Jude, who could never keep a secret, was just about to spill all of Noreen''s dirtyundry when Seth cut in, his voice cool and detached. "It''s time for lunch. We don''t have much time, and we can''t bete for the afternoon exam."
That snapped the others out of their gossipy mood.
"Oh, right. My cousin has an exam this afternoon. We shouldn''t let irrelevant people distract her."
Though her words sounded considerate, her expression was pure scorn; she clearly looked down on Noreen from the bottom of her heart.
"Besides, even if my cousin didn''t try, she''d still wipe the floor with certain people, right?"
Last ce?
The nerve!
Bianca didn''tment, only adding offhandedly, "Noreen just turned in her paper forty minutes early."
Her tone was t, yet it carried an unmistakable hint of contempt.
Lillian teased, "If the rules didn''t require you to wait, she probably would have walked out even sooner, right?"
"I mean, it''s not like she could aplish anything by just sitting there!"
Bianca offered a faint, silent smile.
The afternoon exam was on a general subject, which was rtively simplepared to their specialized fields. Both Noreen and Bianca could handle it with
ease.
This time, however, Noreen didn''t dare to turn in her paper early, afraid she''d get caught by Halley again.
Later, during the interview portion, Noreen handled the questions with effortlessposure.
When she came out, she saw Henry pacing by the door.
He seemed to be waiting for someone.
Probably Bianca.
Noreen paid him no mind and dialed Dn''s number.
As she passed Henry, his fingers tightened, and he looked like he wanted to say something.
But it felt as if something was caught in his throat, and he couldn''t get a single sound out.
He still hadn''t called out to her by the time she was far down the hall.
Forget it.
The worst that could happen was getting an earful from the old man when he got home.
Henry thought to himself.
Truthfully, he didn''t want anything to do with Noreen. But his father kept calling, nagging him to spend more time with her, to learn from her business philosophy...
He really didn''t get it.
He was a student at a top-tier business school. Why should he have to learn from a mere undergrad like Noreen, who hadn''t even gone to grad school?
Just then, Bianca emerged.
Lillian, who was waiting for her, spotted Henry nearby as she walked over.
Seeing Henry staring outside, she followed his gaze.
When she realized he was looking in Noreen''s direction, she frowned instinctively.
Why was Henry looking at Noreen?
Just as the question formed in her
minerted his eyes a
Henry
upon seeing
Bianca, heme
walked toward her.
Lillian breathed a sigh of relief.
She was overthinking it.
There was
lookin way Henry was
looking at Noreen. He was probably just ncing in that direction
randomly.
After all, Lillian knew perfectly well how smitten Henry was with Bianca.
Before he knew Bianca had a boyfriend, the guy had staged a grand, public confession.
Candles, flowers, serenading her with a guitar...
A ssic, cliché college romance scene.
Unfortunately, Bianca had turned him down.
At the time, Lillian had asked her why.
Bianca had said it was too childish.
Who would have guessed that this
unassuming, broke international
student was actually the heir
V
Brooke Group?
If he had revealed his background sooner, things might be very different today.
Still, the guy was quite devoted.
Bianca was also surprised to see Henry. "When did you get here?"
"This morning," Henry replied, before asking about her exam. "How did it go?"
"Pretty well."
Henry knew how capable she was, so he wasn''t worried.
Bianca then invited Henry to join them for dinner.
He thought about it for a moment but declined.
He knew Bianca would definitely be celebrating with Seth.
"I have ns tonight, so I can''t make it."
Bianca didn''t press him. "Alright, then we''ll catch up when you''re free."