There was only a week left until exams.
Elizabeth Liang had to go to class, work part-time, then go home to cook and do housework every single day without fail, and it was exhausting.
Seeing her stressed and all worn out day after day, James Lu not only didn't offer any comfort, he always added fuel to the fire by saying...
"I'm not gonna pity you. Who told you to bite off more than you can chew by working? Hmph!"
That's what James said, but he would always order somebody else to buy Elizabeth's groceries for her. Every night, after she finished her housework, he would call her to his study and make her take out her textbook so that he could help her highlight the key information in her culture courses for her to revise. He did it in the name of not wanting her to fail and embarrass him.
Elizabeth's daily schedule was filled to the brim, but her days also passed in the blink of an eye.
Before she knew it, it was time for the exams.
After finishing every exam for every single subject, Elizabeth was finally able to relax. She knew how to handle all of the questions, and many of the questions were relevant to what James highlighted for her a few days ago.
Next year was senior year, and they had to go over the upcoming courses and internship programs, so everyone returned to their classrooms after the exams to listen to their instructors.
But not much was actually arranged, so the class was over in only thirty minutes.
Everyone began packing up and was ready to leave, but Margot Wang suddenly stood up and walked to the podium. The entire class looked at her in confusion, not knowing what she was going to do.
Margot nodded politely to the instructor, then began speaking with an air of great confidence and cordiality, "My dear classmates, we come from all over the country, and I feel blessed to be sharing the same class with every single one of you. I am truly grateful to God for letting us meet each other here. After this summer, we won't be able to spend as much time together as we did before. I am extremely saddened by that fact. Which is why I am sincerely inviting all of you to a gathering while we still have the time and energy to do so. To express my gratitude, I will be paying for all of the expenses today."
Dozens of students in the classroom began cheering. Everybody knew that Margot was from a wealthy family, if she was inviting them to a party then it was definitely not going to be anywhere cheap. The best part? They didn't have to pay for a thing.
"Can we go to a karaoke?" Someone asked.
Margot answered with a smile, "We can go after we eat."
"Can we go and eat at a five-star hotel?" Another person asked. "Of course." Margot nodded. "I hope that all of you can come. No matter how well we got along with each other in the past, I hope that no one will be absent from this group."
Evelyn Wu leaned over to Elizabeth as she watched Margot standing proudly and confidently on the podium. She frowned and whispered to Elizabeth, "What the hell is Margot doing?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "Who knows? But I'm not going."
"Yeah," Evelyn nodded in understanding. "You hate how she looks all rich and superior too, right?"
"No, did you forget that I have to cook dinner?"
"Oh, That." Evelyn snorted with disdain, disappointed in her friend's priorities, "Just ask your husband for a day off. Let's go and stuff our faces and have some fun!"
"..." Elizabeth speechlessly glanced at the person beside her. "I thought you couldn't stand Margot? Aren't you going to righteously refuse her invitation?"
Evelyn waved her index finger at her. "Hmph! I told you that you can be a real idiot sometimes! Let me tell you how to deal with those you hate, for example..." She tilted her head and gave a mischievous smile. "When an opportunity like this arises, you absolutely can not miss out on it. She's treating us to a free five-star meal? You'd be an idiot to not go! We have to go, we have to pig out and wrap up everything we can until she goes broke! Haha!"
What was going on in Evelyn's brain? No one noticed that the dean was actually at the door, and she opened her mouth while they were talking, "I am very fond of Margot's suggestion! You should all cherish your classmates and get together like this often." The dean scanned the classroom and continued, "You can sort out amongst yourselves whether to split the bill or have Margot cover everything. But every single one of you must come today, if you want to graduate next year!"
Hearing this, the smile on Margot's face grew even brighter. She politely said, "Thank you miss! You should come along with the instructor, miss!"
Evelyn winked at Elizabeth and said, "See, even the dean's not letting you go home! Haha, Elizabeth, let's go and eat till she's broke!" With this, she rubbed her belly with a worried face and said, "Oh no, I need to exercise a bit later. I had too much at lunch and I'm still not that hungry. Are you hungry, Elizabeth?"
******
"Mr. Lu, on behalf of all the staff and students of A University, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to you!" President Fang looked like he was on top of the world as he held in his hands the investment contract that was just signed by James.
He had been paying attention to the follow-up of Elizabeth's drawing incident. Elizabeth did not hand in anything, so he had thought that his construction dreams were ruined. To his surprise, he received a phone call from Assistant Lee today asking him to come to Lu Enterprises and sign the contract.
"Your junior students are done with their exams today, correct?"
"Huh?" President Fang paused, but soon nodded and replied, "Yes."
James propped his hands on the desk and nodded slightly. He glanced at the check book on the table, then grabbed it and let his pen flourish across the paper.
He ripped off the check.
"This is the construction money. You can go and deposit it whenever you have the time." As he said this, he handed over the check.
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