After Rebirth, I Became a Billionaire — and Choose the poor Girl Vol.5

Chapter 501: I Really Want to Escape, But I Can’t

In the evening, they were still at Megan Price’s place.

Chloe Winters and Isabelle Whitfield had both arrived as well.

Chloe Winters had just finished shooting a TV series and two movies, so she rarely had time to rest.

“Weird, why do you two look a little off?” Chloe Winters asked, puzzled as she looked at Megan Price and Isabelle Whitfield.

“No problem at all,” the two said in unison.

“Fine,” Chloe Winters didn’t mind, and instead asked, “What are we playing tonight?

Just to let you know, I’m not playing Mahjong again.

Now, just thinking about Mahjong makes me want to throw up.”

It was clear how much of a psychological shadow the previous night’s game with Ethan Cole and Grace Bennett had cast on her.

Before Megan Price and Isabelle Whitfield could respond, the door opened.

Ethan Cole and Grace Bennett walked in.

Ethan Cole lifted the object in his hand, said with a cheerful laugh, “I had someone buy this, Mahjong made from jade, supposedly feels great in hand. Let’s get started.”

Chloe Winters’s pupils dilated, as if facing a great enemy.

The next second.

She quickly put on her shoes, planning to flee.

Originally, she had been looking forward to meeting with Ethan Cole.

But now…

Sorry, not familiar.

“Hey, you can’t leave.”

“Exactly, you’re already here.”

Megan Price and Isabelle Whitfield blocked her right away.

You are the main attraction tonight.

Without the clown, how can we perform?

“What do you mean by this?” Chloe Winters sensed something bad.

Ethan Cole ‘clanked’ as he put the Mahjong on the table.

Megan Price locked the door to prevent Chloe Winters from escaping.

Isabelle Whitfield dragged Chloe Winters to sit down, looking excitedly at Ethan Cole: “Hurry, hurry up, I want to.”

Ethan Cole’s face darkened: “Senior sister, be serious, don’t make it sound so ambiguous.”

Isabelle Whitfield gave Grace Bennett an embarrassed smile: “That’s not what I meant, don’t take it the wrong way.”

Grace Bennett shook her head to show she didn’t mind.

Chloe Winters’s unease grew stronger.

“No, really, what are you up to? Spit it out, don’t leave me feeling anxious.”

Once everyone was seated, Ethan Cole started the recording again.

Chloe Winters felt like she had been struck by lightning, her face turned instantly pale.

She stood up hastily, wanting to escape.

But Megan Price and Isabelle Whitfield, quick as a flash, held her down.

The two ladies had already gone through this once in the morning, and now they had developed a strong immunity.

But Chloe Winters, all at once, heard the recordings of her ranting from the previous night, and Ethan Cole had heard them too.

That feeling.

Was like having diarrhea in front of Ethan Cole.

Chloe Winters felt everything go dark, as if the sun and moon had dimmed.

I want to run, but I can’t escape.

“Gagagaga.”

“Hahaha, that’s the stuff, now I feel better.”

Megan Price and Isabelle Whitfield couldn’t be happier.

Sure enough, the smile hasn’t vanished, it’s just moved onto my face.

Only the world where Chloe Winters was hurt was realized.

“Alright, let’s get started.” Ethan Cole took out the Mahjong: “We’re pulling an all-nighter.”

Grace Bennett waved her little hand on the side: “All-nighter.”

Three girls: (°n°l|l)/

“You guys play first, I’m going to take a shower,” Megan Price planned to make her escape.

But she was pulled back by Chloe Winters and Isabelle Whitfield.

If we’re going to die, we’ll die together.

In the end, after a game of rock-paper-scissors, Chloe Winters was left waiting on the side, ready to replace whoever lost.

Ethan Cole chuckled, ready to dominate once more.

“Hmm… the firsthand isn’t very good,” Ethan Cole mused, “But no matter, there’s still a chance… one bam…”

“Pung!” Isabelle Whitfield exclaimed excitedly, “Lucky me.”

Grace Bennett: “Two dots.”

“Ah, Pong!” Megan Price exclaimed in surprise, “What’s going on today?”

Ethan Cole:”???”

Grace Bennett:”???”

Somehow, things didn’t feel quite right.

“Aaah, I’ve won!” Megan Price stood up, excited, “Hahaha, what a great start, what a great start, pay up!”

Chloe Winters and Isabelle Whitfield also erupted in cheers.

Originally, the three of them had braced themselves for a thrashing by Ethan Cole and Grace Bennett today.

But who would have thought, they would actually win the first round.

Ethan Cole coughed, “Come on, let’s continue!”

This must be a fluke.

The second round.

Ethan Cole breathed a sigh of relief.

His tiles were good this round; he was certain to triumph.

Fifteen minutes later.

“Yay, I won, ohhh!” Isabelle Whitfield cheered.

The three girls looked at Ethan Cole and Grace Bennett with a bit less fear in their eyes.

It seemed that the two of them weren’t as fearsome as last night.

Ethan Cole rubbed his hands together, “Another round!”

That was just a warm-up. The real battle was just starting now.

Soon, they would know what true fear was.

The third round began.

However, they lost again.

Ethan Cole was rotated out.

Standing aside, he started to doubt his life choices.

This shouldn’t be happening.

Then the fourth round, the fifth round… the fifteenth round, Ethan Cole and Grace Bennett hadn’t won a single time.

“Hahahaha, I know why now!” Megan Price stood up, hand on hip, laughing wildly:

“Yesterday was your newbie protection period.

It’s like when you go fishing for the first time, you can catch fish without even using bait.

But now, your newbie protection period is over!”

“So that’s it!” Isabelle Whitfield stretched a little, “I was wondering, last night you had me questioning my life.

I’m actually not bad at mahjong, but I lost so miserably.”

“Hehehe, keep being cocky,” Chloe Winters sniggered, “Keep it going, today we’re going to win back everything we’ve lost, with interest!”

“It’s getting late,” Ethan Cole wiped the cold sweat from his forehead without a trace of emotion, “We should head back, we have class tomorrow.”

After saying that, he tried to leave with Grace Bennett.

“Not so fast.” Megan Price blocked them, smiling like a blossoming flower, “Someone said we’re going to play all night tonight.

What time is it now? I’ve already sent someone to buy beer and barbecue.

How wonderful would it be to eat a late-night snack while we play?”

Ethan Cole: “…”

Grace Bennett:

No escape.

Had no choice but to continue playing.

Then, Ethan Cole and Grace Bennett ended up experiencing what the three girls felt last night.

Helplessness, despair…

“Hu, I’ve won again.”

“Wakaka, heavenly hand, whooo.”

“Awesome, this is just too awesome.”

The three women regained their confidence.

If it wasn’t this one winning, it was that one.

Ethan Cole: I really want to run, but I can’t.

Grace Bennett: Wuuu, playing mahjong isn’t fun at all, I’ll never play again.

Why does this newbie protection last for only one day?

The game went on until seven in the morning the next day.

This time, the roles were reversed.

The three girls were glowing and spirited,

while Ethan Cole and Grace Bennett felt drained, as if their life force had been sucked

Chapter 502: Mahjong is not fun at all, reading is better

“If I play mahjong again, I’m a dog!” Ethan Cole swore as they walked.

Grace Bennett nodded in agreement beside him.

Mahjong is not fun at all; studying is better.

The two of them managed to get away only after Ethan Cole offered a recording in exchange, which finally convinced the three witchy girls to let them go.

“No way, we have to take back our pride,” Ethan Cole said through gritted teeth. “Let’s go, we’ll rest up and prepare.

Then, tonight, we’ll invite the three of them to play Rift Legends with us!”

They might not be their match in mahjong, but when it came to gaming, Ethan Cole was brimming with confidence.

“Okay.” Grace Bennett clenched her small fist with vigor, her eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

This Saturday, the first Rift Legends competition officially began.

For many parents, gaming is still seen as a scourge.

So, the participants were all college students.

After all, the prizes for the champions, runners-up and third place were ten million, seven million, and three million respectively.

And anyone who made it to the finals was gifted with all champions and all skins.

Many people came for this reason.

As for the few million or tens of millions in prize money for the top places, many didn’t take it seriously.

It wasn’t something they thought they needed to consider.

Today was just the preliminary round, divided into twenty-two competition areas.

Each area had its live stream, broadcast simultaneously on several websites owned by Ethan Cole.

From QuickRead Fiction, Daily Headlines, and QuickRead Comics, official websites provided live streaming for viewers.

