Chapter 5: You Can Bite a Little Harder Next Time

"Hmm?" Chloe was bewildered for a split second before understanding struck her. She barely managed to drape her arms over his shoulders, looking up at him with eyes shimmering like water as she asked with a smile, "If I say no, will you believe me, Mr. Alexander?"

It seemed he had already found out about her conversation with Ryan. Ethan, this private assistant of hers, truly was a qualified, loyal hound sitting at the devil's feet...

Still, she didn't care much. Possessiveness was merely one of the contractual terms set by her "paying client."

Alexander leaned into her, reaching out to pinch her chin and forcing Chloe to raise her head to meet his eyes. Bending down, he leaned close to her ear and whispered, "If you want something, do something that makes me happy—"

"And I'll give you everything."

*Give you everything...* The offer was blatantly enticing. Looking into his pitch-black, lightless eyes, Chloe suddenly stood on tiptoe and dropped a soft kiss on the corner of his lips. Sweeping a quick glance at his reaction, her lips curved as she continued. Grasping Alexander's muscular forearm, she discovered he was trembling—as if using every ounce of his strength to suppress himself.

Dark thoughts welled up inside her once more. *This really is fascinating.*

Hanging in the wardrobe behind her were all men's shirts. The clean scent of laundry detergent mingled with his crisp, cool aura, completely enveloping her.

Chloe bit down on his Adam's apple, finally pleasing the lord. Alexander suddenly let out a low laugh, his chuckles shifting from a quiet murmur to a crazed, highly neurotic laugh.

Chloe's lips curved slightly, ignoring the psychological disgust that almost caused her stomach to cramp.

Putting on the expected reaction right on cue... showing a faint trace of a woman's frustration, she pulled back and spoke helplessly: "Mr. Alexander..."

"Hmm?" Alexander raised an eyebrow with a hint of regret, slowly extending his thumb to wipe the corner of Chloe's mouth. "I'll take you to meet a couple of friends in two days."

Chloe knew she no longer had to worry about the online rumors. Even Chen Jie hadn't been able to figure out who was behind it after investigating for so long, and she was genuinely curious as to who had done it. Dropping a quick kiss on Alexander's lips, her eyes crinkled into a smile: "Thank you so much, Mr. Alexander."

Alexander swept a glance over her lips, leaning down close to her ear, his tone unable to conceal his excitement: "You can bite a little harder next time."

"..."

Chloe's beautiful eyes widened in utter shock. Feeling the man's breath, hot and sticky against her skin, she tilted her head away in disgust. Yet the smooth, soft contour of her profile made the gesture look more like a shy, coy dodge.

Alexander stared at her for a moment. Extending the back of his hand, he tenderly traced a half-circle along her cheek before taking her hand in his. "I have a gift for you."

Exercising a lifetime's worth of patience to endure the man's intense craving for intimacy, a perfectly timed look of expectation lit up her smiling eyes and brow. "What gift?"

Alexander cast a mysterious glance at her, saying unexpectedly, "Something Chloe likes."

His certain tone instantly soured Chloe's mood a bit. They had only had their first official interaction last night; how could he possibly know what she liked? Or... had he targeted her from the very beginning?

She coldly observed the man's confidence, calculating how she should express her dislike and trouble in a moment. Surely, the dark tyrant was looking down on her from above just like she was, admiring every move of the new pet he had casually captured.

---

Walking down the stairs to the first floor, a human-sized cardboard box sat in the middle of the living room, looking especially eye-catching amidst the exquisite decor.

Chloe was genuinely taken aback for a second. Casting a glance at Alexander, he merely raised his chin in gesture. "Go open it yourself."

Picking up a small utility knife for opening packages, Chloe's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Weighing the tyrant's unfathomable temper, her sense of anticipation steadily climbed, giving her the thrill of unboxing a giant mystery box.

