"Our long-range shooting is from five ters, but the target is bigger. You’re only shooting from three, so naturally, your target has to be smaller." Jasmine Walsh handed her the prepared gun.
"As it should be. Like you said, this is the only way to be fair." She gripped the gun and aid at the small, fixed bullseye.
"Quiet." Herman Hawthorne called out. "Nora, begin."
She extended her right hand, took aim, and curled her index finger. A bullet shot out, hitting the bullseye dead center.
That was the first shot. The second and third were just the sa.
"Nora passed!" Chloe Marshall exclaid, her face alight with excitent.
Jasmine Walsh sullenly announced, "Shooting test passed."
Next up was a hand-to-hand fight against Jasmine Walsh.
For Jasmine Walsh, this was a huge opportunity to win.
It was still a best-two-out-of-three match.
Nora Ainsworth knew Jasmine Walsh wouldn’t hold back. She settled in, adjusting her stance.
"Begin."
Herman Hawthorne couldn’t help but worry about this round, afraid that Nora Ainsworth wouldn’t be able to pass.
"Boss, let do it," Chloe Marshall said.
Jasmine Walsh retorted cuttingly, "You and Nora Ainsworth are so close, people would suspect you of going easy on her. It’s better if I do it."
Herman Hawthorne’s expression darkened. "Let Jasmine go. This way, those who doubt Nora will be thoroughly convinced."
Just as expected, Jasmine Walsh’s attacks were vicious.
She imdiately went for Nora Ainsworth’s leg. Nora raised her other leg and kicked toward Jasmine Walsh’s abdon, successfully blocking the strike.
Jasmine Walsh refused to give up. She was restricted to only using her hands, while the injured Nora Ainsworth could still use her other leg.
So, she kept her hands high, engaging Nora Ainsworth in an upper-body brawl to drain her stamina.
Gradually, Nora Ainsworth began to falter. Jasmine Walsh seized the opportunity to strike at her leg, and Nora lost the first round.
Chloe Marshall flew into a rage. "Jasmine Walsh, how could you launch a sneak attack? That doesn’t count!"
"How does it not count? I followed the boss’s rules. I didn’t use my legs, only my hands. Nora could still use one of her legs. Theoretically, our fight was perfectly fair. It doesn’t matter how I fought. Since she lost, she has to accept it. Boss, wouldn’t you agree?"
Herman Hawthorne remained perfectly composed. "Begin the second round."
Learning from her defeat, Nora was especially wary of sneak attacks on her leg this ti. The mont Jasmine showed the slightest intention of making a move, she imdiately thwarted her.
Finally, just as Jasmine was about to try another hand-strike on her leg, Nora lifted her leg and pressed it right down on her head.
A decisive victory for Nora in the second round!
Nora won the third round as well. In the end, Nora had Jasmine by the hair with one hand.
Jasmine Walsh was furious. She had squandered such a perfect opportunity.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Nora Ainsworth faced the final test.
Herman Hawthorne posed a question for her to answer.
For Nora Ainsworth, the question was a piece of cake.
And just like that, the assessnt was over. Jasmine Walsh was stomping her feet in a rage, but there was nothing she could do.
Herman Hawthorne left with a few team mbers, but Chloe Marshall stayed behind. "Nora, you’re incredible!" she said. "To be honest, after the boss asked the question, I tried to answer it in my head too, but I got it completely wrong."
Nora Ainsworth doubled over with laughter. "The boss’s super-tricky question was just sothing he found online. If you just think about it for a second, the answer is pretty simple."
Chloe Marshall lowered her voice and continued, "Nora, has Young Master Grant not co by these past few days?"
Nora’s smile faded. "Chloe, did you see sothing?"
Chloe hesitated for a mont, but then said, "A few days ago, I accidentally overheard Boss Ellsworth ntion that Young Master Grant’s ex-girlfriend is using an illness as an excuse to openly live at his house. Nora, it’s a ploy by that woman! You need to be prepared. I saw them in the sa car again this morning."
A pang shot through Nora’s heart, but she just gave a nonchalant smile. "It’s fine, Chloe. You know what my relationship with him is like. I’m a nobody, so I have no right to interfere. I can’t wait for them to get back together. That way, I can finally have my own life."
Chloe was stunned by her friend’s words. "Nora, what are you saying? Have you lost your mind? You’ve been with Young Master Grant for a long ti. You’ve given yourself to him! If you don’t marry him, what are you going to do with the rest of your life?"
"It’s not like you have to spend the rest of your life with a man just because you’ve slept with him, Chloe. There are so many things in this world we can’t control. Even though I’m not ’innocent’ anymore, I still want to marry a man who will treat incredibly well... and who I love in return."
"Nora, I’ve got your back." Chloe squeezed her hand. "You’ll definitely marry a man who treasures you like the apple of his eye, and you’ll love him, too."
Just then, Chloe Marshall’s phone rang. She looked at the screen, saw it was Ethan Ellsworth, and imdiately answered, "Boss Ellsworth."
"Idiot, are you living at the hospital now? Get back here! I’m going crazy with work!"
Chloe gave a strained laugh. "Right, right, I’m on my way back now."
After hanging up, she said, "Nora, I have to get back to the office."
Nora nodded. "Drive safe."
The door closed, and Nora’s smile vanished completely. She gazed out the window, replaying Chloe’s words in her mind. An ache began to spread from a corner of her heart, mingled with an anger she had no right to feel.
’It was as if another woman was coveting her man. She desperately wanted to unleash a Nine Nether White Bone Claw and crush that Catherine Callahan to death like a block of instant ran!’
’But after calming down,’ Nora thought with a helpless, bitter smile, ’what right do I have?’
’They, at least, had once loved each other. And ?’
’Maybe I should start preparing myself... ’
Since breaking off her engagent with the Grant Family, Sharon Ainsworth’s previous sense of superiority had been greatly diminished.
She rarely attended high-society gatherings anymore, because whenever she did, she would inevitably overhear malicious gossip.
It left her feeling utterly humiliated.
Even though her father hadn’t found her a new family to marry into, the pride on his face had vanished without a trace.
She had beco a disgrace.
After staying ho for many days, Sharon Ainsworth finally returned to work.
She had already resigned from her previous job. Her current one was as the lead anchor for a popular TV station.
She checked her reflection in the mirror one last ti, making sure nothing was out of place, then slung her handbag over her shoulder and headed out.
Just as she arrived at the TV station, she ran into Mrs. Lynch’s nephew, Quincy.
He had a scar on the side of his face, and his eyes lit up noticeably when he saw Sharon Ainsworth.
"Miss Ainsworth, long ti no see."
Sharon smiled. "It really has been a long ti."
Quincy paused and said in a low voice, "Interested in grabbing a drink?"
Sharon said awkwardly, "I’ve been very busy lately, so I’m afraid I can’t—"
Quincy’s eyes narrowed. "It seems Miss Ainsworth won’t even do this small courtesy. You weren’t acting like this back when you needed to pull so strings, were you?"
Sharon gave a hollow laugh. "Well, since you put it that way, I suppose I’ll have to make ti, no matter how busy I am. You pick the ti and place."
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