At the same time, Ethan was watching Arya from below. The moment he saw her standing on the stage so calmly, he knew that the girl he had been familiar with many years ago no longer existed. She had changed a lot...
It seemed that she had actually never changed one bit. He just never paid enough attention to her and he did not know her well enough.
"Ms. Arya is confirmed to have been married. She got registered last year," echoed the voice of his assistant, Secretary in his ear. He found out that the man who married Arya was actually Xavier.
As he thought of it, he looked over at Xavier's direction who was chatting with people around him with a smile on his face while he glanced over to the stage occasionally...
He felt conflicted and suppressed on the inside. In an attempt to hide it, he lowered his head and chugged down the glass of wine.
Victoria carefully observed Ethan's reaction as her eyebrows lowered slightly as she tried to hide her emotions under her eyes. She pursed her lip as her facial expression froze up and she glanced up on stage from time to time to study the low-profile yet brightly shining Arya...
After Arya was done with her introductions, next up was the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The people participating in this were the people from the government sector, Xavier, Vice President, and the others.
Following that, the atmosphere at the venue was really heated up. Waiters started serving dishes to each table, and performances went up one after another on stage. All of them were invited celebrities who marked the true opening of the banquet!
Arya sat back into her seat and was looking for something to drink when Xavier handed her a glass of warm water.
"Let's go back earlier tonight," he said quietly when he saw the exhaustion in her eyes.
Although she understood what he meant, as the supervisor, she had to wait until everything was finished and packed up before leaving.
"I'll get Rick to prepare some extra hands. We can go back after announcing the ambassador for Jewellery City later."
Only the rave party remained. Both Xavier and Arya were similar as they did not like parties like those.
The world under the flashy lights was not what they wanted; they could only be themselves after removing the fancy spotlights away from them.
Arya was deep in thought for a moment before nodding. Since she had not been resting well for the past few days, she felt pretty exhausted herself and wanted to get decent rest before going back to work the next day.
People at the venue were getting more and more excited, especially when popular stars like Caitlyn and Lin Ling started singing. They gave their all for their audience, hoping that they could grab the spot as Glory World's main ambassador.
When the host called Victoria's name out, the crowd cheered and she went up on stage like a beautiful and elegant princess. There was no doubt that many people liked her.
Some of the important guests and movie directors were speaking with one another, exchanging their opinions and commenting on the celebrities onstage. At that moment, they were nodding as they looked at Victoria who was currently singing.
"Who do you think is suitable?"
As Arya was sipping some wine, she heard Xavier's quiet voice. A little startled, she raised her head and looked at him, then she glanced over at Victoria who seemed to be struggling inside as her eyes held conflict. She went silent for a while before giving an objective opinion.
"Caitlyn is a truly talented person in the entertainment industry. She's pretty popular and has a strong character, plus her image is mature as well, so that's pretty good. Lin Ling became popular thanks to her unique quiet aura as well as her amazing voice. As for Victoria... She's more towards the pure and innocent type, a one-of-a-kind princess. Each of them has their own perks."
He laughed when she gave him such a serious reply.
"If I let you decide, who would you choose?"
Arya raised her eyebrows and peered at him. "I get to decide?"
He glanced at her with an odd look as he said in an indifferent tone,
"Tell me."
Arya looked over at Caitlyn and the others, then she watched Victoria.
"I'd pick Caitlyn."
"Caitlyn is pretty fantastic in the entertainment industry. Although she's now married, her popularity has increased instead. She and her husband are a pair of well-known models as a couple. They're really in love with each other. Her husband avoided appearing before media for her sake. I followed her in the news some time back. I prefer her because she's more mature. What do you think?"
Xavier smiled. "No personal feelings included?"
She shook her head. "Of course not. I'm just telling the truth. But it seems that the PR Department and Vice President have already decided."
