Mia Kane: "Wasn’t it one thousand a moment ago?"

"That was the price then. This is the price now! Do you want it or not?"

Mia stared intently at the pixelated image, gritted her teeth, and said, "Fine, five thousand it is. You’d better guarantee there’s something real in there."

Faith Donovan didn’t reply, and Mia realized this wasn’t going to be simple. ’This is probably false advertising,’ she thought.

But, driven by curiosity, she transferred the five thousand yuan and soon received the uncensored photos.

As expected, they were a total scam!

Adrian Preston’s lean, muscular upper body was exposed, beads of sweat rolling down his skin, his Adam’s apple prominent.

But his lower half was completely covered by a pair of pants!

The photos were clearly taken surreptitiously. Adrian usually gave off the impression of an aloof, untouchable god, but in these pictures, he was baring either his abs or his biceps, making him look both sensual and raw. The two aspects didn’t clash at all; instead, they were strangely compatible.

He gave off the vibe of a man who seemed frigid on the surface but could make you beg and cry in bed.

Adrian Preston had a certain sex appeal—a tough-guy image, eight-pack abs, tanned skin, a net worth in the hundreds of billions...

When all these labels were attached to one person, it was truly hard to resist.

She scrolled through a few more photos. Aside from the first one, which was slightly higher-resolution, the rest were as blurry as frosted glass.

She felt like she’d been scammed.

"Faith Donovan, you’re a completely unscrupulous seller."

Faith played dead again.

All in all, Mia had lost fifty-five thousand yuan. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got—so angry she felt like she was about to have a heart attack.

An idea flashed in her mind. If a picture so blurry it was practically disintegrating could sell for a thousand yuan, couldn’t she do the same?

She had the perfect opportunity—the right time, place, and person. If she got into this business, couldn’t she drive Faith to bankruptcy?

The more Mia thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

That evening, she made a point to call Adrian and ask him to come home for dinner.

"It’s been a while since we video-called Grandpa. Shouldn’t we show off our love a little?"

Adrian thought she had a point, so he canceled his evening engagement and went home.

That night, she specially prepared some fruit wine.

After calling Grandpa, the two of them sat down for dinner.

"What’s this?"

"It’s a fruit juice with a little bit of alcohol. I just discovered it. It’s really good, so I bought some for you to try."

"It has alcohol?"

"Just a tiny bit."

Mia gave him an innocent, harmless smile.

Adrian took a sip. It was sweet with a fruity fragrance, and he could barely taste the alcohol.

So, he let his guard down and had a couple more glasses.

Mia grew a little nervous. The wine seemed unremarkable, but it actually packed a delayed punch. For a lightweight like him, it would take him down quickly.

Sure enough, Adrian was starting to get drunk.

"You’ve had too much. I’ll help you to your room."

Adrian wasn’t completely wasted yet, so she managed to get him back to the bedroom.

"My head hurts. This wine... is terrible."

Adrian gave his honest assessment. Even people with low alcohol tolerance might get drunk from good wine, but they wouldn’t get a headache.

Mia didn’t bother to answer. She laid him on the bed, positioned him, and then deliberately undid his shirt buttons, taking a photo from a clever angle that featured his collarbones and jawline.

That side profile could put any young heartthrob to shame.

Then she turned him over onto his stomach and snapped a picture of him sleeping with one shoulder exposed.

’I should probably take some of him in a robe, too. That would be even more provocative,’ she thought.

She quickly stripped Adrian bare and put him in a robe.

With her library of material now full, she began editing the photos.

She blurred some of the backgrounds and added deceptive pixelation.

Adrian’s face was flawless and needed no editing at all.

Soon, she picked out two photos and posted them in the group chat.

It was like dropping two bombs into the deep sea; the previously dead-silent group chat instantly erupted.

"Holy shit, so high-def! Where did you get this?"

"Was this secretly taken? Why does it look like a close-up shot? 109, where’d you get these?"

"Are there more? Are there more? I can’t get enough of this."

To avoid arousing suspicion, Mia quickly came up with an excuse.

"I paid a fortune for these from someone else. I don’t know who they are. If you want them, you can buy them from me."

Someone immediately sent her a private message.

Mia was smart. When setting up the transfers, she made sure the other person marked the payment as a "gift," not a "purchase." Otherwise, it would be an illegal transaction.

’Still, this is a violation of Adrian’s publicity rights... But he probably wouldn’t sue me, right?’ she thought.

Faith Donovan couldn’t hold back any longer.

"One thousand yuan. I’ll buy it."

"Sorry, for you, it’s ten thousand."

"Are you kidding me? That’s a total rip-off! You’re even more shameless than I am!"

Faith was furious.

"Take it or leave it."

Faith didn’t reply. Mia figured she must have just asked someone else for the photos.

That way, she could get them without spending a single cent.

But Mia had a backup plan. She sent Faith a few exclusive photos.

There were a few shots of his robe pulled up, which she hadn’t sent to anyone else.

Faith immediately responded.

"You’re so shameless!"

"Takes one to know one."

"Ten thousand it is!"

"Nope. Fifty-five thousand!"

Mia had learned Faith’s tricks inside and out.

Faith sent a sticker with a murderous expression but still obediently transferred the money.

Mia was ecstatic when she received the money.

She had no intention of continuing this. It was a bit unethical, and getting her money back was enough.

Over the next two days, people in the group chat kept tagging her, asking if she had any more exclusive, private photos.

The ones she had were of much higher quality than the blurry, ancient-looking pictures Faith had been peddling.

"Sorry, I’m all out for now..."

Mia was in the middle of typing when someone showed up at her door.

Owen Sinclair hurried over, looking nervous.

"Mia, the police are here for you."

Mia was confused. ’What would the police want with me?’

"You’re suspected of distributing obscene and pornographic images. Please come with us."

Mia’s mind went blank.

’Obscene and pornographic?’

Rosalyn Shield’s expression was peculiar, as if to say, ’I never would have guessed you were that kind of person.’

Owen Sinclair was also dumbfounded.

For the first time in her life, Mia was taken away in utter humiliation.

It wasn’t until she reached the police station that she learned someone had anonymously reported her for distributing pornographic images and profiting from them.

Mia immediately came clean and handed over her phone. None of the pictures were pornographic; they just showed his neckline, collarbones, and abs.

They just looked a little suggestive, but they really didn’t cross that line.

The officer interrogating her chuckled as he looked at the photos, tapping a finger on the man in the pictures.

"This man, what’s his relationship to you? Did you take these illegally?"

"I... I took secret photos of my husband. Is that against the law?"

Hearing this, the officer burst out laughing—the kind where you’re practically rolling on the floor—making Mia extremely uncomfortable.

’Is it really that funny?’

"He... He’s your husband? And you took secret photos of him to sell?"

"I didn’t sell them! They were voluntary gifts!"

She had been careful about that from the start.

Every single transfer was marked that way.

Although everyone knew what was really going on, legally, she was innocent.

"Well, you’re pretty clever, finding a loophole like that. Just wait here. We’ve already notified your family to come pick you up."

"My family? Which family member?"

A strong sense of unease washed over Mia.

The officer gave her a brilliant smile.

"Your husband, of course."