Staring at the mountain of magazines piled before her, Debbie felt the world spinning around her. The overwhelming stack made her dizzy with despair.

“Seriously? That list was actually real?” 

Benjamin’s whispered conversation with Emil the proofreader drifted over from across the room.

“I heard the publishing house next door is in chaos. They thought someone was playing a prank and threw it away without checking properly. Then a competitor picked it up and passed it to the Glory Newspaper, so now they’re being severely reprimanded for missing a huge scoop.”

“So that means the Phantom Thief really exists.”

“What kind of secret would make someone completely empty their safe but then pretend nothing was stolen?”

“Man, I’m really curious. Did he really send out notices saying he’d reveal the contents through the Glory Newspaper?”

“The Glory Newspaper is thrilled about it. The Phantom Thief is basically giving them free advertising.”

Just then, Editor Gray’s voice suddenly floated from his office.

“Since when does our publishing house cover politics and society?”

Eek!

Benjamin and Emil jumped as though they’d encountered the grim reaper himself.

“Is the adult toy review finished?”

Gray’s voice continued through the wall, seemingly able to see through it. Benjamin suddenly pretended to be extremely busy.

“Has the proofreading for guest writer AB’s manuscript been completed?”

At those words, Emil suddenly dashed off somewhere.

“Louis, what’s the progress on the feature article? What’s the status of Simons’ serial novel deadline? Have you checked our reserves?”

The editorial office suddenly erupted into chaos, with everyone grabbing their work and running in different directions.

Debbie pushed the magazines aside and began tearing at her hair as she tried to write her proposal. She had no idea that Gray’s office contained an expensive magical device that allowed him to observe the entire office.

* * *

“Gray sent you?” 

Never in her dreams had Debbie imagined she would be interviewing an opera singer. She trembled nervously, swallowing hard. Her subject was simply too prominent.

Though not the most elite singer, she was well-known enough that this assignment felt like madness. Why would someone like that agree to this kind of interview?

Her subject was Henrietta of the Black Rose, a mesmerizing woman with a voluptuous figure and a mezzo-soprano range.

Though she never secured leading roles, she was a skilled performer who appeared in supporting roles everywhere. Her reputation included fierce pride in her work and notorious arrogance.

Asking an actress who lived in the public eye about her “s*xual experiences” seemed absurd. Debbie felt intimidated, cold sweat trickling down her back.

Known for playing villainous roles, Henrietta had fierce eyes and full lips that seemed ready to spew venom at any moment. One wrong word would likely get Debbie grabbed by the hair and thrown out of the waiting room.

“Hmm.”

Henrietta examined Debbie from head to toe with an uncomfortably lingering gaze.

“Um… your real name won’t be revealed at all, and any expressions that might hint at your identity will be changed, so please feel free to participate in the interview without worry,” Debbie stammered.

“What, are you joking?” Henrietta spat out harshly, her voice grating like phlegm.

“Pardon?”

Debbie flinched like a mouse before a cat. Seeing this, Henrietta made a dismissive sound and jerked her head to the side.

“S*xual experiences with an ex-boyfriend? Ha. He’s truly insane.”

The moment those words left Henrietta’s mouth, Debbie squeezed her eyes shut.

‘I’m doomed.’

This was practically the same as being sent to be humiliated. The woman’s naturally upturned eyes made her look even more temperamental as they flashed dangerously.

“Darling, didn’t that madman have any other message for me?”

Henrietta abruptly addressed Debbie as “darling.” Imagining hellfire blazing around the woman’s head, Debbie nervously swallowed.

“Ahahaha!” 

Suddenly, Henrietta threw her head back and laughed like a madwoman.

“What’s your relationship with that psychopath?” she asked, gathering her flowing hair over one shoulder.

“Excuse me?”

“Is ‘excuse me’ all you can say? If he sent you to ask his ex-girlfriend whether her experience with him was good or whether it was better with the man she cheated with, shouldn’t you have come with at least some minimal thinking capacity?”

Gasp!

Flames seemed to blaze in Henrietta’s eyes, making Debbie feel like they would engulf her at any moment. Her toes curled with dread as she fidgeted, gauging the moment to flee.

Where was the exit again?

“What’s this? Cat got your tongue? Did he send an idiot?”

Henrietta glared at Debbie with obvious displeasure.

Seeing Debbie’s face turning progressively paler in real time, Henrietta burst into laughter.

“Hehe, shouldn’t you buy me a drink before asking about such things?”

She leaned back against her chair, resting her chin on the armrest.

“You have no tact whatsoever. Coming with such thirst-inducing questions in broad daylight, when I have a dress rehearsal in a few hours. So, what do you want to hear?”

Debbie snapped back to attention at those words.

“It won’t be free, right? He’s paying, isn’t he? Money is all that man has, so he wouldn’t have sent you to interview me empty-handed. Let’s see how much.”

With trembling hands, Debbie clutched the list of prepared questions.

