Before everyone knew it, the final exams were upon them, and this time, the school was placing a significant emphasis on these year-end assessments.Next semester, their cohort was scheduled to graduate. Loyalty Academy always had a head start on other schools, having completed the curriculum that other schools would cover in the latter half of the semester.In the upcoming semester, they would focus entirely on revision, preparing themselves as best as possible for their quest to secure spots at prestigious universities.Class 8 was renowned as one of the top-performing classes in the school. Class 4 next door was always eager to surpass Class 8. Recently, Class 8 had gained significant momentum and had become the target of jealousy for several other classes.The teachers from nearby classes couldn't help but mention Class 8 frequently, causing anxiety and insecurity among other students.Liana watched Catherine napping with her head on the desk and felt a sense of triumph.Th
Two days of final exams finally came to a close yesterday.At Loyalty Academy, unlike other schools, after the exams, all the teachers stayed late on the same day to release the rankings and results on the following day.On the second day after the exams, many students with dark circles under their eyes arrived at the school early, eagerly waiting for the results to be posted.Liana arrived early today, brimming with confidence that she had done well this time.In her quest to get the results faster, she discreetly inquired with her teachers.When the results were finally announced, they did not disappoint her.She ranked second in Class 8 and third in the entire grade.After learning her results, Liana immediately asked a teacher if Catherine was the first in the class. The teacher was very sure and firmly denied it.Thinking about this, Liana couldn't help but feel pleased and looked forward to the moment when the results would be made public. She would love to see Catherin
Branden went to pick up Catherine from school. After getting her homework, winter break had officially begun. The winter in Casier was a bit cold, so he planned to take Catherine to Oceanvile.Besides, the business of the Swann Corporation and the Duncan Corporation had been doing well there lately.The man had it all planned out in his mind, but he still needed to ask Catherine's advice."Do you have any plans for winter break? If not, how about I take you to Oceanvile for the winter?"Catherine might have regarded Branden's arrangement favorably if she hadn't taken the training mission to Scorpion Island.Rodge had messaged her a couple of times for help, and Dr. Dunn had been urging her to make a trip over there."No!" Catherine instantly rejected the man. "I've got to go to Alton to tutor those brats... I promised and took the money. It can't be refunded!"In her opinion, training those rookies was just like tutoring little kids!"For how long?" The smile on the man's fac
Branden took Catherine to the airport. Catherine was going to Alton.Branden gazed at her, his eyes filled with reluctance."Come back as soon as possible. I'll pick you up!"Catherine's name could be heard in the airport announcement, but Branden didn't intend to let her go."Alright, I'll try."After saying that, Catherine swiftly took the luggage from Branden's hand and ran into the security checkpoint."Gotta go, bye!"Watching her back as she ran away without turning her head, Branden helplessly chuckled."Well, that's very cruel of you," he murmured inwardly. "I showed so much reluctance, yet you could still happily leave without showing me mercy."After Catherine boarded the plane, she realized that Branden had booked her the entire first-class cabin.The flight attendant politely placed Catherine's luggage down and led her to her seat.Being able to book the entire first-class cabin exclusively for one person was enough to prove the man's wealth. He must be a big sho
Catherine sampled the food. Even though it did not taste as good as Branden's cooking, it was acceptable. "No need. This is good!" replied Catherine coolly. Since dinner was alright, Francis could continue with the rest of the arrangements."Miss Swann, do you have any special arrangements tomorrow? Otherwise, here is a list of nearby travel destinations. Why don't you take a look? If there is anywhere you are interested in visiting, I can make arrangements."Francis felt sad inside. He did not expect to see the day when he would become a mere tour guide!After waking up, Catherine received a text message from Ronin. He informed her that the client would contact her at night and she could make her way over tomorrow. Her time was very precious, so she did not have the time to travel. "No, thanks. From tomorrow onward, you don't have to follow me around. I have my own arrangements!"Hearing Catherine's rejection, Francis nearly lost control of his expression. He quietly inhal
Scorpion Island was a small island located in the central Patrific.It was surrounded by steep cliffs. Leaving this place without a sound was nearly impossible. Unless one happened to be the Sea King of Atrantis.Just ten minutes ago, the island's commander, Jon, sounded the alarm.It signaled the beginning of the training in earnest.As is customary, the special ops team members assembled on the training ground.Rumor had it that they had enlisted the world's top assassin as their instructor this time.Every three years, Scorpion Island arranged for a special training session, each time with a different instructor, but these instructors were always someone notorious for their brutality.There were casualties in every training, so they signed a life-and-death agreement before being selected to come to the island.Although the mortality rate was extremely high, those who managed to leave the island could rise to the top of the world rankings.So, being able to train on Scorpion
