"Mrs. Morgan..." William supported Annie into the room, standing respectfully on the side. "Mr. Moore, why are you here?" Melanie was puzzled. "For the details, you can ask President Snow. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave." William nodded politely, exiting the room and closing the door behind them. "Where are you hurt?" Melanie crouched down, looking at Annie, who was drenched in water. "I sprained my ankle. I've already been to the hospital. I’m fine. Sorry for making you worry." Annie spoke with a hand over her mouth, but then she suddenly remembered something and urgently added, "By the way, William suddenly appeared for some reason. It means Jeffrey’s also in Medonia. Be careful not to be deceived by him!" "He's already deceived me." "What?" Annie jumped up in surprise, but her injured foot ached, causing her to sit back down. "Don't get overwhelmed. I know what to do." Melanie held onto Annie’s shoulder, trying to calm her. "Tell me how
After Jeffrey hung up the phone decisively, he instructed William to drive straight to the Perfume Blending Competition. While on the road, Jeffrey's phone rang again. He quickly glanced at it, and saw that it was Nathan's number. Why was Nathan calling at this time? Impatiently, he answered the call. On the other end, Nathan's voice sounded dark. "Your people are investigating me. When are you going to stop?" "Don't you know why I'm investigating you?" Jeffrey countered. "Or are you feeling guilty?" "Investigate if you want, but don't disturb my life!" Nathan's voice turned colder. "But I really didn't expect that you would come to this. Throwing away your pride to chase after a woman, and even going abroad?" "It seems you're well aware of what happened." Jeffrey's eyes narrowed. "President Morgan, with your reputation in the upper circles, how could I not know?" Nathan sneered. "I guess Melanie already knows that you approached her because of Emma’s heart. Your plan has
Melanie walked directly into the women's changing room, leaving behind a stern remark at the door. "I won’t have an appetite with you around!" With a slam, the door closed, and Jeffrey sighed. He turned around and gave some instructions to William. William quickly acknowledged them, and went downstairs to handle matters. - Soon, the limping Annie received the message and went to the hotel entrance to meet Melanie and bring her back to the room. They ordered room service, and had a simple meal in the room. Melanie began to feel a bit better after eating. During the meal, Annie's phone rang. She picked it up, glanced at it, and saw a message from an unknown number. Initially, she didn't pay much attention, but then she caught the first line of the message, "Concerns Melanie's life. Stay silent and quickly return the call!" Suddenly, her eyes widened. She tightly gripped the phone. "What's wrong?" Melanie asked subconsciously. "N-Nothing. I need to make a call." Anni
"No, no, no... Don't overthink it... That man isn’t..." Annie's heart pounded like a drum, wanting to interrupt Melanie's speculation. Unexpectedly, Melanie's eyes suddenly flashed, and she pointed at Annie. "Could it be William?" Suppressing the urge to laugh, Annie pretended to chuckle nervously. "Is it really him?" This time, Melanie's eyes widened. "Didn't you say he's not a hero? What do you see in him?" "He... is good at fighting." Annie could only bravely continue to fabricate her lie. "Fighting... Have you two already...?" Melanie raised an eyebrow. "Fighting, just fighting...literally..." Annie was extremely embarrassed. "He drove away a few ruffians. He's fantastic at it." "Alright, you've just started seeing him, so I won't press you too hard. When your relationship with him is stable, you all can treat me to a meal," Melanie said while looking at Annie, her eyes full of mischief. Annie willingly let Melanie misunderstand, but she was feeling nervous inside.
"What are you doing?” For the first time in his life, William was dragged into the bathroom by a woman. He felt inexplicably flustered. The fact that this woman had publicly called him a dog made him even angrier. "Hush!" Annie, who was listening to the commotion outside by pressing her ear against the door, wasn’t aware of William's embarrassment and irritation. "Good thing she didn't notice..." "What's fortunate, President Snow?" William pulled away Annie's hand from his clothes, and straightened out the wrinkles. Annie looked up and saw William's displeasure, and smiled apologetically. "Well, I need to talk to you, so I had to resort to this. We might as well pretend to be a couple in front of Melanie..." "What?" William's face contorted. "Not exactly a couple, but a dating couple…" Annie clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture. "President Snow! Are you willing to date a dog?" William refused to relent. "Hey!" Annie, unwilling to give in, retorted, "
"Very good." Robert nodded, giving them a backhanded compliment. "The contestant from Medonia just now left a deep impression on me. He was able to use the limited base scents here to create different fragrances, evoking the taste of local dishes in Medonia. It's interesting. How talented!" His implication was that the other performances were mediocre. After Robert finished speaking, he intentionally looked at Joseph, who had remained silent all along, and asked, "Joseph, what do you think?" Joseph didn't speak, and just nodded slightly. "The Yorks’ position in the fragrance industry is unquestionable. People say that the perfume industry in Medonia is dominated by the Ustalians, but I haven't seen any Ustalian contestants showcasing their talents. Are they all too low-key?" Robert continued to provoke them, unwilling to accept defeat. Joseph finally turned his head to look at him, his old eyes exuding dignity. "We hold this banquet and organize this competition with the
The atmosphere became tense again. No one spoke at the venue. On the silent stage, Melanie stood alone, glaring coldly at Robert sitting beside Joseph. It seemed that if she didn't perform today, she would bring shame to the Ustalians. Joseph had intentionally arranged for her to participate in this "extra round"… Regardless, the provocative words from earlier had indeed affected her. Even if they were deliberately provoking her, she was willing to admit she had fallen for it! Melanie took a step forward, approached the microphone, and said, "The fellow perfumers who showcased their talent earlier were all prepared, but I have to improvise on the spot. Can I have some time to seek inspiration?" "Of course," Robert said with a sinister smile. As long as she agreed, everything was good. Could she even come up with a high-quality creation without preparation? On the side, Robert’s assistant couldn't help adding, "Miss Jones, the banquet ends in one hour. Please be mindful
Melanie didn't really know Joseph, but the question posed was already challenging enough, so a little more challenge didn’t hurt. She glanced at the four "models" sitting in a row, gathered her focus, and walked to the fragrance blending station. "Miss Jones, which person's fragrance will you start with?" Robert asked from the audience. "Since it's an impromptu performance, I'll decide as I go. Maybe I'll blend them all together?" Melanie swept her gaze across the stage with a nonchalant tone. "Please stay quiet. I don't like being disturbed." Although Robert was dissatisfied, he kept silent. She had one hour to create four different fragrances. While Joseph presented it as a single challenge, it was essentially four separate tasks. However, Melanie was confident in herself. Since childhood, she had been interested in perfume blending. Even though her father forbade her from entering this field, she never gave up on secretly studying it. Over the years, she had studied th