Chapter 3

Actually, Shirley really wanted to agree right away at first.

But if she got together with William this quickly, Wendy wasn't stupid; she would definitely figure out that Shirley had stolen her identity.

Once Wendy came forward to expose her, everything would be over.

Shirley decided to keep a low profile for now and secretly find another chance to deal with this problem.

William didn't expect the woman in front of him to actually negotiate. He looked at Shirley with a bit more scrutiny and interest.

"Go ahead."

Thinking about that night and the woman's impressive performance, he was suddenly quite curious about what Shirley would ask for.

Shirley took a deep breath and said carefully, "I can date you, but on one condition... let's not make our relationship public for now."

Hearing Shirley's request, William fell silent for a moment.

In all of Starlight City, countless women wanted to get close to him. Now he was giving Shirley a chance, and she didn't want to go public?

What was the issue with him? Did she find him somehow... unpresentable?

Shirley nervously glanced at William's expression.

He didn't seem angry.

Shirley explained softly, "I... I've never been in a relationship before, so I just want to give us both some time to adjust."

William naturally knew that the woman that night had been a virgin. When he thrust into her, she was in so much pain she almost cried, and couldn't help cursing, "Asshole! You're terrible at this!"

That pissed him off so much he almost devoured her completely, but in the end, he held back his savage desire and silently guided her to sit on top of him.

For the first time in his life, he coaxed a woman, though his tone was very stiff: "This way will be better, take your time..."

After that difficult initial stage, their bodies proved surprisingly compatible.

His body had never felt this good before.

Thinking about that night, William had a bit more patience with this unfamiliar woman and said coolly, "Fine, we won't go public for now."

Shirley smiled sweetly, looking a bit shy and nervous, her eyes bright as she looked at William, as if curiously sizing up her first boyfriend.

William met Shirley's gaze. Logically, he should have felt somewhat moved.

After all, the girl in front of him was exactly what every man's perfect fantasy looked like.

But he felt very calm, with no sense of being attracted.

How strange.

That night he had completely lost control, but now he was so composed.

Shirley was disappointed when William didn't take the initiative to talk.

She thought he would quickly become infatuated with her like ordinary men.

But this was William—normal tactics wouldn't work on him, which made sense.

Shirley put on her sweet smile again, asked William for his contact information, and said obediently, "You must be very busy, right? I'll reach out if I need anything. Of course, if you miss me, you can always come to the Moore Group."

William wasn't good at communicating with women. Hearing this, he felt nothing inside. He just nodded calmly.

"Mr. Ford, your appointment time is almost here..." came a reminder from the front seat.

William took one last look at Shirley, and the car window slowly closed.

That evening, at the Moore Manor.

The family was eating dinner. Shirley would say something amusing from time to time, making Lisa and John laugh heartily.

By comparison, Wendy seemed too quiet and withdrawn.

Before Shirley's return, she was the life of the party in that household.

But after Shirley came back, she naturally didn't have the right to continue playing that role.

She just needed to be a supportive audience member, cheering for Shirley's performance—that was enough.

She used to never read the room at all. When she was happy, she laughed; when she was angry, she showed it, never thinking twice about it.

Back then, she was the Moore family's heiress, with status, confidence, and her parents' love behind her.

Now she had nothing.

"Wendy, didn't you say Mr. Ford invited you to collaborate? How are you thinking about it? You've been hesitating all this time without making a decision—do you not want to go?"

While eating, Shirley suddenly looked at Wendy.

Wendy felt like Shirley's eyes were a bit complicated when she said this.

Wendy kept her head down and said casually, "I'm not capable enough, I won't go to the Ford Group... Dad, Mark, and Aiden from the project team are both reliable and steady. They're enough to negotiate the collaboration with the Ford Group..."

Wendy didn't want to go to the Ford Group. One reason was to avoid too much contact with William and risk being exposed.

The other reason was that she still wanted to stay at the Moore Group, stay by her father's side.

But before she could finish, John interrupted her, his gaze serious and earnest: "Wendy, you're in charge of this project. Everyone has praised you to me. No one is more suitable than you to go to the Ford Group. And you should understand what it means for a company like ours to connect with the Ford Group."

Hearing this, Shirley gripped her utensils a bit harder, her smile somewhat forced.

To outsiders, she was a prestigious university graduate with excellent work ethics.

But Wendy had also been carefully cultivated by the Moore family for eighteen years, enjoying the best educational resources in Starlight City since childhood.

Comparing the two sisters, it was hard to say who was more outstanding.

John's slightly firm voice continued in her ears: "Wendy, you're becoming less and less confident. For a young person, that's not a good thing. You must go to the Ford Group this time. Your stage should be in a broader place. The Moore Group is just your stepping stone. Go, I believe in you!"

Lisa didn't expect her husband to value Wendy so much and immediately looked nervously at Shirley.

John, really! Praising an outsider like this in front of his own daughter—didn't he consider that Shirley might feel uncomfortable?

Lisa quickly said, "Go, go, that's settled then. Don't talk about work stuff during dinner, it's giving me a headache!"

Wendy could hear the unhappiness in Lisa's tone. She bit her lower lip and responded softly to John, "Okay."

That evening, Wendy gathered her courage and added the contact information on the business card.

William accepted quickly and said in a businesslike manner, "Made up your mind?"

"Yes, I have."

Behind the screen, not having to face William directly, Wendy wasn't as nervous.

William didn't seem to notice anything unusual. He probably hadn't discovered anything, right?

"Then you can bring your project team to the Ford Group's R&D center tomorrow. Someone will explain the collaboration details to you then, and if there are no problems, you can sign the contract."

After a moment, William asked another question: "Are you authorized to make this decision?"

Wendy's breath caught, and she smiled bitterly.

Given William's personality, he wouldn't let someone of unknown identity into the Ford Group.

He must have investigated her background and probably knew she was a fake heiress, right?