Capítulo 12

This was an old residential area on the outskirts of City A, a family housing complex built, next to a large abandoned chemical plant.

Back then, Thorne had worked at the chemical plant and been allocated an apartment here. Ten years ago, the plant closed and was acquired by theOpus Group, but it had remained idle with no specific plans. Once plans were made, all nearby buildings would be demolished.

Capitalists were all bloodsuckers, and William, a natural-born lover of fame and fortune, was particularly calculating. The demolition compensation he offered was strictly at the minimum standard, not a penny more.

But no one expected that he would transform into a philanthropist for Emma. As a representative,

Thorne had met with William, expecting conflicts, but William had been extremely polite and revised the compensation standard, allowing every household to receive far more than the minimum.

This move had left Emma both angry and touched—angry that William had orchestrated the whole thing, yet touched that he would go so far for her!

Sitting in the car, I gazed up at the lights in the community, lost in thought. In my past life, when I discovered William had changed the demolition compensation plan, I asked my father to look into it and learned some inside information, but at the time, I didn't know William had done it for a woman.

Thinking about it, that was exactly six months after William started pursuing Emma, and he was already this obsessed after half a year.

Not knowing the specific building and apartment number of the Wei family, I drove slowly around the small community.

With no walls or security, it was easy to wander around. Just as I completed a full circle, I saw a familiar Bugatti. William, dressed in black, was leaning against the car, his long legs casually propped against the body, head slightly lowered as he lit a cigarette.

Putting myself in Emma's shoes, I pondered: if such a domineering man pursued me madly, spent money on me, and swept away all obstacles like a knight, with eyes only for me, even though I had no other outstanding merits besides being pretty, I suddenly realized: I wouldn't be able to resist either! Emma was innocent, not stupid.

Following the direction William was looking, I identified Emma's window.

In that building, besides the first floor, only the fifth floor had a light on. I dialed William's phone.

"What do you want?" William's cold voice came through as usual when the call connected.

"Nothing, just checking if you'd answer." I looked at the man not far away through the car window. As expected, he hung up.

I was a bit flattered that while he was gazing affectionately at another woman's building, consumed by thoughts of how to pursue her, he still had a moment to answer his resentful wife's call.

After sighing, I drove away.

When I got home, the housekeepers had just finished cleaning. Luna was the last to finish, seemingly waiting for me on purpose.

"Madam!" Luna said nervously when she saw me. I placed the pile of food on the table and asked gently, "What's wrong, Aunt Liu?"

Luna looked at me anxiously, her wrinkled face full of embarrassment. "When I was cleaning your bedroom today, I accidentally broke a bottle of your skincare product. Please see how much it costs, and I'll compensate you."

"Which bottle?" I asked.

She quickly took out a piece of paper from her pocket, revealing the shattered bottle inside—it was toner, costing nearly 1500 dollars per bottle. Luna's monthly salary wasn't enough to replace it. Looking at her humble appearance, I felt an indescribable feeling.

Such a common woman would later become William's mother-in-law, struggling to earn a few hundred dollars a month now, but later rising to the upper class just because she had a beautiful daughter.

My family had been in politics for three generations, and the Brown family had been in business for three generations, with their current wealth and status accumulated generation after generation.

"Forget it, I'd already used more than half of that toner. Just be careful next time." I felt inexplicably tired, and thinking of the scene where I'd seen William silently gazing up at the family's building earlier, I had an illusion that the world wasn't real. Luna thanked me repeatedly with a mix of gratitude and guilt, while I went upstairs to rest without a word.

After a shower, I lay in bed with a face mask on, playing on my phone, when the bedroom door "clicked" open—William had returned. "Your parents have gone back; you don't need to keep up the act," I muttered, watching William approach.

"I know," William said, taking out his pajamas from the closet and leaving without looking back. I was truly being sentimental. With a soft sigh, I removed the face mask and prepared to rest.

Sasha's call woke me up. I answered drowsily, "Sasha, what's up?"

"Didn't I mention a commercial performance missing a cellist? Are you going?" Sasha asked loudly. I finally remembered and immediately sobered up, "Yes!" I didn't care about the money; my goal was to enrich myself and pursue my former dream. Sasha laughed happily, "Great! I'll send you the time and location later—be on time!" "Okay," I agreed readily.

After hanging up, I quickly received the information from Sasha. The venue was the concert hall of my alma mater, A University, and the time was three days later—the first day of school.

This commercial performance was actually a task assigned by the music department of A University, and only graduates from the music department could take it.

It was to welcome the freshman music students, allowing them to appreciate the charm of music through the performances of senior alumni and start their university journey.

I hadn't returned to A University since graduation. I'd never revisited the campus or made donations; I'd just revolved around William all day. This was a new beginning, and I was quite looking forward to it.

To avoid embarrassing my alma mater, I practiced hard for three days. Anyway, William was never home at night, so I practiced from morning till night, practically rooted in the music room. Immersed in the music, these three days were very fulfilling. Through various pieces, I kept recalling the past life, and the music seemed to take on a different flavor.

In the evening, after a comfortable shower, I dialed John's phone. "Alice!" John's side was noisy, like a bar. "John, where are you?" I asked in a maternal tone, "School starts tomorrow, why are you still at a bar?" John's voice was drowned out by the loud music, "Alice, I'm at work. Can't talk now—it's too loud!" I immediately hung up and chose to send a message.

Me: Still short on tuition? Didn't you have that medical compensation money recently and didn't use it?

John replied promptly: I transferred it to my dad for his medical fees.

