It was midday, and there were only a few minutes left until the end of the lecture. Cassidy twirled the pen in her hand thoughtfully. Just then, Mr. Ross finished his lecture and dropped the mic on the podium. He looked at them, his expression becoming more solemn as he spoke, "You all need to focus on your studies and do your best. Some of you are already doing well, but you have to continue giving your best. Your class is the best in the whole school. Surely, you don't want to lose face by falling off the ranks when the results come out. Is that understood?" "Yes, sir," everyone chorused as he stepped out of the door. Once he was gone, Cassidy focused on the list of fashion bags of the year, contemplating which one to choose. She was planning to ask Luke to pay for it. Just then, her desk mate leaned in and exclaimed, holding her phone up to Cassidy's face. "Check this out, Cassidy. Have you seen it?" Cassidy looked up with a frown, clearly displeased by the interruption. "What is
Heather gasped and quickly covered her mouth with her hand to stop herself from shouting. She stared at Cassidy with wide eyes. "Seriously? She's attracted to older men?" Cassidy nodded, a hint of regret in her expression. "Yeah. Honestly, even though I have a good opinion of my sister, I can't help but feel disgusted too. But she's still my sister, and even if others are against her, I have to support her." Heather's curiosity was piqued. "What do your parents think about it? I mean, which parent would want their child to be with someone as old as them? And how old is your sister anyway?" Cassidy interjected, looking thoughtful. "She's actually just one year older than us. And honestly, my sister isn't all that bad. Even though she argues with our parents all the time and moved in with her sugar daddy without getting married, I still feel like I have to be there for her." Heather still struggled to process the information, shaking her head and pursing her lips in distaste as she l
A moment later, he was pushed into the room. There was a small, polite smile on his lips as he was guided to the front of the table where the directors sat. His gaze was focused as he made eye contact with each of them. Despite it being his first time at the company, he appeared calm and relaxed. Furthermore, he didn't seem to be embarrassed about being in a wheelchair; in fact, he exuded more confidence than someone with fully functioning legs. He stood there for a moment, choosing not to sit immediately, leaving the men to wonder what his intentions were. Suddenly, he bowed lightly and began speaking solemnly, "I apologize for being late, everyone." Some of the directors who had initially planned to challenge him had no choice but to swallow their discontent. Max, however, was dissatisfied. He was already on edge because Nolan had his father's support, and he wanted to discredit him in front of the board. Even if it meant resorting to dirty tricks, he was determined to bring Nolan
He seemed very confident, and that was impressive enough for the group of nitpickers seated in the hall. Even Max couldn't help but look at him. Although he was well aware that his nephew was full of confidence and hardly intimidated by anything, he couldn't help but think that he seemed quite cool. When faced with the group of old geezers who always nitpicked about every single thing, he usually treaded very softly. But it was probably because he hadn't been there before that he was so confident. However, the directors were still not confident in him. After all, they needed someone strong enough to lead and who knew what he was doing. It was their hard work and sweat, and they couldn't possibly just play around with it. Nolan saw that they were still unconvinced, but he didn't say anything further. He went back to his seat and waited for them to decide what to do. Eventually, a woman said, "Since we are unable to decide whom to appoint, how about we vote?" Her words seemed plausibl
It was early winter in Beijing, and intermittent snowfall gave the city a picturesque white hue. As the snow settled on buildings and rooftops, it contrasted against the asphalt roads, which were occasionally split by passing cars. The freezing wind blew, occasionally howling to emphasize its intensity. In the Rothschild Corporation, Nolan had just arrived at the office. He took off his windbreaker and hung it on the coat rack by the entrance before entering the main office. Unlike the simple and minimalistic design of his mansion's office, this one had a European setting. It consisted of a separate main office and a lounge area with sofas and a wine rack. Inside the office, a large and tidy desk stretched from one edge of the room to the other, with only a mini PC and a few arranged files adorning its surface. Behind the desk, a long and wide bookshelf was installed into the wall, filled with books of various sizes and covers. Nolan picked up the remote for the heater on his desk a
It had been quite a busy afternoon, and Hailey was feeling stressed out. She casually twirled the pen in her hand while observing the interactions between her colleagues. Suddenly, Tara, who was seated beside her and engrossed in her phone, leaned towards Hailey and exclaimed, "Hailey, have you seen this?" "What is it?" Hailey asked, coolly turning her gaze towards Tara. Tara seemed hesitant to speak, but she carefully said, "Don't let their words affect you. Most of them don't know anything about you; they're just making assumptions." She tried to reassure Hailey. Hailey smiled and nodded in agreement. It was only then that Tara showed her the screen of her phone. It displayed the school forum's dashboard with a post about Hailey pinned at the top. Hailey felt a bit confused. Such an incident had occurred in her first week at the Institute. Someone had taken her photo and posted it on the forum, attracting a lot of attention.
Heather believed she was being benevolent again and didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, so she tried to mediate. This only made her angrier as she saw Hailey as another bully taking advantage of Cassidy's kindness. She barked at Hailey, "No, I did not misunderstand anything. I'm sure this person must have cheated as they said." Hailey observed the interaction between the two and had to hold back her laughter. It seemed that no matter which life it was, Cassidy still had that charm of manipulating others to get what she wanted. Cassidy must have bad-mouthed her to the other girl, explaining the hostility. Nevertheless, Hailey couldn't be bothered to deal with anyone who couldn't see through Cassidy's actions. She had fallen for it in her past life, but she wouldn't be so easily fooled this time around. Tara, who stood beside Hailey, was also annoyed by the girls' interference. She stepped forward and looked at Heather before saying, "And why is that any of your business? Even if sh
The car pulled into the underground garage of the city hospital, and Hailey and Nolan stepped out. They had come to visit Nolan's grandfather, who was admitted to the hospital. Hailey had been there once before, and despite not being warmly received by the old man, she remembered the way and offered to push his wheelchair so his assistant could return to the office. Nolan seemed slightly hesitant, but he didn't dismiss her like he had done the other day. Hailey noticed that he was being more lenient with her now, and she could sense a newfound tolerance in him. As they turned towards the hallway leading to the VIP wards, Nolan asked, "How have your lectures been going? Are they stressful?" Hailey looked at him, realizing that he hadn't been around much in the past few days and wasn't aware of how her days were going. She smiled gently and replied, "Although they can be stressful, they're also very interesting. And I made a friend." Nolan appeared surprised but didn't say anything,