Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Baby, I want to see you.”

At midnight, just as I came out of the shower, my online boyfriend sent me a video call.

I accepted without thinking. A man in a white robe appeared on-screen, with cool, sharp eyes, a high nose, and clean-cut, rugged features that left absolutely nothing to criticize. It was Gu Yunzhou—the crown prince of Beijing’s elite whose face regularly appeared in magazines.

Damn, this AI face-swap technology was good. He looked almost real.

I grumbled inwardly while staring shamelessly at his half-open collar.

Gu Yunzhou followed my gaze and glanced down. A suggestive smile played at his lips.

“Want to see my abs?”

“Of course. Do you really have eight? I’m terrible at math, so don’t try to cheat me.”

“Take off your robe and let me count.”

I swallowed quietly on my side of the screen. Gu Yunzhou shook his head instead, his gaze dimming as he sighed.

“No. We’ve been together this long, but you still refuse to show your face. Your phone is always ‘broken.’ Shen Bailu, are you lying to me?”

“Yes!”

I rolled over on my bed. Across the screen, Gu Yunzhou gave me a helpless smile tinged with indulgence.

“Be good. Tell me the truth.”

I was telling the truth, but he refused to believe me.

So I had no choice but to start making things up again.

“Come on, you know what a family like mine has to deal with. Hackers could get into my phone at any moment. If a video like this leaked, someone could blackmail me for ten or twenty million. If the wrong people used it against us, our stock could crash and we’d lose hundreds of millions in minutes!”

“You could never understand the world of the rich.”

Gu Yunzhou looked baffled.

“Is corporate warfare in Nancheng really that vicious? Why don’t you hire a specialist to install anti-surveillance software? I can recommend someone.”

I had grown bored now that I’d bragged enough, so I changed the subject decisively.

“Let’s talk about something more intimate.”

A blush slowly crept over Gu Yunzhou’s handsome, pale face.

He coughed and looked away. His long, slender fingers curled at his side.

“All right. What about?”

I stretched out my words in my sweetest, most coquettish voice. “Mr. Gu—”

His eyelid twitched.

He had told me countless times that he loved my voice—lazy, soft, sweet, and dangerously seductive.

“I want—”

His Adam’s apple bobbed. He tugged his collar aside, revealing a hard collarbone and a broad expanse of cool, pale skin.

“—to see your bank balance.”

He pulled his collar shut again. With a pained smile, Gu Yunzhou pressed two elegant fingers to his temple.

“Shen Bailu, stop tormenting me. Let’s meet.”

This was the third time he had asked. I had rejected him twice already. His AI technology was so convincing that I had grown accustomed to seeing Gu Yunzhou’s face on video. But what if the real man was ugly?

The gap might be so great that our relationship would die the moment we met.

I hesitated, though I could not deny the flicker of anticipation in my heart.

Aside from his looks, the two of us were remarkably compatible. We could talk half the night. He boasted outrageously about everything under the sun, and I always gave as good as I got.

He said he was the crown prince of Beijing’s elite; I said I was the princess of Nancheng.

He complained that he had skipped the helicopter that morning and gotten stuck in traffic in his Rolls-Royce.

I sympathized. My housekeeper insisted on riding her electric scooter and would not touch the Land Rover I had bought her.

He said that once work settled down, he would vacation in Hawaii and laze by the sea.

I told him not to mention it. I so missed the snows of Switzerland and the pastoral beauty of the French countryside.

Whatever ridiculous claim one of us made, the other could continue without missing a beat.

Eventually, Gu Yunzhou could no longer beat me in the wealth-bragging arena.

I believed our respective financial resources were the deciding factor. I made fifteen thousand yuan a month. Among fresh college graduates, that practically made me a dragon among mortals. Naturally, I had seen far more of the world than he had.

Fantasy had to be built on reality. He lacked my foundation, and no amount of frantic searching online could save him.

So Gu Yunzhou switched arenas and began subtly showing off his body.

As if I would let him win there.

He was six foot two, so I had to be at least five foot seven.

He claimed he had eight-pack abs. I found a photo online and sent it as proof of my own sculpted waist.

As the competition escalated, sparks began to fly. Our conversations drifted into territory unsuitable for children, and Gu Yunzhou proposed a video call.

I remained vigilant and immediately turned off my camera.

He could show me whatever he liked. If he wanted to see me? Not a chance.

To my surprise, Gu Yunzhou was just as crafty. He had found footage of the real Gu Yunzhou and created an AI face-swap.

I thought it was considerate of him. With Gu Yunzhou’s face in front of me, my dirty talk reached divine new heights and left him helplessly bewitched.

After several months of this, Gu Yunzhou finally lost patience and repeatedly asked to meet.

I was still hesitating when a message popped up in our group chat.

Zhou Feifei: [Then it’s settled. Those of us still in Beijing will get together this weekend. Let’s do the Hilton. Everyone has to come!]

She tagged me immediately afterward.

[Shen Bailu, you’ll be there, won’t you?]

I did not answer. Zhou Feifei followed with another message.

[You still haven’t gotten over Chen Lichuan, have you?]

[Shen Bailu, it’s been six years. You really can’t let go of what happened back then?]