rejectedb, /bcalled Henry. “What do I need to do to get Mdy’s attention?”

Henry was irritated to be woken up, and he snapped, b“/bAren’t you the so–called heartthrob? Figure it out yourself. Don’t bother me again.”

Roy shot back, “Come on, do you have no conscience? This is important to me, and you’re acting like you couldn’t care less.b” /b

Without a second thought, Henry hung up on him, offering no mercy.

The next day, as the first light of dawn broke, Shermaine stepped onto the balcony, taking in a deep breath. She only wore a bslip /bbdress/b, and she bfelt /bbit /bbwas /bcolder than yesterday.

14

bSat/bb, /b31 bMay /bb

The inte was buzzing about Ronnie and his group’s crimes. Shermaine didn’t bother to check the news. She thought getting them locked up was just the start. ording to Joshua, these people had to bepletely eliminated, or they’d just pop back up

As soon as she entered the ssroom, Summer asked, “Shermaine, did She find you yesterday afternoon?”

Shermaine nodded. “She did.”

“Really? Did she hurt you?” Summer then noticed the bandage on Shermaine’s hand and immediately imagined She picking on her. “She’s way out of line. I thought she never picked on girls.”

Shermaine exined, “You’ve got it wrong. She didn’t hurt me.” In fact, it was a bit of a fight, and She ended up in the hospital. She wouldn’t be out for at least a month or two.

“Good to hear,” Summer said, relieved. She held up her test papers and looked at Shermaine with hopeful eyes. “Shermaine, I had a lot of problems when I did homeworkst night. Can you help me out?”

Shermaine said, “Sure.“”

She had tutored plenty of students before–mostly PhDs and master’s students, so high school was a breeze for her.

“Thank you, Shermaine. I’ll bring you snacks every day,” Summer said, ncing at the questions like they were her worst nightmare. But with Shermaine around, she started to feel hopeful again.

The entire day passed with Shermaine tutoring the entire ss, answering every question. She felt it was tiring, and keeping this routine wasn’t a good thing. However, she still tried her best to tutor everyone and won their hearts.

She was so thorough, even the students who brought in extra–level questions were blown away by how easily she solved them. Everyone thought in shock, “Why on earth did the teacher assign her to the lowest–level ss?‘

Summer said, “Shermaine, we’ve got exams next week. You’re definitely going to ace them.”

Shermaine sipped her water and shed a grin. “Sure, first ce is in my pocket.”

Summer’s eyes went wide. She gave Shermaine a thumbs–up, clearly in awe. She screamed in her mind, ‘She’s so damn smart. I just can’t get enough of

Shermaine.‘

Time flew by during ss, and as soon as the bell rang, Shermaine headed straight to the hospital. Lily was drinking the medicine prescribed by Shermaine.

Lily suffered a lot in her life, so even the nastiest medicine didn’t faze her. When she saw Shermaine, she asked, “Sheary, the police didn’t give you a hard timest night, did they?”

Shermaine shook her head while checking Lily’s pulse. She could tell Lily was much better than the day before. She said to Lily, “You can leave the hospital in a couple of days. After that, just give up the rental house.”

Lily sighed, “But I don’t have enough money to rent a new ce. I regret not taking thepensation from those rich wives.”

Shermaine replied, “Rx, the money’s already in your ount.”

Lily had spent the entire day sleeping, unaware the money had already been transferred. She grabbed her phone to check and found over three million in her ount.

She took a deep breath and asked, “If I take the money, will the police think I forgive them and let them off the hook?”

“The people who gave iyou /ithe money weren’t the ones who did the worst, so feel free to ept it,” Shermaine said while peeling an orange. “By the way, what are you nning to do once you leave the hospital?”

“Well, I was thinking of getting a job.” Lily hesitated for a second and then added, “But now that I see the money in my ount, I’m thinking of starting a business. Sheary, do you want to join me?”

b14:47 /bSat, b31 /bMay GO

Shermaine raised her eyebrows and asked, “What kind of businessb?/bb” /b

“What about a cosmeticspany?” Lily said. She’d been working in the beauty industry since high school and had built up quite a bit of experience. She’d always dreamed of owning her own beauty brand once she had the money to do iso/i.

“Sounds good,” Shermaine replied.

Lily’s face lit up with excitement, but then she got serious. “But if the products aren’t good, we probably won’t get far.”

Experience alone wasn’t enough to seed in this industry. The marketpetition was fierce. For a small cosmeticspany, survival was extremely difficult without either unique products or heavy investment to build brand recognition.

This wasn’t a problem to Shermaine, and she replied with a smile, “Don’t worry about that. I’ll handle the R&D. I’m a little busytely, so I’ll push it back a bit. Once you’re discharged, you can register thepany and start looking for a ce.”

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