Of course, it was only available on computers.

The mobile internet had just reached 4G, without full coverage yet.

The majority of users were still on 3G and couldn’t watch the live stream.

The most popular competition zone was Empire City.

The location was set in a stadium.

Because Ethan Cole and Grace Bennett were participants, as well as Derek Hayes, Isabelle Whitfield, and Megan Price.

The five of them formed a team named: Pure Love Team.

“Wow, so many people,” Isabelle Whitfield exclaimed as she walked in.

The place was packed and bustling.

And it wasn’t like other games where the majority of players were boys.

In Rift Legends, the number of girl players was also considerable.

The male to female ratio at the venue was about sixty-forty.

The stadium could accommodate twenty thousand plus people.

Adults had to buy tickets to enter: thirty dollars for adults, half-price for college students, and free for minors.

Derek Hayes’s eyes gleamed: “The championship is definitely ours!”

Ethan Cole patted his shoulder: “I think your chances of reincarnation are even bigger.”

Although Derek Hayes’s skills were indeed good, they weren’t yet at the professional player level.

This first domestic competition was a chance for Ethan Cole to make some quick money.

Secondly, it was also to scout talented individuals to form a team.

He was laying the foundation for future game live streaming.

“Ah, there are so many from our school,” Megan Price said, adjusting her glasses.

Ethan Cole shot her a glance.

She was dressed like a little lamb today,

Innocent, clean, and seemingly unaware of the ways of the world.

It was incredibly misleading.

Derek Hayes responded: “Yeah, there are quite a few from our school that play the game, and there are several teams from our school as well.”

Ethan Cole said: “Let’s take our seats, the match is about to start.”

Now was the selection phase.

As soon as Ethan Cole and his team took their seats, several cameras were pointed at them.

The photographers were also from his own company.

The exclusive broadcast rights were in Ethan Cole’s hands.

The Pure Love Team, except for Derek Hayes, had looks that were off the charts.

Derek Hayes: Should I leave then?

Handsome men and beautiful women, no matter where, always have strong topicality.

This was also a method of attracting viewers.

With five minutes to go before the start of the match, music began to play at the venue,

and then the lights focused on the stage.

“Wow!”

A series of exclamations erupted from the audience.

A girl with big wavy hair walked up to the stage, microphone in hand.

Whether it was her figure, appearance, or aura, she was top-notch.

This female host was none other than Ally.

A mature woman like her was liked by men of all ages.

Having Ally step in as a temporary host was also meant to add more buzz to the event.

“Hello everyone at the venue and those watching on TV and computers, I’m Ally, and I’m thrilled to meet you all.”

Her voice was also very distinctive.

It was the kind that, as soon as she spoke, could scratch an itch in one’s heart.

The many netizens in front of their screens blew up immediately.

‘Holy cow, what a sultry babe.’

‘That voice… I’m in love.’

‘Excuse me, I need to visit the restroom, I’ll be right back.’

‘She’s so busty, so white.’

‘Hang on a moment, I just ordered a carton of Nutrient Express and tissues.’

Ethan Cole looked at Ally, nodding in satisfaction.

She had a steady stage presence and could command the attention of the entire audience.

At the same time, she could attract a wave of fans for the event.

Then, Ethan Cole’s gaze wandered, observing the other competitors.

“Hmm, who is that?”

Ethan Cole suddenly noticed a girl sitting on the left side of an opposing team.

Blonde hair, a bit of an alternative look, and in terms of appearance, out of a full score of ten, she could score a 6.5.

Felicity Byrne.

In his past life, she was a famous livestreamer, an object of silent tribute for many otaku deep into the night.

However, later on, this woman actually started dating a man who had “eaten flour,” resulting in a mass exodus of fans.

Online, a certain meme became popular.

Lucy Munroe: What makes you think you’re worthy of sharing the same ice cream with me?

Ethan Cole didn’t have a good impression of this woman in the first place.

Just a little puff girl.

It goes to show that people with skewed morals naturally associate with those alike.

Just like flies are attracted to feces.

He didn’t expect to encounter her here.

If so, then forget about being a livestreamer and making big money in this lifetime.

Go screw nuts in a factory nicely.

As he pondered, the competition officially started.

The players were randomly selected.

Ethan Cole and his team were just making up the numbers; they had no expectations of getting far.

The first match ended in twenty-two minutes.

The Pure Love Team won.

Then there was a fifteen-minute break.

Reporters at the venue would pick some players for interviews.

Ethan Cole glanced over and saw that Felicity Byrne’s team had also won.

He summoned a staff member and whispered a few instructions.

The employee nodded and headed in the direction of Felicity Byrne’s team.

Grace Bennett went backstage to check on things.

Megan Price and Isabelle Whitfield were also interviewed separately.

Derek Hayes: What about me?

A peculiar fragrance entered his nostrils.

Ethan Cole turned around, feeling something.

His pupils dilated slightly.

A woman who appeared to be in her thirties was watching him with a scrutinizing look.

She exuded a mature charm, allure, and elegance that young girls lacked.

For the vast majority of men, she was like poison.

Even though she was without makeup, Ethan Cole recognized the woman’s origins at a glance.

Chapter 503: An Unexpected Person Appears

Selena Han!

She was quite a legendary woman.

She was born in 1970.

Now forty-one years old.

However, the years haven’t left too many marks on her face.

With proper care, she looks even fresher than most thirty-year-olds.

Her skin was tight, but who knew… cough cough cough.

Ethan Cole hadn’t expected Selena Han to appear at such an event.

But on second thought, he understood.

Eight out of ten, it was her brother who had her come here, to take Colton Ahn’s place and compete against him.

As Ethan Cole was mentally gearing up, he also became exhilarated.

Doing business with strong women like her was interesting.

Little monsters give little experience and drop nothing good.

But a big boss like Selena Han was different.

‘Defeating’ her, there was a high chance of dropping good loot.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind.

But outwardly, Ethan Cole pretended not to recognize her, asking, “Who might you be?”

“Stop pretending,” Selena Han spoke in standard Mandarin, “The moment you saw me, your pupils contracted.

That proves that you recognize me.”

Currently, the internet isn’t that well developed.

Folks in China are basically unaware of Selena Han’s existence.

It would take a few more years, after the internet has developed, for many who have entered society and been battered to realize just how attractive wealthy women can be.

After all, the hidden meaning of steel wool is wealth and endurance.

Ethan Cole was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, “My apologies.”

Indeed, it wouldn’t be possible for someone to stand out in a grand family like the Sangsangs if they were simple and naive.

Moreover, Selena Han was twice Ethan Cole’s age, more experienced, and her… knowledge was beyond what Ethan Cole could aspire to.

Selena Han extended her fair small hand, “Pleased to meet you.”

Ethan Cole also shook her hand.

This woman looked at Ethan Cole with a different sort of intent in her eyes.

As if… a hunter regards its prey.

However, she indeed had the stature to do so.

Ethan Cole asked, “Miss Li, did you come here to participate in the competition?”

Selena Han laughed, “No, it’s just a few young people from my company who are participating, just for fun.”

But Ethan Cole’s heart skipped a beat.

Though the folks from the hammer often brag, love stealing from other countries, and love to cheat in all sorts of competitions, it seems like they have no merits.

Well, indeed they have no merits.

But one thing that has to be admitted is that many of their young people are slick at gaming and have won numerous world championships.

He would have to be cautious, lest he capsize in the gutter and let the hammer win the championship of this competition.

The strife began.

“I should be leaving,” Selena Han said to Ethan Cole, revealing a meaningful smile.

Then she turned and left.

A forty-year-old woman, yet her figure hadn’t changed at all.

She was one of the most desired women for countless men with poor appetite.

Wealthy woman, hungry hungry, food food.

After giving Selena Han a deep look, Ethan Cole went to the rest room.

Felicity Byrne was already waiting there.

Upon seeing Ethan Cole, she excitedly stood up, “Mr. Cole, hello, I’m… Felicity Byrne.”

For a tomboy like her, perhaps she could never have imagined meeting Ethan Cole one-on-one.

“Yes, hello,” Ethan Cole said with a gentle expression, “Don’t be nervous, please take a seat.”

Felicity Byrne waited for Ethan Cole to sit down before daring to take her seat.

Her two hands rested on her legs, extremely restrained.

Ethan Cole smiled and said, “Don’t be nervous. I asked you here because I want to know if you would be willing to join my team.”

“Huh?” Felicity Byrne was stunned, “What do you mean?”

Ethan Cole: “I plan to put together a gaming team and would like to invite you to join.”

