After William Carter read through the two documents again, his expression gradually became grave. “What do you want to do? Terminate the contract directly, or stay with Xingyao but just change the contract terms?”

Emily Bennett didn’t hesitate at all. “Terminate.”

“This lawsuit can be fought.” William Carter tapped the contract with his finger. “Focus on the exploitative contract. The other party used fraud and coercion to make you sign, violating your free will. Legally, this is a voidable contract. And the other party threatened you with nude photos, which already constitutes defamation and personal harm.”

“But,” he changed his tone, looking at Emily Bennett, “once you file a lawsuit, your agency definitely won’t just sit back and wait. Your... nude photo incident will definitely be exposed. If the company decides to go all out and release those photos, we have no evidence to prove that Xingyao Media was the source of the leak. Because those photos weren’t taken by Xingyao, but by your loan sharks. They can easily claim that the original files were never destroyed back then, and the photos were leaked from the loan sharks.”

William Carter frowned at Emily Bennett. “Have you considered these consequences?”

She might not be a star anymore, but she still had to live as a person.

It was easy to imagine what kind of disaster would befall her if the nude photos were leaked. Her haters, the passersby who already had a terrible impression of her, the company’s hired smear campaigners—all would pounce, enough to drag her into the abyss, never to recover.

Alone, with no protection, taking the legal route was like walking on a blade. Bleeding all the way to victory, and in the end, with half a life left, she’d have nothing but freedom.

Emily Bennett lowered her head, looking at the gently rippling tea in the white porcelain cup.

After a long while, she looked up and smiled at William Carter. “Let’s fight.”

William Carter stared at her in disbelief.

“Having a father like that isn’t my fault. Owing loan sharks isn’t my fault. Being photographed naked isn’t my fault. Being exploited by my agency isn’t my fault. If in the end everyone comes to attack me, that’s not my fault either.” She paused, then smiled softly.

“It’s the world that’s wrong.”

William Carter didn’t move, just looked at the smiling girl across from him. After a long time, he put away the documents. “I’ll take these two documents back with me. Next, I’ll prepare the materials needed for the lawsuit. I’ll be in touch at any time.”

Emily Bennett nodded, hesitated for a moment, then said, “William Carter, the legal fees...”

He smiled at her. “No rush. We’ll talk after we win.”

William Carter got up to leave. As he turned and walked away, she watched his back, her eyes growing moist. After a long while, she whispered, “Thank you, brother.”

Emily Bennett sat alone in the booth for a long time. Only after calming herself did she finally get up and leave. When she reached the lobby, the luxurious decor all around reminded her of something very important!

She only had fifty-three thousand left in her account! Why on earth did she come to such a high-end teahouse like Xifeng Shuixie? Wouldn’t it have been fine to meet at the little park across the street...?

Emily Bennett was on the verge of tears, walking heavily to the front desk, pulling out her wallet. “Check, please. How much is it?”

The girl at the front desk smiled like a flower, sweetly saying, “Miss, the bill for Shoufeng Pavilion has already been settled. Thank you for your patronage, and we look forward to seeing you again.”

Boohoo, her brother is so good to her.

Emily Bennett was deeply moved, put away her wallet, and was about to leave when she turned and saw a few people coming out of the teahouse across the way. Two middle-aged men in front were chatting happily as they headed for the door, followed by a young man wearing a hat and mask, hands in his pockets, head down, radiating a “keep away” aura.

As a devoted wife fan, she could recognize her own husband even if he was wrapped in a quilt!

To run into Henry Clark like this—she was simply too lucky. The gloom from the contract issue instantly lifted. But in such a public place, she couldn’t just rush over and cause a scandal for Henry Clark, so Emily Bennett suppressed her excitement, pretended not to see him, and left with a cool expression.

Night had already fallen. With winter approaching, the cold wind was blowing, and under the night sky, a silver moon cast a frosty, hazy glow. Xifeng Shuixie was right next to a villa community. Henry Clark said goodbye to his friends and turned into the green path on the right.

This greenway, along with the back gate of the community, led directly to his home. There were few people at this hour, and he didn’t have to worry about reporters. Rarely having some free time, he wanted to take a walk alone.

He didn’t expect that just as he reached the corner, someone suddenly jumped out from behind the trees. “Henry Clark!”

Henry Clark was startled and shuddered. When he saw who it was, he gritted his teeth in anger. “Emily Bennett, are you out of your mind?!”

Actually, he had already seen her in the lobby earlier and noticed that she recognized him. He just didn’t expect her to turn and leave. Henry Clark had even mocked her in his heart—she was still the same as before, avoiding him like the plague. He never thought she not only didn’t leave, but actually hid here to scare him!

“Did I scare you?” Emily Bennett sounded nervous and very apologetic. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

Henry Clark waved his hand impatiently. “What is it?”

She looked up at him again, her eyes sparkling under the night sky. “Good night!”

Henry Clark wondered if he’d heard wrong. “What?”

“Good night! Go to bed early, don’t stay up late!”

Henry Clark frowned at her for a while. “You waited here just to tell me that?”