Seeing how she was just calmly sipping her wine, he smiled without saying anything. He waved his hand and Rick came over swiftly. Then, he quietly gave some orders to Rick who nodded and headed straight towards the host on stage.
After Victoria's performance ended, there was a short silence. The guests were buzzing with conversation. After some time, the music changed into a cheerful tone as the host spoke into the mic full of energy and excitement.
"Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen, we're now having another exciting event for tonight! Next up, let's have Director Johns up on stage. She'll be announcing the annual main ambassador. This lucky person will become the face and representative of Glory World. Please welcome Director Johns!"
Arya put her hand on her forehead when she heard the host's voice. So, this was what a supervisor had to go through! She glanced at the man beside her and said,
"Do you wanna go?"
Xavier ignored her as he was talking to Daniel.
Damn it!
Arya frowned. Inhaling a deep breath, she stood up. Once again, she headed towards the stage.
She grabbed the mic from the host as she arrived at the center of the stage and an assistant swiftly handed her a prepared envelope. Everyone hushed down and the air turned tense all of a sudden.
Arya opened the envelope with her fingers and took the card out. Peeking at the name, her eyebrows raised and she glanced over at Xavier's direction.
Xavier just looked back at her calmly as if he was enjoying a movie.
Arya went silent for a moment before she averted her gaze back to the card in her hand. Her cold and calm voice reached everyone through the microphone —
"I hereby announce the annual ambassador for Glory World: Ms. Caitlyn! Congratulations, Ms. Caitlyn!"
Arya turned to Caitlyn's direction with smiling eyes. Caitlyn stood up in disbelief, covering her mouth in surprise.
The crowd gave her a big round of applause while cries of approval and words of congratulations went around everywhere.
After a while, Caitlyn came back to her senses and went up onstage amidst the crowd cheering. She soon arrived beside Arya.
"Congratulations! I hope we'll work well with each other." Arya smiled as she congratulated Caitlyn, her eyes brightening up a little. She extended her hand towards Caitlyn.
"Thank you, Director Johns! I'm really honoured!"
Although Caitlyn was already contracted with Glory World, she actually had the lowest chance of winning this race for the main ambassador role. It was a known fact within the industry, the news of a celebrity getting married at the peak of her career would lower her popularity. However, Caitlyn still gave it a try.
Arya's smile gave Caitlyn a sense of peace. "You deserve it. I hope we can work well in the future. I heard about you and your husband. I really admire you and am impressed by your courage. I wish you all the best!"
"Thank you! I'm really thankful! This is surprising. I... I'm a little..."
Caitlyn looked at Arya gratefully. Having seen her speaking with Chairman Knight quietly earlier, she realized that for her to be able to get this role, Arya might have put in a great deal of help.
Caitlyn suddenly started sobbing. Just how many people understood the hardships on the pathway to becoming a star?
For some reason, she felt at ease when she was with Arya. She thought that maybe this elegant lady before her understood her.
From the very first time she saw Arya, Caitlyn was comfortable with her and felt that she might be someone that she could trust and be friends with.
Suddenly, she could not help herself but engulf Arya in a hug.
Of course, Arya had no idea what Caitlyn was thinking about, so she was stunned for a moment when she hugged her. Nevertheless, she smiled when she noticed the glitter in Caitlyn's eyes, and she embraced her back gracefully.
And yet, this scene shocked everyone!
While Caitlyn seemed very friendly and elegant, she was known for being prideful in the industry. No one had ever seen her being particularly close with anyone, but now...
On the other hand, Director Arya from Glory World seemed to have a cold personality. Upon witnessing these two ladies hugging each other, it became a beautiful scene that touched many people who saw this heartwarming incident.
Arya patted Caitlyn's back lightly. "All the best!" She then let go of Caitlyn and walked off the stage slowly.
Caitlyn wiped the tears on the verge of her eyes away. Then, she gave a gratitude speech before singing a classic old song,
"Applause".