Carefully cutting open the outer layer of ordinary cardboard, a human-sized black box lay inside. The textured matte finish seemed to say, "Hurry up," and "Come open me." Looking at such a massive package, Chloe had an itching premonition.

...Incredible.

Taking his unique, leisurely strides, Alexander walked over to sit on the sofa, crossing his legs with immense "big boss" swagger. Reaching out casually, he scooped up Sweetie, who was curled up on the sofa daydreaming. With a smirk playing at the corner of his lips, he watched her unbox the gift as if observing a tiny pet.

The air was quiet; Chloe could almost hear the purring rumble in Sweetie's throat under his strokes.

With his intense gaze locked onto her, she untied the ribbon on the black box and peeled open the lid with some effort. Chloe raised an eyebrow—her premonition hadn't been wrong. A gift like this fit the dark tyrant's style perfectly.

What surprised her was that it actually looked just like her...

*The tyrant's taste was... quite unique?*

Lying inside the box was a Ball-Jointed Doll (BJD) that bore an uncanny resemblance to her, fully made-up and dressed. Two pairs of identical amber eyes were staring at each other "big-eye to big-eye," which was a bit eerie. No vanity needed—this doll could only have been custom-made in her likeness.

Things were turning intriguing... Anyone who raised dolls knew just how long the production cycle was for such an intricate BJD.

It seemed last night was merely a hunting opportunity he had waited a long time for... For celebrities like them in the entertainment industry, meeting a capitalist of the tyrant's caliber was far less simple than gossip tabloids made it out to be.

*So, when exactly did I attract his attention?* Chloe thought.

Chloe couldn't remember how long it had been since she last kept a doll. Seeing such a large one out of nowhere, she felt genuinely pleased by the gift. Regardless of whether he had investigated her preferences from before her debut, or how creepy and twisted it was to have a life-sized doll that looked identical to her, she couldn't suppress a thrill of finding a kindred spirit.

Unsure when she had crept over, Sweetie stood by the edge of the box, poking her head in to peek before glancing back at Chloe. Her pupils rounded in the middle of the day. The cat's tiny brain couldn't comprehend why a "person" who looked just like her was lying inside a box. Chloe intentionally moved the doll's head, and Sweetie's back instantly arched as her fur puffed up, springing off her paws to flee in absolute terror.

Watching the white cat scurry away into the distance, a sense of pride from a successful prank welled up inside her. *She wasn't a fragile little pet who couldn't even handle this level of surprise...*

Just then, Alexander's voice suddenly sounded near her ear like a ghost: "Does Chloe like it?"

Chloe let out a quiet sigh, like a child nearly caught doing something bad. She thought dully, *Is he the cat here? Walking around without making a single sound.*

Alexander sat on the floor without a care for his image, resting one arm on his knee. His gaze was deep, as if inspecting some priceless, solitary treasure in the world.

The servants in the living room had long since retired, leaving just the two of them. Sunlight slanted silently through the floor-to-ceiling glass, stretching their shadows and overlapping them together.

Chloe turned her head, her eyes meeting his gaze with just the right amount of tenderness, offering a soft, submissive smile: "This gift is very special."

Alexander leaned closer, staring at her with a touch of persistence as he asked again, "Do you like it?"

Looking into his stubborn, pitch-black eyes, Chloe suddenly raised her head and touched his lips with a fleeting kiss, whispering softly, "I like it."

Alexander stared at her for a moment, the weather in his dark eyes turning from sunny to gloomy without warning, sounding both helpless and threatening: "Chloe is being disobedient..."

"Lying again."

Those three softly spoken words hit Chloe like a falling rock, making her heart skip a beat.

Outside the main hall was a front-facing floor-to-ceiling window. It was early summer in May, and sunlight poured through the glass. Yet a cold breeze seemed to draft through the room. A layer of goosebumps rose across her skin, accompanied by a cold sweat brought on by excitement.