Without hesitation, I transferred 3000 dollars to him. I had the awareness needed for flirting with boys, and besides, there was William, a master, who had personally demonstrated it to me before.

A few minutes later, John called back, panicked, "Alice, why did you transfer me money? I can earn my tuition myself!" "You're still a student; studying hard is the right path. What if you fail your courses and can't graduate?" I lay in bed, my voice appropriately lazy, "Listen to sister—A University is a good school. Don't waste your time on endless part-time jobs. Study hard, and you'll have a bright future. You can pay me back after graduation." "I..." John seemed to choke up.

I suddenly felt a bit sad and wondered if I was being too cunning, taking advantage of such an innocent boy.

John thought I was being kind, but actually, I was pretending to be a good Samaritan.

With John's background, getting into A University and surviving in City A required much more effort than others.

Putting aside all factors related to Emma, I genuinely admired such self-improving people.

"Don't say anything. Just tell me if you need money in the future. Consider it my sponsorship, and you can pay me back after graduation. If you really feel bad, pay a little extra as interest," I said.

This amount of money was truly nothing to me, and it could both balance my mind and help John—it was a win-win.

John must have been truly desperate, or he wouldn't have been working part-time the day before school started.

After hanging up, John accepted the money and replied: Thank you, Alice! I will definitely pay you back in the future!

I didn't reply, just threw away my phone and went to sleep.

Early the next morning, I got up and dressed carefully, wearing an elegant white dress with a light makeup that made me look good.

Carrying my cello, I had Iriqe drive me to A University.

Returning to campus, I felt a flood of emotions. Looking at the vibrant freshmen, I remembered my own arrival at university, as if it were yesterday. Back then, I was overjoyed, thinking that I had finally entered the same university as William and would be alumni—more excited than winning five million yuan.

Following the route in my memory, I arrived at the music department's concert hall, a place all music students passed through, with transparent floor-to-ceiling glass and a tiered stage in the center.

Today, there were fifty-two alumni like me participating in the performance, playing The Blue Danube Waltz, a classic piece.

The stage was already set up, and after we were assigned positions on the spot, we took our places—no rehearsal, just relying on tacit understanding. But we were all talents from A University's music department; even after years in society, we still retained our skills, or we wouldn't have dared to take the job.

As the beautiful melody began, I felt the passion in the music and relaxed completely. More and more students gathered to watch, and our impromptu orchestra became more energetic, playing several classic pieces in a row until noon. The thunderous applause was very satisfying.

Scanning the crowd, I saw John standing there, looking at me with shining eyes. When he saw I had noticed him, he shyly but warmly waved. I smiled and nodded at him. After the performance, I walked toward him, "John."

"Alice, I didn't know you could play the cello—you're amazing!" John praised me without reservation.

"I majored in cello in college," I said, walking and chatting with John while carrying my cello. In this environment, I felt much younger, as if reborn into my university days. "I think girls who know music are very charming," John said.

The injuries on his face had mostly healed, but there were still some scars on his mouth and corner of the eye.

Wearing a sports short-sleeved shirt and shorts, he had a sunny temperament. When he said this, I was a bit confused—could he already be fascinated by me?

The next moment, John shattered my illusion,

"My Emma also studies music, but she majors in vocal music, not instruments."

That was the same as Sasha's major—she was also aiming to become a singer.

I sighed inwardly; it seemed John was truly deeply in love with Emma, making it difficult for me to scoffeel her away.

But once William managed to win over Emma, I would have my chance. Anyway, my goal was just to gain some psychological balance, not to find true love.

"John!!" Emma's figure appeared ahead.

She was also wearing a white dress, but her youthful energy made her look purer than me. Seeing me with John, she didn't seem suspicious at all; instead, she greeted me in surprise, "Alice, why are you here too?"

"I was performing in the concert hall just now and happened to meet John," I said gently with a smile.

"I heard someone say there was a stunning symphony performance in the concert hall—Alice was actually part of it? What a pity! I had some club matters to attend to, so I missed your performance," Emma said with annoyance on her pretty face, clearly disappointed.

John replied, "No wonder I couldn't find you, and your phone was off." A flicker of unease crossed Emma's eyes, along with a hint of fatigue, and her smile became slightly forced, "My phone was on vibrate today, so I didn't hear it."

"The first day of school is indeed the busiest. Want to have a meal together? My treat," I asked the two. Emma shook her head, "Alice, thank you for the invitation, but I need to organize my dormitory later, so I'll just eat at the cafeteria. What about you, John?"

John, of course, followed his girlfriend without hesitation, even though I had lent him3000 dollars the night before.

"I'll eat at the cafeteria too, Alice. Next time, Emma and I will treat you," John said sincerely to me. "Okay, then I'll go back first," I said without insistence, nodding and leaving.

Iriqe was waiting for me. After getting in the car, I ordered, "Let's go home."

As the car started and drove along the wide campus roads of A University, images of myself secretly chasing William every day flooded my mind, always thinking of excuses to create chance encounters.

Suddenly, a silver car drove slowly past.

I wasn't mistaken—the side face of William was visible through the half-open car window. Why had he suddenly appeared at A University in a different car?

This car was much more low-key than his other luxious vehicles. The only explanation I could think of was that he had come to see Emma and didn't want to attract too much attention.

No wonder Emma had looked so uneasy earlier, with a tired look in her eyes—she was probably being harassed by William these days.

After all, such a domineering intervention would make anyone uncomfortable at first, especially Emma, who already had someone in her heart.

I wondered if William had seen me earlier, but with his mind on Emma, he probably hadn't paid attention to his surroundings.