Chapter 52: Chapter 52: And You?
Cecilia Sterling spoke with a sincere and composed tone. Most importantly, she had openly presented solid evidence proving her money came from investments.
Principal Warner was also surprised to see the value of Cecilia Sterling’s stock portfolio—it was over two thousand.
He dabbled in stocks himself, but he had a poor eye for it and had lost at least a few dozen over the years. He was actually less skilled than a university student.
Letting out a quiet sigh, Principal Warner finally smiled. "Excellent! You’re truly a top student from Lorcain Tech. Capable and responsible!"
The department head also let out a sigh of relief, having feared the whole thing might fall through. He immediately piped up, "So, Principal, should I contact the media? We should give this some proper publicity. This is a huge deal!"
Such a large donation, and from one of our own students, no less. Reporting on this would be great for the school’s image. Anyone who hears about it will agree it’s a wonderful story.
Besides, it’s standard practice to have the media present when accepting a donation. Sometimes the school contacts them, and other times the donating corporation handles it. It’s all for good publicity, after all.
Principal Warner nodded. "Yes, we need to publicize this. Let’s give our student, Cecilia Sterling, some well-deserved praise."
"Principal, there’s no need for publicity," Cecilia Sterling said quickly. "As I just mentioned, I prefer to keep a low profile. Besides, this is fundamentally about me making amends for the trouble I caused the school. It’s nothing worth boasting about."
The department head and Principal Warner were taken aback and exchanged a glance.
Seeing their reaction, Cecilia Sterling added, "Why don’t we just take a photo together with the telescopes—me, the principal, and the department head? You could post it on the school’s announcement board."
Since Cecilia Sterling had put it that way, Principal Warner nodded with a slightly apologetic smile. "That works too. If that’s what you want, we won’t invite the media. We’ll just take a picture among ourselves to mark the occasion."
The department head quickly chimed in, "In that case, I’ll go find a student from the photography club to take the picture for us."
As Cecilia Sterling suggested, a few school administrators, the department head, and John Lawson gathered for a photo with the four donated astronomical telescopes. Unable to refuse their insistence, Cecilia was placed right in the center.
After the photo, the administrators all gathered around to examine the telescopes. Cecilia took the opportunity to pull the department head aside. "Sir," she said in a low voice, "I’d like to request some time off."
"Time off?" the department head asked. "How long?"
"National Day is coming up, isn’t it? I’d like to go home, so I was hoping to take leave starting now until the holiday begins. That way, I’ll have a longer block of time."
Normally, if a student asked for several days off right before a holiday for no good reason, he would never approve it.
But after today, Cecilia Sterling was clearly an exception. The department head agreed without a second thought. "No problem at all. Do you have the request form?"
"Not yet. I can bring it to you this afternoon?"
"Don’t worry about it. I’ll approve it now. You can just submit the form when you get back."
Cecilia Sterling smiled and thanked him profusely.
Then, the department head, seeing that they were alone, asked timidly, "Cecilia... could I perhaps ask you for some advice on stock trading?"
Cecilia Sterling was left speechless.
In the end, Cecilia Sterling naturally turned him down. Even if she were a stock market prodigy, the market is inherently risky and always volatile.
No one can guarantee a profit every single time.
—
「Kika Sushi, South Loop Branch.」
Lily Sterling brought her roommates here to celebrate getting her paycheck.
"Girl, you really know how to pick a spot! This is the best sushi place in Lorcain," Hannah Warner exclaimed the moment they walked in.
Anna Sanders nodded in agreement. "Totally. I heard all their ingredients are flown in fresh daily."
Nina Zimmer just smiled at Lily. "Lily, we’re not holding back today. We’re going to eat our hearts out!"
All three were Lorcain locals from well-to-do families, so they had clearly been to this restaurant before.
Lily had been here once before with her sister and loved it. She also felt its price and quality truly qualified as a "feast," and that’s exactly what she wanted to treat her best friends to.
"Don’t hold back, you guys! Eat as much as you want, and order the expensive stuff!" Lily was unusually cheerful. "And after we eat, we’re going to SKP! I’m buying a gift for each of you!"
"In that case, I really won’t hold back!" Hannah Warner looped her arm through Lily’s, grinning. "I want to absorb some of your good luck. A gift from you is sure to be a good luck charm! When I finally land a role and get paid, I promise I’ll get you something in return."
Nina Zimmer nodded. "Exactly. Everything’s been going so well for Lily lately. She must have been blessed by Lady Luck. We need to get in on that."
The friends chatted and laughed as they entered the restaurant, only to look up and find themselves face-to-face with Suzanne Sawyer, who was on her way out.
"What bad luck," Hannah Warner muttered instinctively upon seeing Suzanne Sawyer.
Suzanne was with two other girls and had clearly just finished her meal. The moment she saw Lily’s group, her expression filled with contempt.
Her worries had been put to rest after the press conference. Lily Sterling obviously wasn’t a main cast member, so Suzanne didn’t really care what role she had landed.
Lily had no intention of engaging with Suzanne. She even pulled her friends aside to let them pass, but Suzanne stopped right in front of her anyway.
"I don’t really care, but I am curious," Suzanne said, looking down her nose at Lily. "Who did you end up playing?"
"Don’t try to tell me you’re playing Ruby. Your hair and makeup that day were definitely not for a maid’s role."
Seeing Suzanne bully Lily so brazenly, Nina immediately stepped in. "What business is it of yours who Lily is playing? You used your connections to steal her role, and now you have the nerve to provoke her every day? You really think we don’t know what you did?"
Hannah Warner scoffed in agreement. "Exactly. Shameless and proud of it."
But their words had no effect on Suzanne. Her family had the resources, and she could take all the shortcuts she wanted.
"If you’ve got what it takes, go buy a role yourselves. It’s not like I hold the patent on it. I’m not stopping you." Suzanne then turned her gaze back to Lily. "Fine, don’t tell me. I’m guessing you’re playing some rich girl with only a handful of scenes."
Considering Lily’s hair and makeup that day, Suzanne felt her guess was pretty close to the mark.
Just then, a short-haired girl beside Suzanne chimed in, deliberately trying to pick a fight. "You must have gotten paid too, right? How much was it? Our Isolde got 35!"
Lily looked at Suzanne’s smug expression and finally answered in a low voice, "Eight."
AHAHAHAHAHA!
"Eight?"
"So cheap!"
"Oh my god, I thought it’d be at least fifteen."
Suzanne’s group erupted in laughter. Suzanne herself added mockingly, "Well, you’d better order carefully today. This place is expensive. You don’t want to spend half your paycheck on one meal."
Lily waited with a blank face until she was finished, then added calmly, "That’s eight per episode. And you?"
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