Chloe's light-colored pupils flickered slightly. Unhurriedly, she reached out and grabbed Alexander's necktie, pouting at him with feigned grievance: "I really do like it... Why won't you believe me, Mr. Alexander?"

Pausing briefly, she asked what she already knew: "Mr. Alexander must not know that I used to collect these, right?"

Looking at Alexander's dark, gloomy face, a hidden, malicious thrill surged within Chloe's heart. *Knowing full well that I liked it, yet deliberately going crazy to probe me... What was the dark tyrant trying to hide?*

Chapter 6: How Would You Like to Handle It?

Hearing this, Alexander paused subtly, shifting his gaze to the doll in the box. "Have someone take it to the bedroom."

Chloe quietly observed his body language, surprised to discover—was he actually feeling awkward?

Catching her out of the corner of his eye, Alexander reached out, his long, well-defined fingers untying the ribbon around the doll's waist like he was unbuttoning a lover's clothes. In a tone somewhere between playful and serious, he asked, "Why don't you try wearing its clothes, Chloe?"

Chloe: "..."

*The tyrant's taste was still... excessively twisted.*

She blinked her eyes and curled her lips into a smile, leaning her head to the side in a self-deprecating joke: "I don't think I'm quite that... slender."

Even though it was a life-sized doll, there was still a massive difference compared to a real person, and it certainly wasn't crafted with human proportions. More than anything, constantly pleasing a man was a truly exhausting chore.

Alexander turned his head, his appreciative gaze lazily sweeping down past her neck as he said nonchalantly, "You're perfect just the way you are, Chloe."

Chloe: "..."

*As expected, a man's gaze forever lingers only on those few ounces of flesh and curves on a woman. Some were discreet, others blatant, but without exception, every single one was revolting.*

Yet Chloe always reminded herself that she was in a game, putting on a speechlessly helpless expression.

Seeming to find her reaction entertaining, he suddenly leaned close, nipping her ear: "I like it very much."

A defiant smile flickered in Chloe's pale, cat-like eyes. Her lips brushed lightly past his cheek as she mimicked his tone, admiring his perfectly sculpted features: "Courtesy demands reciprocity... Is there any gift you would like, Mr. Alexander?"

"Something I want?" Alexander stared at her for a moment. Suddenly leaning down, he inhaled close to Chloe's neck, lowering his voice: "Aren't you already mine, Chloe? What else could you possibly give me?"

It was a sharp taunt designed to hit a woman's fragile self-esteem, yet Chloe couldn't care less. A smile lingered at the corner of her lips, as if completely oblivious to the subtext of his words. She tilted her head playfully at Alexander, "How about I gift you my perfume, Mr. Alexander?"

Alexander raised an eyebrow.

With an unsaid meaning dancing in her eyes, she whispered right against Alexander's ear, "That way, wherever you are, you'll be able to smell my scent..."

"It'll be like I'm right beside you, every single moment."

Gifting perfume was a deeply ambiguous gesture, yet it fit their current relationship perfectly. Chloe had noticed that Alexander loved leaning in close to smell her, like a fiercely possessive wild beast.

Alexander suddenly used his fingers to lift her chin, a smile playing at his lips. His voice sounded lazy, making it impossible to tell if he was pleased or displeased: "Alright."

"I like your scent very much, Chloe."

---

And so, Chloe moved into the Alexander Estate with total peace of mind. Aside from his unpredictable temper, Alexander was actually quite a gentleman. Beyond the "eat together, sleep together" rule, he hadn't forced her into anything.

Over the past few days, however, Alexander showed no intention of handling Chloe's scandal and negative press.

The rumors about Chloe on the internet were spiraling out of control. Her manager, Chen Jie, had urged her multiple times, nagging like a pimp managing her talent: "How have we still not found out who's screwing with you? A man as unfathomable as Lord Alexander is definitely waiting for you to beg him! Coax him a little and wouldn't it be solved? Do you still want to act or not? You're not planning to retire, are you? Let me tell you, a man like Lord Alexander might not keep pampering you forever..."

