Chapter 416: Chapter 416: The Dean Has Returned
Chase Jennings’ voice wasn’t loud, but his tone carried an undeniable firmness that demanded no questioning.
Fiona Harper realized what he was referring to, her face instantly flushing bright red.
Ava Zimrman had already looked up at Chase when he pointed at her. Her sullen eyes lingered for just a mont before quickly darting down, betraying little emotion.
Fiona Harper was initially shocked to hear the word “friend” from Chase. When she grasped the aning, her voice trembled slightly,
“I… I’m sorry. I didn’t know she was your friend. But what I said earlier… I truly ant no malice.”
“Malice isn’t yours to define.”
Chase Jennings glanced at Fiona with evident impatience, feeling that the girl before him slled more and more like fake sweetness—an attitude he outright disliked right now.
His expression grew colder,
“None of us here are deaf or blind. Do you honestly think no one could see through your petty gas? Apologize!”
The deliberate heaviness in Chase’s voice as he emphasized the word “apologize” made Fiona Harper flinch in fear. Without daring to say anything further, she hurriedly turned around, eyes reddened, and apologized to Ava Zimrman,
“I’m sorry. What I said earlier must have hurt you… but I truly didn’t an anything by it.”
Ava Zimrman looked at the pitiful figure in front of her, laughing coldly in her mind but betraying no reaction on the surface. Her head remained lowered as she spoke in a hoarse, timid voice, “It’s fine.”
Just hearing her voice sent Chase Jennings’ thoughts back to the night when she had spoken to him.
Back then, Chase wondered why a woman’s voice could sound so unpleasant. But after reading her file, all he felt toward her was sympathy.
At thirteen, she survived a devastating fire. Her throat was damaged by the smoke, and her face was ruined.
She lost her family, leaving only herself to struggle through life until high school, where she eventually dropped out.
Chase Jennings used to think he couldn’t imagine soone living such a miserable life.
Yet despite her misfortune, she managed to maintain a kind heart. After finding him attacked, she stayed by his side and ensured he was brought to the hospital, disappearing quietly afterward.
Chase thought, indeed, he had once been too superficial.
A person’s value cannot be judged by their appearance.
The more beautiful a woman is, the deadlier her sches.
Fiona Harper watched as Chase Jennings walked over to Ava Zimrman’s side, wanting to say more, but the mall’s owner had already stepped forward and motioned with his hand,
“Which brand’s planner are you? I think your company ought to send soone else for coordination.”
Upon hearing this, Fiona Harper imdiately abandoned any concern for Chase Jennings.
She quickly went over to explain herself to the mall owner.
Today was her first solo exhibition planning project since her promotion. If they replaced her, she’d be a laughingstock back at the company.
She decided to figure out a way to explain things to Mr. Chase later, hurrying off after the mall manager and owner instead.
Once Fiona walked away, Chase Jennings and Ava Zimrman could talk more freely.
Chase asked her, “Do you rember ? You saved two days ago.”
Ava Zimrman nodded. “Are you alright now?”
“Thanks to you.”
Chase said, “Today, I ca specifically to thank you. Rest assured, from now on, no one here will trouble you again. If you want a position change or need anything else, just tell .”
Chase’s words carried undeniable confidence. Although the mall had no ties to his family, he had this assurance and dared to promise her.
Ava Zimrman, hearing his offer, showed no trace of excitent on her face and instead remained calm as before.
“That won’t be necessary.”
She said, “I’m used to it.”
Her simple words struck Chase Jennings, hitting a part of his heart unexpectedly.
This wasn’t romantic affection, but instead stirred an earnest intention to help the girl more.
Perhaps, he thought, it was just to repay her for calling an ambulance for him.
…
Elsewhere, Scarlett Jennings returned to the academy, and on the third day, the institution witnessed a major event—
The director of Sea City Taoist Academy, unseen by the freshn since the start of term, finally revealed himself.
Garbed in a violet Taoist robe, the long-bearded elder stood before the Benedict Stone Statue, exuding an aura akin to the tiless streams of experiences shaped by years, serene and ever-flowing.
His re presence silenced the crowd below in reverence.
Of course, this did not include Ashton Todd.
Standing behind Scarlett Jennings, Ashton Todd subtly moved his lips in whispers so soft they were almost imperceptible, yet Scarlett could still hear him,
“A hundred bucks for gossip about the director, deal?”
Still facing forward, Scarlett Jennings maintained her composure, but one hand quietly stretched back, opening five fingers.
Fifty bucks. No more.
Ashton Todd mumbled grudgingly, “Fifty’s too low—add more!”
Scarlett’s five fingers turned into three.
Thirty bucks.
Keep arguing, and I’ll haggle lower.
Ashton Todd quietly cursed her stinginess but nonetheless began spilling gossip.
“Don’t be fooled by how old the director looks—he really is old. Rumor has it, he’s one hundred and fifty years old this year.”
“He and the director of Capital Academy are senior and junior disciples. His senior took over as the Taoism Academy director in Capital tropolitan, and the girl he liked stayed in Capital tropolitan with his senior. Out of bitterness, the director requested to beco Sea City’s head instead.”
“His absence over these past weeks was because he went to Capital tropolitan to fight his senior. He lost the fight, spent a month recovering from his injuries, and only returned once he healed.”
…
With each sentence Ashton Todd uttered, nearby students instinctively angled their ears closer. By the end, the group surrounded him like a closed blossom.
As they listened intently, the director’s voice abruptly stopped on stage. And just monts later, the director, who had supposedly been standing in the front, seed to teleport almost instantaneously to Ashton Todd’s side.
Unhurriedly, he picked up the conversation,
“Indeed, I did fight, but as Mystical Sect practitioners, we don’t call it a fight—it’s called a spar.”
He spoke with a pleasant smile, turning his gaze toward Ashton Todd,
“Ashton Todd, please be mindful of your wording. Otherwise, should you abroad use improper terms, foreigners might mistake our academy’s students for being incompetent in their craft.”
Ashton Todd, having been rescued two months ago from Myan North by a ntor: …
It’s common courtesy not to expose soone’s embarrassing monts—why wasn’t the director following that rule?
The director then glanced at the students surrounding Ashton Todd, adding, “I’m not one hundred and fifty years old—I’m one hundred and forty-nine. It’s written clearly in the school records.”
At once, the surrounding students straightened in their seats.
Finally, the director’s gaze settled on Scarlett Jennings, who was seated in the front.
She sat upright and composed without the slightest trace of having just listened to gossip monts ago.
He fixed his eyes on her for a long mont, and then his gaze shifted to the glowing little paperman peeking curiously from her shoulder.
The director narrowed his eyes slightly, suddenly understanding how her duel with Gregory Xander had summoned the Dragon God’s Power through that storm.
Scarlett Jennings felt the weight of the director’s prolonged stare on her, and while she remained poised, she couldn’t help but feel a sliver of nervousness.
For a mont, she thought the director wasn’t going to say anything further—but then, he spoke, his tone tinged with hidden aning,
“…Your little paperman is quite impressive.”
Scarlett Jennings: ???
So… should she thank him?
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