Chapter 73: Lecture

After Mr. Perez and Mrs. Perez came back, the villa became noticeably livelier.
Mrs. Perez was too lazy to participate in those hypocritical gatherings of wealthy wives.
She would occasionally go out for a cup of afternoon tea with friends, and the rest of her time was spent at home arranging flowers, walking the dog, and doing yoga, enjoying an early retirement.
Donald Perez was the director of the Siena Museum and also served as a visiting professor in the History Department at Harvard University.
After Mrs. Perez handed over The Perez to Eric, Donald Perez also resigned and accompanied her abroad to enjoy life. However, both the museum and the university were reluctant to lose him, so they kept his position, hoping that he would return at any time.
Donald Perez felt guilty in his heart, and combined with his genuine love for archaeology and history, he became the busiest person in the house after Eric, shuttling between the university and the museum every day.
In these past few days, Monica had declined some friends' invitations and stayed home with her parents. In addition, the date for her thesis defense had been set, so she needed to focus and prepare well.
After that day, she and Steven really didn't meet again, but they exchanged quite a few Facebook messages every day.
Although most of them were childish and lacked substance, she inexplicably enjoyed it.
-Monica: Let me show you what we had for lunch today. Guess which dish I made?
-Steven: Eggplant.
-Monica: Why?
-Steven: Normally stir-fried eggplant wouldn't be this color, you burnt it.
-Monica: ...
-Monica: ?
-Monica: Who says I burnt it just because it's this color?
-Steven: Did I guess wrong?
-Monica: ...No.
After a while.
-Monica: So bored, what are you having for dinner?
Steven must have been busy, as he replied half an hour later. Steven, “Planning to have eggplant tonight.”
-Monica: ...
He sent another message:
-Steven: Monica, can we video chat tonight?
-Monica: ?
-Steven: It's been five days since we last saw each other.
Monica leaned on the sofa, holding her phone, looking at these words, and the corners of her lips couldn't help but lift, unable to restrain herself from pursing them.
Mrs. Perez glanced at her from the side. "Who are you chatting with that's making you smile like that?"
She nervously closed the Facebook interface, randomly opened a video chat app, and pretended to be calm. "Just watching a funny video clip, I just saw."
"Really?" Mrs. Perez's gaze fell on her fingers, which were just typing rapidly, clearly in a chat.
But she didn't expose her. "Heading back to school tomorrow?"
"Yeah, the college requires us to attend a lecture."
"Grandpa Liang's birthday banquet is this weekend, you remember, right?"
"Of course, I'll go."
"Monica slumped on the sofa, tapping her toes on the cushion. Lawrence already called me," she said.
Mrs. Perez nodded. "Good to know."
The next day
As the anniversary celebration approached, Harvard University had already replaced the banners and flags within the campus.
With everything in perfect order, the atmosphere was taken to the extreme.
Monica returned to campus today because she received a notification asking all graduates from the School of Business to attend a lecture.
Such events were common in the business school, often having a classmate sign in on behalf of others, but this time the school was strict, supposedly because the guest speaker was extremely difficult to invite and they wanted all students to attend.
As Monica opened the door to her dorm, she casually complained, "What guest speaker is so difficult to invite? I think they're just afraid of having empty seats and it would make them look bad, so they're forcing us to attend."
Pushing the door open, Monica found the room quiet. She took a few steps inside and saw that there was no one there.
She glanced at her spot, which was filled with various items that did not belong to her, such as lotions, creams, foundation, and a mirror... It was like a storage area.
Even the bed had two blankets on it, and she didn't know who they belonged to.
Monica had been renting a place off-campus since she started school. Although she didn't often stay in the dorm, sometimes when she had late classes and early classes the next day, she would spend the night there.
Now her spot had been taken without her consent, which made her feel somewhat uncomfortable. But she didn't say anything and walked to the bookshelf, intending to take her textbooks.
Then, she heard laughter from behind the curtain on the opposite bed.
"Natalie?" she hesitantly called out.