The "victim" herself, Chloe, remained completely unbothered, obediently waiting for Alexander to come home. She remembered they were going to meet his friends tonight.

A figure like Alexander wouldn't break his word over such a minor affair.

Ethan: "Miss Chloe, the outfit Mr. Alexander ordered for you has arrived."

Chloe, who had been hopelessly lost in the joy of petting the cat, looked up lazily and asked, "When will Mr. Alexander be back?"

Her expression was so natural, resembling a wife waiting for her husband to return home. A subtle glint flickered in Ethan's eyes as he smiled, "He's on his way."

"Mm." Chloe raised her eyebrow slightly and nodded, "Just leave it there for now."

Seeing that her "servant" had stopped the massage, Sweetie skillfully reached out her paw to scratch at her hand. Her round eyes glared at her like a little tiger, demanding: *Pet me, human.*

Chloe pinched the base of the cat's tail, her gentle tone hiding a sharp edge: "The dark tyrant is coming back. No more playtime."

The tiger instantly turned into a sick cat. Sweetie intelligently leapt off her lap, fleeing at lightning speed on her soft paw pads.

Chloe let out a soft laugh, finally understanding what it meant to be universally avoided by cats and dogs alike.

Ethan's lips twitched slightly.

Over the past few days, Miss Chloe had somehow managed to become familiar with everyone in the Alexander household—especially this fat cat, who had already treated her as a soft-tempered, easily bullied "servant." Yet it didn't seem to realize who was actually being played.

---

The faint honk of a car echoed from afar across the estate. Chloe's ears twitched, and she got up to go upstairs. Her timing was impeccable; just as she finished changing, Alexander appeared at the doorway of the walk-in closet, his eyes sweeping over her in delighted approval.

It was a relatively casual red dress that outlined her figure in a scorching, eye-catching manner. Looking at her was like a fire burning in one's throat—one that even a torrential downpour couldn't extinguish.

Chloe met his gaze through the mirror, her lips curving into a smile woven with enchanting charm.

Alexander rolled up his shirt sleeves and stepped up from behind her. Familiar with the gesture, he sucked gently on the mark on her side neck, offering his praise without restraint: "Beautiful."

Chloe turned her head to exchange a kiss with him, whispering gently, "It's because Mr. Alexander has great taste."

Her movements during kisses with the man were becoming increasingly natural, masking an underlying disgust that no one could detect. Yet he seemed remarkably obsessed with this mark on her neck...

A long time ago, she had intentionally teased a certain mute boy, asking, *"Do I look pretty?"*

His face flushing red, he had written a massive paragraph on paper flattery-praising her beauty, including a line that said, *"Even the mark on your neck is so beautiful."*

Back then, she had mocked him for having a weird fetish. He had been covered in injuries, gloomy and depressed all day, unwilling to communicate with anyone. Yet she had deliberately, maliciously teased him, forcing him to "speak" with her.

Alexander slowly swept his gaze over her hazy eyes. Suddenly, he reached out and pinched the back of her neck, his voice turning darkly eerie against her ear: "Who are you thinking about?"

With a metaphorical knife pressed against the back of her neck, Chloe still didn't forget to softly seduce him: "I was thinking how wonderful Mr. Alexander's scent is."

She leaned against the man's collar like a cat, sniffing gently. He had used the perfume she gave him. Yet unlike the soft, sweet fragrance it had on a woman, it mingled with a man's distinct scent, creating an unexpectedly comforting aroma.

Alexander admired his little cat's performance, the expression on his face shifting instantly from overcast to sunny as he replied with suggestive cooperation, "Then you can smell it more tonight."

Chloe nodded slightly, her long hair cascading down to deliberately expose a strip of her fragile neck, her voice low and laced with a smile: "Alright."

