The Sweet Pursuit by Golden Autumn

The strange thing was that the footage between seven to nine o'clock was gone. Even Tray's security personnel could not explain what was going on. Their only guess was that the internet might have been disconnected at that time. Nonetheless, Jessie still managed to find someone, Yasmin Xavier.

Yasmin was considered a bottom-tier artist. With her way of remaining pure and uncorrupted in the industry, her fame had remained tepid all these years. Jessie saw from the surveillance footage that she came into Tray Hotel at 6:50 p.m. yesterday and walked in the direction of Lotus Pavilion. There was a blank in the surveillance footage after that. It was impossible to see which room she went to.

At around 9:50 p.m. Yasmin's manager was seen helping her out of Lotus Pavilion downstairs. One of her legs was bent and there was a pained expression on her face. She was clearly injured.

Since there was a blank gap in the surveillance footage, Jessie could not see what kind of car Yasmin had gotten into to leave Tray Hotel. Hence, it took some time to find out which hospital Yasmin was brought to. It turned out she underwent an operation on her left leg last night.

Jessie had read her medical records, and her injury was caused by a fall.

At nighttime, the River City Medical University Affiliated Hospital.

Inside No. 706 VIP ward, the woman lying on the hospital bed clasped her hands together and looked at George on the opposite sofa. She was feeling uneasy. "Why brings you here, Mr. Laine?"

"How did you break your leg?" George looked at her and asked.

With one of her legs in a cast, Yasmin's eyes flickered under her half-drooping eyelids. She whispered, "It doesn't have anything to do with you."

"There's no need to hide it anymore. I had someone check the surveillance footage. Last night at about nine o'clock, your manager had to help you get into a car to leave. Your leg was already broken then. You were the one who jumped out of my room that night, right?" George's tone was as indifferent as usual.

In order to protect guests' privacy, Tray Hotel did not attach cameras facing the window of their rooms. Hence, no one could see where Yasmin had jumped from. Nonetheless, her whereabouts were obviously in line with the events that happened that night.

Yasmin was stunned for a moment. When she looked up, her eyes were still at a loss. However, her thoughts had already begun to quickly churn.

Her manager standing next to her could barely say a word or let out a single breath of air.

George crossed his legs and said in a low voice, "No need to be afraid. I already told you that if you were the one who helped me, I'll compensate you!"

Jessie placed a card on the table with a cold face. "There's 1.5 million dollars in the card. You should never speak of that night ever again."

Yasmin bit her lower lip and said after a long while, "I don't want money. I was a willing party as well, so please rest assured, Mr. Laine. I won't tell anyone about this."

"I always keep my word. If you don't want money, you may make other requests," said George.

Seeing her manager giving her a look, Yasmin clenched her hands tightly and thought carefully. Then, she said, "I don't want anything, Mr. Laine. If you have any respect for me, then you should simply treat me as a friend in the fu-" George interrupted her indifferently, "I think it's better for you to make more practical demands!"

Yasmine's face suddenly turned pale. Her expression became ill at ease and embarrassed. She thought about it and said, "I no longer wish to stay in my current company. Do you have a solution, Mr. Laine?"

George paused slightly. "Would you like to sign into Sheraton Media, one of Laine Corp's subsidiaries?"

The manager's eyes suddenly lit up. Sheraton was one of the best entertainment companies in the country. They had produced countless A-listers. If Yasmin were to enter Sheraton, they did not need to worry about running out of resources anymore!

Yasmin's eyes turned soft as she nodded lightly. "Thank you, Mr. Laine!"

George got up and said, "I'll ask Charles Xantos from Sheraton to contact you to sign a contract. As for your company's penalty for breach of contract, he'll help you to solve it as well."

Yasmin thanked him again. Her voice was soft, and her face was pale because of the injury. She simply looked moving and lovely.

When George was leaving, he suddenly turned his head and asked, "Why did you go to my room last night?"

Yasmin was stunned for a moment, then quickly said, "I was going for the audition next door, but I went to the wrong room."

...

Even after George had left for quite some time, Yasmin still had not come back to her senses. Of course, she clearly remembered what had happened last night.

