"Why are you in such a hurry to find a job?" L asked as she handed me a piece of bread.


    I took the bread from her, but I was feeling someplicated emotions.


    "I want to find a job quickly. Once I''m in a stable situation, I''ll bring my mom out of the Hastings residence," I responded.


    While the Hastings family hadn''t been outright bad to my mom, I kept feeling like she wasn''tfortable staying there.


    L didn''t say much more. She had always been like this. As long as it was a private matter, she wouldn''t pry into it unless I brought it up myself.


    I took a few bites of the bread.


    L sighed softly and said, "But the job market isn''t great right now, so it''s not easy to find a job, Serena. Don''t put too much pressure on yourself."


    I nodded.


    I actually had some money with me. The 150 thousand dors Julian owed me had been paid off by Elena. But that was not enough for my mom to be able to live with me.


    Just as I was lost in thought, my phone rang.


    It was Alex. He was probably calling for his watch, so I picked up the phone.


    "Tomorrow''s Saturday. Do you have any ns?" Alex asked on the other end of the line.


    I responded reflexively, "I''ve got nothing nned for now."


    "Thene with me to a g. I''ll have the driver pick you up at the university gate in the morning. I''ve already prepared a gown for you."


    "W-Wait..." I stammered and tried to refuse.


    "I''ll pay you if youe. Twenty thousand dors-how about it?" he added with a hint of amusement in his voice.


    "Deal!" I agreed through gritted teeth.


    Only a fool would pass up on money. I happened to desperately need money at the moment.


    ...


    The next morning, I found out the g Alex was attending was in Lonesdeep.


    I frowned slightly as I recalled Julian asking me to attend a g the day before. He mentioned it was in Lonesdeep as well. Could it be the same g? I really didn''t want to bump into Julian.


    "What are you thinking about?" Alex suddenly leaned closer to me.


    I instinctively stepped back before replying, "Will the kes be attending this g?"


    As soon as I said that, I noticed Alex''s expression darken significantly. His displeasure was quite evident.


    "I just don''t want to run into Alex by chance," I quickly exined.


    My stupid mouth always worked faster than my brain. But why did mentioning Julian seem to make Alex so unhappy?


    "They might be," he replied as he picked up a magazine from the ne''s seat pocket.


    I couldn''t read his expression since the magazine was blocking his face, but he continued, "This g is quite grand The kes might be a minor family, but they''d likely be on the guest list."


    I let out a dejected grunt.


    Well, that sucked. But I would turn a blind eye to it since I was making 20


    thousand dors. I could just ignore Julian.


    "What are you worried about?" Alex asked as he crossed his legs. Even that action seemed elegant.


    He added, "You''re my date. If the


    kes want to stir up any trouble, then they''d better look at themselves in the mirror. They''d need to


    ver


    consider if they can afford to offend


    Hastings Group."


    I forced myself to look away from his legs.