“But my skills are just average,” Felicity Byrne doubted why Mr. Cole would think of inviting her.

It couldn’t possibly be because he fancies me, could it?

Wait a second, it’s not impossible!

Even though Ethan Cole has a fiancee who is as beautiful as a goddess.

But men are known for loving novelty and tiring of the old.

Tired of the usual home-cooked meals, maybe he wants to try some wild pickings?

With that thought, Felicity Byrne suddenly became excited.

Could it be, she had a chance to leap across social classes?

Ethan Cole had no idea what this woman was thinking at the moment.

Otherwise, he would’ve definitely given her several big slaps.

“You think you are worthy?”

Ethan Cole took out the contract he had prepared and explained, “I’ve seen your competition.

Although your skills aren’t yet outstanding and still seem a bit green,

you have a huge potential and will absolutely become top-notch in the industry in the future.

Here’s the contract, take a look at it.”

Felicity Byrne was so flattered by Ethan Cole’s words.

She eagerly took the contract and started reading it seriously.

Of course, she hadn’t received much education and didn’t understand much.

She only understood that the base salary was twenty-five hundred a month and the contract was for twenty years.

“Ah, isn’t this period a bit too long, and the salary so low?” Felicity Byrne showed a troubled expression.

This wasn’t what she had expected.

Ethan Cole said seriously, “This is a base salary regardless of performance, which many companies don’t offer.

As long as you achieve results, it’s normal for your annual salary to reach tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions in the future.

Do you think a billionaire like me with assets worth hundreds of billions would specifically target you?”

Felicity Byrne understood.

It really was just as she had guessed.

Ethan Cole wanted to keep her as a mistress.

What about joining a team? That was just a smokescreen.

So, she quickly signed the contract.

Ethan Cole sneered inwardly.

With this, Felicity Byrne was now in his hands.

Even though she wasn’t that great, her ability to make money was still there.

The contract was full of traps.

If she breached it, she would have to pay an exorbitant sum as compensation—she wouldn’t be able to get away.

After squeezing out all her value, he would just put her on ice.

The competition would last about a month.

With three rounds of preliminaries, that’s already three weeks gone.

And of course, the final is naturally set in Empire City.

Today, at the end of the competition, sixty-eight finalists were produced in the Empire City region.

Hmm, the Pure Love Team, unsurprisingly, was eliminated.

Ethan Cole wasn’t surprised, even though Derek Hayes was fretting over it.

Ethan Cole patted his shoulder, “You don’t need to come tomorrow. Go back to

Kingsport and accompany Natalie Brooks.”

He had specifically come over from Kingsport.

“Okay,” Derek Hayes nodded.

When the competition ended, Ally took the stage again, “Everyone, please don’t rush to leave. We have a surprise for you at the end.”

The lights suddenly dimmed.

Then a woman with a graceful figure walked onto the stage.

The crowd was stunned for a moment, followed by bursts of cheering.

It was a singer with no small amount of fame.

Ally said, “After every competition concludes, there will be a performance by a surprise guest artist. Everyone can look forward to it.”

This was Mr. Cole’s idea to increase traffic and trending topics.

Most importantly, it was to enable users of Daily Headlines to grow rapidly.

Chapter 504: A Billion Times Luckier Than Others

“Ah, such a pity, if I had been a little faster, maybe we could have won the second round of the competition.”

On the way back, Isabelle Whitfield said with some self-blame.

The group of four, featuring three girls each with their own unique charm, attracted countless gazes.

Some bold ones couldn’t resist the urge to come over and strike up a conversation.

But before they got close, they were stopped by the bodyguards who were secretly following.

Grace Bennett comforted her, “It’s not much about sister, mainly it’s because I made more mistakes as a support.”

“Fine,” Isabelle Whitfield nodded, “then it’s all your fault.”

Grace Bennett: “Ah?”

“Hahaha, you’re really cute.” Isabelle Whitfield couldn’t help but pinch her collagen-filled face.

Upon returning to school, it happened to be mealtime.

Megan Price suggested going to the second floor of the cafeteria to eat.

Ethan Cole wanted to go back and check the traffic on ‘Daily Headlines’, so he asked Grace Bennett to pack some food for him.

Back in the dormitory, he turned on his computer.

Seeing the backend data of Daily Headlines’, Ethan Cole was somewhat surprised.

The first day of the Rift Legends competition, the number of new downloads exceeded five million.

Nearly half of them also registered as users.

And to hold this competition, Ethan Cole didn’t spend any money but earned a large sum from advertising and endorsement fees.

The news platform that he had high hopes for also gained a huge increase in traffic.

With the exclusive rights to Rift Legends, as long as it was managed properly, there was no need to worry about the basics of ‘Daily Headlines’.

Ethan Cole messaged Ally, telling her she could start looking for advertisers to insert ads in the app.

He then looked at the current cash flow of the group.

It had reached fifty billion.

Unconsciously, his pockets had swollen again.

Ethan Cole showed a hint of contemplation.

Now that the cash flow was abundant, it was time to consider the next step.

He had to invest in anything related to 5G.

He aimed to get 5G up and running as soon as possible.

With 5G, that would be the day he truly grew stronger and bigger.

Short videos, live-streaming sales…

Farrow and Kroft would be surpassed by him.

Before that, though, he needed to accumulate more strength.

Grace Bennett came back.

“Ethan, come out for dinner,” Grace Bennett called out from the living room towards the bedroom.

“Okay, wife.”

Ethan Cole responded while getting up and walking out.

He saw Grace Bennett with her back to him, taking out the takeout dishes one by one.

As she bent slightly, the rounded arc of her buttocks invoked fanciful thoughts. Even after seeing it countless times, Ethan Cole still couldn’t get enough. Speaking of which, it had been quite some time since Ethan Cole had eaten, probably about ten days.

He had been busy these days with work; otherwise, he was playing games or mahjong.

Ethan Cole walked over and hugged his fiancee from behind.

Grace Bennett’s delicate body trembled a little, and a rosy red color spread from her ears down to her neck, like morning dawn.

Her voice was intermittent, “Don’t… Let’s eat first… otherwise it’ll get cold.” Ethan Cole’s voice was slightly hoarse, “It’s okay, we have a microwave oven in the dorm, and besides, there’s an order to things when it comes to eating.” Grace Bennett: “Mm…”

The first meal took more than an hour to eat.

After finishing, Ethan Cole found that he was still very hungry.

He decided to reheat the cooled food for a second meal.

With a “ding”, the food was ready.

Ethan Cole placed the food on the table.

Grace Bennett came out of the bathroom, continuously wiping her face.

Her glance at Ethan Cole carried a slight reproach.

Ethan Cole gave an awkward smile, “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself earlier. Is your face clean now?”

“Stop it, let’s not talk about it,” the girl took her seat.

Just as she was about to eat, Ethan Cole’s phone rang.

It was Megan Price calling, “You… How are you and Grace Bennett… right now…”

The voice bore a painfully suppressed agony.

“What’s wrong?” Ethan Cole’s heart tightened.

“There’s something wrong with the food in the canteen… Isabelle Whitfield, too… has been affected.”

Ethan Cole quickly asked, “Where are you now? Have you called an ambulance?” “We have.”

“Good, I’m coming right now.”

After hanging up the phone, Ethan Cole said to Grace Bennett, “There’s something wrong with the food; the two of them had an accident.”

Grace Bennett also hurriedly stood up, “Then let’s go quickly.”

The two acted separately.

Grace Bennett went to the girls’ dormitory to find Isabelle Whitfield.

Ethan Cole went to the teachers’ dormitory to find Megan Price.

Outside the school, chaos reigned.

It wasn’t just the two of them; many students who had eaten at the canteen were suffering from abdominal pain, vomiting, and other symptoms.

A shadow of concern crossed Ethan Cole’s mind.

Could it be a deliberate act of poisoning targeting him?

It’s also possible it was just a case of simple food poisoning.

He arrived at Megan Price’s dormitory as fast as he could.

The door was not locked.

After entering, he saw her curled up on the sofa, her forehead slick with sweat; she was already in a semi-comatose state.

This silly girl, so seriously ill, yet the first thing she thought of was whether Ethan Cole was alright.

Half an hour later, at the hospital.

Ethan Cole, Grace Bennett, and a host of school executives had arrived.

They were all pacing anxiously outside the emergency room.

Isabelle Whitfield and Megan Price were the ones being treated inside.

With backgrounds as deep as theirs, the school executives were also terrified.