The first round had just ended. Then, the speakers above the training ground began to emit that chilling, devilish voice again."Round two begins!"The cold tone of the announcement caused even the famously tough individuals present to shiver involuntarily.The second round was relatively simple. It focused on physical tests.If one could complete the test within the allotted time, he would pass.Once the rules were revealed, a collective sigh of relief swept through the group.Despite the tight time constraint, their physical fitness was up to the task, so they believed they would all pass.Eight individuals had been eliminated in the first round, and nobody wanted to face the same fate. Everyone gave their all to complete the task.Even those who were initially holding back their strength had to show their true abilities under Anon's relentless scrutiny.The second round concluded, and the afternoon training was done for the day. Anon announced the dismissal through the loud
Paxton knocked on Branden's study door, bearing the latest message from Alton.After receiving Branden's permission, he gently pushed open the door."Mr. Duncan, on the Alton side, the transaction time for that shipment has been confirmed. With Francis and the others away, maybe I should handle this trip."They were the four finest members of the Duncans. Each was highly capable and trained from a young age by the family head.They had taken on nearly all the projects the head had accepted but had yet to excel in them as the head did.This trade deal in Alton was worth tens of billions of dollars and was supposed to be managed by Francis in Alton. But the head had surprisingly sent Francis to Scorpion Island.Not only Francis, but the other two were also on Scorpion Island.With such a substantial project, Paxton couldn't entrust it to others, so he volunteered.Branden leisurely finished signing the last document. Then he looked up at Paxton."Arrange a flight to Alton for to
In the end, Branden couldn't stand it anymore. He took the initiative to snatch Catherine back, only then did the scene come under control.Now, no one dared to continue touching Catherine's belly.Once he snatched Catherine back, he held her tightly in his arms and prevented anyone from touching her. He thought in his mind, "Since these people like this brat so much, I'll just give the brat to them when Catherine gives birth. Saves one more person from sharing my wife with me."Triston smiled and watched the crowd as the birthday party began exactly as it should.The big screen began to show all the images of Audrey from her debut until now that were outstanding or worthy of recording. Some of the images weren't even in Audrey's possession, but Triston had found them and made a video of them.As the images flashed by, Audrey's tears couldn't help but fall from her face. She cried not only because she remembered the hardships she had endured in showbiz for many years, but also bec
Since Triston brought Audrey to meet his family, he had worked non-stop to put their marriage on the agenda.Audrey was a popular actress, and to not affect her career, Triston chose to propose in a low-key manner.Triston arranged a party on Audrey's birthday and invited many of Audrey's friends.Audrey originally thought Triston was too high-profile, but Triston insisted. "I didn't participate in so many of your past birthdays. I finally have a chance to participate this time."He persuaded Audrey repeatedly. Audrey couldn't resist him and could only agree to let him arrange the party.Luckily, he only invited Audrey's close friends and did not send out invitations widely, so she could take this opportunity to have a gathering of friends.Audrey was surprised to see Catherine when she arrived.Catherine was now eight months pregnant. Normally, she would be rejected by Branden if she wanted to visit Catherine.Branden was now very careful with Catherine every day, and Audrey w
Sure enough, only after Audrey said those words, Willa's face completely darkened.Seeing that Willa was about to explode, suddenly...Triston applauded happily, which instantly attracted the crowd's attention.Triston calmly met everyone's gaze and looked at Audrey gently. "Good. You're worthy of being the woman I love. I'm most annoyed with those women who stay at home day in and day out and like to gossip when they have nothing else to do. You have your own career and I'm very supportive of that."Triston said this with a proud look on his face and raised his eyebrows at Audrey, full of smugness.Willa's face instantly turned gloomy.Her son had demeaned her by calling her a gossipy woman just to please another woman, and it made her furious.Egbert kind of realized that his son was totally in love with Audrey. He thought it was good because Triston used to be a playboy and was always surrounded by messy women. At that time, he was really worried that Triston would marry an u
