Chapter 282 Andrew Really Likes Her
Olivia's expression looked a bit strange.
She glanced again at the smug-looking Amelia and thought, 'If she finds out later that the grandson she's been thinking about so much isn't actually a Johnson, will she still be so proud?
No, I should say, will Amelia still be able to smile?'
Olivia had no intention of exposing this matter right now.
Amelia was completely unaware of the mockery and pity in Olivia's eyes.
Instead, she smiled and agreed with Sophia, saying, "Sophia's right, Mrs. Wilson. Don't blame me for speaking out of turn earlier. I didn't mean anything by it. I just felt bad for Mr. Wilson.
Since you're not happy about it, I won't say anything more.
The purpose of coming here today was to extend a formal invitation to everyone.
Early next month, my son is getting engaged. I hope you can all make time to attend.
In a few days, the engagement invitations will be delivered to you."
Amelia's invitation didn't receive everyone's congratulations.
Many people at the scene had strange expressions.
They looked at Olivia, then at Amelia and Sophia.
The Johnson family's scandals were no secret in this circle anymore—almost everyone had heard about them.
But hearing about it was one thing. Some people still hadn't met Olivia or didn't know much about her, so they didn't recognize her at first.
Now, from the commotion here, they could pretty much figure it out.
Amelia and Sophia were handing out engagement invitations right in front of her.
This behavior was basically humiliating Olivia to her face. That smug expression made people feel embarrassed and sympathetic toward Olivia.
However, not everyone had the courage of the Wilson family to stand up against the Johnsons. After all, the Johnson family's status was well-established.
Faced with Amelia's invitation, the other ladies couldn't bring themselves to refuse. They could only respond with awkward smiles, "Thank you for the invitation, Mrs. Johnson. Such a happy occasion—we'll definitely come to celebrate."
Isabella was furious watching this scene.
Amelia was absolutely shameless!
In front of so many people, she felt no shame but pride, even showing off!
If it weren't for her upbringing, Isabella would have cursed them out.
Right now, she held back her emotions and looked at Olivia with concern, comforting her softly, "Olivia, don't pay attention to people like them. Don't take those words to heart. I know you're a good person. We don't need to associate with people like them."
Olivia knew she cared about her and smiled back, "Don't worry, Mrs. Wilson, I don't care! They're just clowns. If they like showing off in front of me so much, I'll just treat it as entertainment!"
She was looking forward to the day when Sophia's affair scandal broke out.
She really wanted to see if Amelia could still smile then.
Isabella saw that her expression was completely relaxed, that she wasn't upset by Amelia's words, and felt relieved.
It seemed Olivia had truly moved on.
She played along supportively, saying, "Yes, exactly. Let's just treat it as entertainment. Don't waste time on people who don't matter. Come on, I'll continue teaching you flower arranging."
"Sounds good!" Olivia's attention quickly shifted to the flowers.
Over there, Sophia was still waiting to see Olivia lose control, become jealous and twisted, and ideally make a scene on the spot.
But when she turned around, she saw Olivia smiling and arranging flowers with Isabella.
She was so angry she could have ground her teeth to dust.
This had to be an act!
Olivia used to love Michael so much.
Now hearing that Michael was going to marry her, she must be jealous inside, probably about to explode with anger.
This calm demeanor was just a fake front!
Sophia convinced herself of this.
Amelia was also clearly unhappy.
Because, like Sophia, she wanted to see Olivia lose her composure and make a scene.
She wanted Olivia to see that without the Johnson family, she was nothing.
But Olivia didn't care at all.
This made even her victory feel unsatisfying.
Before long, staff came to report that enough of the flowers Olivia needed had been collected.
Daniel arranged for the flowers to be sent to the research institute.
Isabella checked the time, took Olivia's hand, and urged her to stay, saying, "Oh my, I didn't notice the time—it's already noon. I know a restaurant nearby with great food. Olivia, why don't you come try it with me?"
Since Isabella had spoken up for her that morning, Olivia wouldn't refuse her. So she agreed.
Daniel came along too, though Isabella still complained about him the whole time.
After lunch, Olivia returned to the research institute to continue working.
The following days were just as busy.
