"When I coincidentally attended the same fashion party as him, I struggled with whether I should approach Matt for a conversation. It wasn’t because I wanted to flirt with him, but because I had heard about his sponsorship of superheroes, and since I had awakened my superpowers, I didn’t know who to turn to for help. I didn’t trust online forums, but Matt, at least, was a public figure who treated superheroes positively." Angie placed the yogurt container on her lap, recalling her nervous struggle that night, anxiously twisting her fingers.
In the end, Angie didn’t approach Matthew. Then she suddenly thought: If I accepted the Grimm Group’s sponsorship for training, wouldn’t I have to fight against a monster like the one on the East Coast? To do so in front of countless viewers with their phones and media cameras, showing my transformed, ugly appearance, fighting the sea monster, which was far beyond my level, and then getting stomped into a pulp—The End.
Looking at the Coast Guard patrol ship being blasted into a building, seeing the harpoon missile strike Leviathan, and then looking at herself—a fragile, helpless little lizard—Angie quickly withdrew, deciding to just be a pretty flower vase at the party and then go home to take a shower and sleep.
"There were so many important figures and celebrities surrounding Matt that night. Supermodels? They only had a bit of fame in certain circles, constantly updated and replaced. What was I, a small model? But he still actively invited me for a walk in the garden and said he wanted to ask me about Taiwan because he had a difficult Taiwanese friend, and he wanted to know how to avoid always getting bitten when trying to be nice to him." Angie chuckled softly, while Nemo regretted not kicking Matthew a few more times earlier.
"When we were alone, he kept asking me about Taiwan—what Taiwanese people like to eat, what items they keep in their homes, and even which curse words they like to use. I didn’t expect Matt to be so friendly and talkative. He even worried my English might not be good enough, so he adjusted his speaking speed and word choice. Most of the time, the atmosphere was really nice, honestly." Angie said.
"Until he asked about the Taiwan Strait war. Matt said he was injured at the time, isolated on an uninhabited island and wasn’t too clear on the situation. Later, he got too busy with work to learn about it. He thought that the friend—meaning you—would be very concerned about that war, and he wanted me to tell him my thoughts in detail. It was the first time someone asked me directly about it since the war happened, and I just lost it!" Angie’s eyes widened in shock, like a wild animal startled by headlights, her pupils shrinking.
"What to say? Sure! If you want to know, I’ll tell you! My only family, my mother, was killed in the chaos caused by traitors who incited murder and arson. I couldn’t even go back to handle her funeral because Taiwan was under a sea and air blockade. Even if I wanted to risk my life, I had no way of returning. I had to beg relatives to help cremate her charred body with a lot of money, then perform a memorial service and store her ashes."
"I hate that I wasn’t there at the scene, but what could I have done if I was? Be kidnapped and raped? Or at least grab a fruit knife and take down one of them?"
Angie was so enraged at the time that she forgot she was in front of the world’s richest man.
Not wanting him to think she was using her tears to gain sympathy, she turned and walked away, but the man with the golden eyes grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.
Angie thought it was so tacky. She didn’t understand why women found comfort in being held by a man. Being held just made her feel threatened, and goosebumps covered her body as she struggled like crazy, but his strong arms held her tight.
The billionaire pressed his chin against her hair and kept shushing her. Angie wanted to snap at him to go to the restroom himself if he wanted to shush, but instead, tears uncontrollably streamed down her face, her nose ran, and she buried her face in his chest and cried for a long time.
She wasn’t trying to look pitiful at all, and she probably ruined his expensive shirt with her tears and saliva as she cried and cursed.
When she finally regained her composure, wiping away her cold sweat and guilt, she looked up to see the billionaire smiling brightly. He opened his coat to reveal a clean spot near his shoulder where she could wipe her face.
Angie quickly said "Sorry" and promised to pay for dry cleaning, then just wanted to disappear from the world and find some peace.
"I kept pushing him away, and then he suddenly kissed me and asked if I wanted to be his girlfriend." Angie didn’t mention that it was a real, passionate kiss from the legendary playboy Matthew Grimm, which could easily comfort a woman stirred by the pain of losing a loved one. Angie was almost in a daze, and absentmindedly responded with, "OK."
