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His Genius Wife Is A Superstar
Chapter 646 - Jin Corporations Corporate Lawyer
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HIS GENIUS WIFE IS A SUPERSTAR
C646 - Jin Corporations Corporate Lawyer
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Chapter 646 - Jin Corporation's Corporate Lawyer
Jiang Ying Yue flinched. The other reporters threw similar questions at her. All their questions were nothing more than a guise to accuseher of using the custody case to fatten up her own pockets.
"What the hell are they asking?!" Clover was aghast and then enraged.
Following Atty. Hong’s gestures, both Jiang Ying Yue and Clover also alighted from the car. The reporters tried getting close but the two bodyguards protected them.
"Stay calm. Don’t say anything and follow behind me. I’ll do all the talking," the lawyer whispered to Jiang Ying Yue.
She nodded.
Clover: "I think someone set you up and deliberately called all these bloodthirsty wolves today to ask you these disgusting questions."
Nobody in their group replied but their expressions showed that they agreed to her words.
They made their way to the courthouse, slowed down by the reporters crowding around them.
Atty. Hong Shaoqiang answered some questions while dodging most. He even threatened to sue a handful of the most aggressive reporters for asking malicious questions.
While they were midway to the courthouse’s main entrance, they heard another car stopping a few metres behind their car. They all turned their heads and saw the rear passenger door open.
Out came Long Hui in a dashing business suit. He looked handsome, but his expression was cold and grim.
Seeing him so well-groomed and polished, Jiang Ying Yue’s heart stirred for a couple of seconds before the pain he caused reminded her of why she should stop loving him. Her heart felt like it was being twisted into pieces again.
’You already killed this love, Ying Yue,’ she inwardly talked to herself.
Long Hui looked up and their eyes met. It was as if time froze at that moment. The people and the noise around the two of them disappeared and became muted. All they could see was one another.
But it only lasted for a moment before they returned to reality.
Long Hui sneered at her, his hatred clear in his expression.
Jiang Ying Yue pressed her lips together and looked away. She felt someone squeezing her hand and looked up to see Clover giving her a smile of encouragement.
The majority of the reporters changed their targets. They left Jiang Ying Yue’s group and surrounded Long Hui next. Only his lawyer and driver accompanied him.
"Mr. Long, how do you feel that your ex-fiancée is withholding your paternal rights to raise your own son because she wanted you to pay an extravagant child support first?"
Similar less aggressive questions were asked of Long Hui. The difference in the reporters’ treatment between him and Jiang Ying Yue became clear.
"What the hell?" Clover was once again enraged. "It’s obvious that they’re bullying you, Sis Ying Yue! I bet it’s that asshole who invited all these reporters himself in order to humiliate you and pressure you. How devious!"
Jiang Ying Yue didn’t reply. She was too busy trying to contain her emotions and hiding them behind an impassive expression.
The group stayed where they were. Moments later, Long Hui, his lawyer and the reporters reached them. The two groups had a face-off, delighting the reporters. Camera shutters clicked nonstop and the questions were thrown from all directions to both parties.
"Where’s my son?" Long Hui asked.
"He’s safe," Jiang Ying Yue replied in a soft but firm tone.
He curled his lip. "He’ll be safer with me. My son is a boy. A boy needs to learn how to be a man from his own father, so I should be the one raising him."
Her impassive expression cracked and revealed a frown. She didn’t reply but it was clear from her face that she disagreed with him.
Long Hui’s lawyer whispered something to him. He gave a last look at Jiang Ying Yue before turning away. He and his lawyer left and reached the courthouse’s main entrance first.
Right at that moment, a third car arrived unnoticed. However, Jiang Ying Yue’s group focused on it, catching the attention of the reporters.
A driver opened the rear passenger door and two figures stepped out of the car.
The first one was a middle-aged man with severe falcon-like features. He was followed by an elderly gentleman who looked amiable at first but his sharp eyes and penetrating gaze revealed his formidable nature. Both men looked intimidating.
"Eh? Why does it seem like the first one who came out of the car look familiar?" a reporter wondered.
"Yeah, I think so, too."
"I’m pretty sure I’ve seen that fellow before...."
Curious about the commotion, Long Hui and his lawyer paused before entering the courthouse. They turned around and looked at the new arrivals.
The falcon-looking middle-aged man and the formidable elderly gentleman began walking side by side.