The atmosphere in the hall had reached its very peak. Many people were on the verge of tearing when they heard Caitlyn's gentle crooning.
As Arya went back to her seat, she was reminded of all the struggles she had faced along the way. She related to them deeply, but felt a little sour inside as she turned towards the man beside her...
His expression seemed indifferent and he was calm as usual. However, he put his hand on hers and rested them on her knee as if he was comforting her.
She felt his warmth coming from his palm. It was slowly reaching towards her core and she could feel her cold body temperature slowly rising.
However, while such a scene could make someone happy, it caused a certain person to get infuriated as well!
Several tables away, Evelyn's face darkened. She almost could not suppress the anger within her as she glared coldly at Caitlyn signing on stage. Switching her gaze to Arya, she clenched her fists when she saw Arya looking at Xavier.
Beside her, Victoria looked pale, her eyes appearing frail and disappointed as if she was hurt. She bit her red lips and was trying her best to hide her pain.
"It must have been Arya. She must have done something! It's her! Victoria, did you see that? That woman is just wicked! Just who is Caitlyn? How dare she take away what belongs to you? It must be Arya who pulled some strings from behind!" Evelyn was enraged and she clenched her teeth hard.
"Did you see that, Ethan? This is Arya's doing. She's the supervisor for this project, so it was as easy as a snap of her finger to change the name. Victoria should be the one to win this! And now Caitlyn has grabbed it away from her! Is this what she gets for treating Arya like her sweet sister? That's great, Victoria! Did you see that?"
Evelyn was oddly worked up about it. Furthermore, she felt terrible when she saw Victoria's pale and injured expression. In her state of anger and unhappiness, she could not help but burst out in rage when she saw Arya still appearing calm.
"Sis... Ethan... I..."
Victoria seemed disappointed and hurt as she looked at Ethan beside her and sniffed.
Ethan remained silent, his expression cold and his lips pursed. He looked at Caitlyn onstage quietly. Undoubtedly, her singing touched him slightly. He averted his gaze and looked towards Arya's direction.
As the suave music floated in the air, Glory World's management team started to toast with the guests. Xavier and Arya got up and walked around too.
They looked just like a couple who were match-made in heaven and became the entire banquet's center of attention.
"Arya, you look splendid tonight! You've shocked me!"
When she reached Mia's table, Mia could not help but walk up to give Arya a hug. Arya could only smile in response.
Arya's slightly raspy voice said softly in her ear, "Thank you, Mia."
Mia patted her back and let go of her. Then, she looked to Xavier on the side and smiled. "Thank you, Master Knight!"
Xavier naturally knew what Mia meant. He gazed meaningfully at Arya beside him, then turned to lift his glass towards Mia in response.
All of a sudden, a commotion broke out up front. A few bright figures entered their sight. When they looked up, they saw that Ethan, Victoria, and Evelyn had walked over.
Leading the pack was Evelyn who had on a smile on her charming face. Her beautiful eyes twinkled and her steps were light as they walked up to Xavier and Arya. When she stopped, her gentle gaze did not even look at Arya once. It stopped right on Xavier. She smiled and greeted,
"We meet again, Master Knight! The last time, I didn't greet you properly, so I've come with my drink to apologize. Cheers!"
Once Evelyn finished, Arya was stunned. Naturally, she did not miss Evelyn's concealed admiration in her eyes which was unexpected to her. Then, she watched the man beside her in amusement, yet the man's expression remained as usual. His eyes were still as water, his gaze brushing past Evelyn and looking ahead as if he did not see Evelyn.
Arya followed his gaze and saw Ethan and Victoria walking over.
Despite downing her drink, Evelyn, who did not receive a response, saw how Xavier did not even take as much of a glance at her as if he did not hear her voice. The awkwardness could not be concealed from her beautiful face, especially when a few people shot her odd glances from the side...
Her face could not help but sink. When she saw Ethan and Victoria walk over, she retreated, feeling upset and seeming embarrassed.
