<b>Chapter </b><b>163 </b>


    This was very much in line with Joshua’s style. He didn’t want 800 million dors, all he asked for was a kiss from <b>her</b>.


    <b>‘</b>Even as he’s about to leave, he can’t help but flirt with her onest time and make sure he gets his reward, Shermaine thought to herself.


    It seemed like Shermaine had always been on the receiving end of his flirtations, without ever lighting back. This didn’t match her usual <b>assertive </b>and bold way of handling things.


    She narrowed her eyes slightly. “Does it matter where I kiss you?”


    Joshua wanted Shermaine to take the initiative to kiss him, so he nodded. “Yes, anywhere.” He paused for a moment. “But you can’t just go through <b>the </b>motions<b>.</b><b>” </b>


    Shermaine nodded in agreement.


    Joshua’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. Noticing how quickly Shermaine had responded, he scrutinized her carefully, his gaze deepening,


    Shermaine simply offered him a faint smile, and his heart couldn’t help but race, pounding fiercely against his chest. ‘She’s so charming, always enticing me, Joshua thought to himself.


    Shermaine, who had been casually resting her hand on his shoulder, gently ced it on Joshua’s cheek and slowly leaned in, bringing their faces closer.


    As they gazed into each other’s eyes at such close range, a maic force seemed to swirl between them, pulling and tugging. Their breaths mingled and intertwined, creating an atmosphere of undeniable intimacy.


    Joshua had expected Shermaine to kiss his lips. But at thest moment, when they were just inches apart, Shermaine shifted downward. Her cool lips pressed against his Adam’s apple, where she sucked gently twice before suddenly biting down.


    Joshua was caught off guard by this unexpected counter–flirtation. His eyes darkened, and his body was consumed by a surge of passion that left his throat hoarse and his palms sweaty.


    Shermaine pulled away from him, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she looked at Joshua. “Looks like you’re pretty satisfied,” she said <b>with </b><b>a </b>smile.


    ‘Just a little bit of flirting from Shermaine, and I’m already losing it. She’s so captivating,‘ Joshua thought to himself.


    “I’m going to head out first. You cane outter,” Shermaine said as she walked away.


    Outside, many of the Mysonnians from Xenhall had heard that Joshua was leaving and hade to see off the man who had brought electricity to Xenhall and built the signal tower.


    They brought homemade wine and pickled vegetables as gifts.


    James and the others, who had been there for a while, had learned quite a bit about the Mysonnians. They tried to refuse the gifts<b>, </b>but the vigers were just too warm and hospitable.


    As a result, the car was loaded with quite a few bottles of wine and jars of pickled vegetables.


    When Shermaine came out of the house, many Mysonnians greeted her warmly.


    During her stay, she had treated the sick in the vige and achieved remarkable results. Word spread quickly, and soon Shermaine <b>became </b><b>the </b><b>most </b>popr person in the vige.


    Inside the house, Joshua’s desire had not yet subsided. He looked down at the bulge, then shook his head with a helpless smile.


    A Mysonnian helped a man forward. The man had broken his leg while gathering herbs in the mountains a few months ago and was still in <b>pain</b>.


    He couldn’t work in the fields, and his already impoverished family was struggling even more. They couldn’t even afford new clothes for the children <b>for </b>


    <b>Chapter </b><b>163 </b>


    the <b>New </b><b>Year</b><b>. </b>


    <b>When </b><b>Joshua </b><b>came </b>out of the house, Shermine was treating the man’s leg. She was always very focused on her work. The sunlight fall on the Joshua’s outline appeared unexpectedly soft and faint.


    He nced at her, then looked away, got into the car, and said, “Let’s go.”


    “Find these herbs and boil them in water. Soak your feet once in the morning and once in the evening. This will help you recover faster, Shermaine san


    The doctor hadn’t corrected the dislocated bone in time, so even though it had healed, it still hurt. Shermaine had already corrected the <b>bone </b>for her but it would take quite a few days of rest before he could fully recover.