Alexander narrowed his eyes, and as if fulfilling her wish, reached out to gently stroke the back of her slender, fair neck back and forth.

---

The moment the private room door opened, a wave of laughter and playful chatter rushed out.

A cluster of men sat crowded around the large U-shaped sofa—undoubtedly individuals belonging to the exact same world as Alexander—each holding a beauty in his arms. Only one man sitting in the corner wore an immaculate white shirt, his sleeves neatly rolled up to his forearms, seemingly possessing an innate shield against the surrounding women.

Chloe raised an eyebrow. She actually saw the word "righteous" written clearly on his face.

Her chin was suddenly turned by someone. Alexander tilted his head, threatening in a low voice, "Looks good?"

Chloe's almond eyes curved into crescents, instantly abandoning all bottom lines to coax the dark tyrant: "Of course he doesn't have even a tenth of Mr. Alexander's charm."

Just then, someone blew a whistle: "Hey! It's real! Our Lord Alexander actually has someone by his side now."

The voice was laced with an unspoken tease. Chloe lazily swept her gaze over, quietly leaning closer to Alexander's side.

Alexander raised his eyes, his sharp, piercing gaze landing precisely on the man. "Zhou Jin, if you can't keep your mouth shut, I'll cut it off."

Zhou Jin shrank under Alexander's glare, apologizing cautiously, "Brother Alexander, I was wrong."

Having perfectly played the role of a manipulative temptress riding on the tyrant's coattails, Chloe offered Zhou Jin a harmless smile, silently mocking this low-level minion bowing to the dark lord.

The atmospheric pressure around Alexander plummeted several degrees. Zhou Jin felt his scalp go numb under her smile, reaching up to mess his neatly styled hair into a bird's nest—one where a bird could start laying eggs right away.

*My lady, I beg you, please stop smiling at me!*

Chapter 7: Please Don't Have Any Secrets I Don't Know

A sharp warning right at the door made every man and woman in the private room realize that even if Chloe were a substitute, her position in Alexander's heart was currently uniquely exclusive.

The man with the upright demeanor finally spoke, laughing in mock scolding, "Serves you right."

Alexander gave him that face, temporarily letting Zhou Jin off the hook. Holding Chloe's hand, he sat down next to the man and introduced him in concise terms: "Ethan Chen."

Having experienced that earlier glance, Chloe didn't reach out her hand either, offering only a polite and courteous smile: "Hello."

Ethan Chen, however, let out a light chuckle: "Miss Chloe, we've met before."

Chloe's wrist was being squeezed so hard it ached, as if her bones were about to be crushed into pieces. Yet, without breaking her composure, she tilted her head to reveal a look of confusion: "Hmm?"

Sweeping a glance over the undercurrents swirling beneath their clasped hands, Ethan Chen explained thoughtfully, "Back when you brought your father into our station, I was the one in charge."

"Holy shit!" Zhou Jin, acting like an unkillable cockroach, suddenly blurted out, "Is she really that badass?"

*She actually handed her own father over to the police station!*

A companion nudged his arm as a warning. Meeting Alexander's sinister gaze, Zhou Jin quickly mimicked the motion of zipping his lips shut.

Chloe let out an enlightened "Oh," smiling gracefully: "So it's Officer Chen. That was so long ago that I had completely forgotten."

Ethan Chen nodded: "It was a miserable affair anyway; forgetting it is for the best."

Chloe hummed in agreement, offering no further explanation and adopting a clear stance of *'I'm not familiar with him.'*

Enfolding her waist in a possessive embrace, Alexander spoke to Ethan Chen: "I need a favor. Look into those online rumors for me."

"Sure," Ethan Chen agreed readily, then raised an eyebrow. "Is a minor thing like this really worth Lord Alexander asking me in person?"

He clearly shared a closer bond with Alexander; calling him "Lord Alexander" was purely teasing.