"Oh wait! I remember now! Isn’t that Kang Huizhong, Jin Corporation’s lawyer?!" exclaimed a reporter.
"Ah! You’re right! It’s Atty. Kang!"
"What’s he doing here?!"
Long Hui’s expression darkened but he didn’t look surprised. Kang Huizhong’s appearance meant that Jiang Ying Yue also had Jin Liwei’s tacit backing in addition to his half-sister Xiulan’s support.
"Kang is Jin Corporation’s corporate lawyer but he also handles the Jin family’s legal matters," his lawyer explained beside him. "Although I know that your son is CEO Jin’s godson, I’m still surprised that he sent his own lawyer today for this custody case."
Long Hui didn’t answer. He agreed to Elder Long Meng’s suggestion to invite the media in order to intimidate Jiang Ying Yue, yet her side countered with Jin Liwei sending his own lawyer to try intimidating him instead.
Memories of his fistfight with Jin Liwei and his half-sister injuring him with a fucking orange flashed in his mind, intensifying his hatred of them. They were the reason why his position as the heir apparent was destabilized, why Lin Yehan became close to Jiang Ying Yue and cheated on him, why he broke up with her and had to fight against her for the custody of their son, and why his life had become so fucked up right now.
It was all their fault!
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Chapter 647 - His Excellency
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C647 - His Excellency
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Chapter 647 - His Excellency
Kang Huizhong’s appearance diverted the reporters’ attention away from Jiang Ying Yue and Long Hui. He was, after all, the famed lawyer of the country’s number one company, Jin Corporation.
The reporters once again changed their targets and surrounded Kang Huizhong. But before they could get too close, the elderly gentleman’s piercing eyes beside him made them stop in their tracks. An invisible barrier naturally formed between Kang Huizhong with his elderly companion and the reporters. The pair started walking. The reporters followed them but maintained at least a metre’s distance.
"Hey, is it just me or that old man also looks familiar?" one of the reporters asked.
"Nope. I don’t recognize him," replied a young reporter in his twenties.
An older gentleman piped in. "No, it’s not only you. I also feel like I’ve seen him before."
The reporter with the most experience among the group focused his eyes on the elderly gentleman walking beside Kang Huizhong. He observed that Jin Corporation’s famed corporate lawyer acted in a respectful and humble manner in the elderly gentleman’s presence, as if his status was lower. His eyes narrowed at this thought. Something stirred in his memory. Then a lightbulb went off in his head.
"Deng Gui!" he exclaimed, pointing at the elderly gentleman. His expression and tone showed his shock.
"Who?"
"W-what?!"
"Why’s everyone reacting like this? Who’s Deng Gui?"
Hearing his name, the elderly gentleman turned his head and looked at the reporters’ various expressions. He saw shock, disbelief, confusion, and cluelessness. His sharp eyes didn’t miss anything. He didn’t say anything but continued walking steadily beside Kang Huizhong.
The reporter who first recognized him recovered from his initial shock and called out, "Sir, are you His Excellency Deng Gui?"
The elderly gentleman stopped, and then looked directly at the reporter before nodding. "Indeed, I am Deng Gui." Then he resumed walking.
His admission caused an uproar among the reporters.
"Oh my God! It’s His Excellency Deng Gui!"
"I don’t know who he is," muttered a young reporter but he was already on his phone searching for information about Deng Gui.
"His Excellency Deng Gui served as a jurist at the International Court of Justice. He’s one of the most respected figures in the field of international law! What is a renowned figure like him doing here? I thought he’s already retired!"
"Yes, he’s already retired. Though I heard that he still occasionally handles some legal matters for his friend Sir Lu Jianhong."
"He’s with Atty. Kang. Maybe they have some important business to attend in the courthouse. Perhaps something that concerns international diplomatic relations in the corporate industry."
"Oh, that makes sense! Hurry, let’s follow them. This is bigger than a mere child custody case!"
At the entrance of the courthouse, Long Hui and his lawyer watched this scene. Long Hui’s expression showed amazed surprise as he listened to his lawyer describing Deng Gui’s identity and his numerous lifetime achievements. Then he frowned.
"Why is such an illustrious figure with Kang Huizhong? We both know that Atty. Kang came today to assist Jiang Ying Yue in the custody case."