"He took my hand and led me out of the party, and of course, the media didn’t miss it. But that night, he only gently escorted me back to the hotel. I assumed it was a way for him to salvage some dignity after being dumped by his ex, and perhaps out of sudden sympathy, he casually said he wanted to date me. At the time, I didn’t take it seriously. I just went along with it. Although the superpower problem was still hard to bring up, at least in terms of modeling work, it was a big win for me. Matt’s attention was a huge publicity boost, and let’s not even mention how handsome he is!" Angie joked about the whole process, saying it felt like the beginning of a cheesy romantic comedy, but in truth, Matthew Grimm’s mere presence at the event was more cinematic than any film.
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Listening to emotional topics and guiding superheroes through family trauma is the duty of an ordinary friend without superpowers. Stay calm, follow the rules, you can do it, Nemo. The curly-haired chef held back the impulse to tear apart the billionaire.
"Unexpectedly, the next day, Matt showed up at my hotel with a bouquet of roses, saying it was his duty as a boyfriend to be better than Taiwanese men, just because I mentioned that Taiwanese men like to pick up their girlfriends from work." Angie said that for the next few days, their dating pattern was quite normal—chatting, eating, shopping, sightseeing, all the usual things, nothing like Matthew Grimm’s usual glamorous legend, but surprisingly enjoyable.
"Of course, we both had work to do, so we weren’t always glued together. We weren’t that familiar, and it wasn’t to the point where we couldn’t live without each other. We just gradually got to know each other better. Whatever topic I brought up, he could follow up on, and it felt like he was even better than I expected..."
Nemo listened, as if it was inevitable that Angie would develop feelings for Matthew over time, despite the bloodsucking mosquitoe disaster and the accidental exposure of her superpower transformation.
"I can only say that real life is not like a movie, or rather, I’m not the female lead!" Angie vented as she took three big spoonfuls of yogurt. "When he drew my blood in the lab, it felt like I was dealing with a stranger. It wasn’t that Matt didn’t treat me like a person, but it was like being treated by a famous doctor at a large hospital—hard to explain. It wasn’t like being with a boyfriend, it was calm and distant. What’s weirder is that I felt like the patient just waiting for treatment, not wanting to kiss or cuddle the doctor, that would be too awkward. Anyway, it just didn’t click."
"Not clicking?" Nemo raised an eyebrow. "Your 'a stick of straw' told me he gave you a special $10,000 gift on the first day of your official relationship."
"Who are you fooling? Even handmade designer underwear couldn’t cost that much!" Angie had clearly slipped up.
"The world’s number one Grimm heir wanted to know if I had x-ray vision, so he made a bet with me and even rigged it. He wasn’t wearing anything under his suit pants."
Angie chuckled twice. "Sorry, I had to win first!"
This, perhaps, was the real Angie. Nemo didn’t want to keep seeing her sad and self-deprecating.
"The souvenir thing was quite simple! The next morning, I had work. As I mentioned earlier, he brought flowers and breakfast to the hotel to take me to the shooting set. In the car... well, we had a little fun, but unfortunately, time was too tight and we couldn't go all the way."
"What were you so happy about with a stick of straw?" Nemo felt a headache coming on.
"You guys just don't get it! That was Matthew Grimm, okay? That unshaven sexy jaw, the strong neck and arms, the thick, firm chest, his back felt amazing to touch, and don’t even get me started on the hard... I mean, his thighs and abs." Angie took another bite of yogurt, savoring it with the spoon.
Great, now Angie was back to being a normal Taiwanese woman.
"Maybe Matthew doesn't view this relationship the way you think, don't you want to talk to him before making any decisions?" Since both sides were friends, Nemo thought he should at least defend the billionaire a little.
"What happened before is in the past, now is now. I can't continue dating a man I've already transformed in front of. Just thinking about him seeing me eating mosquitoes and crawling on my lizard back makes me want to erase that part of my life history! A pure, cooperative relationship is enough!" Angie said, pounding the sofa.
Nemo quickly grabbed her yogurt box to avoid spilling the white goo all over them.
