Noreen was in the middle of nning the next day''s work. Graduation season was approaching, which meant thepany''s recruitment drive was about to kick into high gear, and there was a lot to do.


    Still, she yed along. "To get you this excited, it''s got to be one of two things: either you won the lottery, or that jerk Seth went bankrupt."


    ire cackled. "Oh, it''s so much better than Seth going bankrupt!"


    Her tone piqued Noreen''s curiosity. "Alright, spill it. Don''t keep me in suspense." "Seth got cheated on! Hahahahahahaha!"


    Afterughing until she was out of breath, ire hung up. But then she thought, an event this momentous deserved to be shared. She opened WhatsApp, found Seth''s number in her contacts, and sent him a friend request. She''d gotten his number from Sophia Cole back when Noreen was in the hospital, but he never answered. She had considered deleting it after they broke up but decided to keep it, sensing it mighte in handy one day.


    And now, it had.


    Seth epted the request surprisingly fast, without even asking who she was. Weren''t powerful CEOs supposed to be harder to get ahold of? Whatever.


    As soon as he epted, ire sent him a single, pointed sticker: a smiling clown. It felt incredibly appropriate.


    A momentter, a question mark appeared from Seth.


    ire didn''t reply. Instead, she went to her social media and posted a long string of twenty clown emojis. A few minutester, ament appeared from a contact saved as ''Jerk Quigley.''


    "?"


    Birds of a feather really do flock together. They even ask questions the same way. Pathetic. Men.


    Miles away in Northcrest, Jerk Quigley let out a sudden sneeze.


    Since ire was on a forced vacation, Noreen dragged her along to Rivercrest University to help with Winrich''s recruitment drive.


    "You''re a co-owner of Winrich, you know," Noreen had said. "You can''t just coast forever."


    ire knew Noreen was just trying to keep her busy so she wouldn''t sit around dwelling on things. Since it was their alma mater, she was happy to go.


    When they arrived, arge banner was stretched across the main gate: *A Warm


    Wee to Professor William for his Visit and Academic Exchange!*


    "Judging by the fanfare, this guy


    must be a big deal," ire


    even assembled a weing


    at the entrance.


    Noreen''s attention was elsewhere. She called Halley to ask if he was attending the ceremony.


    "Nope. I go every year, and I''m tired of it. Taking a break this year," he grumbled.


    "That''s fair," Noreen said. "Get some rest. When I have some time, I''ll take you to see Dr. Wilder for another acupuncture session."


    Halley hung up without another word.<fn5c48> The source of th?s content is find~novel</fn5c48>


    Henry, who was ying chess with Halley, noticed his mentor''s foul mood. "What''s wrong?"


    "Nothing. Focus on the game," Halley snapped. "How do you expect to win when your head is in the clouds?"


    Henry''s mind was indeed elsewhere.


    He couldn''t stop thinking about Bianca. Five minutester, a


    message from her popped up. She told him Professor William was Visiting Rivercrest University and asked if he had time to swing by.


    Henry immediately became restless, his next move on the chessboardpletely random.


    Halley threw his piece down in frustration. "That''s it, I''m done! ying with you is no fun at all!"


    "Sorry, Master. Something''se up," Henry said apologetically. "I''ll make it up to you with a proper game another day."


    Halley just waved him off dismissively and retreated to his study.


    Henry rushed over to Rivercrest University. He was about to call Bianca to ask where she was when he spotted her in the crowd.