Marilyn became increasingly angrier as she dwelled on what happened.

Brody soon got up from the ground in dismay. He looked exceptionally miserable with a blue nose and a swollen face.

"Impossible! Iris is the Youngs' eldest young lady! She's a very respected person. None of Springfield City's rich and powerful young men ever caught her attention, so how did a piece of trash like Leon do it!"

"Maybe the two of them just happened to know each other..."

Brody covered his face and groaned in pain.

Iris was a goddess in his eyes, contrasting strongly with his low impression of Leon. He would sooner die than believe that there was a special relationship between Leon and Iris!

"You're right! Iris couldn't have taken a liking to him unless she's blind... But on second thought, even if Iris was blind, she'd never fancy some garbage like him!"

Marilyn smiled disdainfully, and his heart became felt a little more at ease.

"Who cares what kind of relationship they have?! It's all Leon's fault that this happened to me. I'm going to get back at him for this!"

Brody had a resentful look on his face.

He could not afford to provoke the Youngs and was afraid of holding a grudge against Iris too.

As a result, he blamed everything on Leon!

The surrounding bystanders could not help but look down in disdain when they saw how shameless Brody and Marilyn were.

Everyone saw how Leon persuaded Iris into letting Brody go.

Brody, however, did not show any gratitude and resented Leon instead!

It was simply too shameless!

Unfortunately, the Sullivans were powerful, and all that the others could do was despise him silently without saying it to his face.

...

Leon was left with nothing after getting a divorce from Marilyn.

He had no belongings, and the most important necessity for him at the moment was a place to stay.

The Sovereign Hotel was one of the most luxurious five-star hotels in all of Springfield City, and Iris planned to have him settle down there for the time being. She could also ask him the exact details of what happened the

previous night.

When they arrived at the hotel, Iris motioned for her bodyguards to wait outside while she took Leon in.

"Welcome to The Sovereign Hotel," two attendants smile professionally to welcome them.

When Leon walked on the hotel's red carpet, he looked around and was shocked by how splendid and luxurious the decor was.

He never stepped foot in a place as high-end as a five-star hotel, and he could not help but feel a little uncomfortable to be there.

Furthermore, his tattered clothes were a stark contrast with the hotel.

He took each step with caution for he was worried that his shoes might stain the hotel's high-end red carpet.

"Hold it! This is a high-end hotel. Beggars aren't allowed to enter! Shoo! Beg somewhere else!"

There came a youngish 27- or 28-year-old woman who was dressed in a supervisor's uniform.

She put on an attitude of superiority and yelled harshly at the two attendants who greeted Iris and Leon.

"What's wrong with you two? Are you blind? How could you let a beggar in?!"

"Who are you calling a beggar?" Iris was startled and did not know how to respond for a moment.

Moments later, she saw the supervisor walk up to Leon before pointing at him. "Get out of here, you miserable beggar!" the supervisor yelled, stopping short of actually shoving him out.

Leon already felt ashamed of himself, to begin with, and his face turned red as soon as the supervisor scolded him. How he wished he could just burrow into a hole in the ground!

Iris understood what happened and her pretty face immediately turned cold. She pushed the woman's finger away and said, "You're the one who's blind. Does he look like a beggar to you? He's my friend! We're here to

book a room..."

"Book a room?"

The supervisor looked disdainfully at Iris from head to toe. "You dress like a rich lady but you're booking a room with a beggar? I suppose you're the same as him then. Now get out of our hotel, both of you!"

Iris was furious. "Only mean people like you can say such things. Where's your manager? Tell him to come out here and meet me!"

"Who do you think you are? What right do you have to ask for our manager?" the supervisor smiled contemptuously.

Iris trembled with anger. Had she not controlled herself for the sake of her identity, she would have slapped the supervisor in the face already.

The hotel staff were already alerted to the commotion there.