More than five hundred students had food poisoning and were rushed to several nearby hospitals.

The canteen contractor hurried over in a panic.

He knelt down at the scene, “Everyone, the ingredients I choose for the canteen every day are personally selected by me, absolutely fresh.

Leftover food is given to the pigs; it definitely has nothing to do with me.”

The thought of so many students being affected made the canteen owner shake with fear.

Even selling himself wouldn’t cover the losses.

At that moment, no one paid him any attention.

They were all waiting for the emergency room door to open.

If those students were alright, that was one thing.

If something happened, all those senior executives at the school would all have to step down.

Time ticked by, second by second.

“Click!”

The door to the emergency room opened.

Several doctors came out.

Ethan Cole was the first to rush over, “Doctor, how are they?”

“They’re out of danger,” one of the doctors replied, “Fortunately, they were brought in on time. After gastric lavage, most of the toxins have been flushed out.

They just need to be under observation for a few days, and if there are no problems, they can be discharged.”

Grace Bennett also came over and asked, “Then may I ask, Doctor, what caused the food poisoning?”

Doctor: “We’re not clear on that yet; it requires testing of the food, which will take some time.”

Grace Bennett: “Thank you, Doctor.”

Ethan Cole asked again, “Can we go in and see them now?”

“Yes, but don’t stay for long; let the patients rest.”

Isabelle Whitfield and Megan Price were transferred to VIP wards.

Seeing that the two were alright, the school executives heaved a sigh of relief and then went to the other emergency rooms to check on the remaining students.

Inside the VIP ward, Isabelle Whitfield and Megan Price were awake.

They were extremely pale and incredibly weak.

They appeared to have no strength to resist at all.

They were being infused with glucose.

Seeing Ethan Cole and Grace Bennett enter, both of them were stunned.

Isabelle Whitfield couldn’t help but ask, “Wait, why are you two alright?”

Chapter 505: Megan Price Are You Not Afraid to Die?

“Ah, this…” Grace Bennett, upon hearing that, lowered her head guiltily.

She didn’t know how to answer this question.

It’s not like she could say, they hadn’t had the chance to eat because they were previously at *bar.

Ethan Cole touched his nose, “We were just held up a bit by something, so we haven’t had the chance to eat yet.”

Isabelle Whitfield oh’d in response and didn’t suspect anything.

But Megan Price on the other bed kept sneering, “What else could this couple of lovebirds have been doing? They must have been messing around, that’s Why they didn’t have time to eat and so they narrowly escaped disaster.” Megan Price, you’re so reckless with your words.

Being pinpointed by Megan Price, Grace Bennett’s entire face turned bright red, short of steaming up.

“So that’s how it is.” Isabelle Whitfield suddenly realized, “So being in love has such benefits, I also want a sweet love like that.”

Grace Bennett wanted to run away right now.

Having such a private matter exposed in public, she felt like she was about to crumble.

Thankfully, at that moment, the door to the hospital room opened.

Megan Price’s father, as well as Isabelle Whitfield’s parents and grandparents, all arrived.

Grace Bennett sighed in relief and quickly pulled Ethan Cole to leave the hospital room.

If she stayed any longer, she was going to lose her mind.

Just then a doctor came over and said to Ethan Cole, “The cause of the food poisoning has been detected.

Someone had put pesticide into the food.

If the dosage had been a bit higher, there might have been a risk to life.”

Ethan Cole nodded slightly, “Thank you, doctor, I understand.” After the doctor left, Ethan Cole took Grace Bennett back to the school. Although he wasn’t hopeful, he still went to ask the school to retrieve surveillance footage.

As expected, several of the cafeteria’s cameras from a few hours earlier were either malfunctioning or had been deliberately obscured.

The entire cafeteria has now been sealed off.

Lots of officials have arrived, conducting an investigation inside.

But Ethan Cole guessed that they wouldn’t find much.

In a place like a cafeteria, with so many people coming and going.

Without surveillance, unless there were eyewitnesses, they wouldn’t be able to find much.

Now the only hope was that the cafeteria’s chefs and the uncles and aunties serving the food might know something.

“Hope it wasn’t specifically targeting me,” Ethan Cole murmured to himself. If it was because of him, then Ethan Cole would certainly feel a lot of guilt. For having involved so many other students.

Apart from the official investigation, the forces behind Isabelle Whitfield and Megan Price, as well as Harold Briggs, who Ethan Cole had also sent to investigate, were looking into the matter.

With the combined efforts of all parties, it shouldn’t be difficult to find the real culprit behind the scenes.

That evening, Grace Bennett didn’t come back, still in the hospital room. She said that Megan Price was bored and wanted Grace Bennett to keep her company.

Only Ethan Cole could see through her little ploy.

But seeing that she was weak, he didn’t expose her.

Returning to his private dormitory, Ethan Cole opened up DailyPulse.

The poisoning incident in the cafeteria was reported there as well and was even featured at the top.

Currently, this app had not integrated big data yet.

One reason was that Ethan Cole hadn’t completely finished it yet, only about one percent done.

Another reason was that using it too soon would surely lead to it being copied by other companies.

In China, such things are not uncommon.

His personal account already had over a million followers.

He had posted ten pieces.

All of them about everyday stuff.

Then Ethan Cole found some pre-edited material from his documents and uploaded it.

He had quite a few ‘drafts’ ready that could sustain updates for a week.

Once updated, Ethan Cole was ready to sleep.

But just then, a pleasant voice came from outside the window, “Ethan Cole, come out for a moment.”

Ethan Cole rose to his feet and walked to the window for a look outside.

Under the street light, a girl stood there.

She was wearing a super short skirt, showing off a pair of dazzlingly pale long

She had a head of remarkably conspicuous blonde hair.

It was Amara Kessum.

“What does this woman want me to do?”

Ethan Cole muttered to himself, then went downstairs.

“What’s the matter?” Ethan Cole looked at her and asked.

He had never had much of a liking for these exchange students.

It was just that when compared to the boys, the girls were much better, not causing too much trouble.

“I know who poisoned the cafeteria,” Amara Kessum said without any beating around the bush.

Ethan Cole’s gaze flickered, “Terms.”

“It’s easy talking to a smart person like you,” Amara Kessum smiled faintly, “My

dad opened a transport company here.

But the business isn’t doing well, unable to compete with the local ones.

The business practices here are very simple and rough, first burning money to snatch market share with extremely low prices.

After all their competitors have been defeated or acquired, they start monopolizing the market.”

At this point, Amara Kessum appeared quite annoyed.

Ethan Cole said indifferently, “You want me to find business for your dad’s company?”

Amara Kessum nodded.

“No problem,” Ethan Cole said gravely, “Orders worth one billion a year, signed for five years.

The condition is, your dad’s company must not engage in any illegal activities.”

Amara Kessum hurriedly said, “Of course not, here, take this.”

Having said that, Amara Kessum took a USB drive out of her pocket and handed it to Ethan Cole.

Ethan Cole laughed, “We’ve not signed any contract, and yet you trust me so much that I won’t go back on my word?”

“You won’t,” Amara Kessum said with conviction, “Someone like you wouldn’t do something so degrading; I’m very accurate at judging people.”

Ethan Cole shrugged, “After I’ve confirmed there’s nothing wrong with the contents, I’ll have someone contact you.”

Then Ethan Cole hurriedly went upstairs.

He paused as he was about to insert the USB into the computer.

Instead, he picked up a spare new computer and plugged the USB into it.

It’s necessary to be on guard against others.

If the USB contained a virus, all the data on his computer could be leaked.

However, Amara Kessum hadn’t played any tricks.

There was just one video in the USB.

He clicked open.

From the angle of the video, it seemed to be captured with a spy camera.

The filming location was clearly the cafeteria.

You could see several figures sneaking in.

Their roles were clear.

A few were responsible for distracting the cafeteria uncles and aunties, as well as the chefs.

Some dealt with disabling cameras at various corners.

The rest took the opportunity to mix some unknown liquid into the dishes.

Seeing this, Ethan Cole’s eyes blazed with fury.

There were twelve perpetrators.

Strikingly, they were those exchange students.

Ten guys and two girls.

It was likely that Amara Kessum had been the one filming.

Then, for her family’s business, she didn’t hesitate to sell these people out.

Ethan Cole closed his eyes, thinking about how to make these Little Wall

Governor Juices pay the greatest price.

He pondered for a solid ten minutes.

Ethan Cole suddenly opened his eyes, a hint of cruelty appearing at the corner of

his mouth, “Dare to cause trouble, I’ll skin you alive!”