Alexander cast a cool, silent glance at him without saying a word.

Pausing slightly, Ethan Chen added, "However, once we find out who did it, they will be handled strictly according to the law."

The underlying message was clear: no taking matters into private hands.

Alexander's hand swirling the wine glass paused for a beat before he let out a strange chuckle, "Then let's see which of us catches the person first."

Ethan Chen raised an eyebrow, not particularly worried. Ever since that incident years ago, Alexander's temperament had drastically changed, yet over all these years, he had never once crossed the line of breaking the law.

Alexander suddenly stood up, "We'll be taking our leave now."

Leaving as abruptly as he came, it was as if his entire trip had been for the sole purpose of asking Ethan Chen for this one small favor. He left the audience of onlookers exchanging bewildered glances, unsure what kind of crazy spell had taken over the man again.

---

In the quiet hallway of the club, Chloe knew Alexander was in a foul mood. She deliberately softened her footsteps, keeping even her breathing low to avoid giving him a chance to lash out at her.

Only when they stepped out of the club and returned to the sunlight did she finally let out a long, tedious breath of frustration.

Ethan opened the car door, and before Chloe could react, Alexander dragged her inside, violently throwing her back against the seat.

Her arms hurt from the pull, her brow tweaking slightly. Raising her head, her brow furrowed gently. A murmur that sounded both like pouting and complaining issued forth with her soft breath: "Mr. Alexander?"

*Does this man have violent tendencies as well?* Chloe thought. *Because if he does, this game won't be fun anymore.* It reminded her of another utterly repulsive man.

The driver perceptively raised the privacy partition, causing the air inside the already compact space to turn scorching hot.

Alexander tightly pinched Chloe's jaw, his bottomless black eyes staring straight into hers. Like a hand reaching out from hell, he pinned her in place, making it impossible for her to budge.

Only after a long while did he speak in a spine-chilling tone: "Staying with me... makes you feel that miserable?"

Chloe had no idea where he got off slapping such an unfounded "accusation" onto her.

The driver and assistant up front seemed to sense the tension, maintaining a tacit, absolute silence. The surrounding air felt as if it had turned into a non-Newtonian fluid, flowing viscous and slow.

Subconscious cold sweat broke out across her back—a reflex left behind by long-term past experiences. For a split second, she felt like he wanted to strangle her to death. How terrifying... yet thrilling it was.

Chloe looked straight into his eyes with delicate fragility. Her ruby lips parted slightly as she pleaded with pitiful vulnerability, "Mr. Alexander, it hurts..."

She possessed a pair of eyes capable of making most men fall. Deeply affectionate peach-blossom eyes brimmed with wet moisture, glistening brightly enough to erode even the coldest heart of stone.

She had bet correctly.

Alexander abruptly let go of his grip, pulling her into a tight embrace as he trembled uncontrollably. Just like last time, he offered a humble apology: "Chloe... I'm sorry..."

Chloe let out a gentle breath, resting obediently against his shoulder. Her arms loosely wrapped around his back while the unendurable mask slid off her face, exposing a look of disgust and repulsion.

*Tch, lunatic.*

She felt that if she managed to leave this man's side in one piece, winning some Best Actress award would be a walk in the park. If anyone ever called her a brainless bimbo again, she'd let them experience the "training" of this dark tyrant firsthand.

Yet, keeping her professional ethics firmly in mind, she allowed herself to zone out for just a second before nonchalantly curving her lips into a smile, her voice dropping into a soft, alluring purr: "It's alright, Mr. Alexander. Just remember to be gentler next time."

The next instant, a dense flurry of kisses rained down on her eyes, lips, and neck. Alexander licked and kissed the mark on her neck, clinging to her like a drowning man clutching a piece of driftwood: "Chloe..."