His lawyer paused upon realizing this point before saying with hesitation, "I don’t know." He wasn’t aware of His Excellency’s connection to Sir Lu Jianhong, unlike the reporters who were privy to this information because of their extensive insider network.
Long Jian and his lawyer opted to watch the new arrivals and satisfy their curiosity instead of their original plan of entering the courthouse ahead of everyone else.
Back on the walkway leading to the courthouse’s main entrance, the reporters followed Deng Gui and Kang Huizhong while maintaining a respectful distance from them. Their aggressive attitude towards Jiang Ying Yue earlier was nowhere to be seen. They thought that the two famed lawyers would head straight to the courthouse but contrary to their expectations, they walked towards Atty. Hong Shaoqiang and his client instead.
The two unlikely groups greeted each other as if they were close. Even the falcon-like Kang Huizhong’s usually severe expression became kind as he nodded at Hong Shaoqiang and the two ladies. As for His Excellency Deng Gui, he looked grandfatherly as he chatted with the other group with a smile on his face. He even patted the shoulder of Jiang Ying Yue!
Those who were watching this scene felt confused. The reporters edged closer, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.
Ahead of them at the courthouse’s main entrance, Long Hui and his lawyer began to have a bad feeling after seeing the two famed lawyers interacting with their enemies.
After chatting, the two groups—now one—began walking together to the main entrance. The three lawyers—Hong Shaoqiang, Kang Huizhong, and the renowned Deng Gui—all walked together around the two ladies in a protective manner. Their cold, serious expressions and confident steps showed everyone that they meant business. People automatically made way for them, intimidated by their formidable collective aura.
The reporter with the most experience among the group who first recognized Deng Gui mustered up his courage and shouted a question. "Your Excellency Deng and Atty. Kang! May we know what kind of business do you have in the courthouse today?"
’Nice question!’
His fellow reporters were encouraged by him and began following his example. They also began shouting out their own questions.
"Your Excellency Deng, Atty. Kang, why are you walking with Atty. Hong?"
"How long have you been acquainted with each other?"
"How are you connected with each other?"
"Have you worked together before?"
The impressive group stopped walking and faced the reporters. The three lawyers looked at each other before Kang Huizhong stepped forward after getting a nod of approval from both Deng Gui and Hong Shaoqiang.
Kang Huizhong faced the crowd of reporters with his usual severe expression, looking like a falcon eyeing his prey. Then he addressed them:
"I, Kang Huizhong, and His Excellency the venerable Deng Gui, are honoured to be assisting Atty. Hong Shoaqiang and his client, Miss Jiang Ying Yue in the custody case regarding Miss Jiang’s young son, Long Jun, starting today."
Silence fell as everyone made sense of his words.
"WHAT?!!!"
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Chapter 648 - Tied By Destiny An Evelina Vetrova & Young Jin Liwei Special Part I
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C648 - Tied By Destiny An Evelina Vetrova & Young Jin Liwei Special Part I
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Chapter 648 - Tied By Destiny An Evelina Vetrova & Young Jin Liwei Special Part I
In this remote and isolated part of Russia, the heavenly bodies in the sky could be viewed in their full, shining glory without the hindrance of bright city lights in metropolitan areas. The air was fresher here, the surroundings greener.
This vast expanse of land comparable to the size of a small European country was the private territory of the most powerful criminal organization in the world, the Vetrovs. Situated in its most hidden and fortified area lay the highly secretive Vetrov estate. It was a grand residence, no, a palatial fortress fit for a royal family. Its grandeur and beauty would make a person who saw it for the first time speechless in amazement.
To Evelina Vetrova, however, this beautiful place was a dull, boring, monotonous, lonely, and hopeless prison. It was a cage that she could never fully escape from in this lifetime. Invisible chains tied her to this place, so that no matter how far she went in other parts of the world, one pull from her parents—the reigning king and queen of the international underworld—and she would be back in her prison.
The desire for freedom always burned fiercely in her heart. Unfortunately, her wings had been clipped since the day she was born. There was never any chance for true escape. She dreamed about it, of course, and enjoyed the sweet taste of true freedom in her imagination. She even thought of trying to escape, but if she did, there was no doubt that her family and their formidable organization would eventually find her, if their enemies didn’t kill her first.