Chapter 506

Early in the morning, Ethan Cole arrived at the hospital carrying breakfast for three.

Isabelle Whitfield and Megan Price’s families were not there.

Last night, it was only Grace Bennett staying with the two of them.

Today, seeing their complexions, Ethan Cole noticed they had improved a lot.

“Hungry, huh? Let’s eat first.”

Ethan Cole pulled Grace Bennett aside and expertly opened the breakfast.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Megan Price complained, “We’re the patients here, shouldn’t we be served first?”

“Exactly,” Isabelle Whitfield chimed in, “You can’t be flaunting your affection like this.

What if it worsens our condition?”

Ethan Cole: “Then it’ll be a grand spectacle.”

The two beautiful girls glared at Ethan Cole angrily.

Grace Bennett hurriedly tried to smooth things over: “It’s okay, let’s feed the two

sisters first.”

Isabelle Whitfield pouted, “Grace, I want you to feed me.

“Oh, alright.”

Gentle, amiable, virtuous Grace sat at the edge of the bed holding the breakfast.

She gently blew on it before delivering it to Isabelle Whitfield’s mouth.

And then she also said to the girl in the next bed, “Sister Ivy, please wait a moment, I’ll feed you soon.”

Megan Price was about to say it’s not necessary, just let Ethan Cole feed me.

But before she could speak, she saw Ethan Cole feeding Grace Bennett.

Grace Bennett fed Isabelle Whitfield, Ethan Cole fed Grace Bennett.

This scene was both peculiar and harmonious.

Megan Price: So should I leave?

After all three had finished their breakfast, Ethan Cole brought out the video from yesterday.

Half an hour later.

“Doctor, doctor, come quick!”

Ethan Cole rushed out in a panic.

Soon, several attending physicians ran over at top speed.

The two young ladies in the hospital room were no ordinary people; a mishap would be too much for anyone to handle.

“What happened, what’s going on?”

“Ah, ah, ah, doctor, my stomach hurts so much.”

“It’s so uncomfortable, feels like there are countless bugs crawling inside.” On the hospital beds, Megan Price and Isabelle Whitfield were rolling around in pain, wailing.

This scared the doctors terribly.

They quickly performed various examinations.

Ethan Cole then told the bodyguards of Megan Price and Isabelle Whitfield, who were waiting outside, to contact their families immediately.

Before long, their family members also arrived.

“What the hell happened?”

“Save my daughter quickly!”

“If anything happens to her, I’ll tear this whole hospital down!”

Even the hospital director was alerted and rushed over to diagnose the two of them personally.

What puzzled the doctors, though, was that the examination results showed no problems.

But seeing their unrelenting wails and intense pain, the doctors did not dare to take the matter lightly.

They prescribed some medicine, and then a large group of experts sat together to discuss the situation urgently.

Meanwhile, the top echelons of the school also received news.

The families of Isabelle Whitfield and Megan Price vented their frustrations at the school authorities.

“The school must take full responsibility for this incident!”

“Exactly, my beautiful and precious daughter has now become like this!” “If anything short of a full recovery happens, I will not let this rest!” “Has there still been no progress in figuring out what happened?

Faced with the pressing questions from the two powerful families, the school officials were all sweating profusely and restless in their seats.

For a moment, they didn’t know what to say or how to respond.

Ethan Cole saw that the time was right.

He interjected, “I’ve found evidence of who did it.”

With a swoosh, all eyes turned to Ethan Cole.

A few minutes later, they had finished watching the video.

Franklin Price’s gaze was piercing as he stared at the school’s senior administration, “The nature of this poisoning is extremely vile.

I don’t care about the background of those responsible; they must be sent to prison!”

Bai’s father also expressed his opinion, “That’s right, this matter needs to be dealt with severely; it’s useless for anyone to interfere!”

The school’s senior administration also stated that they would not be lenient and everything would be handled according to the regulations.

This was the only choice they had been forced into.

If Ethan Cole hadn’t made them stage this spectacle and blown the matter up, even if Ethan Cole had brought out the video, the school would probably have opted for a low-profile handling of the situation to calm things down, given all the considerations.

But now that it involved the daughters of two business tycoons, that was no longer an option.

Afterward, Ethan Cole returned to the school with the senior administration.

They called the police en route.

Upon entering the school, they happened to see a group of exchange students, arm in arm, laughing and ready to go out.

They also spotted Ethan Cole immediately, and their expressions instantly grew cold.

This guy was really annoying.

One of them said in a low voice, “He’s lucky he didn’t fall for it.

Another snorted coldly, “Give it some time, and we’ll do it again. I don’t believe his luck will hold up.”

Ethan Cole walked towards them.

The exchange students didn’t give him a warm welcome and even wanted to mock him.

“Slap!”

But before they could speak, Ethan Cole slapped the face of the one at the front.

He used all his strength, drawing blood from the gum.

The other exchange students instantly had red eyes and wanted to retaliate. But the police’s moves were quicker, and they had already pinned them to the ground.

“What are you doing!”

“Let us go!”

“Do you know who we are?!”

This incident attracted a large number of students to watch, all with expressions of eating melons.

Soon, they were taken away.

Within a few minutes, the school announced the extremely vile poisoning incident through broadcasts and forums.

The whole school was in an uproar.

Many who thought the exchange students were superior felt their mentality explode.

And some, who had been flattering them since the first day they arrived, now found themselves at a loss.

We’re not brothers; how could you do such a thing?

I’ve only flattered you halfway through, and now you’re in trouble. Couldn’t you have held on a bit longer, so I could complete my task?

Ethan Cole immediately secured an exclusive release of this news through ‘Daily Headlines.’

With his ongoing efforts on this front, he was gradually beginning to make a name for himself.

His market share was continually increasing.

Ethan Cole maximized traffic on the platform to promote this piece of news. He wanted more people to be aware of it, leaving no room for maneuvering. In truth, society had already been dissatisfied with such phenomena, just no one had set it off yet.

And this poisoning incident was a perfect trigger.

Because the incident had wide-reaching implications and was backed by public opinion and the power of both the Bai and Cole families, and with the evidence being conclusive, there was nothing much to discuss.

So, it took only two days for the trial result to come out.

The twelve people were sentenced to ten years each, fined half a million per person, and made responsible for all expenses of the poisoned students.

Chapter 507: You Are Really Not Being Human

Among the exchange students who had come, there were still eight girls remaining.

All of them were pretty well-behaved, attending school regularly without causing any trouble.

However, to ensure that similar incidents wouldn’t happen again, the school had invested in increased security at the cafeteria.

Every dish had to be tested for poison before being served.

The number of surveillance cameras had also increased by fifty, reaching an insanely obsessive level.

Moreover, if a camera was blocked or broken, the security room would issue an alarm immediately.

Yep, this system was developed by Ethan Cole.

At noon, Ethan Cole arrived at the hospital room carrying an extra-large portion of spicy crayfish and some beer.

Megan Price and Isabelle Whitfield were already much better.

But for the sake of the act, they still had to stay there for a couple more days.

After entering the room, Ethan Cole locked the door from inside.

Then he opened the window.

“Wow, the good stuff is here.”

“Oh man, why did you come Just now? I’m so hungry I could die.”

Megan Price and Isabelle Whitfield sprang out of bed in a flash.

Both clad in hospital gowns.

However, when compared to each other, it was obvious that Isabelle Whitfield had the upper hand.

Without mentioning anything else, just her chest was a whole size larger than Isabelle’s.

Among the three girls present, it was Megan Price who was the smallest.

She was aware of this, but there was nothing she could do.

All sorts of remedies like eye exercises and massages had been tried, but all were in vain.

She had once searched the internet and found that the only way to ‘change her destiny’ was to have a child.

It was said that there was a very high chance of increasing by one size.

Ethan Cole had bought fifteen pounds of crayfish, both spicy and numb-spicy flavors.

He opened four cans of chilled beer.

Eating crayfish with beer in the summer was the absolute best.

Ethan Cole peeled a few for Grace Bennett.

Megan Price and Isabelle Whitfield couldn’t stand to watch.

“Showing off your love again, huh?”

“Keep feeding us all this dog food and we’ll turn you two into red bean paste,” they threatened.

Ethan Cole:

Damn, these two women must be hitting menopause early, with all this anger.

Forget it, seeing as they did put quite a bit of effort into this whole affair, he decided not to argue.

After filling up on food and drink, Megan Price, holding her round belly, smacked her lips and said, “Oh man, it’d be so cool if you could play Rift Legends on a phone.”

