PM, Virtue Retreat.
Outside, it was bitterly cold, with few pedestrians. Usually bustling with business, Virtue Retreat seed desolate today, with only a few tables of pre-booked guests present.
The receptionists were so bored that they were about to fall asleep.
Suddenly, a tall figure appeared at the automatic door, catching everyone’s eye even from the corner of their view.
"Miss Scott, you’re here!"
The receptionist imdiately perked up and greeted her with delight.
"Yes."
"Your package..."
With tasks at hand, the receptionist quickly got to the point.
However, before she could finish, Nora Scott, passing by, tossed the car keys over.
"Put the package in the car."
As her voice fell, the car keys landed precisely into the pen holder with a clang, leaving the receptionist in a daze for quite a while.
"So...so cool. Beautiful and bold, I’m in love."
The girl sitting beside was amazed and exclaid.
"...Yes."
The receptionist nodded in agreent.
"Ever since I found out she’s a celebrity, I searched out all her dramas to watch, over and over, never getting tired. I wonder if Miss Scott will return to the entertainnt circle. Soone like her, not giving the audience a chance to admire her, is truly a pity."
"Indeed."
The reception’s gaze followed Nora Scott, full of amazent, while she was daydreaming a bit, the service staff’s "Welco" brought her attention back. Her eyes swept over to see two people entering one after the other.
There was a young man, about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, handso and gentle; and a middle-aged man, over fifty, with a bookish air.
The two whispered a few words with the staff and were shown to the elevator.
"Handso."
The girl beside quietly praised.
"Hush—" The receptionist placed a finger to her lips, leaned forward, and whispered, "I’ve seen him several tis, often makes reservations at Virtue Retreat, a typical hypocrite. Don’t praise him, it just gives goosebumps."
"What’s wrong? Isn’t it good that he cos to our place to eat?"
"ssy private life." The receptionist disdainfully frowned, recalling the rotating partners of Ethan Scott, shaking her head, she added, "He seems to be a regular here, I heard Manager Woods say before that he’s been trying to get the qualification to dine on the fourth floor, but got rejected every ti. Only allowed on the third floor. He probably knows why, so he hasn’t ntioned it again."
"...Oh."
The girl withdrew her previous admiration.
The Virtue Retreat’s information network wouldn’t be wrong, if soone’s character had issues, they absolutely couldn’t make it to the fourth floor.
*
Outside the elevator.
Numbers changed, gradually descending, Nora Scott quietly waited.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard, of two people. Seemingly expecting this, Nora turned to look and indeed spotted Ethan Scott among the newcors.
The man following him was middle-aged, with slightly graying hair, and had a sowhat affable appearance...probably Professor Tavares.
At first glance, the two seed to be in a pretty good mood.
However, at the mont Ethan Scott saw Nora, his relaxed expression instantly turned grim, anger apparent in his eyes.
"Hah."
Stopping, Ethan Scott stood aside, mocking with a sneer.
Tsk.
Such a scenario where soone is blissfully ignorant and gets a harsh reality check later, it’s a scene the Scott family mbers are all too familiar with.
Nora ignored his provocation.
"Ding—"
The elevator doors opened.
Nora walked in without looking around and directly pressed the button for the third floor.
Ethan Scott and Professor Tavares followed closely, and upon seeing the number, hesitated slightly, their gaze unanimously falling on Nora.
Professor Tavares didn’t know Nora, only curious about her identity and background, plus her striking appearance caught his extra attention.
As for Ethan Scott...
Pausing for two seconds, Ethan recalled the humiliation suffered at the Scott family gathering, unable to suppress his emotions, his face darkened as he taunted in a low voice, "With Ernesto Scott’s background, you can only reach Virtue Retreat’s third floor?"
Hearing this, Nora was neither angry nor upset, her expression calm, "No, soone invited ."
"Hah."
A mocking laugh.
Who was so clueless?
Much to his surprise, in the next mont, Nora spoke his thoughts aloud—
"I have no clue who, so clueless as to invite . What do you think?"
Ethan choked.
Since Professor Tavares was present, he had to maintain his image and couldn’t be too harsh with his words.
The elevator was filled with palpable tension, which Professor Tavares keenly sensed.
The elevator stopped on the third floor.
As Professor Tavares exited, he attempted to ease the atmosphere, "You two know each other, huh?"
"Mm."
Ethan Scott nodded indifferently.
"..."
Understanding his attitude, Professor Tavares smartly kept quiet.
As the three of them walked out of the elevator, a waiter ca up to them.
"Miss Scott."