She was supposed to be auditioning for a new production, and the assistant director asked her to go to Tray Hotel for a detailed discussion. When Yasmin entered the room, she heard the waiter saying that George Laine's exclusive suite was next door. Hence, Yasmin took a couple more glances at it.

She waited in the room for nearly an hour before the assistant director finally came back drunk.

A new production, her *ss. It was clear that he merely wanted to take advantage of her.

Yasmin would rather die than do anything of the sort. After struggling for a long time, she finally hid under the window and jumped down with her eyes closed.

Before George got there, the manager was giving her a speech inside the ward, saying that if Yasmin wanted to stand out in this circle, she could not remain principled and incorruptible!

Then, her manager finally responded, "Was there a mistake? Will it be alright for us to lie to him?"

Yasmin's face was currently white as snow. She clenched onto the blanket and said, "What else can I do? Would you rather I sleep with that fat, pig-like assistant director instead?"

The temptation to sign a contract with Sheraton was too great. What made her even more excited was that she now had connections with George Laine!

The Laine family controlled River City, and they were even considered the economic lifeline of the entire Cantent Nation from its government to all the businesses. They had the final say on everything. If she could win George Laine's favor, she no longer had anything to worry about!

Since God had planned such a thing for her to help her out, why should she reject it?

Just the thought of being able to step on those who looked down on her before and those who were high above coming to flatter her in the future, why should she not take this gamble?

She was not afraid of that Mr. Calton, the assistant director, exposing her either. That night when she suddenly jumped down the building, Mr. Calton was scared witless. He no longer wanted to have anything to do with her!

When George got out of the hospital, he sat in the car with a dull expression. He did not expect it to be some actress. She looked rather pretty, but George was inexplicably agitated and disappointed.

Perhaps because of this sudden irritability, he suddenly felt a lack of interest in her humiliating act of leaving him the ten-dollar bill. George no longer wanted to pursue this matter and merely wanted to end it as soon as possible.

On Saturday, after the last class in the morning, Suzy headed over to the Shirley family's residence.

The Shirley family's residence was in the Florina Villa area in South City. There was no bus in that area, so Suzy could only take a cab over.

It was already 11 in the morning when she arrived at the Shirley family's residence. The sky was gloomy, and rain was about to fall. The Shirley family's maid, Ms. Zanda, opened the door to see Suzy. She quickly let out a slight smirk. "Ms. Suzy is back!"

Suzy nodded slightly, changed her shoes into slippers, and walked inside.

Zanda's attitude toward her was rather indifferent. "Mr. Shirley took the madam out earlier and will be back a while later. You may take a seat for now."

"Is my sister back?" A surprised voice came from upstairs, then a young woman ran down the stairs with a smile on her beautiful face. She quickly arrived in front of Suzy and said, "Why'd you come so late, Zeezee? I've been waiting for you all morning."

Suzy greeted her with a smile, "Hey, Sunny."

Zanda smiled widely at Sunny Shirley and said, "Ms. Sunny, the dessert is ready in the kitchen. Would you like blueberry or chocolate mousse?"

"We'll talk later. Go and get busy. Let me have a chat with my sister," said Sunny as she smiled sweetly.

"Mm!" Zanda responded respectfully. Then, she glanced at Suzy before leaving. She turned to go to the kitchen.

Sunny had just gotten her hair done. She was holding a pair of sharp scissors in her hand and showed it to Suzy from the side. "Mom took me to accompany her to get her hair done early in the morning. She insisted on changing my hairstyle. Do you think it looks good, Zeezee?"

Suzy nodded and said, "It does."

Sunny touched the hair under her ear and said, "I've been staring at the mirror for a long time just now. I think the stylist messed up at this part right here. I tried to fix it myself but I still don't quite like it. Can you help me, Zeezee?" Suzy glanced at the scissors that were handed over. She took them and asked, "Which part?"

"At the base of my ear over here. I'm holding onto it. Can you cut it for me?" Sunny turned sideways, tilted her head slightly, and pointed to the lock of hair under the base of her ear.

Suzy held the scissors and was about to cut it according to Sunny's instructions when she heard a horrified voice from the door.

"What on earth are you doing, Suzy Shirley?!"