"Hey!" someone responded and a face popped out from behind the curtain. "Monica, you're back? I'm watching a variety show."
Natalie glanced at Monica's spot, feeling a little guilty. She quickly climbed down from the bed, saying,
"I'm really sorry. These things belong to the other two because they figured you wouldn't come back to live here anyway, so..."
Monica squeezed her textbooks into her bag. "It's okay. Is everything fine with the volunteer work last time?"
"No problem. I was actually planning to thank you for helping me. I wanted to treat you to a meal, but you weren't here. So, how about today? Let's have lunch and then go back for the lecture."
Monica looked at the two empty seats. "Are they not going?"
"I don't know," Natalie shrugged. "One is doing an internship at a company, and the other is busy preparing to go abroad. They both work long hours, so we haven't had much communication lately."
"Alright, let's go."
Natalie tidied up a bit, and the two of them left the dorm building, heading towards the back gate of the school.
Across from the back gate was a commercial street that was bustling at night, but appeared a bit deserted during lunchtime.
Natalie led her into a casual restaurant and ordered a few dishes. Monica didn't have any particular preferences and ate quietly.
Suddenly, she heard Natalie sigh, "Time flies so fast. It's been four years in the blink of an eye, and we're actually graduating."
Monica swallowed her food and smiled. "But didn't you get into graduate school? You still have three more years to go."
Natalie looked at her, thought for a moment, and decided to speak up, "Monica, I've always thought that you're a good person, but you don't like to defend yourself, which has led to misunderstandings from others. We've had many class gatherings before, and some people wanted to invite you, but others would argue, saying, 'Isn't she the heiress of a conglomerate? Why would she come to this small restaurant?' But today, I invited you and you didn't even frown, you had a great time. The same thing happened with the volunteering work last time. I heard that they made you pour tea, and I was really shocked because in my impression, you would never do such things. But you did it because you wanted to help me."
"So sometimes I feel like they just don't understand you deeply. They have this impression that you're high and mighty, using your money and good looks to look down on others, and they gossip behind your back. But you never cared."
"What's there to care about? We're almost graduating."
"You really have a big heart," Natalie chuckled and sighed, "I can't do that. I always care too much about what others think."
After finishing lunch, the sun was shining perfectly.
The two of them walked along the shaded path in the campus, with Natalie chattering away, telling Monica about the recent gossip at school, and reminding her to arrive early for today's lecture to secure good seats.
Monica was confused, "Haven't there been only a few times when the lecture hall was full? Besides, this time it's in the auditorium, there should be more than enough seats, how could we not find any?"
Natalie was surprised, "You don't know who's coming today? I heard that many girls from other majors are coming to attend the lecture."
"Who's coming?"
Monica's phone in her pocket rang, she picked it up.
"I received a notification about it. To celebrate the school's anniversary, the college has invited many famous entrepreneurs to host a series of themed lectures. Today is the first one, and they strongly encourage everyone to attend."
After finishing her call, she said, "Hello?" Natalie watched as she talked on the phone, and didn't find a chance to respond.
"The teacher asked me to deliver some documents," Monica said, looking at Natalie, "Why don't you go to the auditorium first? I'll join you after I'm done."
Natalie nodded, "Alright then, see you later."
Monica went back to her dorm room to pick up the documents and headed towards the college building.
She took the elevator to the floor where the administrative office was located. The office building was quiet during the afternoon, and she could hear her footsteps echoing clearly in the empty hallway, like dancing notes.
But as she turned a corner, the notes were suddenly drowned out by a louder and more chaotic rhythm.
She stopped in her tracks and saw a group of people at the other end of the hallway, crowding the narrow passageway. The person at the front seemed to be her professor from a certain class.
Monica was neither going forward nor going back,
Reluctantly, she halted her steps, slightly turned sideways, and let these people pass first.
The sound of hurried footsteps grew louder and closer. Bits and pieces of conversations reached her ears.
"This floor is our administrative center. The administrative office is right here, and there is also a large conference hall..."
It sounded like an introduction for some guests.
