Overnight Fame

Nolan thought for a moment and typed a line.

[Never overthink it, you deserve it.]

After looking at the line, he frowned slightly and deleted it.

He typed another line again.

Satisfied after double-checking, he clicked send.

Nolan: [You're welcome.]

After Zuri read it, she casually tossed her phone onto the table, then began preparing her bedding and tidying up the room.

She had no idea that those three simple words had been mulled over by someone for a long time. Nolan had carefully deliberated before sending them, fully expecting Zuri to reply. But in reality...

His message sank like a stone!

After a busy night, Zuri lay in bed, and she had to admit that Leo had excellent taste. The bed linens, blankets, and mattress he had chosen were truly comfortable—more so than the ones she used at the Lin family.

Though this place lacked lavish decorations and didn't have a spacious, bright room, it made Zuri feel warm and cozy. In this small, shabby room, she felt the warmth of friendship.

That night, Zuri slept soundly.

It was the first time she had slept so peacefully since her return.

The next morning, Zuri suddenly sat up, glanced at the clock, and saw that it was already 7 a.m.

Oh no!

I'm going to be late!

Zuri quickly got out of bed and rushed through her morning routine. Grabbing her bag, she hurried downstairs. As soon as she stepped out of the stairwell, she saw two radiant young girls standing under the shade of a tree across from her.

When they saw Zuri, they waved at her.

Dappled sunlight filtered through the branches, falling on them, their faces, and their brilliant, pure smiles.

Their smiles were as pure as the warm sun today, piercing straight into Zuri's heart.

Her chest tightened with emotion.

"Good morning, Zuri."

"Good morning, Zuri."

The two walked up and flanked her on either side.

"Today, the three of us will take the bus to school together. Excited?" Farida asked playfully.

"Very excited."

"We're not familiar with this area, so you'll have to lead the way. We're running late, so we'd better hurry," Azura chimed in.

"The next bus to our school will arrive at the stop in three minutes. It takes five minutes to walk from here to the bus stop, so..." Zuri smiled at the two of them.

"Run!"

Azura and Farida sprinted off first, and Zuri, laughing, chased after them.

Not far away, a black Rolls-Royce was parked by the roadside. The man inside watched the three girls running and laughing in the sunlight, seemingly infected by their joy, and his lips curled into a smile.

"Let's go," Leo said softly, withdrawing his gaze.

The car slowly drove away.

Three days after the fundraising ended, Zuri received a transfer. Seeing the additional funds in her bank account, her eyes sparkled with a dangerous glint.

The game was over!

Zuri took out a video she had prepared long ago and uploaded it to various video platforms via a foreign website.

The video was titled: "A certain tycoon sells himself to raise funds."

Such an explosive title naturally attracted a horde of curious onlookers, expecting to see a female tycoon exchanging herself for favors with a male tycoon.

At worst, they thought it might be a male tycoon exchanging himself for a female tycoon's favor.

But what no one expected was that it was a male tycoon exchanging himself for another male tycoon's favor.

This thoroughly disgusted those who were expecting a salacious video, catching them off guard and force-feeding them a mouthful of disgust.

The onlookers were so repulsed they nearly vomited!

Having been thoroughly grossed out themselves, they naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity to drag others down with them. Soon, the video spread across the entire internet at a terrifying speed.

The internet's resourceful users couldn't pass up the chance to uncover the truth. Before long, they found out who the "tycoon" was in the video.

It was Aaron, the chairman of the Lin Group. At over fifty years old, he had resorted to "selling himself" to raise funds, an act that caused a complete uproar online.

Aaron became famous overnight, almost instantly becoming the topic of every conversation in town. Along with him, the Oceanic City Lin Group also became infamous.

Everyone now knew that the Lin Group was on the brink of collapse. Otherwise, why would the chairman resort to such desperate measures to satisfy a wealthy individual's peculiar tastes?

Shareholders began to withdraw and sell off their shares, and even several minor directors on the board followed suit. However, with so many selling and no one buying, the result was a dramatic plummet in stock prices, which crashed to the limit in less than an hour.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The sound of things being smashed echoed from the chairman's office, loud enough to be heard clearly even through the walls. The employees outside exchanged glances, communicating silently with their eyes.

Soon, the office door swung open, and Aaron stormed out with a dark expression. All the employees instinctively lowered their heads, trying to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible.

As soon as he left, they couldn't hold back their whispers any longer.

"I never expected Chairman Lin to go this far."

"There's talk online that Chairman Lin might be gay. Only someone who's gay could accept this."

"Did you watch the video?" someone asked.

"I did."

They exchanged glances, saying everything without words.

"I thought Chairman Lin would be the dominant one, but I didn't expect him to be the submissive one. Just imagining the usually stern and serious Chairman Lin being pinned down by a fat, bald man makes me feel..." One male employee pulled a disgusted face as if he had just been forced to eat something vile.

"You're not alone. I feel the same way. Now, whenever I see Chairman Lin, this scene pops into my mind. I can't even look at him!"

Suddenly, someone spoke up, "The company's going under. Should I start looking for a new job?"

"I need to get on that," someone else said, taking precautions early.

"I need to look too."

The gossip ended as everyone started looking for their next employer.

With the scandal out in the open, along with the string of previous incidents, the internal employees had long been filled with anxiety. Now, no one had the energy to work, each busy with their own personal matters and looking for their next job.

Aaron wanted to delete the video from the internet, but by then, it had already been downloaded and saved by countless people. Completely removing it was impossible.

Aaron stepped out of the private elevator, only to run into several board members. They couldn't hide the disdain and disgust in their eyes when they saw him.

Director Ma, known for his bluntness, was the first to speak up. "Chairman Lin, there are many ways to raise funds. Why did you resort to that? If you ruin your health, what will become of the company?"

Hearing this, Aaron's face turned livid.

Damn it!

Did these people really think he was selling his body?

"Say that again, I dare you!" Aaron's long-suppressed anger exploded in an instant.

He charged forward, but two other board members quickly held him back.

"Calm down, Old Lin. Old Ma has always been like this."

Director Ma, equally infuriated, sneered without holding back, "You did something so disgraceful, and you're afraid of people talking about it? If you're scared, you shouldn't have done it in the first place. Or could it be that, as people outside are saying, you actually enjoy this sort of thing?"

"Say that again if you dare!" Aaron's eyes turned bloodshot, and he was seething with rage.