William Quinn looked at the number on her phone, not knowing what to do. There was a trace of joy, but also some confusion. She was well aware of her relationship with this person—it was a transaction. In exchange for him giving up the acquisition of their company, she pretended to be his girlfriend to make his mother happy. But lately, she found herself thinking more and more about that not-so-handsome guy. She was confident in herself; at least, the boys who had surrounded her since childhood had given her that confidence. But this guy—just thinking about him made her grit her teeth in frustration. She, the young lady, had been his girlfriend for free for so long, and he hadn’t shown any reaction at all. Last week, she finally decided she couldn’t go on like this, so unclear and ambiguous. If he cared about her, he would come find her. So, on Wednesday, when she was supposed to go to Edward Lewis’s house, she didn’t go. But he didn’t come looking for her. Today, he finally remembered? More likely, it was his mother who remembered. Thinking of his mother—a kind and gentle old lady—if she became her mother-in-law, married life would surely be happy. Suddenly, she felt a little embarrassed and quickly shook off the thought. The phone rang again. She sighed and pressed the answer button.

“Hello, William Quinn? What are you doing? I’ve called you several times and you didn’t answer.”

“It’s nothing. Do you need something?”

“Are you free tonight? My mom misses you. Can you come to my house for a bit?”

Just as she thought, William Quinn felt a wave of disappointment and coldly refused, “I don’t have time. I’m very busy. Don’t call me again if you can’t identify yourself. Goodbye!”

On the other end, Edward Lewis cursed in frustration, “Women and petty men are hard to deal with! What’s going on? We had an agreement, but now it feels like I owe her something.” But thinking of his disastrous blind dates, he shuddered and quickly dialed again.

The pleasant ringtone rang once more, but what usually sounded nice now felt harsh and grating. She pressed the button, put the phone to her ear, and answered wearily, “Hello.”

“Hey, it’s still me. Please, help me out, okay? If you don’t come, my mom will definitely make me go on another blind date. Besides, didn’t we agree on this before…”

“All right, I know. This is our deal. I’ll come tonight.”

“Hey…”

After hanging up, William Quinn felt a wave of exhaustion. Yes, this was just a transaction—in his eyes. But why did she fall for him? She didn’t know. After all, Edward Lewis was a blood clan member above the prince level. Although Edward Lewis couldn’t disguise himself, the innate, sinister charm of the blood clan still easily attracted the attention of those around him.

At eight o’clock that evening, William Quinn arrived as promised. Edward Lewis breathed a sigh of relief, but sensed something was off about her. Thinking back to the phone call that afternoon, Edward Lewis wondered what was going on. At ten o’clock, when William Quinn was about to leave, Edward Lewis had more or less figured it out. Seeing her about to go, he hurriedly said, “I’ll walk you out.” William Quinn didn’t reply, simply said goodbye to his parents, and left without acknowledging Edward Lewis. He quickly followed after her.

When they reached downstairs, Edward Lewis asked, “What’s wrong?” “Nothing.” “I know.” William Quinn shuddered: he knows everything? “What do you know?” she turned to ask.

“You have a boyfriend, don’t you?” William Quinn was stunned. “What?”

“You have a boyfriend, right?” Edward Lewis repeated, “You have a boyfriend, but you still have to pretend to be my girlfriend. You’re conflicted, but because of our agreement, you can’t just leave me, so you’re in pain, right? Don’t worry, I won’t make things hard for you…”

The more William Quinn listened, the angrier she got: so this is what he “knows”?

“Go to hell!” Edward Lewis only saw William Quinn hurl her purse at his head with all her might, then walk away without looking back. “Hey, what’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?” Dodging the incoming purse, Edward Lewis chased after her and grabbed her arm. She struggled a few times, then suddenly burst into tears. Edward Lewis panicked and quickly let go, “Don’t cry, don’t cry, I won’t hold you.” Hearing this, William Quinn cried even harder. Edward Lewis anxiously paced around her, and William Quinn looked up, crying, and said, “I work every day, only have Wednesdays off, and still have to come to your house. Where would I find time to have a boyfriend? We had an agreement at the start, but it’s been half a year. We never set a time limit. I could have stopped pretending to be your girlfriend long ago, but I still come every week. Do you really not understand what I mean?”

Edward Lewis immediately fell silent. He looked at William Quinn quietly. She, crying like a pear blossom in the rain, was heartbreakingly beautiful. Truly a rare beauty, Edward Lewis thought to himself. But how could he tell her about his own situation? Caught in his inner conflict, Edward Lewis thought of the old duke. Forget it, let’s give it a try. No matter what, there won’t be any regrets in the future.

He hailed a taxi and took William Quinn to the headquarters of “Yalin.” The entire eighteen-story building was empty, pitch black with no one working overtime. He didn’t turn on the lights, left William Quinn at the entrance, and slowly walked to the center of the lobby. Turning to face William Quinn, he said, “Trust me, I won’t hurt you.” With that, Edward Lewis slowly rose into the air, spread his wings, and revealed his fangs.