Angie suddenly froze, staring off into space.
"Are you okay?" Nemo asked, concerned.
"I guess Matt and I are just from different worlds. We're not suited for each other," Angie muttered.
"Angie! Matthew is just an ordinary human. He can die from a bullet wound, but you can transform and shield him from bullets. He’s not worthy of you just based on biological differences," Nemo said.
Angie waved her hand. "That's not what I meant."
"So what did you mean?"
"I meant the cost of dealing with him, like your cost is so low, Nemo. It’s really easy and comfortable to hang out with you, no worries about this or that. But Matt? He's super complicated. If I were some princess from a rich country or the daughter of a top tycoon, the cost of dealing with him would be a bit more even. But no, before the charity event, I got approached by CCP secret agents, who threatened me with my mom's ashes and Taiwanese relatives, demanding I report everything about Matt." Angie suddenly blurted out a big secret.
"Did you tell Matthew about this?"
"No, but I think I can't keep it from him. He probably wants to see how I handle it. After all, I'm not his pet canary. We've only been dating for a few days, if he made all the decisions for me, that would be too much, and I’d be upset," Angie explained.
"So what are you going to do?" Nemo didn’t expect Angie to be coerced into becoming a CCP spy and not plan to ask Matthew for help.
"That night, the giant mosquitoes showed up! Who knows if those two CCP agents are still alive? But I was just going to ignore them. Matt is such a special person, the CCP wouldn’t dare to easily harm anyone even slightly associated with him. Plus, I have a green card, and I’m not close to my relatives in Taiwan. Sure, my mom’s ashes are still there, but her spirit wouldn't want me to be threatened over some ashes," Angie said, pointing at the sky.
"If you're foolish enough to listen to those CCP agents and work for them, and they don’t keep their promises, you won’t have anyone to cry to, and if the US catches wind of it, you'd be charged with treason, at least five years in prison. And if you go after someone like Matthew with national secrets, life imprisonment wouldn't be surprising," Nemo said, sounding practical.
"Yeah? I feel the same way. And maybe I'll be dumped in a few days, it’s just not worth it to get into trouble!"
Nemo was about to say something, but was interrupted by Angie.
"Men only affect the speed at which I transform. Right now, I'm more interested in what you said at the charity event, about the Formosa Republic. It really needs a lot of money, and there must be someone like Sun Yat-sen to raise funds abroad. We need to plan this out properly."
"I'll be very glad to have an ally," Nemo said, fist bumping Angie.
"And that black pair of boxer shorts Matthew gave me. I can’t sell it for much online right now because there are too many fakes. I can’t publicly authenticate it either, but when the Formosa War for independence starts, and we begin public auctions for fundraising, I’ll be able to sell it as a collectible with credibility." Angie said excitedly.
Nemo really didn’t want to know about the potential market for such a peculiar auction item. However, driven by his conscience, "You’d better clean that souvenir properly. Otherwise, it might mold and be ruined."
"Won’t that decrease the buyer’s desire to collect it?" Angie worried about its devaluation.
"There will definitely be buyers. Anyway, this isn't the focus of the fundraising. If it sells, it’ll just be extra income. Don't focus too much on gains or losses," Nemo vowed, doing his best.
Angie’s radical approach to independent state-building was more extreme than he’d expected, and her imagination was off the charts.
"The diamond jewelry set could sell for a lot too," Angie added.
"Then bundle it with the souvenir! That'll raise the price a bit." With his patriotic heart, Nemo lowered his standards.
"Good idea." Angie felt great about discussing it with an ally.
After a while, the supermodel suddenly hugged Nemo's arm, leaning on his shoulder with no hint of flirtation or ambiguity, earnestly making a wish: "In the future, we can team up in the international legion, right? I’ll be the tank, you’ll be the assassin, and we’ll need a few more teammates! When I get stronger, I’ll go back home and find my mom."
"Okay, we’ll form a team together," Nemo said seriously.
But Nemo also made a decision at the same time: if dirty work had to be done, he preferred to be the one to do it. After all, he had already made a death list, and it even seemed to grow longer on its own from time to time.