She lowered her head, hoping these people would pass quickly.
"...the conference hall is not where we will be giving the speech today. After Mr. Wright finishes visiting, we will head to the auditorium..."
As if triggered by a keyword, Monica subconsciously looked up and met a pair of deep, dark eyes.
The person she had seen through a screen last night was now standing in front of her, turning his head to meet her gaze, and subtly curling his lips.
Steven was pleasantly surprised.
When Monica looked again, Steven had already turned his head back, his expression calm as he continued to be surrounded by the crowd, quickly disappearing at the end of the corridor.
It was as if it were just a chance encounter between strangers.
After finishing the exchange of documents, Monica hurried towards the auditorium.
As Natalie had said, although there were still twenty minutes until the start, the overwhelmingly crowded hall was already packed, and the aisles were filled with people.
She went to the class leader to sign in and then struggled for a long time to find Natalie and sat down beside her.
However, just as she had sat down for a short while, the class leader came over and patted her on the shoulder, lowering his voice to say in her ear, "Professor Lee wants you to go to the backstage lounge."
"Me?" Monica didn't understand. "Why does he want to see me?"
"I'm not sure either. Hurry and go."
She had no choice but to stand up and walk against the flow of people towards the backstage.
Monica knocked on the door of the lounge and stood, waiting for a few seconds before the door was opened from the inside. The light from the room instantly rushed out, and she came face to face with a familiar face.
It was someone she had seen before, Steven's assistant.
Clearly surprised to see Monica, Caspar looked at her and then turned to look at Steven, seemingly completely bewildered as to why Monica was here.
During the silent moment when the two of them were at a loss, Professor Lee spoke first, "Has Monica arrived?"
Monica called out "Professor Lee" and nodded to Caspar, entering the room from his side.
Inside the lounge were two sofas, with Steven and Professor Lee sitting on them, one on each side. There were cups of tea placed near both of them, suggesting that they were discussing something.
As soon as she entered the room, Monica could feel Steven's gaze on her. Ignoring him, she moved closer to Professor Lee's side and asked, "You called for me?"
"Yes."
Professor Lee waved her over happily.
"I was just talking to Mr. Wright and mentioned your association with the Perez family. Mr. Wright said he was a schoolmate and good friend of your brother, so I thought it was quite a coincidence. Since Mr. Perez's sister is studying at our School of Management and is here today for the lecture, I called you over to have a chat. You two should be quite familiar with each other."
The room fell silent for a moment.
"Sorry, it's also my first-time meeting Mr. Wright today," Monica smiled and finally looked at Steven.
"My brother mentioned him before, but I've never met him."
Professor Lee was taken aback, clearly not expecting this answer. He awkwardly tried to smooth things over, "Hahaha, it seems like I've overthought it. I was just trying to help."
"No worries. Since it's our first-time meeting, it's nice to get to know each other," Steven calmly stood up from the sofa and extended his hand towards her. "Hello, Mrs. Perez, I'm Steven. Nice to meet you."
Monica didn't expect Steven to act so quickly. She could only pretend and shook his hand half-heartedly.
"Hello."
Their warm palms touched, instantly creating a tingling sensation. Monica wanted to retract her hand after a brief contact, and Steven quickly let go.
However, as he withdrew, he intentionally lightly scratched her palm with his fingertips.
The subtle action went unnoticed behind her hand, and Professor Lee didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.
Monica felt like the spot he scratched was burning.
She quickly withdrew her hand, rubbing it forcefully against her clothes, but when she looked up, Steven appeared as if nothing had happened. He calmly sat back down and turned to continue his conversation with Professor Lee.
A knock on the door sounded again, and Caspar walked over to open it. A voice came through, "Professor Lee, they need you over on the stage."
"Okay, coming," Professor Lee replied to the voice outside the door. He stood up accordingly and shook hands with Steven. "I'll leave now and won't disturb Mr. Wright's rest. I wish you a successful lecture later."
Steven nodded, "Take care."
Caspar opened the door and politely escorted Professor Lee out.
