James slowly opened his eyes, glanced at her, and with a slight smile, said, "Good morning, darling."
It was Shirley Taylor's first intimate encounter with the opposite sex since growing up, so she was a bit flustered and stammered, "G-Good morning."
James turned over slowly, reached out and pulled her into his arms, whispering in her ear, "Are you awake now?"
Shirley Taylor blushed and didn't answer.
With a mischievous grin, James said, "I held back all night; now it's your turn."
"..."
The hammock finally started to slowly rotate.
The atmosphere in the room was suggestive.
As the saying goes, the wine worked its magic, sending ripples through the "couple's" embroidered quilt.
The fiery red sun rose over the Oriental Pearl Tower.
With the awakening of everything, the grass was vibrant and the swallows flew, exuding vitality and romance everywhere.
Half an hour later, the world settled down.
James received a system message.
[System prompt: Shirley Taylor's favorability +20]
[Cashback successful. Congratulations, host, on receiving 5.35 million dollars in cash.]
[Shirley Taylor's current favorability: 90]
!!!
Wow.
Such a massive increase in favorability.
Looking at the stains on the bed, James guessed it probably had something to do with it being her first time.
"Does it hurt?" James asked tenderly, holding the girl who had just become a woman.
The girl gently shook her head, her hair brushing his cheek, tickling him a bit.
James smiled, rubbing her curled-up head, and said, "From now on, you're my woman. Is there anything you want to say to your brother?"
Holding her close,
their hearts touching but not feeling her heartbeat, indicating her strong internal resilience.
Shirley Taylor squirmed a little and shyly said, "W-What should I say?"
James, realizing she was avoiding the question, grinned even wider. "Were you not saying everything you dared to last night? Now you're speechless?"
Shirley Taylor buried her slightly warm face in his chest, too shy to utter a word.
"Hahaha, I really liked your straightforwardness last night,"
James teased her a bit more. Seeing her still acting like an ostrich, silent and head down,
he used lines like "I'll be responsible" to coax her, making her eyes ripple once more.
After everything, James picked up Shirley Taylor, who was too weak to walk, and they took a shower together.
Once they felt better, they sat on the couch in their robes, resting.
They ordered breakfast from the hotel, eating as they gazed out at the bustling view of Miami.
Enjoying the 9 AM sun.
When you're high up, looking down can often fill you with a strange ambition.
James felt the same way.
Holding a beauty, owning the world, that's the ultimate romance for a man.
Looking at the skyscrapers in the distance, his old ambition to start an entertainment media company resurfaced.
With 65 million in cash, converted with the "dog-licking" currency, it could become 6.5 billion.
Enough to stir up a storm and become a giant in the film industry.
Imagining being the CEO, surrounded by beautiful women, superstars fawning over him, international directors bowing and scraping.
James grinned widely.
Once the company is profitable, he'd like to run a dream-fulfillment campaign.
Pick random people off the street and make their dreams come true.
Sports cars, mansions, billions in cash, given out freely.
Even if someone wanted to make a name for themselves, he could use resources to help them succeed.
Then broadcast it all live for the world to see.
The effect would certainly be overwhelming,
enough viewers to sustain a streaming platform.
At that point, every word he said could create waves.
His influence would be comparable to that of a top-tier star.
Who needs to sing, dance, or rap when you can still captivate thousands?
But all of this depends on having the capacity for self-defense.
Otherwise, who knows when he'd suddenly disappear while creating waves.
James had understood from a young age the dangers of flaunting wealth.
What happens when a poor person suddenly acquires an amount of money that even big shots would envy?
There are so many willing to take risks for money, and once someone finds out his background, a few tranquilizer darts could take him away.
If he ends up being locked up and researched, no one would be able to save him.
The system has currently only given him one hypnosis skill, usable only twice, which is not sufficient.
When dealing with billions, it attracts hordes of predators.
Last time when he sent Amanda to the bar, he could already feel Brother Leo's designs on him.
Luckily, Leo seemed principled and very amicable.
But he couldn't always gamble on the other person being a good guy.
That's why having life-saving skills is crucial; whatever it takes, he must secure one.
With superpowers, he could confidently wield the power of money.
Among the three women he's been involved with,
Shirley Taylor is the easiest to get past the eighty mark.
A mere three million foot rub, a two-million card charge, plus one vigorous effort, and he had his cashback.
Simple girls are so easy to deceive, although that's precisely because they're so simple.
James almost found himself uncontrollably falling for this girl.
Though their encounters were brief,
having only met twice, sometimes feelings are unexplainable.
Besides, her reward was a one-time revival shield, a life-saving artifact.
For whatever purpose,
James decided to hang around Shirley Taylor for the next few days, to see if he could get her to a hundred.
...
Meanwhile, Delwen Dowlin was detained for provoking trouble, assaulting others, and refusing mediation.
He refused to compensate 100,000 for emotional distress beyond medical fees and lost wages.
The police sentenced him to five days of administrative detention and a 500-dollar fine under the Public Security Management Punishment Law.
Today was his release day.
During his five days inside, he kept pondering how to deal with the woman who hurt him most.
Following the tricks taught by his cellmates,
he was confident he could scam her into bankruptcy, forcing her to sing on the street.
He retrieved his phone from the police station, ready to get people involved.
Unexpectedly, his phone was full of blackmail material about the woman.
Tons of screenshots of transactions with various men, hotel date records, party videos at villas, a hospital infertility report...
Delwen Dowlin was dumbfounded.
Damn, with this stuff, why bother with any plans?
Just send it to her acquaintances, and she'd be ruined, especially with her family, ensuring she'd never hold her head up again.
Then report to the police her assembly of illegal activity, find a good lawyer to get her a three to five-year sentence, no problem.
When she got out, she'd be over thirty. If she wanted a job, he'd just spill about her jail time, ensuring nobody would hire her.
Finally, he could hire her to work in his shop as a server, making her work overtime, have her clean toilets every day...
Thinking this delighted Delwen Dowlin, he rushed back to the police station.
Approaching the officer handling his case, he cried out in a fabricated state of grievance:
"Officer, do you know why I hit my girlfriend?"
The officer looked puzzled, "Wasn't it out of jealousy? Thinking she was unfaithful?"
"No, no, no! Actually, I already knew she was cheating, and out of rage, I acted."
Delwen Dowlin handed over his phone, "Officer, I want to report a crime. My girlfriend secretly consorts with multiple men. There's a marriage fraud case pending, and she hasn't returned the money post-judgment..."
As the officer looked, his expression gradually turned serious.