Chapter 89: Chapter 84: Why Speak Such a Blunt Truth?

The smile on Hailey Gordon’s face stiffened for a moment. Swallowing her discontent, she reluctantly agreed.

The mood in the room warmed up again as the three women began discussing the details of the banquet, showing no sign of the rift that had been between them at the hospital.

Nearby, Stella Sinclair glanced at the small group huddled together, whispering. She pursed her lips, then put on a smile. “Jean, Aurora, it’s been a while. This must be Aurora’s younger disciple?”

Seeing her approach, Leigh Miles pulled Titus Miles up from the sofa and offered a smiling greeting.

“I didn’t prepare a gift for our first meeting. Please, take these!” Stella Sinclair pulled two pieces of chocolate she’d grabbed from the Gordon Family’s home out of her bag and offered them to Leigh and Titus Miles.

Titus Miles shrank back, turning his head away and refusing to take it.

Leigh Miles accepted the chocolate and thanked her. “Tiger is shy around new people. I’ll thank you on his behalf.”

Hailey Gordon’s eyes were filled with contempt. She shot them a glance before turning back to her conversation with Jade Sinclair.

’Paupers will be paupers.’

Just then, Jade Sinclair suddenly asked, “Dad, Stella can bring two guests to the awards ceremony. Who from our family is going with her?”

A pleased look crossed Master Sinclair’s face, and he was just about to speak when Hailey Gordon cut in with a chuckle. “Jade, my niece Lillian also does traditional painting, doesn’t she? The head of my family insisted that I take Lillian along to broaden her horizons, so this time…”

She didn’t finish, but her meaning was clear to everyone.

Linton Sinclair’s expression faltered, and he gave her a slight tug. “Why didn’t you discuss this with me beforehand?”

But she put on a troubled expression. “It’s the first time the head of my family has ever asked a favor of me; I could hardly refuse. Besides, he even came all the way to the Association to pick Stella up just for this…”

“That still doesn’t…”

“Linton, since your father-in-law has already made the request, it doesn’t matter who goes,” Master Sinclair said, glancing at Linton Sinclair with a placid expression. “It’s all to celebrate Stella. It’s a happy occasion.”

A smile spread across Hailey Gordon’s face. “Thank you, Dad…”

***

After Linton Sinclair and his family left, the atmosphere in the room grew heavy. Janet Sinclair, sitting on the sofa to the right, suddenly scoffed. “The Gordons sure know how to take advantage of things.”

Jade Sinclair nudged her and glanced at Master Sinclair, who was seated at the head of the room. “That’s enough,” she whispered.

Although Master Sinclair said nothing, his expression was grim. He kept his eyes down and his lips pressed together, clearly stewing in silent anger.

“Come on, Dad, it’s not such a big deal,” Tanner Sinclair said with a grin, patting Master Sinclair’s shoulder. “I’ll take your youngest granddaughter to the Martial Association for some fun later.”

Master Sinclair’s eyes snapped open. He shot Tanner a glare, but his expression softened considerably.

Just then, Aurora Sinclair walked up to Master Sinclair, bag in hand, and dumped a pile of purple invitations out of it.

“We can go…”

Tanner Sinclair was stunned at the sight. “Aurora, what are these…?”

Master Sinclair trembled.

The few family members still in the main house were stunned and crowded around to get a look.

“Oh my gosh! Aurora, where did you get so many invitations?” Jean Quincy asked, astonished.

“Morgan gave them to me.”

Hearing this, Master Sinclair’s expression grew serious, and he shot Butler Sinclair a meaningful glance.

Butler Sinclair immediately moved to close the living room doors.

Tanner Sinclair and Janet Sinclair’s thoughts immediately jumped to the Morgans.

The only ones present who were still in the dark were Jade Sinclair and the two children.

Master Sinclair struggled to hide his shock, playing along to cover for her. “Oh, so it was him! You must be sure to thank him properly.”

Aurora nodded.

Jade Sinclair asked in astonishment, “Dad, who are these from?”

“The vice president of the Calligraphy Association. She’s taken a liking to Aurora’s calligraphy. Jean knows all about it,” Master Sinclair said, his expression unchanged.

When she saw her grandfather looking at her, Jean Quincy gave a dumbfounded nod.

’Huh? But didn’t she lose the business card?’

’Did the vice president send someone to contact the Sinclairs proactively?’

「Elsewhere.」

In the car, Linton Sinclair was furious with Hailey Gordon.

“What in the world are you trying to pull?”

Hailey Gordon sneered. “Hmph… Your father wanted that little freak to go, but I’m not about to let that happen. She wants to use Stella as a stepping stone into high society? She should take a look in the mirror and see if she’s even worthy.”

Linton Sinclair rubbed his aching temples. “She already gave you our second brother’s assets. How can you still be so cruel?”

“Me, cruel? You all pushed me to this. Your father thinks so highly of her, doesn’t he? Then let the little freak take him! Hmph…”

“How can you be so unreasonable?” Linton Sinclair was livid, his face turning pale with rage.

Stella Sinclair glanced at her father in the passenger seat, her expression hardening. “Dad, we don’t like Aurora Sinclair. Could you please respect our feelings for once?”

Linton Sinclair looked back, surprised. “Why? She’s never done anything to offend you.”

“Think of all the trouble she’s caused the Sinclair family since she came back! Making a scene at the airport, injuring Young Master Lockwood, taking credit for an art school entrance piece… Do you have any idea how I almost became the laughingstock of the Association? If it weren’t for this award, they would have completely ostracized me…”

Stella’s eyes grew red-rimmed, her face a mask of indignation.

