Chapter 8 Who Is Trying To Die

• Rachel, holding a stack of A4 papers, looked shocked and asked, "Doctor Moore, are you so close to Director Martin?"
• Amanda Moore ignored her, pursed her lips, and suddenly sighed, "What a pity, Mr. Jonathan Perez. There's no one to carry on his legacy."
• Rachel knew that Director Martin was Mr. Jonathan Perez's grandson, but she was confused by Doctor Moore's sudden sigh. She wanted to ask a few more questions, but Amanda Moore suddenly reached out and took the stack of A4 papers from Rachel's arms: "Did you finish printing the experimental report I asked you to print?"
• This was not an experimental report, but a fanfiction about Joshua Walker written in the second person on a well-known website. The plot was melodramatic, and the content was quite explicit, with enticing bedroom scenes. Rachel had secretly printed it out, planning to read it after work, but she was caught red-handed by Doctor Moore.
• Before she could stop her, Amanda Moore casually flipped through the pages and read:
• "Joshua Walker lifted your chin, his fingers brushing across your cheek, and sneered, 'Your father owes me billions. You didn't know that, did you? This is what you should bear.'"
• "Joshua Walker ignored your resistance and arrogantly kissed your lips, 'Who allowed you to look at other men?'"
• "Joshua Walker tore open the expensive bespoke gown, exposing your smooth skin to the air... He coldly said, 'This is your punishment.'"
• Amanda Moore was startled by the unexpected content.
• Rachel was utterly embarrassed and apologized frantically: "Doctor Moore, I'm sorry. I've already printed the experimental report. This one I printed out to read after work. I definitely didn't use work time for it!"
• According to Doctor Moore's personality, reading erotic novels was far less serious than slacking off at work, so Rachel frantically explained the issue of slacking off.
• This was the first time Amanda Moore had encountered the "Dominant CEO" genre in her life. The explicit content, coupled with the fact that it involved someone she knew and was interested in, was quite shocking and left her speechless for a long time.
• Rachel trembled: "Doctor Moore..."
• Amanda Moore's mind went blank for a moment before she regained her composure: "Don't let it happen again."
• "As for this..." Amanda Moore flipped through the unrealistic and anatomically incorrect erotic story, her disdain evident, and casually stuffed it into a drawer: "Confiscated."
• Rachel dared not say a word and slinked away quietly.
• Coincidentally, just as Amanda Moore had calmed down, a call from Joshua Walker came through. She looked at the name on the caller ID, hesitated for a moment, and then answered, "Mr. Walker?"
• Joshua Walker got straight to the point: "Next week, my grandfather is scheduled for surgery, and he wants to see you before then. Are you free next week?"
• Regarding the body donation agreement, he had his lawyer's team review it thoroughly and found no issues. Plus, it wouldn't affect him while he was alive. Although he was surprised that Amanda Moore hadn't played any tricks, the matter was urgent, and he quickly agreed to sign it. The contract between them was thus effective.
• "Alright, come to school to find me." However, Amanda Moore always believed in the principle of equivalent exchange: "You'd better come a little early. I want to take a few CT scans of you."
• Given Joshua Walker's current state of health, Amanda Moore wasn't even sure if she would outlive him, so the probability of her personally dissecting him was only about half. Therefore, taking a few CT scans of his body during its prime would allow her to admire them at her leisure.
• This wasn't a difficult request. Joshua Walker raised an eyebrow and quickly agreed, "Alright."
• He was about to hang up when Amanda Moore spoke up again, "Wait."
• Joshua Walker raised an eyebrow, "anything else?"
• Amanda Moore, recalling the plot of the erotic novel, asked out of curiosity, "If someone owed you a few billions, and the debtor happened to have a daughter, what would you do to her?"
• This was the first time she had shown interest in someone else's life. With her photographic memory, she hoped Joshua Walker would give a normal answer, allowing her to distinguish between the Joshua Walker in the book and the real Joshua Walker. Otherwise, every time she saw Joshua Walker, she would inevitably think of the scenarios from that book.
• Joshua Walker thought:"Was she testing him?"
• He chuckled, his laughter tinged with a hint of teasing, enunciating each word clearly: "Probably... would retaliate harshly."
• Amanda Moore instantly recalled the passage from the original text: 'He gripped your slender waist and growled in your ear, "This is my revenge against you, can you handle it?"
• Amanda Moore's emotions became even more complicated.
• Joshua Walker, a person with a severe obsession with punctuality, arrived early at the Horizon University Research Institute. After donning a hat and mask to avoid being recognized, he called Amanda Moore from his car, succinctly reminding her, "It's time."
