Assistant Thorne was a little speechless.

’You’re hitting on your wife with an alt account. If you actually succeed without her knowing it’s you, are you really going to be happy, Boss?’

’I’ve never seen someone try to put a green hat on his own head, then get worked up when he fails.’

"Boss, if it’s convenient, could you mosaic the chat history and send it to me? I can help your ’friend’ analyze it."

Silas Norwood: "...Fine."

A few minutes later, several chat screenshots with the profile pictures mosaicked out were sent to Assistant Thorne’s WeChat.

Silas: [Delete after reading]

Assistant Thorne: "..."

He looked down at the chat logs, growing more and more silent the longer he read.

Even though they were mosaicked, it didn’t stop Assistant Thorne from knowing this was a chat between the Boss and his wife.

The screenshots were of a few chat fragments:

There was a relatively old one from a month or two ago. Judging by the timing, the conversation probably took place on the private jet on their way back after the Boss and his wife had just finished a date:

BOSS: [How was your experience these past two days?]

WIFE: [?]

BOSS: [I can actually give you more]

BOSS: [I was worried it wouldn’t be enough, but also that you’d be too tired]

WIFE: [Big Shot, if we’re talking about the base, then let’s just talk about the base. Why are you being so suggestive?]

WIFE: [I didn’t go to the base to ’experience’ anything these past two days]

BOSS: [I wasn’t talking about the base]

WIFE: [Please have some self-respect, Big Shot]

BOSS: [I can’t respect myself, but I can bear Miss Sterling’s weight]

WIFE: [We’ve known each other for a decade. Don’t make me block you]

...

Another from the last week or two:

WIFE: [The climate near the XX base has been harsh recently. We need to increase protective measures]

BOSS: [Transfer 5.2 million]

WIFE: [...Six hundred thousand is enough]

BOSS: [It’s pocket money for my baby]

WIFE: [A man shouldn’t spend money on outsiders. Transfer it to your wife. She’ll be very happy]

BOSS: [We know each other inside and out. How are we outsiders?]

WIFE: [You’re so fickle, Big Shot. I can’t say I know you at all]

BOSS: [Heh]

WIFE: [What are you laughing at?]

BOSS: [So naive for someone who’s already married]

WIFE: [???]

...

And a fresh one, from the last couple of days:

BOSS: [Yesterday I asked how to capture a woman’s heart]

WIFE: [?]

BOSS: [Someone suggested having a monkey]

BOSS: [Miss Sterling, are you willing to have a monkey for me?] 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

WIFE: [I am not willing]

WIFE: [Big Shot, if you have that kind of fetish, I can send you a female monkey]

An image with various types of monkeys was sent over.

WIFE: [These are all very fertile breeds. See one you like? I’ll place the order right away]

...

In the office, Assistant Thorne gently wiped his face.

’The Boss went online to learn some seductive sweet talk, but he didn’t pick up a single bit of the "sensual and flirty" essence. How did he manage to discard the good parts, keep the bad, and only learn how to be so greasy?’

’And not just a little greasy, either.’

He could tell the Boss was awkwardly trying to absorb these internet terms, but... ’crawling in the shadows’ and being a ’twisted creep’ were two different things.

’How was he supposed to discuss this with the Boss?’

Meanwhile, Silas Norwood was still waiting for his love consultant to reply.

Assistant Thorne took several deep breaths, then dialed his number again.

Silas Norwood picked up instantly but didn’t speak.

Assistant Thorne began cautiously, "Boss, whispering sweet nothings requires a bit of talent, more or less. Besides, it’s not appropriate for your ’friend’s’ alt account to be discussing such topics with his wife for no reason."

Silas Norwood: "You were the one who suggested ’crawling in the shadows’ in the first place."

"Let’s change tactics. We can find a method better suited to your ’friend.’" Assistant Thorne thought to himself, ’I had no idea the Boss was such a lost cause in this department.’ "Rather than focusing on pickup lines, it would be better to put effort elsewhere. For example, improve the quality of their marital passion, or increase the intensity of spoiling his wife. These are all ways to make a relationship heat up."

It was unclear if Silas Norwood understood or not. In any case, he didn’t respond.

Assistant Thorne racked his brain for an example. "For instance, your ’friend’ could learn a few things from the younger generation..."

"My ’friend’ isn’t old," came a cool voice from the other end.

Assistant Thorne’s heart tightened, and he immediately tried to recover. "But your friend’s business empire is probably too vast for him to have studied matters of love and romance. Boss, he could learn from the younger generation’s methods—role-playing, all sorts of tricks. Make it so every night is like opening a blind box for his wife."

Silas Norwood: "What about the alt account..."

"He should be more careful with what he says on the alt account from now on. There are levels to flirting. Your ’friend’ is currently at the beginner level. His words are too LOW and can easily cause disgust. He could look up some high-level ’bait’ lines—the kind that seem proper on the surface, but make the other person’s mind wander. They’ll even think they’re the one overthinking it and end up pursuing him on their own."

Silas Norwood seemed lost in thought.

Assistant Thorne waited respectfully for him to hang up, then gently wiped the sweat from his palm, feeling mentally drained.

’He didn’t know when he’d become a part of the Boss and his wife’s ’play,’ but if things continued like this, he was afraid he’d have to cram a bunch of romance tutorials just to keep up.’

While Assistant Thorne was troubled, Silas Norwood was just as perplexed.

’Bait lines?’

’He knew how to fish, but what the hell were bait lines?’

On the day she boarded the flight to Kaelen, Celia Sterling ran into Summer Sutton.

Their business class seats were next to each other. Summer Sutton, wearing sunglasses, a face mask, and a baseball cap, was dressed inconspicuously. She was quietly discussing her schedule with her agent, Anne Lowell, who was seated across the aisle.

Celia Sterling was sitting on Summer Sutton’s other side.

Both of them froze for a moment.

"Miss Sterling, what a coincidence." Summer Sutton took off her mask and sunglasses in surprise, greeting her very politely.

Celia Sterling nodded, equally polite. "Hello, Miss Sutton."

"I never thought I’d run into you in a foreign country, Miss Sterling. Are you also going to Kaelen for the music festival?"

"No, I’m there on other business," Celia Sterling replied casually.

During this chance encounter, Celia’s impression of Summer Sutton was completely different from before. The gloomy aura was gone, and she was no longer focused on digging up information about Kian Sterling. It was as if she had undergone an indescribable transformation. It wasn’t necessarily for the better or worse; it was like she had let go of some things, but her utilitarian drive had become much stronger. Every sentence she exchanged with Anne Lowell was about snatching up resources.

Celia’s feelings were a bit complicated as she thought about how Kian Sterling had gone to great lengths to have this person assume Summer Sutton’s identity.

Summer Sutton’s feelings were similarly complex.

She wasn’t close with Celia Sterling, but as Kian Sterling’s most treasured sister, Celia had permeated every aspect of his life over the years. Even during the few times Kian Sterling and Summer Sutton spent together, he was always preoccupied with his precious sister. The topics he discussed with Evan Rhodes were always centered around Celia Sterling.

In the short time since Celia Sterling had sat down, her phone screen was still open to her chat with Kian Sterling. The cool, aloof, and domineering man was, in his WeChat messages, fussing over every little detail of her life, from her food and clothing to her housing and travel.

Summer Sutton glanced at Celia Sterling’s phone out of the corner of her eye, then discreetly looked away, suppressing the undeniable bitterness in her heart.

After chatting with Kian Sterling for a while, Celia Sterling switched to her chat with Silas Norwood.