Because the freshness of flowers has a time limit.
She needed to extract maximum value from them before they wilted and decayed. When she got busy, she had no time to think about anything else.
Several days passed in the blink of an eye. She had just finished her work and returned home when she received a call from Rodolfo.
After Olivia answered, she first asked about Rodolfo's situation, "How are you adjusting over there? Is the experiment you mentioned last time going well?"
Rodolfo said cheerfully, "Everything's good, and the experiment is going smoothly. I'm calling tonight because I have good news for you.
The research institute is recruiting a batch of new talent recently, all outstanding young people, and your name is on the list. I wanted to ask if you'd be willing to come?"
Olivia's heart pounded like a drum. She almost thought she was hearing things, and even her breathing became lighter.
Was this real?
When she didn't respond, Rodolfo asked, "What's wrong? Are you unwilling?"
Thinking she might refuse, Rodolfo's tone became urgent. He quickly said, "Olivia, I know you're busy with work, you have your company and your own research institute, but joining this research institute is a huge opportunity.
I won't say too much since the research projects here are confidential.
But I can guarantee this is a great chance to improve your abilities!
There are many senior experts here who can guide you. I don't want you to miss this opportunity.
Your research institute and those drug development projects are already well-established. Your team members can handle things independently—you don't need to watch over everything constantly. So I hope you'll seriously consider this."
When it came to serious matters, Rodolfo's tone was very solemn.
He genuinely hoped Olivia could reach the next level and not be held back by external matters.
Her talent was unmatched by many in the younger generation and shouldn't be wasted on anything.
Olivia snapped out of it and quickly said to Rodolfo, "No, it's not that I don't want to go. I was just too surprised.
I never expected they would actually recruit people, and that I'd have a spot.
This is really incredible. But why so suddenly?"
Hearing this, Rodolfo was satisfied. His voice carried a smile as he said, "I'm not entirely clear on the specifics, but it was definitely a decision from above.
Their explanation is that the project the research institute is currently working on has been going for decades, but progress has hit a bottleneck.
Someone suggested the reason might be that the older generation of experts have rigid thinking. The research institute needs new talent to provide fresh perspectives, which might lead to a breakthrough.
So they decided to form a new team to see if a miracle could happen.
On the other hand, it's also to cultivate future top talent for the research institute.
As for your spot, it's because there was a recommendation from the Emerald City military, plus someone from Harmony City also recommended you.
The last factor is probably that you're my student, which is why you got a spot."
Hearing this, Olivia was even more surprised.
Someone from Emerald City recommended her?
Who?
Joseph?
No, Joseph had long retired. Although he still had some influence, it wasn't to that extent.
Then thinking about what her teacher just said about Harmony City.
Andrew's image suddenly appeared in Olivia's mind.
Those questions he asked before weren't without reason after all.
So was all of this his doing?
Olivia's heartbeat suddenly accelerated.
Did Andrew really like her?
Olivia was stunned by this seemingly impossible guess. Her emotions couldn't calm down.
Rodolfo asked on the other end, "So what do you think? Olivia, although I won't interfere with any decision you make.
But this really is a rare opportunity!"
From Rodolfo's tone, Olivia heard great hope and the confidence and expectations he had for her.
She slowly came back from her excited emotions.
Once, for Michael, she had sacrificed her career.
After the divorce, she swore she wouldn't be that person again, wouldn't repeat the same mistake.
So even after discovering she had different feelings for Andrew, she never thought about giving anything up for him.
She never dared to think she could have it all.
But now...
That person had cleared the obstacles in front of them and paved a path for her to reach him. Walking that path, she wouldn't have to give up everything.
Olivia felt almost overwhelmed by this favor.
She asked hesitantly, "Mr. McCoy, do you think I can do it? Is my ability really enough?"
A national-level research institute had so many excellent people. Olivia had previously thought that as long as she could get in, she'd be happy even doing odd jobs.
But now that she could actually get in, she started worrying that her abilities weren't enough and she'd hold others back.
Hearing Olivia's uncertain voice, Rodolfo said without hesitation, "Of course you can. You're my personal student!
Olivia, you're wonderful, you're excellent. You're the greatest pride of my life!"