The colonial-style project promised to pay Colin 20 million dollars after two years of work. Indeed, to Colin, earning 20 million dollars wasn't easy. Jasmine, on the other hand, could easily promise the sum with words.That said, we wanted to earn the money with our own hands so that we wouldn't feel guilty about anything. It didn't matter how fast we could get the money as long as our principles were not violated.Moreover, we were not chasing after wealth. Three meals a day, a roof over our heads, and some clothes were all we needed. Even after the whole truth was revealed, Jasmine continued to use love to guilt-trip Colin. This call from her had shown how selfish and shameless she was.Perhaps she was never in love with Colin. She only used him as someone to elevate her social status. Even 200 million dollars could not make Colin forsake his reputation and future, let alone 20 million dollars. Colin? A sellout? That was impossible.Jasmine was used to measure everything with mo
Colin's tone was firm and confident. If it were me, I would have felt ashamed. After hearing what he said, Jasmine reverted to the role of the wronged victim who had to act tough. "Colin, why are you doing this to me? What about our relationship? I love you so much. How could you?"Her words almost made me puke. She was just a stranger. Why couldn't Colin be harsh toward her? Who did she think she was? While Colin was always very kind toward everyone, he had no kindness left for Jasmine."Listen, Jasmine. We were schoolmates and then colleagues. And we only became colleagues because you roped me into it. I've always regarded you as just a schoolmate and colleague. That's all. I don't have any feelings for you, so please be aware of that."If you bring this up again, I can sue you for defamation and slander."Seeing that Colin refused to submit, Jasmine dropped her facade. But instead of screaming like a lunatic, she left a serious threat before hanging up on us. "You think you've w
Taylor Group was still discussing a solution. Both the college and the company were worried that any action from Colin might further exacerbate the scandal. Therefore, when Colin applied for leave, both parties approved almost immediately.They told Colin that he could extend it if he wanted so that both his mind and body could get some rest. As a result, this was Colin's first official holiday after overworking for more than six months. He said he wanted to stay in the village for a few more days to be closer to Mother Nature.His arrival was exciting news for the whole village. These down-to-earth villagers did not care about the scandal. All they knew was Colin's impeccable care toward the little ones and his patience in teaching when he did voluntary work here.Hence, nearly all villagers came to receive him. They talked to him in glee. The head of the village held Colin's hand and refused to let go. Mr. Miller kept asking him if the problem had been solved and if there was anyt
These hardworking students who went through book after book to enter Jesselton College showed their ravenous side, seemingly proving that humans were indeed carnivores.But come on what about minding one's image? We could survive one day without meat, but no one could live without dignity. Colin had enough and plucked the students one by one before asking them to wash up.He also said that several dishes would be ready soon and that all of them should bathe before eating. With that, the crowd dispersed and cheered loudly in the courtyard. Indeed, regardless of age, a leader was needed when there was a group.As their lecturer, it was only natural that Colin assumed the role of a leader. Watching the students who forsook their images and wolfed down the food, Colin swallowed whatever grateful speech he was about to say and brought me some pork ribs.Then, he grabbed the last prawn and deshelled it for me. He put down his cutlery and grinned contentedly like a mother. While the stude
Peace and serenity returned to my life. We left for work in the morning and returned at dusk. When we were tired, we rested. When we were hungry, we cooked a delicious meal together, with enough pork meat at our disposal.When we ran into a difficulty, everyone worked together at night to solve it. When we found a solution, we cheered loudly. During the four days we spent in the village, we heard that Taylor Group had apologized publicly for Jasmine's action.They decided to change the person in charge of the colonial-style project to a promising young heir from the family, Ivan Taylor. They also claimed that while Jasmine was not part of the Taylor family, they still owed the society accountability for appointing the wrong person.I was told that Ivan graduated from a prestigious school and was quite a decisive and capable leader. When he was on board, he quickly reshuffled the project team and removed those who were loyal to Jasmine.Meanwhile, Jasmine's title was revoked. She wa
I wasn't sure if Ivan made this decision to save his company's image or because he knew Colin was competent. Regardless, he made the right choice. Colin stood out from among the younger artists. It was wise of him to nominate Colin as the head designer. The college responded very quickly. To salvage the whole situation more quickly, they even recommended me, who had been trying to join the project but failed, to participate in the project with Colin.They told me that if I wanted to graduate, other than acing my examinations, the rest of my credit would come from my performance in my lab research and the colonial-style project. When I heard this unfortunate news, I was angry.Yet, I could only accept the terms because it was Professor King who proposed such a grading system. He comforted me with a sly grin that with hard work came a successful future. I decided to comply because I had no other choice. I wasn't going to defy Professor King, not when I wasn't that strong.The new pr
It had become considerably warm in early spring compared to winter. Many plants were budding at the college. They looked so adorable with their yellow and green sprouts. Outside Crystal House, the peach blossom tree was adorned with little, pink sprouts. They were mesmerizing.Since Colin did not need the data urgently, I took a detour to admire the plants. Like all women, I loved cute, little things with bright colors. Right when I found a particularly taut flower bud, I heard someone talking in the yard next to me. Their voices sounded familiar.I took a look and saw Ivan and Jasmine talking by the railing. What was wrong with them? Why couldn't they speak inside? Instead, they picked a location where anyone could hear them. Perhaps Ivan simply did not want Jasmine to tamper with his work.Ivan stood nonchalantly with both hands in his pockets. The slight pout on his face indicated his contempt. Meanwhile, Jasmine's back was facing me. She was wearing a pure white dress, and her l
I shrugged, refusing to stoop to the same level as a lunatic. "Mr. Taylor, I'm here to retrieve the document. Sorry for the intrusion."Ivan had wasted enough time with Jasmine. He smiled courteously at me and uttered, "The document is ready. Do you want to come in or should I bring it to you?""It's quite far from here. Could you please bring it to me? Thank you.""Sure. Give me a moment. It won't be long." Then, he headed to the door, leaving Jasmine behind. I wasn't going to talk to Jasmine, so I continued to admire the peach blossoms, ignoring her."Are you here to assert your dominance before me?" accosted Jasmine.I couldn't understand Jasmine's logic. Did she think that everything in this world revolved around her? I had a lot of work to do. I did not have time for that. Besides, why should I assert dominance? Was she a threat?"I don't need to," I replied.Jasmine fell silent and shot daggers at me. She looked at me scornfully as if I had just jumped into the ocean with