“The payment will be after the interview…”

Regardless, Henrietta’s willingness to participate brightened Debbie’s expression like rainfall during a drought.

The moment she opened the list with her nervous, sweaty hands, Henrietta snatched it away.

“When was your first experience, how often do you enjoy it, what positions do you prefer personally?”

Henrietta immediately tore the question sheet to pieces, then smiled slyly and said, “Since you’re here for an interview, I might as well tell you about that man. Shall I list how terrible his bedroom skills are?”

* * *

Getting caught between former lovers was painful, especially when it involved the explicit private life of a workplace superior. This was truly a disaster of the editor’s own making. Why on earth had he sent her to interview his ex-girlfriend?

Debbie stared at her interview notes with an uncomfortable expression. She had completed the assigned task, so she could just hand this over as is.

On her way back, this thought made her stop in her tracks. She quietly examined the notebook containing the interview that had shredded her soul just from listening.

“Is s*x really this disappointing?”

She had never been in love with anyone, nor had she ever had s*x with anyone. Still, she had vaguely imagined what it might be like when she eventually experienced love and shared that moment with someone.

“This really ruins everything.”

Henrietta had rattled on, spittle flying, about how inadequate and terrible Gray was in bed. She claimed to have no regrets about switching to another man, elaborately explaining how satisfied her new partner made her feel.

But to Debbie, everything that came out of Henrietta’s mouth was simply shocking—both Gray’s supposedly terrible bedroom performance and her affair partner’s allegedly amazing skills.

Henrietta repeatedly emphasized that it all came down to thrusting deeply, panting heavily, then climaxing and ending the encounter. She stated that she didn’t love either man. These were merely physical relationships, and Gray was just one of many such people.

Yet she mocked him for sending people to ask her to get back together or for lingering outside her house after their breakup, calling his behavior pathetic.

Debbie had listened to Henrietta’s words with her mouth hanging open in shock before collecting herself enough to ask one question:

“Is a relationship without love possible?”

Hearing this, Henrietta laughed hysterically.

“Why is love necessary?”

“If there’s no love, why continue doing it?”

To Debbie’s genuinely surprised expression, Henrietta wiped away tears of laughter and said:

“Love? Why engage in something so nutritionally void?”

Her words made Debbie widen her eyes even more in tension.

“But you’re an opera singer. Even in your current performance, you play a role where someone becomes twisted with unrequited love and brings about destruction because the object of their affection won’t look at them.”

Though Henrietta played supporting roles, she was renowned for her realistic performances. Debbie couldn’t believe that such a person would regard love so trivially.

“My goodness. You’re so new that even your words are refreshingly unique.”

Henrietta laughed brightly every time Debbie spoke.

“Love—if you hold onto such notions, you’ll wither and die quickly in this industry, my baby reporter.”

Henrietta reached out, pinched Debbie’s cheek firmly, and shook it vigorously, apparently pleased with its soft texture.

“You’ve never done it, have you? That’s it, right? No wonder you speak like someone who knows nothing about the world.”

Henrietta snorted mockingly.

“How unfortunate. It must be difficult trying to write about something you don’t even understand. When you return, tell that man to stop stalking me. I’ve already lost interest in him, so he shouldn’t make himself look more pathetic.”

Debbie’s eyes hardened as she rubbed her pinched cheek. Henrietta’s mockery pierced her heart like a dagger.

Recalling her words again, Debbie stopped walking and leaned against a nearby streetlamp, breathing heavily.

Writing about something she didn’t understand.

Those words circled in her mind, gouging her heart. Treating her like a baby and even badmouthing Gray, her workplace superior, despite their short acquaintance.

She truly disliked how Henrietta could cheat yet still maintain a righteous expression, claiming she was dissatisfied because her partner had poor bedroom skills.

Why on earth did the editor date such a woman?

Henrietta was someone who looked down on people. During her relationship with the editor, she only cared about money while merely enjoying the physical aspects. How could she show such a complete lack of remorse for her actions?

Was s*xual desire truly the most important human desire, as she claimed?

Debbie had barely skimmed through a few issues of “Troublesome” magazine, let alone competitors’ publications. All those articles about “how to enjoy s*x more pleasurably” seemed pointless—what Henrietta wanted was simply prolonged penetration and movement.

Perhaps the “various s*xual techniques” that the magazine promoted would be useless to someone like her.

What was so good about longer duration?

What was so bad about shorter duration?

She honestly couldn’t understand the difference. Henrietta’s interview content, which judged s*xual quality merely by penetration time, failed to resonate with her at all.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt Gray had wasted his money and time on such a woman. No, he seemed foolish.

‘This interview is wrong.’

Debbie bit her lip firmly.

She wanted to rebut Henrietta’s claims and even curse at her. Though she wasn’t particularly taking Gray’s side, she couldn’t articulate why she felt Henrietta’s approach was fundamentally flawed.