A young man about 36- or 37 years old rushed over as quickly as possible, and nametag that wrote 'Lobby Manager - Wendell Dyer' was pinned to his suit lapel.

"What's going on, Cheryl? Tell me what happened!" Wendell asked.

"Cousin! You came at just the right time. These two beggars are causing trouble and it's affecting our hotel's image..."

The supervisor pointed at Iris and Leon with a contemptuous expression.

Wendell looked in the direction of Cheryl's finger and immediately saw Iris.

His first glance elicited awe, for he was captivated by Iris's beautiful face and noble temperament.

On his second glance, his expression changed greatly, and beads of cold sweat began appearing on his forehead!

Iris seldom appeared in public, and few of those who were not within the circle of rich or powerful individuals knew what she looked like.

Wendell was never qualified to know Iris, but since the Youngs' business spanned many industries, they would usually entertain VIP guests or major customers of the company by arranging a stay for them at The Sovereign Hotel.

It was by sheer fortune that Wendell was able to meet Iris once before, so he knew Iris's identity at a glance!

At this moment, Wendell was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he almost fell to his knees.

She was not the kind of person he could afford to offend.

"Where's security? Somebody, call security! Is this how you do your job in this hotel? Aren't you going to hurry up and chase those two beggars away!" Cheryl went so far as to start yelling like nobody's business.

"Enough!"

A furious Wendell slapped her.

Following that crisp slap, Cheryl staggered and fell onto the ground.

"W-w-w-why did you slap me?"

Cheryl covered her cheek with one hand and was stunned by that slap.

"You dimwit! Do you know who this is? This is Iris Young! The Youngs' eldest young lady!"

Wendell glared at Cheryl fiercely and he went to chew Cheryl out!

Cheryl was his distant cousin, which led her to bully some of the lowerranked attendants in the hotel because she was connected to him by blood.

He turned a blind eye to her transgressions for the sake of their relatives, but Cheryl caused some serious trouble by provoking Iris!

Given the Youngs' influence in Springfield City, he would be made to suffer alongside Cheryl if the matter was not handled well!

"She... She's THE Iris Young?!"

Cheryl was dumbfounded.

She never saw Iris before but knew about Iris's reputation rather well. She knew that Iris was the Youngs' eldest young lady and was also the highestacclaimed of four famous beauties in Springfield City!

Even if the Youngs did not come for her, Iris's rich admirers would almost certainly rip her to shreds once they found out that she offended Iris.

Cheryl was so frightened that her knees went weak. She knelt immediately and started begging for mercy.

"Miss Young, I'm sorry for not knowing who you were earlier. I didn't mean to offend you. Please find it in your heart to forgive me, rather than take offense with someone like me who is beneath you..."

Cheryl shivered with fright and continued to beg for mercy.

Wendell's heart sank when he saw Iris's expressionless face. He scolded her sharply, "Slap yourself!"

Cheryl hesitated for a moment but eventually gritted her teeth and started slapping herself. She continued to slap herself even harder as she said,

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry..."

She slapped herself with each apology until the corners of her mouth started to bleed.

"Apologize to my friend!" Iris ordered coldly.

"Of course, of course... I'm sorry, Sir. I was wrong..."

Cheryl did not seem to care anymore that Leon was a beggar and immediately knelt in front of him to apologize.

Leon was startled and felt a little overwhelmed.

In the past, his daily routine was divided between staying at home and working at the company. He never went anywhere else.

He never even heard about the four beauties of Springfield City, let alone the Youngs.

He also had no idea that the Youngs were an influential family, and he had no clue as to how formidable the Youngs were.

All he knew was that Iris ordered her bodyguards to beat Brody senseless at the Civil Records Office.

Then there was also Cheryl, who was so frightened after knowing Iris's true identity that she knelt and began begging for mercy.

Those two incidents led him to postulate that the Youngs must be a rich and powerful family.