Hailey Gordon pulled her into her arms, comforting her in a low voice before turning to snap at Linton Sinclair. “I’m telling you, that little freak is a jinx to me and my daughter! I’ll make her get the hell out of the Sinclair family sooner or later!”

Linton Sinclair let out a silent sigh.

***

The awards ceremony was on a Friday evening.

Master Sinclair gave Jean Quincy a Golden Card beforehand and told her to take Aurora, Leigh Miles, and Titus Miles clothes shopping.

But the trio was less than cooperative. The moment Leigh Miles heard they would have to spend money on clothes, she refused without a second thought.

It took a lot of persuading, but Jean Quincy finally managed to get Leigh Miles and Titus Miles to rent two formal outfits. As for Aurora, it was a lost cause; she stated flatly that she had to work to earn money that day.

Standing nearby, Zeke Quincy could almost see the words “BROKE” written in capital letters across their faces. He asked, amused, “What is it you want to buy? Are you that strapped for cash?”

Leigh Miles threw up her hands. “Our school is in massive debt,” she said helplessly. “There’s nothing we can do.”

“Massive debt? How much do you owe?” Zeke Quincy had assumed they were just saving up for something. The reality that they were actually in debt made his jaw drop.

“Fifty-three million.”

Zeke Quincy did a spit-take. He and Jean Quincy exchanged a look. “How could you possibly owe that much? Did your master have a gambling problem?”

“No, it’s all from medical bills,” Leigh Miles said, her face falling as she glanced at Aurora.

Aurora nodded in confirmation.

“Medical bills? Is one of you sick?” Jean Quincy’s gaze darted between the three of them.

Leigh Miles patted Titus Miles. “This kid has basically lived on medicine since he was little.”

Jean Quincy gave Titus Miles a sympathetic look and ruffled his hair.

“Is there a deadline for paying it back?”

“By the end of the year.”

The two siblings were speechless.

’What kind of unreliable master makes three kids pay off a debt like that?’

Zeke Quincy asked with a grave expression, “Aurora, have you told Grandpa?”

Aurora shook her head.

Leigh Miles immediately cut in. “This is a matter for our school. The Sinclair family need not interfere.”

Her round, cheerful face had suddenly turned completely serious, leaving the two siblings stunned.

Aurora nodded again in agreement and said gravely, “Grandpa can’t get involved.”

“But… how long will it take you to pay that back? A lifetime?”

Jean Quincy thought they were completely insane. She stared at the ceiling, at a loss for words.

The group walked back, clothes in hand, the atmosphere heavy. Jean Quincy suggested several money-making schemes, but Zeke shot them all down as impractical.

Suddenly, Zeke pumped a fist into his palm. An idea had struck him, and his eyes lit up instantly.

He immediately pulled out his phone, saying excitedly, “Aurora, you should enter this competition! The prize money is really good…”

On the screen was a poster for the open qualifiers of an e-sports tournament: Battle for Glory.

“Aurora, if you win this tournament, you get fifty thousand in prize money, and you could get signed to a pro team. If your team wins the national or even the world championship, you’d definitely be able to clear your debt. When you think about it, going pro in e-sports might be the fastest way for you to pay everything back…”

Aurora blinked, not quite understanding.

The more Zeke thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. With Aurora’s PVP skills, it would be a crime for her not to go pro—a disservice to all the expert players in District Twelve she had steamrolled.

With her talent, she could absolutely get signed. She wouldn’t just earn a salary; the prize money from tournaments would only get bigger. If she also landed a few endorsement deals, did some streams, and attended a few events, she’d have more than enough to pay off the debt.

Back at home, Zeke mapped out the annual Battle for Glory tournament schedule and prize money for the three girls. Adding up all the major and minor events, they could pay off a fifth of the debt in just one year.

“And that’s just the prize money,” he continued. “With Aurora’s looks, she could absolutely land endorsement deals and do all sorts of commercial events. Once you factor in that ad revenue, clearing the debt in a year or two would be more than doable…”

The gears in Leigh’s head were turning, her eyes growing brighter with each calculation. “Senior Sister, this could work! The tournaments are during school breaks, so they won’t affect your studies. If all goes well, we could pay back a million by the end of the year. Then we can negotiate with the Verdant School, arrange to pay in installments with interest like a bank loan, and try to clear the whole debt in three years…”

Aurora nodded.

Once Zeke confirmed Aurora was on board for the open qualifiers, he happily registered her right away.

After seeing the “Registration Successful” message, Zeke said, “Mason and the guys already signed up. We can all go to the qualifiers together.”

Jean Quincy shot him a look. “We’re running out of room at home for your consolation prizes,” she snarked.

Zeke was speechless.

’Why’d you have to go and say the quiet part out loud?’

***

「Friday Night.」

The area outside the awards ceremony was lined with luxury cars as guest after guest of high social standing made their way into the venue.

A red carpet was rolled out at the entrance, flanked on both sides by grim-faced men in black uniforms, earpieces in their ears.

Rumor had it that a major VIP would be presenting an award, so no cameras or electronic devices were allowed inside the venue. Every guest had to pass through a security checkpoint and be frisked.

Hailey Gordon dutifully stood in the security line with her niece and daughter. There wasn’t a hint of impatience on her face, only a look of irrepressible pride.

Thanks to Stella’s award, several prominent ladies who would have never given her the time of day had actually struck up conversations with her. It was clear from their words that they were sizing up her Stella as a potential match for their own families.

’Hmph. In the past, she might have considered them. But now…’

’…who besides a scion of the Seven Great Families could possibly be worthy of her Stella?’

A smile touched Hailey Gordon’s lips. She held her head high with her chest puffed out, silently practicing her smile.

“Mr. Sinclair, this way, please—”

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