“Yeah,” Isabelle Whitfield also said, “But that’s going to be really hard to achieve.”

“Give me two more years,” Ethan Cole laughed, “I’ll move every game out there into your smartphones.”

The progress on smartphone chips was not too shabby at the moment.

Mainly because they had Professor Langley at the helm.

His passion and expertise in smartphone chips were nearly unparalleled.

Also, after more than a year of collaboration, he realized that Ethan Cole was truly committed to development.

Whenever research funds fell short, he didn’t hesitate to transfer the money immediately.

As a result, Ni gave as good as he got, inviting many top scientists, physicists, mathematicians, and others to join the team.

Now, the chip development team was already quite large and indeed lavish.

The second-generation 32nm chip was on the brink of success.

The pace was more than ten times faster than Ethan Cole had anticipated.

It was expected that by around June, they could carry out the first trial production.

If all went well, they could proceed with installation and testing.

The development of Halcyon 10 and Halcyon 10 Plus was also proceeding at full speed.

And low to mid-end phones were about to hit the market soon.

The outline of a future vast business empire was gradually unfolding before Ethan Cole.

By that time, he would hold a majority of the domestic mobile phone market share.

You can install as many in-house apps on the smartphone as you want.

Between the smartphone, software, and entertainment, a perfect closed loop has formed.

It’s just like Wonshin’s status in Hanaru.

After resting for a bit, Ethan Cole started dragging Grace Bennett away.

They had to go filming that afternoon.

Today’s scenes were very important.

It was the day the two characters confirmed their relationship, and there was also a kiss scene.

“Ah, can we not kiss?” Grace Bennett said on the way, feeling somewhat uneasy.

She still found it embarrassing to kiss Ethan Cole in public.

“A kiss is definitely needed, otherwise it wouldn’t be complete,” Ethan Cole chuckled, seeing Grace Bennett pouting before he changed his tone,

“But when the time comes, we could ask everyone to leave, and we’ll just edit that segment out after we’ve shot it.”

“Okay,” Grace Bennett agreed.

That way, she wouldn’t have to die of social embarrassment.

The filming process went very smoothly.

The series had now reached episode fifteen, and the plot was over halfway through.

Only fifteen more episodes and it would be the grand finale.

Grace Bennett seemed to have become addicted to acting.

On the way back, she kept pestering Ethan Cole to write the plot for a second season.

Ethan Cole had already thought it through.

The plot for the second part would focus on married life and raising children.

On Monday, Ethan Cole and Grace Bennett attended class as usual.

Due to their recent busyness, they had fallen behind in their coursework.

Both of them tried to carve out time to study every evening.

Upon walking into the school, they were greeted by bursts of floral fragrance.

The school had planted many cherry blossoms.

In March and April, the entire school seemed to be covered in a layer of pink.

Early in the morning, there were already many people taking pictures under the cherry blossoms.

Ethan Cole glanced over and noted that most students were still using non-branded phones.

A few from wealthier families were using Halcyon smartphones.

It seemed that the mid to low-range phones needed to be released soon so that everyone could enjoy affordable and high-quality smartphones.

“Ethan, I want to take pictures too,” Grace Bennett chirped excitedly.

No girl could resist the enchantment of fluttering cherry blossoms.

Ethan Cole looked for a good angle, and Grace Bennett bounded happily to a cherry blossom tree.

In the tranquility of the morning, the sun shone through thin clouds, filling the entire school with light.

The blooming cherry trees became the focal point.

The delicate cherry blossoms swayed gently in the breeze, like pink clouds on the ground, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.

Standing under one of these cherry trees, Grace Bennett stood crisply.

She was dressed in a white dress today, its hem fluttering lightly with her movements, resembling a blooming lily.

Her thick hair, waterfall-like, billowed in the wind, the tips lightly brushing against the cherry blossom petals as if engaging in a silent conversation with them.

Grace Bennett’s face was lit up with the purest smile in the world.

Her eyes, clear and bright, seemed to cleanse everything around her.

Her skin appeared even more fair and delicate under the cascading cherry blossoms, porcelain-like.

She gently stretched out her hand to caress the trunk of the cherry blossom tree, as if feeling the pulse of life within it.

In that moment, she seemed to merge with the cherry tree, becoming a part of nature itself.

Everything around her grew silent, as if time stood still right then.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the cherry blossoms, casting a golden glow on Grace Bennett.

The petals fell gently around her, as if dancing in her honor.

Ethan Cole pressed the shutter button, capturing these beautiful moments one after another.

Chapter 508: Ahoy-hoy-hoy, Here I Come!

“Ethan, your photography skills are so-so…”

Grace Bennett muttered, looking at the photos Ethan Cole took.

Then she was promptly seized by the back of her neck by Ethan Cole, “Dare you to dislike my work?”

“Ah, I was wrong, I dare not, it tickles, giggle giggle giggle…”

Early morning.

The fragrance of flowers, the laughter of a girl, and the brilliant sunlight all interwove with each other, creating a beautiful tapestry.

Ethan Cole took a deep breath.

Sometimes he thought, if he sold the company, held a big stack of cash, and

stopped striving,

Life would just be about eating, drinking, and merrymaking. That wouldn’t be

so bad.

Traveling the world with a beauty might also make for a lovely story.

“Ah, did you watch ‘Hunter in the City’ last night? The male lead is super

handsome.”

“I did, not just handsome, but he has a great body too; I almost drooled.”

“They only update two episodes a day, too slow.

Two girls passed by, discussing excitedly.

Ethan Cole just happened to overhear them.

‘Hunter in the City’…

Isn’t that from Hammer over there?

The lead actor is Colin Feld.

The story is about Ezra Reyes, a doctorate from Sparrow Polytechnic

Institute, who enters Hanaru’s National Information Intelligence Office, seeking the secret killer of his biological father from 24 years ago, and to take his revenge.

Ethan Cole knew this because, in his past life, to have more common topics with

Chloe Winters, he watched a lot of these TV series and movies.

The series was very popular, claiming the ratings champion at the time, and won numerous awards.

Ethan Cole searched the internet for related entries.

The series was very popular and became the current ratings leader.

“Moving so fast, huh?” Ethan Cole’s gaze sparkled.

Selena Han was truly playing a trump card with her move.

The next step would probably be to arrange their trainees over there to come to the domestic scene to attract fans and money.

Arriving in the classroom, Ethan Cole checked the backend data of his video

website.

Most of the TV data from yesterday had fallen by half.

Needless to say, they were all taken away by ‘Hunter in the City.

In his past life, for a long time, the major entertainment companies could only struggle to survive in the shadow of the Korean wave.

Even the superstars had to give way to those from Hammer, unable to hold a candle to them.

Fortunately, Ethan Cole had already made corresponding preparations.

Ethan Cole sent a message to Avi: The fifth work can be launched.

Currently, Ally is mainly responsible for gaming and financial business.

Avi is in charge of the entertainment side.

Long before, Ethan Cole had been preparing for this day.

He secretly shot six TV series and two movies.

All adapted from top online novels.

In terms of the storyline, character setting, and quality, they all outshone

Hammer’s productions.

Avi quickly replied with a received message.

The class bell rang.

Ethan Cole put away his cellphone and listened to the lecture attentively with Grace Bennett.

Inside Selena Han’s Office.

She was sitting in front of the computer, wearing rimless glasses, focused on

her task.

Next to her was a cup of steaming coffee.

When she worked, she naturally emanated a strong aura that made ordinary people wary of approaching.

“Thump thump thump…”

A faint knocking sounded, and Selena Han answered.

Only then did her secretary enter, speaking softly, “President, this is the viewing data for the first day of ‘Hunter in the City.’ It broke all of America’s viewing records.”

Selena Han glanced at it and set it aside, saying indifferently, “The release of the next few works also needs to be prepared in advance.

As soon as this drama finishes broadcasting, follow it up immediately.

Additionally, keep a tight watch on Ethan Cole’s side, report any movement to me at once.”

“Yes, President, I’m going out.”

Selena Han stretched and rose to walk over to the floor-to-ceiling window. Gazing at the traffic outside, a fierce light ignited in her narrow eyes, “The market in this country is thousands, tens of thousands of times larger than domestically.

If managed well, I could even surpass Big Brother in wealth.

By then, I might have a chance at becoming the next head of Wonshin.”

This was an ambitious woman with loftier dreams than the heavens, and she had the capability to match.

After standing for a while, Selena Han took out her phone and dialed a number,

“You can take action now.”

