"Impossible! I checked the names of the judges before entering the Huang Corporation's annual event! How come his name is on there?" Karen stumbled in her boutique with her phone in her hand.
"What's wrong?" Liang Yu Qing quickly helped her up from the floor and brushed dust particles off her knees.
"N..no nothing. I was just a bit overwhelmed by the upcoming event. Since I failed to get customers through the socialite event, I must gain popularity this time." Karen lied once again.
"Oh dear, look at you. You're working so hard for our family, yet somebody's flesh and blood only knew how to cause us trouble." She glared at Yin Zin Leung's direction as he blocked his face using a newspaper with red marks all over. He has been trying to look for a job to support the family for nearly a month, but received no responses.
All along, Zin Leung and Yu Qing thought that he just had no luck in job hunting. Neither of them knew that the real reason why he failed to obtain a position in any of those companies was because of Karen.
That night, Karen snatched a bag of marbles from some random kids. The angry parents who scolded and humiliated Karen in front of all guests happened to be the host and hostess of the socialite event. In the world and eyes of socialites, Karen's actions must have come from some lousy, ill-mannered parents. Therefore, everyone was informed before midnight through all digital platforms to temporarily blacklist the Yin family from the business field.
Of course, this was something that even Karen didn't know. Even if Tian Yuo wanted to help Karen, he couldn't have done much or anything because he was powerless. His family business depended on the host and hostess, so he wouldn't dare risk it either.
The same night after the event had ended, Karen was tired out by the humiliation that she brought upon herself. Not only did her plans to shame and make fun of Susu failed, her parents followed up with plentiful questions when she got back. Facing the pressuring questions and thinking about how useless Tian Yuo acted, she gritted her teeth and pushed everything onto Susu.
Ever since the Yin family business went downhill, relatives avoided their calls; afraid that they were going to ask for some financial assistance. Since Tian Yuo offered them a temporary apartment to live in for the time being, Karen changed her mind and took up that offer before the socialite event occurred. Now, they are living in an apartment with two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, and two bathrooms.
Although the space was enough for them to live in, Yu Qing always mentioned how small the rooms were and that her old closet was bigger than the size of the master bedroom. Not only that, she also tried to persuade Karen to get some money from Tian Yuo.
As much as Karen wished to get free money like that, she wanted to maintain her good girl personality in front of him. She reluctantly found a random reason to stop her mother's nagging persuasion and focused on the upcoming Huang Corps event.
One of the main reasons for why Karen decided to suddenly come back and quit the Paris Institution was because she wanted a fast way to gain popularity. She's long been eyeing on the opportunity of participating as a contestant for the annual event at Huang Corporation. To be precise, in order to join this event, one must have to prove that they had some type of art skill. Therefore, Karen made up her mind a few years ago to admit into the famous Paris Institution because only that school would make other contestants look like losers.
Before she signed up for the event, she had reviewed the judge list and made sure no familiar names were on there. After triple checking, she signed up for it and happily sent her design to the factory for production purposes. She wanted to read the policies for the event again to make sure everything was done properly, so she went to the contestant's information page only to see a new updated judge list!
She gasped in surprise and every bit of energy drained from her body when she saw Professor Luo Xia on that list. 'Just how could that be?!!!' She bit her nails nervously and spit the bit parts to the floor as she went back to her room.
Meanwhile, at an old restaurant located far from those luxurious, expensive places, Zhi Hei's bodyguards were sitting on two tables, ordering food for hotpot. Zhi Hei and Professor Luo Xia were sitting by themselves in the middle table.
Zhi Hei handed him another bottle of beer, "I'm surprised that you would prefer eating here than the high-class restaurants."
"Hahahaha, young one. Before this old man got famous, I used to hang out with gangs on the streets! Not those with dragon tattoos or drug dealers, but those skinny bones. You know what I mean!" Professor Luo Xia raised his arm and ordered a few more toppings for his level five spiced hotpot.
Zhi Hei chose the original soup base when he pictured his intestines melting from the inside if he eats the spicy one. Professor Luo Xia laughed heartily as he said, "it's been so long since I've last visited this place. The boss already retired and now his son is managing this place. Such good old times."
"If I remember correctly, the institution lets professors choose their own semesters to teach. If so, then wouldn't you have time to come back once in a while?"
"Yes, that is correct. In fact, I had the thought of coming back for many years, but...there were just too many things that held me back." Professor Luo Xia'a eyes hinted sorrow and his voice trailed off.
Zhi Hei didn't want to press on a subject that he did not want to talk about, so he changed it to the upcoming event. "By the way, Yin Susu agreed to attend the event. I remember that you were quite sure that she would accept the invite."
"Ah, you probably wonder about the same question over and over, huh? Fine, fine. I believe in the girl's skill. That's why I wanted to pass an invitation to her." He smiled and gulped a few sips of beer down his throat.
"It's rare to hear these words come from your mouth. So you actually have the much confidence in that girl..."
"Absolutely."
"You seem biased when it comes to her." Zhi Hei said it as a joke, but the following response almost made him choke on his mouthful of beer.
"I don't 'seem' biased. I am obviously biased, okay?" The waiter came at the right moment to distribute the toppings that they've ordered. Professor Luo Xia rubbed his palms together and started to dig in as he threw vegetables and different types of meat into his boiling soup.
Zhi Hei had only realized that whenever he meets with this professor, he would never get any answers; only more questions. He shook his head and pretended that he never heard those words.