    “Doctor, thank you so much,” the man said gratefully.


    “You’re wee,” Shermaine replied with a smile.


    After finishing her consultation, Shermaine had some free time and noticed that Joshua was gone. All that was left on the ground were the tracks of the car’s wheels.


    During this period, he had always been by her side. Now that he was gone, Shermaine felt a bit out of sorts at first.


    Without overthinking it, Shermaine washed her hands and went to see Bianca.


    Most of the scrolls left behind were rted to cursing skills, and there were no records about the crystal coffin.


    Now, the gravediggers who hade to the tomb and hadn’t lost their lives had mostly left.


    They hade with high hopes and great ambitions, but they left cursing andining. After all<b>, </b>they hadn’t gained any benefits. Instead, they <b>had </b>been injured or even killed.


    The group of college students had been fortunate. They left here all alive. However, perhaps they would no longer be friends.


    Shermaine spent the entire day learning with Bianca, from morning till night. As night fell, thest rays of daylight were reced by darkness.


    When Shermaine returned to the vige entrance, she ran into Shalene.


    Ever since Shalene hade out, she had gone mad, probably because she had encountered the crystal coffin. At that moment<b>, </b>she was in <b>a </b>daze,


    holding a stick and scribbling on the ground.


    Shermaine approached and shone her shlight on the ground. She discovered that Shalene was drawing mechas that only appeared in anime and warnes of unfamiliar models.


    Back at the cabin, Shermaine was toozy to cook. She took out her instant meal and ate it to fill her stomach. Afterward, she turned on herptop and took out her phone, opening WhatsApp.


    Shermaine hadn’t been online for nearly two weeks. <i>As </i>soon as she opened WhatsApp, she saw <b>a </b>flood of messages from family, ssmates<b>, </b>senior student Danielle, and others like Lily and Roy.


    Her ssmates naturally gave her feedback on the product’s effectiveness. Each one said they had never used such effective skincare products before.


    The effects were amazing. After using the face masks, their skin felt smooth, firm, and revitalized the next day.


    And the main products<b>, </b>the e–clearing cream and the essence that could remove spots, reduce wrinkles, and lighten dark circles, were even <b>more </b>effective.


    Even their mothers praised the products and inquired about their origin, nning to rmend them to friends.


    Lily had sent the most messages to Shermaine. When Shermaine opened them, she found that they were all about how great the effects were,


    <b>After </b>the New Year, Shermaine had already had a batch of products manufactured, and the brand’s official website was up and running tow, the only thing left was to promote the products.


    Lily had initially wanted to hire a very popr star to endorse and promote the products, hoping to quickly boost their popnty


    But upon hearing that it was an obscure brand, the star tly refused. Lily contacted other stars with the same result, which frustrated her to no end.


    Lily had sincerely sent aplete set of the products to those stars to try out. She was confident that they would love them. After all, the skincare products that Shermaine had developed were truly a woman’s best friend.


    However, those stars didn’t even bother to try them. It was clear that they only endorsed products from well–known brands.


    Seeing that no big stars were willing to endorse their brand, Lily decided to give up and vowed that once their brand became popr, they would never ask those stars to endorse any of their products in the future.


    Now, Lily was thinking of promoting the products through many beauty bloggers on social media to see if that could increase their popnty and traffic,


    but she was still hesitant.


    Shermaine replied: [It’s feasible. I had nned to do it this way from the beginning. It’s more cost–effective than hiring celebrities for ads. I’ll rmend someone to you. Send them a set of the products.]


    Shermaine then sent Roy’s business card to Lily, and had previously informed Roy. [The skincare products I developed are going to beunched. I need you to give them a shoutout on Twitter.]


    Roy responded almost instantly: [Got it, Mdy.]


    He then asked: [Mdy, during your time in Xenhall, did Joshua take advantage of you?]


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