Chloe narrowed her eyes slightly. Every time he called out "Chloe" in that tone, she had a momentary illusion that he was truly calling out her name, feeling a sense of strange familiarity. Yet that illusion vanished in a flash. *Ah, men... how cheap their devotion truly is.*

---

This time, Alexander's "episode" didn't seem to pass so quickly.

By the time they returned to the Alexander Estate, night had fallen completely.

Without a word, Alexander dragged her out of the car. Wearing high heels, Chloe stumbled along as he pulled her, doing her best to maintain her composure and balance.

She wasn't particularly surprised even when she was thrown onto the bed. She had never harbored any unrealistic illusions that he would pity her, nor did she believe that if she refused, he would refrain from touching her. Once the game started, she was no longer her own person.

Yet, having a deep-seated disgust for intimate affairs, she still couldn't mask her revulsion and resistance with absolute perfection.

The curtains were drawn tight, pitch black to the point where one couldn't see their own hand, leaving only a faint sliver of courtyard light seeping through the gap. She recalled that the curtains always seemed to be drawn, regardless of whether the lights were on, causing one to lose all sense of day and night inside.

Which was fine—that way, the tyrant wouldn't be able to peek at her subtle emotional shifts.

However, she had forgotten that the dark tyrant was born of the dark, holding absolute domain over everything within it.

In the darkness, Alexander pressed his entire body down upon her. His fingers slowly dragged through her hair before abruptly tightening. Leaning close to her ear, his soft voice sounded like both a warning and a plea: "Chloe isn't allowed... to have secrets with others that I don't know about."

He was like someone who had reclaimed a lost obsession—insecure and anxious, left with no choice but to constrain and control her.

Chloe completely ignored his warning, suddenly leaning in to drop a kiss on him, sweet words spilling effortlessly from her lips: "I don't have any secrets from you, Mr. Alexander."

Clinging to the back of Alexander's neck, she stroked him in a gentle, flirting motion, while whispering with feigned grievance against his ear: "I thought you would look into my past, Mr. Alexander."

Alexander stared at her, his deep, dark gaze seemingly piercing right through her. Chloe met his gaze without a trace of guilt, her eyes welling with pitiful tears. Yet the man suddenly let out a chuckle, reaching out to pat her cheek: "Good girl."

The moment just now felt like nothing more than a prank.

---

Ethan Chen's side was exceptionally efficient, quickly locking onto the suspect and arriving at their doorstep.

*Knock, knock, knock.*

The police knocked on the door of Unit 3-1, Building 5 in the Jingcheng Residential Complex. "Captain Chen, there seems to be no one home."

Privacy in high-end residential complexes was top-tier, with one private elevator per unit. It was impossible to even run into neighbors, let alone ask around.

Ethan Chen stared at the door, stubbing out his cigarette butt before telling the colleague who came along: "Let's go. We'll head to the Alexander Estate to make the arrest."

The young intern who had just joined the police force couldn't understand what finding a culprit who fabricated rumors had to do with the Alexander family. Could there be some major criminal case entangled behind this? Instantly, he conjured a chaotic mix of melodramatic wealthy families and criminal mastermind plots in his mind, getting unnecessarily thrilled all by himself.

*Holy crap! Getting to handle a case like this right out of my internship!*

Walking ahead, Ethan Chen sighed inwardly—the new guys sure had high work enthusiasm.

---

At the Alexander Estate, Chloe came downstairs, only to catch sight of an unexpected person sitting in a corner of the living room. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she cast a casual glance over before taking lazy steps down the staircase.

Pouring herself a glass of water, she took an unhurried sip. "What are you doing here?"

Ryan sat on pins and needles, acting as though he had spotted a life-saving straw, immediately speaking up: "Chloe, please talk to Lord Alexander! I didn't mean to do it; I just wanted to scare you. I didn't want to hurt you. Hurry and persuade him. Even if the Alexander family dominates the city, troubling the Chu family will still bring trouble!"

He seemed about to stand up, but the person standing beside him pressed him back down the next second.

