Chapter 2042


    Cicely watched as Diaz International began to buzz with activity. The newly established Engineering


    Department was already in full swing with a senior engineer at the helm. It was apparent that Seth


    had been nning for this moment for years, with a team ready to hit the ground running.


    She knew that the best way she could support him was to stand back and let him take the reins,


    even though she wished she could do more to help. Opportunities for her to get involved were just


    scarce.


    On a quiet afternoon, Cicely took a stroll through the Engineering Department, where the team—


    dressed in their id shirts and casual zers—worked diligently. They were the epitome of


    understated brilliance, their fingers dancing across keyboards as screens filled with cryptic code


    that Cicely couldn''t begin to decipher.


    Her impending marriage to the head honcho of Diaz International was no secret in P City, so her


    presence in the department wentrgely unremarked. The ce was abuzz with rumors of her


    being a pampereddy, hardly a tech wiz, making theplex code on screen all the more alien to


    her.


    The department manager, Camden, a tall and lean man sporting a slick suit and a confident air,


    made sure to greet her with a touch of charm. His humor and wit were a breath of fresh air in the


    otherwise grave environment, making him the darling of the coding engineers.


    "Ms. Cicely, here for an inspection, are we?" Camden quipped with a grin, as Cicely casually


    scanned the rows ofputers, humming thoughtfully.d2


    "Do you have any instructions for us, Ms. Cicely?" Camden asked, following her gaze to the screens


    full of iprehensible code.


    Cicely nced at him and then at a nearby workstation. "How are other people, like me, supposed


    to make sense of all this code?" she inquired.


    With a knowing smile, Camden nodded to the engineer at the desk, "Show our future Mrs. Diaz


    what we can do."


    The engineer swiftly switched screens and within moments, following a flurry of keystrokes and one


    final resounding press of the Enter key, a simple animation graced the monitor. A white kitten,


    lollipop in paw, bounced across the screen under the twinkling words "Wishing Mr. Diaz and Mrs.


    Diaz a lifetime of happiness." The animation was simple, but the speed with which it was created


    impressed Cicely


    "The code may be difficult to understand, but the result is clear enough," Camden remarked with a


    smile.


    Cicely nodded, genuinely impressed. "You guys really are quite something."


    "Thank you for thepliment, ma''am." Camden replied.


    After Cicely left the department, she immediately started Googling introductory courses in


    engineering.


    Later, Seth returned from a meeting to find Cicely squinting at herputer screen with such


    intensity, he teased, "nning on going blind?"


    Cicely shot him a sidelong nce and continued her focus on the screen. "Meeting over, huh?" she


    replied nonchntly, eliciting a frown from Seth who took a glimpse at her screen and saw the C


    programmingnguage. "Why are you looking at this?" he asked, puzzled.


    Cicely replied with newfound interest, "It''s fascinating. I visited the Engineering Department today,


    and they whipped up an animation for me in minutes. It seemed magical."


    Seth chuckled, "You won''t get it. You might as well give up."


    Cicely red at him but didn''t persist, although she wasn''t ready to give up just yet. A few days of


    learning and the novelty could wear off, but she wasn''t about to guarantee anything to Seth.


    To Seth''s surprise, Cicely''s persistence ousted his expectations. For a week straight, she devoted


    herself to mastering C programmingnguage, bringing her books to the office and frequently


    visiting the Engineering Department. She was scarcely seen except for lunch and at the end of the


    day.


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    Her casual approach to college, where she was known as the little princess of P City, seemed to


    work in her favor as no one expected her to fail. The campus had be more of a hobby, with


    asional visits to maintain appearances.


    During one of those visits, Joel struck up a conversation about coding, and Cicely, now with a bit of


    coding knowledge and confidence, admitted she was studying it too. Joel invited her to join a club at


    school run by a senior who was a programming whiz.


    [Does he have the patience for it?] she typed back to him, aware of the slight irritation she had been


    causing at the Engineering Department.


    [Of course, and you''ve got me, right?] Joel assured her.