Ethan was a gentleman and he acknowledged as he walked up to Xavier,
"Congratulations, Chairman Knight."
"Sis, you're really beautiful today! I knew that you were always..." Victoria still looked very pale, but there was a faint smile on her face. She looked so vulnerable that it made one feel sorry for her.
When Victoria said this, Evelyn's glance turned bitter. She was about to reach out to pull Victoria away, yet the latter had walked right up to Arya. She took a glass of wine from the waiter's tray and handed it to Arya.
"Sis, I want to make a toast to you to wish you a Happy New Year, and may Glory World take it to the next level!"
Arya observed at the wine that was handed to her and raised her brows before exchanging a look with Xavier beside her. After some thought, she then slowly reached out, yet before she could hold it steadily, there was an outcry —
The sloshing of the wine was heard. At the same time, Mia's voice called out,
"Arya, watch out!"
Arya realized something almost at the same time. Her hand reached down at lightning speed and caught the glass that fell by a close shave as the wine that splashed out wet her hand.
A sneer quickly appeared at the corner of her mouth as she looked meaningfully at Victoria who seemed alarmed and apologetic. Then, she smiled wryly without uttering a word. She only looked at her indifferently, then peered down at the half-empty glass.
"I'm sorry... It wasn't on purpose," Victoria murmured apologetically with her head lowered.
The moment Victoria said that, Mia refuted her,
"I think you were doing it on purpose. How repulsive!"
"Watch what you're saying!" Evelyn immediately rushed over defensively.
Arya was calm as usual though. Her smile faintly showed hints of ridicule, yet her twinkling eyes were dense with an indescribable gloominess and even complication. She just inhaled and looked on apathetically at Victoria who feigned innocence, her cold voice as calm as autumn waters as she lamented,
"Apart from using such tricks, can't you change to something else like ruin my gown? Or did you want the opportunity to tell whoever that I didn't give you face, intentionally not accepting your glass? To complain before Grandfather and Grandmother about how I crossed the line? Did you forget? You've already used this same trick at my 16th birthday banquet. Back then, I didn't seem to be like this right now. I took the glass you handed, but it shattered all over the floor and even hurt your foot..."
Arya paused and watched Victoria's face instantly freeze up. She then smiled and continued,
"After that, because of this incident, Grandmother punished me by making me face the wall. I knelt in her study room for a whole night. And that other time when the gown was burnt, remember? Victoria, it seems that every single time, you'd only know how to... mmm, right... just like you are right now, looking very innocent and wronged. Tell us that you didn't do it on purpose. Don't you know that an excessive coincidence no longer becomes a coincidence? That's just ingenuity. Do you think you're someone who could scheme like this?"
Victoria's little face instantly turned pale. She was stumped for words and looked a little stiffly at Arya.
The people around could obviously hear Arya too. All of them instantly turned around and looked over. Their gaze quickly fixated on Victoria who was biting her lips slightly while looking weak and at a loss.
"I'm not. I really didn't do it on purpose. You're like this every single time! How do I... How do I explain it to you? You don't even give me a chance to explain properly. When I try to be friendly to you, do you even give me a chance?"
Out of the blue, Victoria suddenly found the courage to say this to Arya while more and more people all around were peering over at the moment.
When Evelyn saw Victoria reacting like that, she found it difficult to bear. Just as she wanted to walk up to her, Mia blocked her and kept her at bay.
Unable to go ahead, Evelyn became exasperated. She glared at Mia and snapped coldly,
"Mia, f*ck off!"
Mia smiled in disdain. "I've grown to this age, but I still don't know how to write the words 'f*ck off'. How about you demonstrate to me how to f*ck off?"
"Mia, I'll advise you that it's best not to cross the line."
Mia sneered without care. "It's you guys who're crossing the line! You're deliberately trying to pick a fight, aren't you? Do you see what this launch is? Is it a place for you people to just come and put on a show?"