There was no doubt that Leon felt Iris up quite a bit the previous night, but

Iris seemed to have acted as if none of that happened, causing Leon to wonder why that was the case...

Leon let his imagination run wild for a moment but made sure to snap himself out as soon as possible.

He walked over to Iris and tugged her arm while whispering, "Forget about her, Iris. I'm used to this treatment anyway..."

Iris felt an ache in her heart. She could feel the bitterness and helplessness in Leon's words, along with a subtle hint of his inferiority complex.

"Miss Young, this is entirely Cheryl's fault. I'll discipline her in due time. Please give her another chance to learn from her mistakes," Wendell pleaded sincerely.

His hatred toward Cheryl started to manifest. He needed to make sure that Cheryl did not continue acting like that in the future. She might have been let off the hook on that occasion, but allowing her to continue with her shenanigans would eventually spell doom for him too!

"Get up! Since my friend has elected to forgive you, I will agree to give you one more chance. I hope you'll learn to shape up in the future!" Iris snorted coldly.

She was capable of forgiving when the situation called for it.

After all, she never liked using her identity to oppress others, and she did not want to argue with some insignificant people.

"Thank you, Miss Young. Thank you, Sir..."

Cheryl was finally brave enough to stand up, for she felt as if she was just granted a pardon.

However, the clothes on her back were already soaked in cold sweat.

Many of the guests there were alarmed.

When they found out that the noble and beautiful woman in front of them was Iris, they all had a look of surprise as their eyes glowed with a fiery light.

Many of them secretly took out their cell phones to snap some pictures, as they hoped to get Iris's beautiful appearance on camera.

"Let's go, Leon..."

Iris quickly realized that something was wrong and immediately pulled Leon out of the hotel.

Hotels were tricky places because it was somewhat inappropriate to book a room there with Leon. It would only be detrimental for both of them should any misunderstanding or rumor begin to circulate.

It went without saying that she had a clear conscience and therefore had nothing to fear, but many of her suitors were children of the rich and powerful.

A misunderstanding involving such issues would easily cause unnecessary trouble to Leon.

That was the last thing Iris wanted to see.

...

Dragonbay Villas was one of the most famous, upscale villas in Springfield City. Mountains and rivers surrounded the area and blessed it with exceptionally beautiful scenery.

Those who could afford to live there had to be rich and famous, muses of business tycoons, or those whose reputations were synonymous with elegance and luxury.

Iris bought two sets of high-end clothes for Leon at a nearby mall before returning to the villa with Leon.

"I don't think it's prudent to be booking a hotel room for you to stay in. You can stay at my place for a couple of days and I'll buy you a house tomorrow. You can move into your new home once the formalities are done."

Iris had a slight blush on her pretty face.

As someone who always kept herself chaste, she never once allowed a member of the opposite gender into her residence before, much less invite them to stay overnight.

Be that as it may, she made an exception to bring Leon home to thank him for his life-saving grace.

Of course, the only reason she trusted Leon so much was that he saved her life the previous night. That integrity alone convinced her that Leon was not a bad person.

"Thank you, but you don't have to buy me a house..." Leon waved his hands.

He then realized that his words could easily be misconstrued to imply that he wanted to stay at Iris's house forever.

"That's not what I meant... What I mean to say was, I'll be grateful enough if you find a place where I can rent. I'll return the money you spent on my rent when I've earned some money..."

Leon said with an awkward smile.

Iris smiled in return and did not take his words to heart. She took out an ID card and returned it to him, saying, "Here's your ID card. My men found it in the garbage dump, which got me thinking about why it was there in the first place."

"You're a lifesaver!"

Leon was overjoyed as he took the ID card.

He had no money at all, but having an ID card meant that he could find a job as soon as possible to ensure that his most basic needs in life were met.

Leon's face turned red when he thought back to how his ID card ended up in the garbage dump. He was embarrassed to tell Iris how pitiful of a life he had when he was married, so he explained everything without going too much into detail.