“Ah, I’m so hungry.”

When the class bell rang, Grace Bennett rubbed her flat stomach and acted coquettishly towards Ethan Cole, “I want to eat fish-flavored shredded pork, eggplant hotpot, and kung pao chicken.”

Ethan Cole chuckled, “Let’s go grab a good spot.”

Second floor of the cafeteria.

Ethan Cole went to get food, while Grace Bennett went to buy drinks.

“Aiya, here I come.”

Just as he finished getting the food, Isabelle Whitfield sat down across from Ethan Cole. Ethan Cole was astonished, “When were you discharged from the hospital? You didn’t even tell me.”

Isabelle Whitfield parted her red lips slightly, “Would you have come to pick me up if I had told you?”

“NO,” Ethan Cole shook his head, “But I would have told you to be careful on the way.”

Isabelle Whitfield gave him a big roll of her eyes, “Pfft!”

■■Sister Isabelle, you’re discharged,” Grace Bennett said, surprised to see Isabelle Whitfield, “What do you want to eat? I’ll get more.”

Isabelle Whitfield replied, “I’m on a diet recently. Just a braised pork with preserved vegetables, a boiled fish fillet, and a bowl of white rice will do.”

Dude, you call that a diet?

“Okie dokie, Sister, just a moment.”

Grace Bennett turned and went to get more food.

Propping her chin with both hands, Isabelle Whitfield stared at Ethan Cole and teased in a sing-song voice, “Having someone else order your girlfriend around to fetch food, Brother isn’t angry, right?”

“Cut it out, don’t spout nonsense,” Ethan Cole said with no good humor, “Have you been hanging out with Megan Price for too long and picked up her bad habits?”

“Where have I ever,” Isabelle Whitfield started picking at her food, blinking her eyes nonstop, sending out waves of charm, “Brother, you’re misunderstanding me, it hurts.”

Ethan Cole pretended he was going to hit her, and Isabelle Whitfield finally stopped acting up.

Grace Bennett brought over the food Isabelle Whitfield had requested.

After sitting down, she asked, “Sister Isabelle, where’s Sister Ivy?”

“Oh, she went back to the company,” Isabelle Whitfield replied as she took a bite of her fish, “She said she’s thinking of a way to teach those twelve students a lesson.” Ethan Cole smiled to himself.

That was so Megan Price.

She’s always the one bullying others; others don’t get the chance to bully her. Isabelle Whitfield was lively in nature, chattering away with Grace Bennett at the dining table.

Ethan Cole would chime in from time to time, but mostly he just quietly ate his food.

The food in the cafeteria was especially delicious today; they finished everything on their plates.

Ethan Cole guzzled down his drink, “Let’s go, back to the dorm for a rest.”

“Ah, everyone, look at the news!” He had just stood up to leave when a student let out a shriek.

Chapter 509: Alright, Playing Like That, Huh?

The girl’s scream drew the attention of everyone on the second floor of the cafeteria.

Her companion hurried to ask what had happened.

The girl shouted excitedly, “Quick, look at the top trending topic on WeTalk.”

Many people immediately took out their phones.

Before long, a chorus of astonished voices erupted intermittently.

“What the hell?” Isabelle Whitfield opened WeTalk with confusion.

Seeing the top trending post, Isabelle Whitfield’s pupils widened in shock, “What the?!”

Ethan Cole and Grace Bennett leaned over.

They saw the bold headline on the screen.

It read: Shocking, famous actress Chloe Winters actually has improper relations with multiple outsiders!

Clicking in, there were some very eye-popping photos.

The people in them were unclothed, with only mosaics censoring key parts.

For any actress, this kind of thing was a fatal blow.

Eight out of ten times, it would destroy their career, the way similar scandals had ended other actresses’ careers before.

It almost pushed her to rock bottom.

Even now, some corners of the internet still hadn’t let it go.

Oh, and there were rumors of an uncut version floating around somewhere.

Ethan Cole hadn’t seen it, but supposedly a lot of the plot was real.

One could only say the leading lady was very…

But back to the point.

Ethan Cole took the phone from Isabelle Whitfield’s hand.

He carefully reviewed each photo.please visit ” sitestorys(.)c0m ” maybe y0u will enj0y the captivating sh0rt st0ries.

Afterward, he made a judgment, “The photos are fake, the faces have been photoshopped on.”

■■I know they’re fake too,” Isabelle Whitfield was frantic, “but the problem is, netizens won’t believe it.

The photos are photoshopped perfectly, even with software, it might not be detectable.

Netizens will only think that Chloe Winters really is promiscuous.

And look, the woman’s height, figure, and skin tone are all very similar to Chloe Winters’s.

The opponent came prepared; with this, the difficulty of turning the tide against the wind is very high.”

It was just as Isabelle Whitfield had said.

Ethan Cole’s mind had already conjured a name: Selena Han.

This woman was now attacking on two fronts.

It wasn’t enough to target the TV dramas but also aimed to ruin Ethan Cole’s company’s most profitable female artist.

“Leave this matter to me,” Ethan Cole said calmly.

“Then I’ll go with Sister Isabelle to see her,” Grace Bennett’s face was filled with worry. “She must be feeling very desperate and helpless right now.” Ethan Cole nodded, “Go ahead, and be careful on your way.”

They split up.

Ethan Cole hurried to the company at the fastest speed.

Avi was already waiting at the door.

“How’s the situation now?” Ethan Cole asked while walking.

Avi caught up quickly, her words tumbling out, “Right now, the entire internet is spreading those photos, and in just over an hour, the discussion has reached over a hundred million.

Moreover, it’s still increasing at a very exaggerated pace.

Under such circumstances, even if we pay to delete posts and lower the trending topic, it’s useless.”

The power of spectators is truly terrifying.

And especially when the gossip concerned a popular actress.

Chloe Winters, since her debut, had never had any scandals with any man nor had she been photographed going out alone.

Her fans had always called her career-oriented, the pure jade girl.

So when this incident came out, the backlash she received was also incredibly terrifying.

“Don’t waste money on these things,” Ethan Cole said in a heavy tone. “Keep the company staff’s mouths shut; don’t chat nonsense about what you shouldn’t during work hours.”

Avi replied, “Got it, boss, I understand.

Upon entering the office.

Avi had already laid all the relevant materials on the desk ahead of time.

Ethan Cole looked down and started to read them.

The photos were initially circulated by a small blogger with just a few thousand followers.

And after the spread, the other party chose to deactivate their account immediately.

Now, it’s impossible to track them down.

Next, Chloe Winters is already “abandoned by everyone.

Ninety-nine percent of the fans have turned against her, believing she is a wanton and shameless woman.

As for the onlookers, they naturally abhor such behavior.

After looking over the materials on the table, Ethan Cole opened WeTalk.

Good Lord.

Ethan Cole was shocked.

The top ten trending topics on WeTalk were all about Chloe Winters. Hot search number one: The shape of what Chloe Winters threw. Hot search number two: How many different skills Chloe Winters knows. Hot search number three: The unfathomable Chloe Winters.

Hot search number four…

Just clicking into any of them, the number of comments was look+. Moreover, most of these comments were quite offensive and hard to look at. Most girls, upon seeing such comments, wouldn’t be able to handle it. Such terrifying traffic, even if you added up the peak periods of the four biggest stars, might not match Chloe Winters’s current numbers. Unless those four announced they were closeted simultaneously. For the time being, Ethan Cole couldn’t think of any good solution. He could only download those photos and then see if he could find any flaws. Unfortunately, after spending over an hour on it, he made no progress. To him, the photos seemed as if they were genuine.

Selena Han was indeed very scary.

She was meticulous in her actions.

The photos did not have any flaws.

So expecting to clear Chloe Winters’s name through the photos was impossible. He couldn’t come up with any good solutions for the moment.

Ethan Cole decided to go see Chloe Winters first. This cash cow couldn’t have any problems. If Chloe Winters knew what Ethan Cole was thinking, she would probably curse in anger.

All I’ve been thinking about is you, and you just see me as a tool, huh?

An hour later, Ethan Cole arrived at Chloe Winters’s place.

He rang the doorbell.

It was Isabelle Whitfield who opened the door.

Ethan Cole asked, “How is she now? Is she crying miserably?” Isabelle Whitfield had a strange look in her eyes, “Go in and see for yourself.” Ethan Cole was full of question marks.

As soon as he entered the house, Ethan Cole heard bursts of manic laughter.

“Hahaha!”

“I’m famous now, I’m totally famous this time.