Despite all of these, Evelina was still allowed to leave the estate as long as she received the rare permission of her parents, like when she visited her school’s campus in the Swiss Alps a few years ago. Cross Academy was a wonderful and breathtaking sanctuary, but she had been unable to fully enjoy it because of her strict entourage who monitored her every move and restricted her from meeting "unnecessary" people, effectively preventing her from making any friends, and blocked her from visiting places they deemed as a risk to her safety.
There were also times when her parents brought her out of the estate to visit other criminal families who they considered to be their allies.
Keyword was "allies", not "friends".
In addition to not having true freedom, the Vetrovs—the most powerful criminal family in the international underworld—had no true friends either. Their allies constantly changed. Betrayals were the norm.
Allies for today, mortal enemies tomorrow.
Evelina thought that a life like this was not worth living at all.She could feel herself dying little by little deep inside each day.
Only her music made her feel alive. Also, she felt the most free while roaming the online world and entertaining herself by hacking the toughest systems in the world. And most importantly, spending time with her Big Brother Nikolai made her feel truly loved.
She could also feel that her father loved her but as the king of their organization, Arman Vetrov was extremely busy and was rarely at home to spend quality time with her. As for her mother...Evgenia Vetrova was more like a cold machine programmed to prioritize their organization over anything else rather than a flesh and blood mother who cared for family bonds.
True freedom might be impossible for the Vetrovs, but a secret outing once in a while was still doable. Tonight was special because her parents were both out for business in Southeast Asia. They would be gone for a couple of weeks.
When her big brother received an emergency call from the U.S. which he needed to personally resolve as soon as possible, she would be left alone in the estate accompanied by her cold bodyguards and similarly emotionless servants. All of them were, simply speaking, her jailers.
Seeing her dejected expression, her big brother had an idea.
"Evelinka, do you want to come with Big Brother to America?" he asked.
"Of course! Let’s go!" she answered without thinking.
Thus, they made a plan. A secret plan that would get both of them into big trouble if discovered by the estate’s key personnel, and worse, by their parents. And as the man and the one who cooked up the idea, her big brother would surely suffer a painful punishment.
Even with the consequences, the siblings still went ahead with their plan.
Her big brother sent his most loyal subordinate who swore his loyalty to him, not to their parents, to help Evelina sneak out of her bedroom.
Due to her big brother’s meticulous preparations, assisted by her hacking skills, her escape that night went very smoothly. She saw her bodyguards and other staff laying unconscious as she escaped. She wondered what method her brother used to immobilize them because most of the people working in the estate had been raised and trained by the organization since they were young. All who managed to survive until adulthood became deadly experts and were immune to the most common tranquilizers, narcotics and poisons. Even painkillers were useless to them.
Her curiosity about this matter only lasted for a short time. Since they were sneaking out, they had to be extremely careful. Fortunately, Evelina’s physical abilities were on a higher level compared to the average people living normal lives because she had been forced to train by her mother. As a result, she was able to keep up with her brother’s subordinate as they zigged and zagged here and there to avoid detection from the estate’s security.
Nevertheless, sweat still beaded on her skin and her breathing and heartrate sped up as they followed the escape route her brother devised. Compared to her, her brother’s subordinate looked the same as always. He was not sweating or breathing hard at all.
Indeed, even though she was stronger than normal people, she was weaker compared to the battle-hardened machines working in their Vetrov organization. This was mainly due to the fact that she resisted training unless her mother sent someone to literally drag her and force her to train. If she wasn’t her father and her mother’s daughter, Evelina was certain that she would die.
Theirs was a dog eat dog world. It was survival of the fittest. Natural selection. The strong prevailed while the weak died.
Finally, Evelina and her big brother’s most loyal subordinate managed to escape from the estate. They reached a dense forest where more of her brother’s subordinates waited for them and led them deeper into the woods.
The light drizzle and chilly gusts of wind didn’t affect the lovely smile on Evelina’s face now that she was out of the estate. Her smile was as bright and beautiful as the twinkling stars in the Russian summer night sky above, perhaps even more so. Her emerald eyes shone with great anticipation and excitement. There was a skip in her footsteps as she ran with enthusiasm surrounded by her brother’s armed subordinates who protected her from wild animals like bears and wolves and other dangers in the forest at night. Her golden hair flew behind her, waving like triumphant banner of freedom.
"Almost," she whispered, her voice disappearing with the wind.