• Amanda Moore's voice, accompanied by the buzzing of equipment, came through the receiver, equally brief in her response: "Three minutes."
• Joshua Walker checked his watch as the second hand ticked past the hour, causing him discomfort due to his obsession with punctuality: "Is there anything else?"
• Amanda Moore's voice was serious: "Hold a simple funeral for the mice used in this experiment."
• Joshua Walker: "..."
• He thought Amanda Moore was making a dry joke, but she had already hung up.
• He took a deep breath and opened the glove compartment, about to grab a bottle of ice water to cool down, when a small medicine bottle suddenly rolled out from the corner. The label on it was old and yellow, but it was barely legible as some sort of tranquilizer.
• Joshua Walker bent down to pick up the bottle, looking at it for a moment before recalling what it was, a slight tug at the corner of his mouth.
• Many people now say that Joshua Walker is irritable and has a big ego, but compared to five or six years ago, he could now be considered quite amiable.
• Back then, his mother had just passed away, and his father and that woman had turned the house upside down. It was during that time that he became extremely irritable, highly vengeful, and felt that life was negative, so he started looking for thrills. He began engaging in high-intensity, death-defying activities like free combat, rock climbing, street racing, and skydiving. It wasn't until his grandfather forced him to see a psychiatrist that he was finally diagnosed with paranoid personality disorder.
• It was only later, when he was in school and gradually got into acting, that he was able to release and vent most of his emotions in front of the camera, supplemented by several years of medication, that he gradually returned to normal.
• However, the psychiatrist had repeatedly warned him to keep calm in the future, to avoid emotional involvement as much as possible, otherwise, there was a high chance of a relapse — the specific manifestation of which would be an almost insane desire for control and exclusivity towards the one who evoked his emotions, and it would be uncontrollable.
• Joshua Walker played with the old medicine bottle in his hand for a moment, feeling an inexplicable urge to laugh.
• He had been in both the wealthy circles and the entertainment industry, where he had seen men and women mingling without any real emotions. These two circles could be considered the coldest and most ruthless places in the world, and he had long since lost any sense of affection.
• Moreover, who in this world was worthy of evoking his emotions? Let alone dying for any woman.
• Joshua Walker thought of the doctor's serious advice, zoned out for a moment, and when he realized it was about time, he casually tossed the medicine bottle into the trash can and got out of the car with his hands in his pockets.
• Amanda Moore was waiting for him in the CT room. She was still wearing her white lab coat, which she hadn't time to take off, and hadn't fully shifted out of her work mode. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, giving her a very solemn appearance.
• Her usual delicate weakness was concealed by the lab coat, giving her a bony and cold demeanor. She was covered up tightly, not a single inch of skin exposed, exuding an inexplicable sense of abstinence.
• To be honest, the term "abstinence" was often used to describe men in various works of film and literature, but for the first time, Joshua Walker felt that this word suited a young woman so well. He couldn't help but take a few more looks.
• She asked in a straightforward manner, "We're about to take the scan. You don't have any metal objects on you, do you?"
• Joshua Walker regained his composure, coughed lightly to cover up, and casually replied, "No."
• Amanda Moore examined him from top to bottom several times, then suddenly leaned in close to his ear. He could almost feel her slightly cool breath brushing against his earlobe.
• Joshua Walker was taken aback and was about to get angry when Amanda Moore suddenly reached out and gently pinched his earlobe with her soft fingers.
• This was the first time he had been touched in such a sensitive spot, and a small jolt of electricity shot through his nerve endings. He couldn't help but lean back, and the fingertips resting on the table turned slightly white from the pressure.
• After a moment, the veins on his forehead throbbed wildly, and he ground his teeth as he asked through clenched teeth, "Are you trying to die?"
• Amanda Moore opened her hand, revealing a uniquely shaped earring in her palm. Her expression was even worse than Joshua Walker's: "You're the one trying to die! How dare you wear a metal object into the CT machine?"
• Joshua Walker: "...
• This was an accessory he had worn for a magazine photograph, and he had been so distracted upon arriving that he had completely forgotten about it.
• Joshua Walker's face flushed slightly, unable to come up with an excuse, so he replied in a bad tone, "I did it on purpose to see if you're professional enough. What's the problem?"
• Without waiting for Amanda Moore to respond, he snorted and lay down on the CT machine.
• Fortunately, the rest of the scan went smoothly. Amanda Moore looked at his CT images and finally regained her composure.