“The whole internet is discussing me, this traffic, even superstars don’t get it.” “I’m gonna make a fortune, that’s so much money!”

He saw Chloe Winters bouncing and jumping on the living room sofa, her face filled with ecstasy.

Her long hair was also extremely disheveled due to her vigorous movements. She looked as if she had gone mad.

Ethan Cole took out his phone and dialed 120: “Hello, there’s someone here who’s gone crazy, please hurry…”

“Stop, stop, I’m not crazy.”

Chloe Winters, seeing Ethan Cole’s actions, quickly ran over, snatched away the phone, and hung up.

She stood barefoot on the floor.

Her pair of jade-like feet were white as snow, small enough to be covered by one hand easily.

Not to mention anything else, just these jade feet alone could drive many with special hobbies crazy.

“You’re okay?” Ethan Cole asked incredulously: “I know you’re taking a big hit right now, you should still get checked out.

Chapter 510: Sorry, I Win Again

Chloe Winters casually placed Ethan Cole’s phone on the table.

Then she plunked herself down on the sofa.

Her beautiful legs swung back and forth as she hummed an unknown tune, appearing to be in a very good mood.

Isabelle Whitfield and Grace Bennett both stood beside Ethan Cole, their faces filled with concern.

“What on earth is going on?” Ethan Cole looked at Isabelle Whitfield and Grace Bennett,

“Has she really been overstimulated?”

“No idea.” Isabelle Whitfield shook her head, “As soon as Grace and I got here, she started acting like this.

Hopping and jumping around the room like a wild monkey.

And she kept letting out bursts of weird laughter, super scary.”

“Should we…” Grace Bennett hesitated over her choice of words, then said softly, “Maybe we should take her to the hospital to have a look.

If there really is a problem, we can get it treated sooner.”

“Yeah.” Ethan Cole nodded, “Then let’s work together and get her into the car.” “No, no, no, I’m really fine.” The corners of Chloe Winters’s mouth were impossible to hide, “You guys should be happy for me.

With such a huge amount of traffic and attention, sis here is about to step into the ranks of top-tier celebrities.

In the future, when you see sis, you must be more courteous.”

Ethan Cole concluded, “She really has gone mad.”

Isabelle Whitfield nodded, “And it’s pretty serious.”

Grace Bennett said, “Don’t delay, let’s hurry to the hospital.”

Done speaking, the three of them were about to start moving Chloe Winters out.

“No, no, no, I’m really fine,” Chloe Winters stepped back, watching them with great wariness, “To tell you the truth, I have a way to solve this crisis.”

“Huh? x3”

All three of them looked at Chloe Winters with astonishment.

“What way?” Ethan Cole looked at her skeptically.

This matter was now causing a huge public scandal; solving it wouldn’t be easy.

Even he couldn’t come up with a solution in such a short time.

With Chloe Winters’s intelligence, could she really come up with a good idea?

Under the doubtful gazes of the three, Chloe Winters couldn’t help but straighten her spine.

Get ready, I’m about to show off.

She cleared her throat and said, “The photos, to be sure, look very realistic.

I almost freaked out the first time I saw them, thinking I was done for.

But then I thought, I’m not panicked at all.

Because I have birthmarks on my back and my butt.

These are not in those photos.”

“That’s not going to help,” Isabelle Whitfield frowned, “Are you suggesting showing your butt to people?

As for showing your back, many netizens could still say it’s fake.”

Ethan Cole, however, came to a realization.

So that’s it, no wonder Chloe Winters was so confident.

“That’s easy.” Chloe Winters said triumphantly, “First, regarding the issue of authenticity.

I can go to the most authoritative hospital in the country and get a certificate. Second, I can invite some highly respected female seniors from the industry. Show them the birthmarks on my body in a room, and then get them to testify for me.”

Chloe Winters’s line of thinking was clear, and her method was certainly feasible.

“Wow, not bad, Chloe.” Isabelle Whitfield gave her a thumbs-up, “Didn’t expect you to have such smarts.”

Grace Bennett also nodded in agreement, “Winters is amazing.”

Even Ethan Cole gave her rare praise.

This huge crisis was now turning into an enormous fortune!

The more furiously the netizens cursed now, the bigger the benefits Chloe Winters

would reap after the turnaround.

Chloe Winters felt refreshed and invigorated.

Great, great, great, it was finally her turn to hit the jackpot.

The future of the entertainment industry was hers to command.

Ethan Cole said in a stern voice, “Since you’ve already got a plan, then you should get ready as soon as possible.

“Wait until the public opinion ferments and reaches its peak, then we’ll bring out the evidence.”

“Mhm, mhm, mhm.” Chloe Winters nodded vigorously, her gaze towards Ethan Cole softened with a trace of tenderness.

After this incident, Ethan Cole’s opinion of her must have deepened.

The status she held in his heart would definitely rise.

She was one step closer to becoming his girlfriend.

Just the thought made her happy.

Afterward, everyone split up.

Grace Bennett followed Chloe Winters, assisting with some matters.

Ethan Cole, on the other hand, returned to the company.

After brewing his thoughts for a while, he made a call to Selena Han.

“Mr. Cole, what can I do for you?” Selena Han’s tone carried a hint of relaxation and teasing.

“You’re behind Chloe Winters’s situation, aren’t you?” Ethan Cole’s tone was calm, with a subtle undertone of anger that was hard to detect.

But Selena Han caught it.

Her lips curved up slightly.

She rose from her office chair and walked over to sit on the sofa.

Crossing her left leg over her right, she exuded an air of casual laziness.

Her leg skin was smooth and delicate, like the finest silk, irresistibly compelling one to touch.

To exaggerate a bit, even an ant would slip off it.

It was hard to imagine this was the skin of a woman just over forty.

Facing Ethan Cole’s interrogation, she laughed lightly, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Who’s Chloe Winters? I don’t recognize the name.”

“Playing dirty now, aren’t we?” Ethan Cole’s words took on a slightly heavier tone. “There’s a saying in America,” Selena Han said sarcastically, “it’s ‘impotent rage.’ That’s what you’re exhibiting right now, isn’t it?

Unable to solve your own problems, you come to vent on me.”

“Using despicable means won’t allow you to achieve great things,” Ethan Cole said gravely. “Since you want to play, I’ll see it through to the end.”

Having said that, he hung up the phone.

“Still too young,” Selena Han chuckled as she looked at her phone. “He’s capable, but lacks self-control. I’ve got this game in the bag.”

She called in her secretary, instructing, “Increase the budget by twenty million daily for the next week regarding Chloe Winters.

Once I cut off Ethan Cole’s most profitable artist, he’ll have no standing to compete with me.”

“Yes.”

On the other side, Ethan Cole calmly set his phone down.

Of course, he wasn’t angry.

This was simply to send Selena Han the wrong signal.

To make her think he had no choice but to throw empty words at her over the phone.

To lower her guard.

But this also tested one’s acting skills.

Selena Han was no ordinary person.

If the tone was too exaggerated, she would surely sense something was amiss.

Ethan Cole had just the right tone, successfully deceiving Selena Han.

After that, Ethan Cole opened a document on his computer.

Yes, Ethan Cole intended to maximize the benefits from this crisis.

Therefore, he had to prepare a fitting song for Chloe Winters.

That way, it would boost her popularity even more.

The higher her popularity soared, the more money Ethan Cole would make.

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

The online buzz about #ZhouQingyue’sBeautyPhoto# broke fifty billion in terms of popularity.

Utterly terrifying.

Throughout it all, Chloe Winters remained out of sight, and her fans had scurried away.

Bright and early, Ethan Cole arrived at the office.

Today was the day to strike back!

Chapter 511: Her Entertainment Era

Last week, Ethan Cole and Chloe Winters made all the necessary preparations.

The fervor had reached its peak, and from now on it would only decline.

The time was ripe; it was time to launch the counterattack.

First, Chloe Winters released a video statement.

The statement was exclusively posted on Daily Headlines.

In the video, one could see Chloe Winters with sunken eyes, extremely dark circles, lifeless eyes, and deathly pale skin, her lips devoid of any color.

Well, the dark circles and lifeless eyes were due to staying up late playing mahjong.

The skin and lips were deliberately made up to look that way.

Normally, after suffering such a long period of cyberbullying, one’s condition would definitely be poor.

This was done to appear pitiful and garner sympathy.

“Hello everyone, I am Chloe Winters. The recent events have caused quite a stir, and I would like to apologize to everyone first,” she said.

After speaking, she bowed deeply to the c