    [Fine, I''ll check it out tomorrow,] Cicely agreed with a sigh.


    ...


    The next day, Camden and a few engineers couldn''t help but suppress their excitement when they


    realized Cicely wasn''t apanying Seth to work. Camden cautiously asked Seth about her


    whereabouts.


    "She''s at school," Seth replied casually, and Camden''s mood lifted slightly. Perhaps having Mrs.


    Diaz around wasn''t so bad after all—it meant no overtime work for them.


    Without hesitation, Cicely joined the club Joel had mentioned. It turned out Joel had learned more


    than she had, and he patiently tutored her through the basics.


    Before the after-school club wrapped up, Joel casually handed Cicely a USB drive, given her


    noticeable dedication to studying these past few days, he couldn''t resist asking:


    "Why are you suddenly interested in coding?"


    Cicely toyed with the drive in her hand, replying nonchntly, "Just seems cool and interesting.


    Seth''s working on a new project, and I figured I might be able to help him out if I learn a bit."


    Joel''s eyes darkened slightly, then he let out a resigned sigh, "Since it''s software development, it''s


    probably all advanced code. We''re talking a good three to five years before we''re at that level."


    Cicely didn''t seem bothered, "Knowing a little is better than nothing. At least I''ll understand what


    they''re talking about."


    After thinking for a moment, Joel nodded in agreement.


    Suddenly, Cicely lifted the USB drive, "What''s this for?"


    Joel then remembered, "Well, that''s got a program I developed with a friend."


    Cicely uttered an acknowledgement, about to plug the drive into aputer, "Let''s see what it''s


    about."


    Joel quickly restrained her wrist, "Wait a second."


    "What''s up?"


    Joel exined, "It''s a nk drive. The program code is embedded within. It''s a virus. You can''t see


    it."


    Cicely''s mouth hung open in surprise, "A virus? So what happens when you plug it into aputer?


    Does it just die?"


    He nodded and then shook his head, "The drive has a huge capacity. Once you plug it in, it''ll


    automatically back up all the stored files on theputer at lightning speed. Once it''s done copying,


    theputer will crash."


    Cicely looked repulsed, "Then how do you use it? Even if you copy the files, what will hold them for


    extraction?"


    This seemed to be Joel''s pride and joy. The usually modest and polite boy now disyed an


    unmistakable air of satisfaction. "The ''virus'' will only spread to oneputer. On the second


    machine, it acts like a normal USB drive, but the files are hidden and need to be cracked to show


    up."


    Cicely found this intriguing, "Is this to prevent corporate espionage?"


    "That''s the idea if you have a specific target."


    Cicely shook her head, "Soundsplicated. Where''s the decryption code?"


    Joel shook his head, "Still working on it. It needs time."


    "So why give it to me? It''s useless to me right now."


    "I wanted you to have a piece of my achievement, as a keepsake."


    Cicely raised an eyebrow and slipped the drive into her bag. "Make sure to send me the cracked


    version when it''s ready."


    "Of course."


    *


    Dusk had settled. The two chatted as they made their way toward the school gates. "Did you


    arrange a ride? I can drive you home if not."


    "No, it''s fine. Seth said he''d pick me up." Cicely hadn''t finished her sentence when someone


    bumped into her shoulder, causing her bag to fall and her to stagger, but Joel quickly steadied her.


    "Sorry." The person mumbled an apology. Cicely wasn''t one to hold a grudge, but before she could


    regain her bnce, Joel stepped in front of her, protectively moving her behind him.


    Cicely, puzzled, peeked around and saw Ray, whom she hadn''t seen in a while.


    Ray seemed to recognize them too. His gaze lingered on Cicely before he let out a sardonicugh,


    "Ms. Cicely, aside from everything else, there is something destined between us, right?"


    Ray looked haggard, the once polished young guy now appeared disheveled. His long hair was


    carelessly styled, and his chin sported a patch of stubble. His clothes were wrinkled. It was clear he


    was trying to maintain his image, but the effort only made his disarray more evident.