The handso waiter first greeted Nora Scott, who was a step behind coming out of the elevator, with a smile, then looked at Professor Tavares and Ethan Scott.
With a polite smile on his face, the waiter asked, "Which private room did you two reserve?"
Ethan Scott replied, "Carefree Tour."
"Okay, please follow ."
The waiter nodded and led the way.
He didn’t ask Nora Scott, which left Professor Tavares and Ethan Scott a bit puzzled, but at the mont, entering the room and waiting for the "teacher" was more important, so they didn’t question it.
But—
They could hear Nora Scott’s footsteps trailing behind them.
It wasn’t until they reached the entrance of Carefree Tour that those slow and dragging footsteps tily stopped.
Ethan Scott frowned, turned back, and indeed saw Nora Scott’s figure. In irritation, he couldn’t help but sarcastically remark, "What, the person who invited you is also in Carefree Tour?"
"Mm."
Nora Scott gave him a sidelong glance, responding calmly and composed, showing not a hint of embarrassnt.
The calr she was, the more furious Ethan Scott beca.
Ethan Scott stared at her intently, his voice low and sinister, "Do you not understand human language?"
The waiter who had just opened the door for them frowned upon hearing Ethan Scott’s question, and took two steps back, wanting to warn Ethan.
However, Nora Scott gave him a look that stopped him in his tracks.
With a cold laugh, Nora Scott glanced at Ethan Scott and retorted sharply, "Well, that depends on whether so things speak human language."
"You!"
Ethan Scott gritted his teeth.
When it cos to exchanging barbs, he really couldn’t match Nora Scott.
He often heard Sophie Scott complain that Nora Scott’s words could choke soone with just one line, every sentence was barbed, always infuriating her and Alma Ferreira.
Back then, he didn’t take it seriously, until he’d t Nora Scott himself, forced to admit—this woman indeed had a knack for getting under people’s skin.
And with her skills in martial arts, she was incredibly arrogant.
However, this was Virtue Retreat, no matter how skilled in martial arts she was, it wasn’t her place to cause trouble!
Stepping closer to Nora Scott, Ethan Scott eyed her suspiciously and warily, emphasizing every word, "Did you receive so news, deliberately waiting here?"
Nora Scott raised an eyebrow.
This paranoia... was a bit too much.
She didn’t speak, and Ethan Scott stepped closer, a dangerous glint in his eye, "Honestly, who sent you here to cause trouble?"
Without giving Nora Scott a chance to answer, Ethan Scott seed to panic, shedding half of his courteous pretense, as if soone was truly scheming to harm him from the shadows.
"Have you done so many guilty deeds that you’re always thinking soone’s out to take your life?"
Her eyes turned icy, Nora Scott relentlessly mocked.
"You—"
Ethan Scott’s anger boiled over.
"Mr. Scott." Professor Tavares, seeing things were getting out of hand, quickly stepped up to pull Ethan aside, standing between them, then politely asked Nora, "You are Miss Scott, right?"
"Mm."
Nora Scott responded indifferently, her lips curling slightly into a barely-there smile.
"I don’t know what your relation to Mr. Scott is, there might be a misunderstanding here." Professor Tavares pondered for a mont and explained, "We reserved the Carefree Tour room, and only invited one person, no one else. Why not call the person who invited you to check if there’s a mix-up with nas or sothing?"
Raising her right eyebrow slightly, Nora Scott placed one hand in her pocket, lazily asked, "Why don’t you ask if your guest has arrived yet?"
"This..."
Professor Tavares found her logic sowhat hard to handle, paused slightly, then turned his gaze to Ethan Scott behind him.
Their conversation and Professor Tavares’s seeking help with his eyes suddenly made Ethan Scott rember the matter of "Professor Duncan recomnding Nora Scott", he hesitated for a mont, feeling a bit flustered, then imdiately dismissed the thought.
Regaining his composure, Ethan Scott eyed Nora Scott suspiciously, "Could you be the person he brought?"
Nora Scott didn’t speak, just shrugged.
Calm and poised, she seed to really have so degree of certainty.
—Why would the teacher they invited bring Nora Scott?
—Could it be that Nora Scott found out about their project and contacted the teacher beforehand?
—If that’s the case, then...
As nurous thoughts raced through his mind, Ethan Scott exhaled, suppressing his fury, and pulled out his phone.
He sent a ssage to [Z,]
[Ethan Scott]: Teacher, have you arrived?
Send.
The next mont—
"Ding dong," the ssage alert sound ca from Nora Scott’s pocket.
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