Chloe's light-colored pupils flickered slightly as an exaggerated look of realization washed over her. "Ah," she gasped, feigning disbelief: "You were behind the recent events?"

She had initially thought he merely wanted to force her into begging him for help so he could get back together with her naturally. She had certainly underestimated a man's sense of shame—to think he could be shameless enough to pull something like this after having dated her. Yet it wasn't all that surprising. *Men... if they don't have a heart, how could they possibly have a sense of shame?*

In the entertainment industry, rumors about being a "homewrecker" might seem small, but they could easily ruin a person entirely. Because women like them were forced to stand before everyone "stripped bare," subjected to scrutiny and pointing fingers.

Ryan seemed to freeze for a moment, his face suddenly turning pale.

Just then, Alexander embraced her from behind, whispering softly against Chloe's ear: "How would you like to handle it, Chloe?"

Chloe raised her eyebrow slightly. Ryan was her ex-boyfriend, a deeply sensitive identity. *Tch, she needed to keep her distance.* Holding her glass, she leaned against Alexander and said honestly: "I'd like to hear him explain how he planned the whole thing."

The smear campaign had come out of nowhere. She had only shot an obscure little commercial, without encroaching on anyone's interests, yet she was cyberbullied to the point of not daring to step outside. She could only watch helplessly as online marketing accounts and keyboard warriors turned black into white.

Now that she was face-to-face with the culprit, she was naturally furious, but keeping the dark tyrant calm was far more important than punishing the wrongdoer. As a law-abiding citizen of a modern socialist society, she had no intention of falling into "corrupt collusion" with the tyrant.

Alexander cast an indifferent glance at Ryan. Pulling Chloe along, he sat down on the sofa with grand presence, leaning back with total nonchalance. "Speak."

The way he leaned back exuded the exact aura of a villainous boss in a TV drama—one where a minor henchman saying a single wrong word would mean losing his head.

*It was her first time playing the role of a dark tyrant's favored concubine; it really was quite fun,* Chloe thought.

Ryan was unwilling to confess to such dishonorable acts in front of Chloe. He was still a somewhat notable rich heir, after all. With the Ryan family backing him, he didn't believe Alexander would actually do anything to him.

Alexander picked up an apple from the coffee table and slowly peeled it, appearing not to care at all. Ryan let out a slight sigh of relief. Chloe's eyes were drawn to the neatly peeled, continuous spiral of apple skin; her hand twitched, wanting to reach out and snap it.

Before she could make a move, Sweetie came running over with a series of "Meow meow meows," raising both paws to play with the apple skin as if it were a cat teaser, snapping it in two strokes. Chloe looked at the silly cat with schadenfreude, only for Alexander to suddenly glance at her.

Her lips twitched, and she immediately put on an impatient front to urge Ryan: "Ryan, hurry up and speak."

Alexander placed the peeled apple onto a plate, grabbing Sweetie by the scruff of her neck. Looking down at the cat from above, he said with double meaning: "Sweetie, getting bold, aren't we?"

"Careful, or I'll lock you in a cage."

Sweetie: "Meow meow meow?"

*She was just a cat; she couldn't understand what the tyrant was talking about.*

Chloe: "..."

*Tch, the dark tyrant sure loves playing the trick of talking to the cat to target the person.*

Seeing his ex-girlfriend getting along so harmoniously with Alexander, Ryan felt as though his heart had been soaked in a vat of sour lemon juice. Reluctantly, he said to Chloe: "You were right last time... I just wanted you to come to me for help. I didn't want to hurt you."

Alexander suddenly plunged the fruit knife straight into the peeled apple. Chloe seemed to hear the tip of the blade strike the bottom of the plate, making her ears feel deeply uncomfortable.

He lifted his eyelids, his sharp, dark gaze slicing toward Ryan as he slowly spoke: "Which hand took the secret photos?"

Ryan turned pale with shock: "Wh... what?"