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Chapter 649 - Tied By Destiny An Evelina Vetrova & Young Jin Liwei Special Part II
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C649 - Tied By Destiny An Evelina Vetrova & Young Jin Liwei Special Part II
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Chapter 649 - Tied By Destiny An Evelina Vetrova & Young Jin Liwei Special Part II
Later, Evelina and her brother’s subordinates reached a clearing where a row of bulletproof, military-grade off-road vehicles were parked. Regular luxury cars were inconvenient in a remote place like this where most of the roads were unpaved.
Her big brother, Nikolai Vetrov, was already there speaking with his other subordinates.
By just a glance, anyone could tell that he was the leader. He radiated power and danger. His cold expression betrayed no emotions to his own subordinates.
He had green eyes like her, but his were darker and more of an olive colour, while hers were like bright emeralds. Sometimes, his eyes would become so dark that they appeared black, especially when he was in a deadly, predatory mode. Unlike her blonde locks, he had black hair. These dark features made it easier for him to blend into the shadows.
Except for their green eyes which differed in shade, the siblings didn’t resemble each other at all.
Evelina Vetrova looked like an angel with the shining halo of heavenly radiance while Nikolai Vetrov looked like a demon prince whose inner darkness was fathomless.
Nevertheless, as soon as her big brother saw her, his emotionless eyes lit up and filled with gentleness in an instant. Evelina ran faster and then threw herself at him. He caught her easily as if she weighed nothing.
"Ready?"
She nodded, almost trembling with excitement.
"Alright. Let’s head to America."
###
###
The Vetrovs had their own fleet of private aircraft to suit their various needs. At the moment, the siblings used one of Nikolai’s own private jets.
He explained to Evelina that it was a new one and that he was careful not to let their parents know about it. Unlike his straightforward sister who had no qualms revealing her thoughts—which often got her into trouble with their mother—Nikolai was a secretive person. Even Evelina didn’t know the extent of all his secrets.
As usual, they used passports with fake identities. The Vetrovs were the most wanted figures in the world. They couldn’t just openly use their real identities to travel everywhere. As an added precaution, they planted their own people in different airports from all over the world so that they could bypass regular customs screening.
Nikolai and Evelina arrived in Boston, Massachusetts early morning. They were driven to a mansion Nikolai rented beforehand. If he was travelling alone, he would’ve stayed in a hotel but since he brought his beloved sister along this time, he decided that it would be safer to stay in a private property instead.
After eating breakfast ordered from a popular Chinese restaurant, Lu Zihao left the mansion in a hurry to inspect the problem he came to resolve. He left a team of his subordinates to protect Evelina. She was allowed roam outside as long as she stayed with the bodyguards Nikolai assigned for her.
She had been to the U.S. a handful of times before but never to Boston yet. This was her first time. She was excited to explore the city and enjoy the sights.
Her bodyguards wore regular, civilian clothes so as not to attract attention. Only two of them followed beside her while the rest monitored her from a distance. However, they would arrive by her side in a flash if she ever fell in danger.
They drove her to the nearest commercial area filled with shops, restaurants and other tourist attractions. She wasn’t really interested in shopping, so she mostly tried foods that she hadn’t tasted before.
Wearing a long, flowing, floral dress, she attracted people’s attention of all ages and genders whenever she passed by.
"Wow! That babe looks hot!"
"Is she a model?"
"She looks like a movie star!"
Comments like these were common but she didn’t notice. She was too preoccupied enjoying the unfamiliar place.
Tired of walking, she asked her bodyguards to drive her to the world-famous Ivy League university nearby. It was the oldest institution of higher learning in the U.S. As a Cross Academy alumnus who even revolutionized the legendary school’s computer department into a completely new direction, she was curious about the other top schools in the world below the academy’s level.
She was one of Cross Academy’s youngest graduates in recent history, having been scouted to enroll during her teens. There were younger graduates than her, but those notable figures dated back more than a hundred years ago when the educational systems in many countries weren’t as standardized yet compared to today. The academy was able to recruit those genius individuals back then and directly groom them without any prior formal education.
When they arrived at the campus, Evelina began walking around. Most of the students she saw were around her age. As she strolled, she heard all kinds of conversations from looming deadlines, to exams, to upcoming parties, to public protests, to campus events, and a whole slew of other topics.
