C3 Chapter 3

Just a few days ago, some third-rate actor “accidentally” posted their own photos online, and it set off another wave of marriage pressure from Elder Gu.

The girl stepped out of the shadows and stared at her phone again and again. Women like that always had a sharp nose for whatever tricks would get them attached to Gu’s, but Gu Lijue’s style was simple—he never made the same mistake twice.

This man’s gaze was too sharp. The aura around him carried a suffocating warning: don’t come close. He only flicked his eyes over her, and Bai Nuochu felt a danger so intense it was like her soul had been searched clean.

But the thing was, this Boss Gu worked in the “nude photo loan” business. Bai Nuochu took that razor-edged look as the professional kind—like he could slice right through her dress and see exactly what he wanted, bare and exposed.

Bai Nuochu didn’t like trouble. But back then, her sister had also been because of photos and videos...

“Mr. Gu, I’ll submit it right away.” Bai Nuochu suddenly lifted her head and smiled, then handed her phone to Gu Lijue with one hand while naturally looping her other arm through his.

Gu Lijue’s first reaction was disgust, but Bai Nuochu had already pushed the phone right in front of him, “obediently” tapping open the album he’d demanded to see.

When Bai Nuochu lifted her delicate chin, her palm-sized face looked pure—clean in a way you could see straight through, the kind of gentle, quiet prettiness that made the air feel calm when she stood beside you.

Gu Lijue’s brows stayed tightly drawn, but this time, because the woman seemed to know her place, he didn’t shove her away.

Except what popped up on the screen wasn’t the private photos of him he expected.

And Bai Nuochu’s hand had already traced a quick circle on the exposed skin of his rolled-up sleeve.

“You dare mess with me?” Gu Lijue snapped, instantly realizing.

“Already did!” Bai Nuochu shot back, moving even faster as she hopped two steps back.

Gu Lijue’s brow furrowed at once. Instinct told him this “game” the slender woman mentioned wasn’t just about showing him those disgusting pictures. The next second, his gaze swept over the gleaming Aston Martin door and caught his own reflection.

That reflection—dazzling, impossible to look away from.

On his long, well-defined forearm, a few huge words had appeared, one line on each side.

Left: “I’M A NUDE PHOTO LOAN.” Right: “I SHOULD DIE!”

Gu Lijue wiped at it in disgust, like he’d been contaminated.

But the crooked, sloppy lettering didn’t change at all. And only then did he realize why it was so blinding and eye-searing—because the words were glowing in the dark.

He immediately thought back to how Bai Nuochu had “sweetly” hooked her arm through his.

No one on earth, no matter how imaginative, would ever picture Gu Lijue—powerful, ruthless, the man privately called the uncrowned king of Ningcheng—getting tagged with this kind of nonsense. Worse, the arms that could shake the entire city with a single move were now glowing like a pair of walking billboards.

Nude photo loan—what the hell was that supposed to be?

This solution had been something she mixed to work with local social services, to give missing kids from the orphanage the best chance of being brought home. Once it got on you, it would keep glowing—stubbornly—unless you used a special remover.

“I’m telling you, old man, you look pretty put-together. If you’re really that obsessed with selling flesh, go sell your own. Why do something so vile and screw women over like this?” Since she’d already put Huang Hao and those self-important rich boys in their place, she didn’t bother keeping up her usual polite act.

Something so vile?

Gu Lijue’s status in Ningcheng was the sky everyone looked up to, and the businesses under his name were the very ground the whole city stood on.

“Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?” Gu Lijue stared at the crooked yet oddly neat handwriting on his arm, then locked his gaze on Bai Nuochu. She actually dared to tell Gu Lijue she could just go sell herself?

A woman like that—he’d make her disappear. He wouldn’t even leave her the chance.

“Uh, I’m not totally sure who I’m talking to,” Bai Nuochu said, tapping her phone, “but I do know who you’re about to be talking to.” She spoke into the phone with a dead-serious tone. “Hello, officer? Yes—illegal student loans. He’s got ‘nude photo loan’ written right on his arm. You can’t miss him. I already sent you the location.”

“You… called the cops?” Gu Lijue’s long eyes narrowed.

“Yeah. Hurry up and arrest this sick, predatory creep. Wait one more minute and some clueless girl might get pushed into suicide by him.”

What the hell was this woman even saying?

Gu Lijue’s temper flared. He reached out and grabbed for Bai Nuochu—his first time ever wanting to lay hands on a woman, and it had to be like this.

Because when he reached for her, Bai Nuochu didn’t dodge—she yanked her little bike over instead.

Gu Lijue hadn’t even touched her when a dull *thunk* sounded, and his impossibly handsome face twisted on the spot.

Gu Lijue swore that, aside from giving Chiwei a ride, he hadn’t run into a “museum piece” like a bicycle in ages. But right now, it left a deeper impression on him than Chiwei in her white dress, floating prettily on the back seat.

Because the front wheel slammed straight into his groin.

The pain hit so hard that Gu Lijue—the man everyone bowed to, the uncrowned king of the city—couldn’t even stand up straight.

And then that clear, pretty voice drilled right into his head.

“Officer, yes, it’s me again. Now this suspect not only has ‘nude photo loan’ written on his hands, he’s also clutching his crotch like he can’t control himself. What? Why is he acting so weird? Because he’s a total pervert—that’s why he’s in that line of work in the first place.”

Bai Nuochu yanked her bike free, dialed her phone, and pedaled off at an easy pace.

“Damn woman!” Gu Lijue hissed through clenched teeth. If he ever ran into her again, he’d make her regret it.