At the start, I had to choose one of four options, and I immediately picked the Brahmin from the cou

Old Ma turned around and looked at Duan Xue's face, still wet with tears, at her chest rising and falling slightly from running, and at the mixture of humiliation, fear, and desperate resolve in her beautiful eyes.

He suddenly felt that Duan Xue looked even better and more charming at this moment than when she wore a burgundy velvet dress at the Chamber of Commerce annual meeting last year.

He found the sight of someone forced to bow their head at the edge of a cliff more pleasing than any alluring glance.

"Have you figured it out?"

Although it was a question, he couldn't suppress the smile on his lips.

Duan Xue didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly.

She realized that she had never loved Zhao Kang; she only liked his money. Now that he was crippled, she should escape her misery as soon as possible and find someone she could rely on again. Ma Bochang was a good candidate.

"Why didn't you behave this way earlier? Old Zhao's tree is already withered; even his own son won't water it. Why are you, an outsider, dragging him down with you?"

"What Lao Zhao could give you before, I, Lao Ma, can give you just as much, and even more. As long as you're sensible and keep me happy, you'll still be that glamorous socialite in Tianshui City. You can buy as many designer bags as you want."

Instead of taking Duan Xue's hand, he put his arm around her slender waist and half-dragged, half-carried her toward the elevator.

As for Zhao Kang, who was lying in the hospital bed, who cared about him?

As the two of them passed by the nurses' station, several nurses on duty cast strange glances at them. They had clearly recognized Mrs. Zhao, who had been crying her heart out at the entrance of the intensive care unit just half an hour earlier, but was now being held in the arms of another man. This scene greatly shocked them.

Duan Xuenan wanted to bury her face in Lao Ma's arms, but Lao Ma pressed down on the back of her head and forcefully raised her head.

"Why are you hiding? You're mine now, openly and honestly. This world laughs at poverty but not prostitution; who dares to laugh at you?"

As soon as she got into Old Ma's black Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Ma Bo's hand eagerly slipped under the hem of her silk dress.

Duan Xue bit her lip, thinking that she would have to rely on the man in front of her from now on, and forced herself not to push him away.

The car drove out of the underground parking garage of Bo'ai Hospital and merged into the traffic flow of Tianshui City.

Duan Xue turned her head and looked out the car window. In the rearview mirror, the hospital building gradually receded into the distance until it disappeared completely.

She silently apologized to Old Zhao in her heart.

But with just this one sentence, the faint sense of guilt was quickly replaced by an extreme fear of future poverty and a self-hypnotic anticipation of the new life to come.

"Every man for himself, or the world will destroy him. Old Zhao, I have no choice, I have to survive..."

She repeated the sentence to herself over and over in her mind, then turned her head and obediently leaned on Old Ma's not-so-broad shoulders.

Old Ma stroked her hair with obvious pleasure, while his other hand picked up his phone and dialed the front desk of the Emperor Hotel: "Book the penthouse suite I usually go to, I'll be there shortly."

The receptionist on the other end of the phone was clearly familiar with Lao Ma's voice. After responding respectfully, she tactfully hung up.

"After tonight, you'll realize that following Brother Ma is much better than following Old Zhao. What can that old Zhao, with his bones half-buried in the ground, possibly give you?"

Duan Xue closed her eyes and didn't reply.

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class's robust chassis effectively filtered out the bumps on the road, leaving the cabin so quiet that only Old Ma's slightly heavy breathing could be heard.

She felt that hand starting to wander again, moving down the back of her neck until its fingertips hooked onto the top button of her silk shirt.

Sensing the intrusion of an outsider, Duan Xue's body stiffened involuntarily, but she forced herself not to make any dodging movements, and simply obediently tilted her neck slightly upward.

She knew very well that from the moment she stepped out of the hospital corridor and turned to call out to Lao Ma, her body had already been put up for sale and placed on this man's shelf.

Since you've sold it, you have to be prepared to sell it.

The atmosphere inside the carriage grew increasingly sticky and murky.

Not long after, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class smoothly glided into the underground VIP parking garage of the InterContinental Hotel, the most luxurious hotel in Tianshui City.

The driver brought the car to a complete stop and kept his eyes fixed straight ahead the entire time.

They were already used to their boss's unique hobby.

Whether it was a childhood trauma or some other reason, his boss had a particular fondness for married women.

In all his years as a driver, he has seen no fewer than twenty of them.

Seeing that they had arrived at their destination, Old Ma reluctantly withdrew his hand, took out a tissue to wipe the sweat from his hands, and then walked downstairs.

Looking at Duan Xue's flushed face, Ma Bo smiled knowingly. If the appetizer is this moist, what will it be like when it comes to the main course...?

The InterContinental Hotel's underground VIP parking garage uses motion-activated light strips. These light strips light up one by one the moment a car runs over them, and then quietly turn off after the car has driven away.

All the cars parked here are luxury cars; even Mercedes-Benz and BMW are considered low-key here.

Old Ma got out of the car, walked around the front of the car to the other side, and personally opened the car door for Duan Xue.

If it weren't for the fact that he had completely shattered this facade of respectability with his hands in the car just now, one might really think he was some kind of upright gentleman just by looking at this action.

Duan Xue glanced at him for a moment, then quickly lowered her eyelashes and moved her legs out of the carriage.

Old Ma extended his hand, palm up, fingers slightly spread, waiting for her to place her hand on top. Duan Xue hesitated for less than half a second before offering her hand.

Seeing how sensible Duan Xue was, Old Ma squeezed her hand with satisfaction. Her fingers were icy cold, as if they had just been pulled out of ice water, while Old Ma's palm was hot and damp, like a lotus leaf just lifted from a steamer, sticky and clinging to the back of her hand.

"Old Zhao brought you to this hotel before, right?"

As they walked, Old Ma asked, "I remember the Chamber of Commerce's mid-year party was held here last year, in the banquet hall on the third floor. Old Zhao was all over the place toasting you, he was so glamorous. I still remember the dress you wore, it was very beautiful."

Duan Xue's body trembled slightly, almost uncontrollably.

"Brother Ma has a really good memory."

"It's not that I have a good memory, it's just that you really stood out that day, making all the men there quite eager to get closer."

Old Ma turned his head and looked Duan Xue up and down without any attempt to hide it. The nakedness in his eyes made Duan Xue feel extremely uncomfortable.

"That old bastard Zhao always treated us like thieves. Who would have thought that fortune would turn around and end up in my hands?"

The elevator goes directly to the top floor.

As the door slowly slid open to both sides, Lao Ma pulled Duan Xue out. Outside the huge French windows was the entire city of Tianshui.

Old Ma locked the door and ripped off the tie around his neck.

Without any further hesitation, he forcefully pressed Duan Xue against the marble wall.

"Girl, we have plenty of time tonight to make up for what we've missed."