"Amazing," she breathed.
The university was completely different from Cross Academy. For one thing, it felt more crowded. There were many times more students, even if it was summer. Thus, it felt more alive and vibrant.
Evelina couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy as she watched the students gathered in their own groups, chatting about their shared interests and simply spending time together.
’How nice.’
Aside from the other hackers she befriended online, she really didn’t have any close friends. Even those hackers were just people she occasionally chatted with and had never met in person.
She was tempted to walk up to one of the group of students and try chatting with them, perhaps even make some friends, but with the bodyguards monitoring her, she knew that it wasn’t wise. She knew her limits. If she pushed it, even her doting big brother would harden and send her back to their Russian estate before she could fully enjoy this temporary freedom.
Sighing, she turned away with great reluctance and continued walking around.
Some distance away, a particular group of students were eyeing the beautiful young woman.
"Whoa. That girl is gorgeous! She looks around the same age as us. Do you think she’s a student here?"
"I don’t know. She doesn’t look like it. From the way she’s looking around, she should be a visitor."
"Those two guys walking beside her look hot, too. Do you think one of them is her boyfriend?"
"What kind of boyfriend would walk a little behind his beautiful girlfriend like that? If I had a girlfriend as hot as her, I’ll be all over her and stick to her like glue and leave no space between us."
"I know, right? But man, how could a human being be so beautiful? Is she for real? Do you think she got anything done on herself?"
"Nah, she looks natural to me."
The group of students who were also friends continued talking about the beautiful woman until she disappeared from their view.
"By the way, where’s Liam? Is he still coming with us to eat lunch?"
"Yeah, he should be. Don’t know why he’s still so busy when he already graduated and got his bachelor’s degree this past spring."
"Because he enrolled in some classes this summer to get a head start for his accelerated MBA degree this coming fall."
"Damn overachiever."
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Chapter 650 - Tied By Destiny An Evelina Vetrova & Young Jin Liwei Special Part III
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C650 - Tied By Destiny An Evelina Vetrova & Young Jin Liwei Special Part III
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Chapter 650 - Tied By Destiny An Evelina Vetrova & Young Jin Liwei Special Part III
"Yeah, I heard that he plans to complete his MBA in just one year and return to China to help run their family’s company. He’s, like, super rich in their country."
"Oh, I remember something. I heard that the babe who’s always following Liam around—what’s her name again?—Lily or Daisy...something flower—"
"Rose, if I remember correctly. What about her?"
"Yeah, her! I heard that her family is running the Singapore branch of Liam’s family company."
A girlfriend of one of the group members crossed her arms over her chest and snorted while rolling her eyes. "That girl’s too thirsty for Liam. I mean, can’t you be any more obvious? Popping up wherever he is? We all know that Liam hates it when girls throw themselves at him and try too hard to get his attention. He even becomes grumpy whenever I and the other girlfriends hang out with you. I swear that guy has a phobia of girls or something."
"True. Liam really has a strong aversion to females."
"Incorrect! Liam only has a strong aversion to females who go gaga in the eyes chasing after him. If you’re one of the rare females who isn’t attracted to him, then he’ll be okay with interacting with you."
The girlfriends in the group pouted. Although they were in a relationship with Liam’s friends, they still felt attracted to him to some degree. They were able to hang out with the group because they held themselves back and didn’t act on their attraction. There were girlfriends before who tried seducing Liam while still in a relationship with his friends. They were now exes.
The guys in this group of university friends followed the code: bros before hoes. If Liam continued to be an overachiever, he would certainly become the next head of his family’s multinational company with a net worth in the billions of dollars. Although they were only university students right now, they were already thinking about their futures. Befriending someone like Liam who would become a formidable figure in the business world in the future would, without a doubt, benefit them in the long run.
When given the choice of staying loyal to Liam or hooking up with some hot girls at this stage of their young lives, of course they would choose their Mr. Moneybags friend! Was there even a need to think about something so obvious? They sacrificed so much in order to enroll in this world-class and prestigious university, so they were all ambitious and determined to succeed. Thus, they never hesitated to dump girls who tried using them to get close to Liam no matter what a hot fuck they were.
The guys and their girlfriends continued chatting under the cool shade of a centuries-old tree waiting for Mr. Moneybags.
