Madelyn and Ethan stared out of the car window at the passing scenery. Neither of them spoke.They soon reached the Arnold residence. When the car stopped, Ethan hurriedly got out before Madelyn. He was acting strangely distant, unlike before.Madelyn did not know what was wrong with him. She then got out of the car and walked toward the entrance.As soon as they entered the house, a servant approached, "Mr. Arnold, Ms. Jent, the food's ready."Ethan did not even spare the servant a glance and just went straight upstairs. He seemed really upset, but nobody knew why.The servant took Madelyn's school bag and asked, "Ms. Jent, what's wrong with Mr. Arnold?"Madelyn shook her head, "Serve the meal on a tray. I'll take it upstairs to him later."The servant responded, "Okay."Madelyn carried the meal and went to the study. She knocked on the door. But she did not get a response. So, she just entered the room anyway. The vintage study room was filled with a thick tobacco smell. Etha
The servant picked up the untouched food and hurriedly left. At the doorway, she spotted Madelyn approaching."Miss Jent."Madelyn glanced at her and asked, "He still hasn't eaten?"The servant nodded with concern, saying, "You should go check on him."Madelyn glanced at the closed study door. "Please prepare some food again," she instructed."Alright."With a medicine box in hand, Madelyn stood in the hallway. She raised her hand to knock on the door but hesitated. The soft, warm glow from the overhead lamp cast a gentle light on her youthful face, her expression inscrutable. Without further ado, she pushed open the door and walked in. An overwhelming smell of tobacco hit her, and she noticed shattered teacups on the floor. Madelyn wasn't sure where to step amidst the broken porcelain. Carefully making her way forward, she took a seat beside him and smiled. Ethan felt the space beside him sink before he could react. He didn't even get a chance to look when she pinched off his
In front of the French windows, the sunlight cast its final glow. Madelyn kept her head down, buttoning Ethan's nightshirt."When you graduate, let's announce our engagement," said Ethan.Ethan watched her closely, and her fingers paused on the buttons for a few seconds. After a while, he heard her reply, "Sure."But the next day, the entire Ventropolis was buzzing with the news:[Arnold Corporation CEO to Marry the Daughter of the Jent Family][Good News on the Horizon: Arnold Corp's CEO to Announce Engagement with Jent Family's Daughter][Exclusive Scoop: Congrats, Arnold Corp's CEO, on Your Upcoming Nuptials]On the way to school, Ethan held the newspaper she had picked up today. The headlines were hard to ignore."I'm not ready yet," Madelyn admitted.Madelyn was dressed in her school uniform, with her backpack on her lap. Her long hair was tied up with a green ribbon, and a few loose curls framed her face. She looked at Ethan and said, "I'm not ready for the official an
"She hasn't been to class? What has she been doing?" Ethan inquired.Leyton replied, "She's been in the school's art studio. But as far as I know, she has also applied for the entrance exam for Ventropolis College of Art. The exam is scheduled for next month. If she scores first, she'll get a direct admission offer. However, this year, over three million students applied for art majors, but there are only 230 spots available. Getting the top score won't be easy.""Regardless of whether she gets in or not, even if she doesn't further her study, I can afford to take care of her. Drive back to the company."In the classroom, as Madelyn walked down the hallway, she overheard a group of students whispering."Madelyn is really lucky! I thought she and Ethan were done, but in the blink of an eye, she's become the future Mrs. Arnold. I wonder how many people envy her now.""Didn't Ethan Arnold cheat on her? She hasn't been to school for a while, and who knows if she used some method to se
"Thanks," Madelyn replied.Kennedy interjected, "These notes won't really help you. Like Mr. Newton says, practice more, and if you don't get it, just ask.""Okay."The bell for the next class rang.But Madelyn had her own secret plans. She believed there was more than one way to reach her goal. What she was doing, she did for herself.As soon as the first class ended, Madelyn sneaked away to the same spot she'd been visiting a lot lately. 'I can make it happen in a month...'..."Engaged? Wishful thinking," Zach muttered as he ripped the newspaper in his hand, tearing the picture of Ethan and Madelyn right down the middle."Where's Donna Jolie?" he asked.Kevin replied, "She's doing what you told her. We should catch the news this afternoon. But Donna shelled out a lot to hire a hacker to trace our last phone call. She wants to figure out who's pulling the strings behind the scenes."Zach removed his gold-rimmed glasses, leaned back, and crossed his left leg over the right o
Donna's TV interview caused quite a stir in Ventropolis. People were talking about it everywhere.The reporter asked, "Ms. Jolie, you've known Ethan Arnold, the CEO of Arnold Corporation, for a long time. Why didn't you two get together later on? Were there reasons for this?"Donna said, "Indeed, there were reasons..."Donna on TV looked tired. She seemed different from her usual glamorous self. Now, she looked like someone who needed help from others.The PR department quickly told Ethan about this.People were sitting in front of their TVs, eager to hear what Donna would say next. But suddenly, the live broadcast was cut off. The screen turned all fuzzy, and nobody could see anything."What a buzzkill! Why did they cut it off?""Who knows! If the CEO really liked her, why did he get engaged to someone else?""Poor Donna. They were together for so long, and now they've broken up. Maybe someone got in the way?"At Ventropolis News, some men in black suits came in without sayin
Ethan wanted to see Donna behind bars. She fiercely resisted as the police led her away, screaming and wrestling with the officers. However, despite her determined efforts, Donna couldn't break free. They restrained her with handcuffs and escorted her directly to the police station.Leyton got back to Ethan within an hour.Arnold Corporation soon released an official statement: [Regarding Donna Jolie's statements in today's live broadcast, our investigation has verified them as false. We urge everyone to exercise caution. Any further attempts to spread false information about Arnold Corporation will result in legal action, and those held responsible will be accountable for any harm inflicted upon Arnold Corporation. Immediate legal actions have already been set in motion in response to today's groundless accusations against our CEO.]The statement also announced the engagement of Ethan Arnold, the CEO of Arnold Corporation, to Madelyn Jent, the daughter of the Jent family. Their e
Ethan had cooked a few dishes, just enough for the two of them."Have a taste of this," Ethan said, handing Madelyn a piece of honey-flavored pork rib.Madelyn took a bite and exclaimed, "Yummy!""Yeah, I made all your favorites," he replied with a smile.Madelyn thought, 'His cooking is always delicious.'After dinner, Madelyn went to Ethan's study. He was working on important stuff for his company, and she quietly focused on her practice papers. Even though she wasn't going to regular classes, she had her own study plan. The current class progress didn't matter much to Madelyn. She had a goal to boost her grades in just two months, and it was proving to be a bit tough.But because she already had a good foundation in her subjects, it wouldn't be too hard, just a little challenging.Ethan had his headphones on, listening to Leyton's report. "Mr. Arnold, about the dress for the engagement, should we arrange for the designer to meet with Miss Jent this weekend for her to choose?