Monica followed behind and was about to reach the door when a hand was faster than her, forcefully pushing the lounge door shut, completely cutting off everything outside.
Before she could react, a pair of arms embraced her from behind and pinned her against the door.
Just moments ago, they pretended to be strangers in front of others, but as soon as the door closed, the two intertwined together.
"Baby, how much longer do I have to wait?" he lowered his head and whispered against her ear.
"What?" Monica asked.
Steven pondered, "If you're only worried about your mother, you can trust me—"
"No," Monica interrupted him. "I haven't given you a proper status, and you're already thinking about meeting my mother?"
"Regretting it now," he pressed his cheek against hers and let out a gentle sigh. "I should have set a shorter game time when we first started."
Monica felt warmth in her heart, but she didn't show it.
She asked, "Why didn't you tell me you were giving a lecture today? We just had a video call last night."
"Surprise for you," he said.
He leaned in to kiss her, but Monica turned her head slightly. "The lecture is about to start…"
"It's because it's about to start that I need to make the most of the time…"
"Baby," he turned her around, pressed her against the wall, and kissed the back of her head.
Monica initially resisted, but couldn't resist his patience. He softly and repeatedly sucked on her lips as if he was just savoring a taste.
After struggling for a while, she gave in, and at that moment, he grabbed her with his tongue, forcefully pushing through her teeth.
Their tongues intertwined and licked each other vigorously. Monica's breathing became irregular, and her fingers unconsciously grasped his clothes. He pulled her hand away and held it behind his back.
It had been many days since they last saw each other, so Steven kissed her with extra intensity.
He changed angles and devoured her mouth, as if he wanted to take all the air inside. Monica's tongue became numb from being sucked on, and she pushed him away, only to be pressed harder against the wall.
Their bodies were tightly pressed together without any gaps, heating up their bodies and losing their rationality.
"Mmm..." a shallow moan escaped from her throat uncontrollably, whether it was from the difficulty of breathing or the pleasure of the intense kissing.
His fingertips stroked the back of her head, sinking into her soft hair, touching it now and then. Their chests moved in rhythm with their breaths, rubbing against each other through their clothes, creating ambiguous sparks.
In the quiet lounge, all that could be heard were the intertwined and chaotic sounds of breathing, as well as the wet noises of kissing and sucking. It swayed and deepened, captivating their souls and igniting their desires.
The immersive kissing continued until a door behind them was knocked, causing a slight vibration.
"Boss, the lecture is about to start."
Only then did Steven slowly let her go, but he didn't hurry to completely separate himself from her.
Instead, he used the tip of his tongue to lightly stroke the underside of her tongue, slowly licking and lightly hooking her tongue before fully detaching. Monica was left feeling weak in the legs, her misty eyes glaring fiercely at him.
He kissed her moist lips lingeringly and whispered softly, "Wait for me after the lecture."
Monica's legs felt weak from the kiss, and she tried to calm her breathing. "No, I have to go home tonight."
"Can't we have a meal together?"
"...Let's talk about it later." She pushed his shoulder, "You should go now, don't be late."
He didn't say anything else, affectionately rubbing his nose against hers, adjusting his appearance, and then opening the door to leave.
Monica stayed in the lounge for a while before getting up.
Afraid of attracting attention, she secretly slipped out of the auditorium through the back door, took a big detour, and went to the restroom, taking up quite some time before finally entering through the side door of the audience seating.
Under the bright lights, a man in a sharp suit and polished shoes confidently delivered his speech on stage, periodically eliciting enthusiastic applause from the audience.
She slightly bent down and squeezed into her seat row, quickly returning to her seat. Natalie asked curiously, "Why did you take so long? You missed the earlier part; it was really a pity!"
Monica sat down, looked up, and happened to catch Steven's gaze sweeping over inconspicuously from here.
"It's alright, I just went to the restroom and it took a bit longer."
She also touched up her makeup and kissed so intensely that her lipstick was almost gone.
Monica looked up at the stage with a meticulous and serious person.
What a refined scum.