"Oh! Liam just texted. He says that he still need to talk to his professor, so we should go ahead to the square. He’ll meet us in the restaurant when he’s done."
"That’s great! It means we can spend more time with you, guys," one of the girlfriends said. "You always make us girls leave when you’re with Liam. I think I’m getting jealous of him."
Everyone laughed before the group headed to the square outside the campus which was also a popular entertainment hub among the students. It was a vibrant community featuring eclectic yet cheap shops and lots of good food.
When they arrived at the square, it was bustling with life even though it was summer. People milled around looking for a place to eat lunch. There were fewer students at the moment compared to the regular fall and winter terms when new students would join the university life every start of the academic year.
The group headed to their favourite Italian restaurant. But on the way there, they encountered a crowd consisting of students, locals, and some tourists. Someone placed a piano on a mini park by the street a few weeks ago. Anyone could play it. Some music students used it for busking to earn some spare change and also hoping for someone to "discover" them and hopefully make them rich and famous someday.
At the moment, it looked like someone was busking again. The group stopped by to watch for a bit.
Indeed, a music student was playing an original song. The song sounded okay but it was nothing amazing. People came and went. Not many people stayed for the entire performance. The group arrived near the end of the song. There was a smattering of applause when the performance ended. A couple of tourists even each gave a dollar bill to the performer. The group was about to leave and head to the Italian restaurant when they saw someone familiar.
"Hey, it’s that gorgeous lady from earlier. Look!"
They all turned their heads and watched as the blonde lady with beautiful green eyes appeared and walked towards the piano. Her long floral dress rippled gently in the breeze, making her look like she was floating instead of walking. Everyone was mesmerized by her, their eyes following her every move.
She spoke to the music student who just finished his lukewarm performance. When she smiled, the music student couldn’t close his mouth and kept staring at her. Moments later, he gave up his seat and they exchanged places in front of the piano.
Oh, was she performing? The people already started clapping even when she hadn’t done anything yet.
The beautiful woman smiled at the audience, making them catch their breaths, before placing her hands over the piano keys. Her smile deepened. Then she started playing.
Scott Joplin’s "The Entertainer" started playing under her graceful hands.
Many recognized the popular classic ragtime piano piece. The easy, catchy tune made them bounce on their feet and put smiles on their faces. However, they were a bit surprised that the beautiful young woman would play a ragtime piece. Looking at her elegance, flowing beauty and aristocratic air, they thought that she would play one of those intricate piano pieces fit for high-class concertos. Instead, she played a very relatable piece that almost everyone could appreciate.
A minute into the performance, someone stepped out of a crowd—he looked like a student, too—and started tap dancing to the tune, eliciting another wave of enthusiastic cheers from the crowd. People whipped out their phones to record the fun impromptu performance.
The group of friends also joined. They had now become engrossed with the street performance and had temporarily forgotten that they were supposed to wait for their friend Liam at their favourite Italian restaurant in the square.
When the performance ended, everyone gave a loud standing ovation—well, they were already standing in the first place. Cheers, whistles, and loud clapping. The crowd had grown thrice its original size since the beautiful woman took over the piano.
"Encore! Encore! Encore!"
"Don’t go yet! We want more!"
Evelina Vetrova paused for a moment. She only played on a whim, unable to stop herself upon seeing a piano. She only planned on playing one piece before leaving but the crowd’s applause and request for more made her happy. Her bodyguards weren’t happy by all the attention she was getting, though. They were already walking towards her, ready to take her away, so she made a quick decision. Smiling quickly at the guy who tap danced, she returned in front of the piano and started playing again.
Her favourites to play on the piano were the great classical pieces from the best masters in history, but today’s vibrant and youthful atmosphere made her decide against playing the usual. This was why she chose to play Joplin’s "The Entertainer" to match the casual and fun environment.
’What should I play next?’
While walking around the university earlier, she overheard all kinds of conversations from the students. They were all studying hard in order to reach their dreams, hoping to be successful one day. Everything was hard for them right now but they were holding on for that chance to be big someday.
With that in mind, Evelina decided on the piece that she was going to play next.
Her left fingers bounced on the piano keys and produced a deep, bass sound before tapping the same hand on the wooden top of the piano for a beat. She repeated these curious actions eight times for the intro before her right hand joined and started playing a familiar tune.
"Ah!"
Everyone recognized the music.
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