Tong Yan tried to push further. She knew well that she could not escape easily. Silver Leaf had started their investigation, and while she was able to tamper with the records of the camera at the stockroom, the time log of her key card would reveal that she was the last one to check the ingredients.

She cursed her bad luck. If the other proctor wasn’t too lazy to inspect the ingredients with her, she would have a better chance to erase her trail.

Turning to the hallway at her right, she quickly hid when she spotted the security personnel of Silver Leaf making rounds. Their discussions reached her ears.

“Chairman wanted no Silver Leaf to leave this area. Make sure to block all possible entrance and exits. We have one woman to find.” The man in uniform said sternly. Chairman Han wouldn’t allow the perpetrators to slip out easily.

Surrendering would lead to disaster. She didn’t trust that Silver Leaf would understand her reasoning. They would never understand that she was just repaying a debt to Sun Feiyan. That woman… Tong Yan knew that Sun Feiyan could easily shrug her off and deny involvement.

Who would believe her? None.

Forcing herself to leave unnoticed, she did her best to remain hidden at the dark and abandoned hallways. She also had to sneak from the cameras installed at main hallways. She bit her nail. Where should she hide now?

Tong Yan waited for the other security personnel to leave the washroom vicinity. She might get a chance to slip away from there. With trembling knees and shaking hands, she slowly turned the knob of the door of the washroom, trying her best not to make a sound. She released a breath as soon as she closed the door, leaning her back on it.

There was something wrong in this place! She quickly lifted her guard and look around.

“I know you will resort to choosing this place to escape.” A feminine voice let out a laugh from one of the cubicles. The door opened, revealing a familiar woman Tong Yan would know anywhere she goes. “You’re still predictable as ever, Tong Yan. Did you know that not only the academy wants your head? The Shen family couldn’t wait to dig their claws on your flesh.”

“M-Miss Lin…”

Lin Ai was Director Han’s capable assistant. It was she who handled critical and dirty works for the Silver Leaf Director.

Tong Yan’s body refused to follow her mind. She was stuck in place, failing to escape from the woman’s intense gaze. She was trapped. There was no escaping this time.

—

Lu Xinyi splashed her face with cold water before lifting her head and looking at her pale face. Her long hair was now thick and curled—let down to frame her face. She stood still, her mask of confidence forgotten.

The sound of dripping water was the only thing accompanying her in these rare moments of her weaknesses. She’d done her best to survive although she wasn’t sure if the academy would accept her claims about the switched ingredients.

She turned off the faucet and wiped her face dry with a clean towel. She had to come back to the lounge soon, or the academy staff would start looking for her. When she went outside, she was surprised to see her husband, leaning at the opposite wall and waiting for her.

“Xinyi.” The tears brimming in her eyes startled him. “What’s wrong?”

“I…” What should she say? She was scared? She was afraid that she would lose this time after putting too much hard work on her last dish?

“Stupid proctor,” she hissed out. None of these problems would persist if only the proctor listened to her and changed her items. Her claim was valid; what irritated her was the way she was dismissed—no chance to explain herself.

Lu Xinyi stomped her feet and tried to pass her husband, but Shen Yi was quick to pull her in an embrace she wished to break. She hated this predicament. It wasn’t about the scores or the prize for this competition. It was her pride as a person that was invalidated and questioned. It was the whole disrespect from people that irked her the most!

She covered her face as she sobbed silently in Shen Yi’s arms. He rubbed her shoulder in an attempt to calm her.

“I’m so stupid,” she choked out.

“You’re not. You are just disappointed. Remember not to let those words affect you.”

“But…”

“You’ve done your part. Now go back and wait. Let me pave your way and clean up some trash.”

When Shen Yi was eight, his grandfather thought him a lesson about being a good husband. Madam Shen was also a realtor like her husband but not as business savvy as him. She was cool and unpredictable but a good woman in her standing.

One day, she came home unnaturally depressed and subdued. She had only gone to her husband for an embrace, speaking in hushed tones and leaving Shen Yi confused why she was crying. After a while, his grandfather kissed her forehead and told her to get some rest; and he would deal with it.

“Come, Yi. I want you to watch closely and learn.” His grandfather said, and Shen Yi went with him without hesitation. It turned out that her grandmother had been pressured to give up a deal she couldn’t defend or argue.

“Your grandmother is a strong and capable woman, Yi. I have known that since I met her. She wouldn’t easily give up, but some idiotic people refuse to see that.” His grandfather grinned, the wrinkles around his eyes emphasized his old age. “You will become a husband, too; and it’s our job to remind those idiots of their places once in a while.”

Right now, as Shen Yi sat across Chairman Han with his daughter, he couldn’t think of a better lesson he learned other than that.