    Although Cicely was almost raped by him, given the whole story and whaty behind it, she actually


    felt Ray had been dealt a raw deal.


    With his penis ruined and hiss family fortune lost, Ray''s current state evoked a twinge of pity from


    Cicely.


    "Mr. Ray, I assume there''s nothing else?" Joel interrupted, wary of Ray''s attempt to converse with


    Cicely.


    Ray''sugh held a hint of scorn, "No. The Ellis family''s darling is loved by all, I hear. You''re getting


    married in a month, I guess congrattions are in order." Without waiting for a response, he turned


    and walked towards the school entrance.


    As they watched Ray disappear into the distance, Joel finally rxed, turning to Cicely. "You okay?"


    "I''m fine. You had me covered."


    Joel bent down to pick up her bag, dusted it off, and handed it back to her. "Talk about bad luck, I


    thought you wouldn''t see him at school. And yet, here we are, running into him on thest day."


    Cicely took her bag, her voice tinged with confusion, "Last day?"


    "Ray came to school today to drop out. With everything that happened at home, and it''s probably


    best he leaves, given how he''d be treated here."


    Joel left the sentence hanging, but Cicely understood what he meant. "I see," she responded tly,


    "I guess that makes sense."


    "Now his family is just him, and those who used to flock around are now avoiding him. I heard he


    sold off his properties a few days ago, not sure what he ns to do."


    Cicely paused, "Sold them?"


    "Yeah." Joel nodded, "There are plenty of rich kids around here; a few bought from him. If he''s


    nning to use that money to make aeback, that''s great. But there''s the fear he might do


    something drastic. I heard he had a serious sh with Seth not too long ago. You might want to


    warn him to be careful."


    Cicely''s expression grew somber.


    At the school gate, a familiar luxury car with its hazard lights shing was waiting. The understated,


    yet imposing ck sedan was boldly parked right at the entrance. Clusters of students leaving the


    school cast curious nces its way.


    Cicely recognized the car immediately. She stopped and turned to bid Joel farewell. The silent


    vehicle suddenly sprang to life as Seth emerged, dressed sharply in a suit, his demeanor austere,


    drawing murmurs from the onlookers.


    Nobody could mistake him. In the hallowed halls of the prestigious academy, it was rare to find a


    young prodigy who, even before donning their graduation cap, had already carved out a substantial


    niche in the elite echelons of the business world. He was a legend whispered about in the corridors


    and ssrooms, his name synonymous with sess and mystery.


    His visits to campus were infrequent, his presence more myth than man to most of the students.


    Thus, when he did appear, it was as if a celebrity had walked among them, causing a stir of


    excitement and awe.


    Cicely was mid-farewell with Joel when a sudden chorus of animated whispers erupted around her.


    A gaggle of girls huddled by the nearby school monument, their excitement bubbling over as they


    bounced in ce, their voices a mix of disbelief and delight.


    Was all this fanfare really necessary?


    She turned slightly, casting her gaze back to Seth. Well, perhaps the fuss was justified.


    Just right now, his expression was less than pleasant. His brows were furrowed in a frown, his


    stance aloof, as if the weight of his re could be felt from a distance, cold and as deep as an


    abyss.


    Cicely btedly pieced together the puzzle. Right, that man had a minor sh with Joel before.


    Joel had been kind enough to part with friendly advice, cautioning her to warn Seth to beware of a


    certain Ray. Comparing their temperaments, Seth''s current demeanor seemed rather off-putting.


    "Alright, I should head back. Take care on your way," Cicely said, choosing not to provoke him


    further despite herck of enthusiasm for his attitude.


    Joel replied with a smile, nodding. "You too, and remember, if you run into any trouble, just give me


    a shout. I''m here for you."


    "Will do."


    They exchanged smiles and waved goodbye, but Seth''s expression only soured further.


    It wasn''t until Cicely approached him, seeing the stern cast of his face up close, that she felt a mix


    of irritation and amusement bubble up. "Who got under your skin?" she asked, a teasing lilt in her


    voice.