Chapter 161 How Exactly Can I Trust Him?
When Gabriel heard this, he quickly pushed his student card toward Isabella. "This is my student card. You can use it to eat on the third floor. There's still five thousand dollars on it, enough for a month."
He glanced at Violet and Scarlett, adding, "You can bring your friends along too."
Isabella looked at him, about to refuse.
But Violet took the card and raised her eyebrows at her. "Since your fourth brother is being so generous, why should we refuse? That's the third floor! You're at the age where you need good nutrition. You can have issues with anyone, but not with food, right?"
Isabella pressed her lips together, said nothing, and lowered her head to eat.
Violet glanced at Gabriel again. "But wait, can you only get one student card per person? If you give your card to Isabella, how will you eat from now on?"
"That's okay, I can have my friends treat me to meals."
Violet drew out her tone thoughtfully. "I see..."
Gabriel racked his brain for conversation topics. "Isabella, congratulations on getting a spot in the calligraphy competition."
Isabella gave him a bland look. "There's nothing to congratulate me for."
It wasn't a big deal anyway.
Gabriel felt a bit awkward. He opened his mouth, wanting to say more.
"Alright, Gabriel, you don't need to work so hard putting on this act. Did Bianca send you here as a spy? You're trying to get close to me—what exactly do you want from me? Or rather, what are you plotting against me?"
Gabriel froze. "What?"
A spy?
He stared at Isabella intently, incredulous. "Is that really what you think of me?"
He did want to get closer to her, but definitely not to get something from her or plot against her.
"What? Am I wrong?" Isabella glanced at him coolly. "I remember how you treated me when I first came back to the Taylor Villa, Gabriel. I know your true nature too well. Didn't you really dislike and look down on me? So why are you coming to find me now?"
"..." Gabriel looked at Isabella, feeling an inexplicable sourness in his chest. He held back his hurt feelings and explained, "I did treat you badly when you first came home, but I don't think that way anymore. Really, Isabella, please don't think of me like that..."
Isabella couldn't be bothered to hear him out. She picked up her tray and left.
Gabriel froze, watching Isabella's retreating figure. His eyes suddenly reddened.
He felt a bit hurt and a bit wronged.
He had indeed treated Isabella badly before, but he really didn't think that way anymore. What would it take for Isabella to believe him?
It seemed like Isabella...
Would never believe him again.
Gabriel sat there alone in a daze, feeling somewhat at a loss.
——
Cillian sat at his desk holding his phone. His eyes darted around as he opened his chat app, found Isabella's profile picture, and clicked in.
He had always valued talent. That time at the Cultural Center, he had added Isabella's contact information.
"Isabella, how's your competition piece coming along?"
Isabella received the message just as she was about to practice calligraphy. She glanced at it and replied: "Haven't written it yet."
Cillian frowned. "You haven't written it yet? There are only three days left until submission. You need to write it now!"
Isabella frowned too. "Why are you so anxious? There are still three days."
Cillian sighed, put down his phone, feeling quite melancholy.
Of course he was anxious.
He was someone who valued talent, but in recent years, the quality of works submitted to various calligraphy competitions had been declining year after year! He had hardly seen any talented young people.
Isabella was the only one in years who had made his eyes light up.
He was counting on Isabella's work to make a stunning appearance at the competition! After all, the competition would be livestreamed, allowing more viewers to see excellent works—that would make organizing this competition worthwhile!
Just as Cillian was thinking this, his phone suddenly vibrated again.
He saw Isabella send him a message:
"It's done."
Cillian was both surprised and delighted, somewhat impatient. "Quick, send it to me so I can see."
The next second, he received a photo of calligraphy from Isabella.
Cillian excitedly rubbed his hands together. He opened the image and examined it carefully.
As he looked, he burst out laughing. "Excellent! This is wonderful!"
Alaric pushed the door open just in time to see Cillian laughing heartily at the ceiling. He paused. "Mr. Lockwood, you..."
Seeing someone had arrived, Cillian immediately pressed his lips together to stop laughing and put on a serious and dignified expression. "Alaric, why are you here?"
"These are the documents you asked me to bring."
Alaric handed him a stack of materials.
Cillian took the items. "Good, thank you for your trouble."
"It's my duty."
Cillian watched Alaric leave, then picked up his phone to reply. "Isabella, look, since you don't need a teacher, how about I become your student?"
Isabella stared at these words, dumbfounded.
"Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
"There's nothing inappropriate about it. Your calligraphy is better than mine. I'd be very willing to take you as my teacher and learn from you."
"That's not what I meant. I'm saying... you're a bit older, and I'm still young. If you go around telling people I'm your teacher, people might think I'm over a hundred years old. That would really affect my image in others' eyes."
She didn't want people's first mental image when hearing the name "Isabella" to be of an old grandmother.
Cillian: "..."
He laughed in exasperation and threw down his phone in embarrassment.
Just an image.
Was it more important than him?
——
At the café.
Olivia had arranged afternoon tea with several society ladies.
Before having coffee, they had attended an auction where one of the ladies spent fifty thousand dollars on a piece of calligraphy.
"Mrs. Kim is so refined, spending fifty thousand dollars just to buy a piece of calligraphy," one lady teased.
The Kim family's business had been thriving in recent years, making quite a few people present both envious and jealous.
Because of Bianca, Olivia knew something about calligraphy. She took a sip of coffee and smiled. "Mrs. Coleman, the piece Mrs. Kim bought is no simple work. It's not only artistically valuable but can also cultivate one's character."
Lucy Kim finally met someone who understood her. "It seems Mrs. Taylor has some knowledge of calligraphy."
Then she thought of something. "Oh right, no wonder. Your children all write well, didn't one of them get selected for that calligraphy competition?"
Olivia smiled. Whenever she heard people praise Bianca, she always felt proud.
"Yes, my Bianca's calligraphy is indeed quite good."
Lucy smiled knowingly. "Your Isabella's calligraphy is also quite good."
Olivia froze.
Isabella?
She meant Isabella?
Olivia looked somewhat puzzled. She didn't understand why Lucy would suddenly mention that Isabella's calligraphy was good.
Was it because Bianca wrote well, so she assumed Isabella should write well too?
Olivia could only explain somewhat awkwardly: "Mrs. Kim, you've misunderstood. Isabella is different from Bianca. She doesn't know calligraphy."