Chapter 266
‘She really invited Professor Horton here! Tessa thought. ‘No idea what she did, but she actually made him see her differently
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Then Tessa spotted a thick pile of materials sitting right next to Aurelia’s seat. ‘Is she seriously putting on the intellectual act in front of Professor Horton now? Isn’t she worried someone’s gonna call her out? Tessa scoffed deep down.
Probably she just used this sneaky move to make Professor Horton see her differently, Tessa thought.
“Professor Horton, what do you think?” Tessa averted her gaze, seemingly unwilling to look at Aurelia any longer, and instead sincerely invited Stephen.
“I’ll skip joining you guys. You guys go ahead,” Stephen politely declined Tessa’s invitation. After Aurelia sat down, he scooped some vegetables and placed them on Aurelia’s plate with a friendly smile.
Tessa saw all this and couldn’t wrap her head around it. ‘Professor Horton’s not just seeing Aurelia differently now; he actually seems to like her. What does he like about her? Her academic background?‘ Tessa thought, unable to understand.
Tessa looked rather gloomy on the way back. Jasper, seeing it was just the two of them, blurted out, “Professor Horton’s not joining us?”
Tessa was silent. Cassian answered, “Yeah, he’s got company, so it’s kinda awkward for him to come over.”
Jasper just shrugged it off. People were trickling in one after another, and even Liam, who hadn’t shown up for ages.
The investment banking circle had probably already caught wind of the news that Cassian had gone north and secured new capital. Therefore, those who had been clamoring to withdraw their shares had quieted down considerably.
Gideon was the last to arrive. He said he had been held up at an important meeting. Jasper teased him, “Hell must’ve frozen over; even Gideon’s here.”
Ever since Tessa found out Gideon had feelings for Aurelia, she started to distance herself from him. When Gideon showed up. Tessa didn’t initiate talking to him. It was like there was a wall between them, and Liam was totally baffled.
Halfway through dinner, the performance at Thyme and Vine finally started. It was a dance by the dancers in exotic
costumes.
The staff opened all the windows in the private rooms to enable everyone to have a good view of the performance. Gideon spotted Aurelia right away. After that, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Liam was originally seated inside as Jasper had already claimed the spot by the window. But the moment Liam saw Aurelia, he was dead set on switching seats with Jasper.
“Come on, you’ve seen all kinds of performances. Why are you suddenly so interested in this one that you need a front row seat? Jasper joked.
Liam couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. “Just switch, alright?” he said. Tessa wasn’t interested in performance, so she just had small talk with Cassian.
“I still need to prepare for my master’s program application, and I’ve been so swamped lately that my head’s spinning. I haven’t had a proper night’s sleep all week, Tessa said, sounding exhausted.
“If it’s really too much, maybe you should just drop the application for now. Your health comes first,” Cassian advised.
Tessa shook her head and said, “If I can become Professor Horton’s student, it’ll be a huge boost for both Helix Tech and me. I can’t give up on this opportunity.”
Chapter 266
Perhaps out of her concern that Cassian would be worried about her, she tried to reassure him, “Don’t worry, I’m confident After all, I already have a PhD, so getting into a local master’s program is a piece of cake for me.
Then, her tone changed, and she scoffed, “Aurelia should be the one to quit!”
Jasper, probably feeling bored and not interested in the performance, jumped into their conversation. “What’s the matter
with Aurelia?”
“You’re not aware of this?” Tessa snickered, her voice dripping with contempt. “She’s planning to apply for Professor Horton’s master’s program, too.”
Jasper’s reaction was exactly what Tessa had anticipated. “Aurelia? Applying for a master’s program? And is Professor Horton’s program? Is she for real?” Jasper blurted out, eyes wide in disbelief. “Is she getting carried away?”
He had to admit, Aurelia was pretty capable. Ever since she left Honoria Capital, she had been challenging the way he saw
her.
‘But capability and academic credentials are two different things. Moreover, Professor Horton’s master’s program is notoriously difficult. Aurelia is really getting carried away,‘ he thought.
Jasper’s expression was indescribable. He shot Cassian with a complex expression, waiting to see his reaction. However,
Cassian didn’t even blink.
To be more precise, Cassian didn’t give a damn about what Aurelia was doing, and he didn’t intend to comment. He looked indifferent.
With his fiancée sitting right there, of course, he has to play it cool for her sake,‘ Jasper thought. ‘Besides, he had always been pretty indifferent toward Aurelia. Now that he has Tessa, Aurelia is a closed chapter.‘
Jasper pursed his lips, thinking Aurelia’s situation might not end well. ‘I must give dad a heads–up later so he’ll stop going on and on about how amazing Aurelia is,‘ he thought.
Tessa caught Jasper’s reaction and hid a quiet, amused smirk while sipping her coffee. ‘It’s not that I look down on Aurelia; it’s just that everyone thinks she’s daydreaming. Some things aren’t about bluffing or playing tricks,‘ she thought.
When the performance wrapped up, both groups‘ dinners were about to end. Jasper, probably feeling restless after being stuck indoors for ages, wasn’t ready to call it a night. He suggested hanging out somewhere.
Just as Tessa was about to say she and Cassian were in, Gideon stood up and said, “I’ve something to attend to, so I’m out. You guys have fun.”
Hearing that, Tessa’s expression changed slightly. Although she didn’t talk to Gideon all night, she had been observing him. He seemed distracted the whole time. He didn’t even glance at her, completely ignoring her.
And now he was leaving early. She figured he was probably heading straight to see Aurelia.
‘He really can’t wait, huh? He didn’t even want to hide it anymore, Tessa thought, and that realization left a trace of bitterness flickering in her chest.
But when she glanced up and saw Cassian’s gaze fixed on her, her mood brightened significantly, Cassian turned down Jasper’s suggestion politely, “We’ve got stuff to take care of, so we’ll skip this time. You guys go ahead.”
“Hey, come on…” Jasper complained resentfully, “Fine, you two be romantic. Liam can keep me company
Liam just said, “Hey, you’re flying solo, but not me.”
Jasper was left totally speechless. As they were heading out after dinner, they bumped into Aurelia and her crew, who had just finished their dinner.
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Gideon walked over to greet them. “Hi. Mia. Aurelia
Aurelia looked surprised. You had your dinner here, too?”
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“Yeah, I saw you earlier. I wanted to say hi, but you were so engrossed in reading, I didn’t want to disturb you, Gideon replied
Mia raised an eyebrow and said with a teasing smile, “You were really paying attention, huh?”
Gideon just shrugged, not denying a thing. Tessa and Cassian walked right past the group, not even stopping, while Jasper managed a stiff hello to Aurelia.
Aurelia just nodded back, barely acknowledging him, but Jasper noticed Aurelia hugging a thick pile of materials. Wow, she’s actually got master’s program materials.
‘She’s got nerves of steel, seriously, Jasper mused, shaking his head. Isn’t she worried she’ll embarrass herself if she can’t pull it off after making such a big show? Jasper wondered.
AD