Although Audrey was born into a wealthy family, Triston's mother, Willa Lambert, had always been prejudiced against showbiz and therefore did not approve of Triston's pursuit of Audrey.In Willa's opinion, female celebrities in the showbiz industry had always appeared in public, which was not like the demeanor of a lady from a wealthy family.It was only after learning that Audrey and Triston might be together that she eagerly introduced Triston to girls in the first place. She didn't realize that after all this time, her son still hadn't given up on Audrey, and this was the first time she'd seen her son so attached to a girl.If it weren't for that, she wouldn't agree to appear at today's dinner party now.Triston led Audrey into the door, and everyone from the Lamberts had already arrived.The scene of everyone sitting in the private room made Audrey feel a bit guilty. She looked guiltily at the crowd and whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm late."Triston's father, Egbert Lambert, had a
Audrey never expected to be so suddenly arranged to meet Triston's family.She couldn't react when Triston talked to her about it. Looking at Triston with disbelief in her eyes, she said, "Pardon me?"Triston's handsome face carried a gentle smile. "I've inquired with Kim. You don't have any work arrangements since this afternoon, and you can also take a day off tomorrow. It's just right for us to have dinner together in the evening."Audrey frowned and asked inwardly, "Is that what I care about?"What she cared about was who Triston had just said she would have dinner with tonight. "Why are you suddenly asking your family to have dinner with me?"The Swanns and the Lamberts were both in Casier and they were also considered to be friends. For Triston's family, although Audrey was not familiar with them, she had seen them at major parties.But in the past, they used to meet as ordinary friends.Now that she and Triston were in a relationship, his sudden proposal to take her to di
Audrey hesitated for a moment but still answered the phone with a nervous heart.She believed that Catherine definitely had a way to get her to answer the phone, but things would be troublesome if she made Catherine take her actions.She put her phone to her ear and inquired in a low voice, "Morning, Kathy. What's the matter?"Catherine's voice remained as cold as ever, without any emotion. "Tell me, what is it that you haven't told me?"Audrey had already figured out a strategy to deal with it and how to excuse herself, but as soon as she answered the phone, Catherine asked her so directly, which made her suddenly unable to react.Audrey had no choice but to tell Catherine the truth.After listening to her trembling narration, Catherine only asked coldly, "Are you sure you want him to be your boyfriend?"Audrey was a bit hesitant. Everyone blessed her and Triston after they found out they were together again, but Catherine was the only one who asked her to calm down and think i
Faced with Triston's questioning, Ronin looked arrogant. "Catherine and Audrey are sisters, so Audrey is my sister. You can bully anyone, but you can't bully her. Or else, we can't even be friends."Ronin's words sounded childish, but there was seriousness inside his eyes when he said those words. He grew up with Catherine and regarded Catherine as his most important family member. To him, Catherine's sister was his sister.After listening to Ronin's words, Triston faintly laughed out. "I see."Ronin thought that Triston didn't take his words to heart, and immediately felt a burning anger. "What do you mean? You don't understand my warning, do you?""Easy!" Triston gestured for him to calm down, then said calmly, "Even death row inmates have a chance to explain, right? You should at least hear me out.""Hmph!" Ronin snorted disdainfully. He secretly thought in his heart, "If Triston says any more asshole words, I'll definitely not show him any respect."Triston put away that cyni
They had an appointment at a recreational manor, a new property Zobber had just bought. Zobber had invited them to come along for the experience.Since Catherine's pregnancy, the entire Hacker Alliance had had much leisure time. Even though there was less to do, they had earned no less money and were basically in a dominant position.Zobber enjoyed the current situation too much becasue there was still money to be made easily. They might only have one business per year, but the profit from this business was already enough for them to spend for a year.After wandering around with her friends, Zobber excitedly looked at everyone. "How about this place? It's not bad, right? I bought it at a high price!"This was Casier, and Triston was aware of any changes in the real estate industry.He had indeed received the news when Zobber auctioned off the manor, and he also knew that Zobber had given an above-market price to take the land. But he knew that Zobber had plenty of money. It was fi
Since that dinner, Audrey had been in a special kind of relationship with Triston.Although they didn't make it clear, Triston could feel that Audrey had slowly accepted him.The number of times they met increased, and most of Audrey's work this year was in Casier.Whenever Triston had free time, he would stay alongside Audrey.Whether on set or during recording sessions, one could always catch a glimpse of Triston.Everyone kind of knew deep down that Triston was the man behind Audrey.But nobody ever exposed this whole thing, mainly because of Triston's identity.Neither he nor Audrey wanted too much attention paid to their relationship right now. If he didn't spill the beans, who else would dare to report on it?Besides, the reason Audrey and Triston's dating didn't cause much jealousy was they were a good match.Among the Four Noble Families in Casier, the Lamberts and the Swanns each held a seat, and the Swanns' power was not weaker than the Lamberts.Plus, now that Cath