Lily brought a spoon to her lips and questioned with a flat smile, "Ms. Rollins, I'd like to know who told you that your dress is with me?""That's none of your concern!" Anastasia frowned. "If you dared to take it, you should admit it!"With a snort, she added, "Here I was, thinking how powerful and prestigious the woman that relied on her husband's family wealth could be. Who would have thought you're just a coward who won't admit what you did."However, Lily did not get angry when she faced Anastasia's ridicule. Instead, she even put on a light smile. After putting down her spoon, she looked up at the girl sitting across from her.Although Anastasia was just a few years younger than Lily, she was just a little chubby girl in Lily's eyes."Ms. Rollins, I also thought you’re smart enough not to let yourself be a prop in someone else's game."Anastasia frowned and narrowed her eyes at Lily. "What do you mean?""I assume the salesgirl must have told you I insisted on buying that
From the material to the craftsmanship, even the embroidery and stitching looked like the one Anastasia had ordered."You're quibbling again!" She threw the dress down angrily.'If she can't tell the difference, does she even know which dress she bought?'Lily picked up a corner of the dress with a smile and said, "Ms. Rollins, don't worry. I bought this dress from the same store. Although it looks very similar to the one you reserved, I don't think this is yours.""What gives you…""Yours must still be in the store," Lily interrupted Anastasia.Anastasia was taken aback by this. She blinked as if she was trying to process what was going on."Ms. Rollins, did you put down a deposit for the dress that you ordered?""Of course!"How else could she reserve a dress without putting down a deposit? Anastasia paid a 50% deposit for the dress, which the shop had to alter to fit her figure.Her dresses at home were all beautiful and made from good-quality fabrics. Thus, it was difficu
Anastasia knew what she looked like, so she found it a mockery to be praised like that. The initial fondness she was starting to have for Lily disappeared in an instant. However, Lily wasn't surprised by Anastasia's glumness. After all, sensitive people were like this. A simple sentence could either make her happy or hit her nerves. "It's a genuine compliment." Lily nodded sincerely. "Yes, your figure does not fit the societal beauty standard, and you might have some extra flesh somewhere, but you're still beautiful. Your skin is so clear. It's rare to be born with such good skin. If you're keen on losing weight, I'm sure you'll feel beautiful yourself."Anastasia listened to Lily's explanation and saw that it was sincere and not empty words. Her eyes gradually lit up before they dimmed again."The problem is, I can't seem to lose weight." She had tried various methods for years, be it exercising, dieting, or other weight loss programs, but nothing seemed to work. In her wo
The slight sweetness lingered in her mouth.This blueberry mousse wasn't as sweet as the cakes she had before. It tasted like yogurt, and the sugar content was very low. However, it was delicious for someone like her who had not had dessert in a long time.The first mouthful seemed to have opened up her stomach, and she couldn't help but stuff another spoon into her mouth.Lily intervened just as she was about to put it in her mouth. "Wait a minute!""What's wrong?" Anastasia looked at her, her eyes filled with puzzlement and dissatisfaction.She would lose it if Lily suddenly stopped her from eating right now."You can have this, but promise me you'll eat it slowly! Enjoy the taste of the food, feel each bite, and taste all the flavors."Anastasia had never done this before. Every time she ate, she was either pampered with food or restricted. She was either pushed to eat a lot very quickly or not allowed to eat all sorts of food. No one had ever told her to enjoy and savor th
With that, Anastasia turned around and left. After walking two steps, she suddenly turned back and looked at Lily. "By the way, I have a birthday party next week. Please come with Mr. Russell!"Before this, Lily had no plans to follow Alexander to this party, but after today, she changed her mind. "It'd be an honor!"Anastasia beamed and finally left.…The Institute of Medicinal Herbs had a laboratory that had just been renovated and cleared out for their new project, Blossom.Inside, everyone seemed busy at work with solemn yet nervous faces. The numbers on the computers were beeping, and the reagents in the test tubes were being extracted little by little. Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner. The room was silent, with only the soft beeps from the computer and the trickling of the reagent from the test tubes echoing in the air.There were three test tubes placed on the experimental table. Once the timer on the computer reached zero, the extraction was deemed comple
"What's the matter with you guys? Why aren't you answering me?"After entering the laboratory, Austin asked again, "You’re all professionals and have been in this industry for decades. Why are you letting yourself get tangled up in a woman's web? Are you no better than a woman?""Mr. Fike, it's not that we're underestimating ourselves. Ms. Christian has the capabilities we don't have in this area. Sometimes we don’t even know why the experiments fail. However, Ms. Christian found the crux immediately. Just a simple sentence from her can change the final results quite drastically," someone answered.Everyone admired Lily for the skills she had. Her presence convinced them that this project could be a success. Therefore, when they heard that she was pulling out, they took a blow to their morale."Hmph!" Austin snorted disapprovingly. "You can't find the crux because you're incompetent. It's not because of how good she is. If the experiment fails, keep trying! It's not that hard to ad
“We should work more on our publicity and show everyone the wonders of medicinal herbs, then…”“Austin,” Professor Thompson held Austin’s wrist, interjecting, “I know you’re knowledgeable in this field, have done your research on these things, and learned much from a renowned teacher.“Mr. Dominic is a respected figure regarding medicinal herbs, but some still don’t respect him. Listen to me. It’s not easy to make the public accept medicinal herbs by working on its publicity, but what we’re doing now can achieve that!”“You’re not publicizing it for their acceptance! You guys are just merely meeting the market’s demands for the sake of your benefits!” Austin was angry.“Austin!” Professor Thompson frowned, and his voice became sterner. “Is this how you talk to your superior? Don’t forget you’re only a part of this team because I suggested your name to them! If you’re unwilling to cooperate, you can leave the team anytime!”“Professor Thompson, I just think our project isn’t moving
Austin turned and saw Lily approaching.“Professor Thompson.” Lily greeted.“You came just at the right time. The team just finished a set of experiments, but it’s still not right. Come and take a look at what went wrong.” Thompson was eager to bring Lily into the lab.“Professor Thompson,” Austin could not help but call out.“Uh…” That made Thompson tilt his body sideways and raise his hand. “This is Austin Fike. I believe you two met yesterday. You haven’t visited the institute recently, so you might not know him. Austin just joined us not long ago, and he’s the student of a reputable teacher in this field!”After a pause, he continued, “You two can chat since one of you is an expert in medicinal herbs while the other is an expert in fragrances. I’m sure the two of you can create sparks and miracles through exchanging ideas.”Lily looked at Austin and nodded lightly as if yesterday's unpleasant incident did not happen. Then she smirked. “I wonder who Austin’s reputable teacher