Hiding Behind Her Superficiality by Kyla Olson

Chapter 23 Is Elspeth a Playgirl?
Callum answered in his cold voice, “Well, I’m giving priority to company matters. Is there a problem with that?”
Having been rejected again, Ophelia bit her lip and stayed quiet.
After she left, Elspeth watched her crying figure and could not help laughing. “Are you sure you’re going to hurt your childhood
sweetheart like that? She seems to be crying quite miserably.”
Callum gave her a sideways glance and ordered, “Look at the plan.”
Chuckling, she said, “Looks like Edmund was right. You are an inconsiderate workaholic.”
Instead of answering her, he lowered his head and looked at the plan. The sun’s rays shone down on his face, and through the
vague reflection, Elspeth could see that his pupils were as deep as the blackhole.
When the two finished revising their plan, it was already 3.00PM and Elspeth’s tummy just happened to rumble at an
inappropriate time. With a raised brow, Callum offered, “Let’s go. We’ll have something nice.”
They tidied up and coincidentally bumped into Ophelia on their way out of the building before Elspeth smiled at her.
At this point, Ophelia’s already puffy eyes reddened even more as she ran inside while wiping her tears. The small incident did
not affect their mood as Callum brought Elspeth to a noodle shack he frequented and ordered two bowls of ramen.
While biting the end of her fork, Elspeth giggled. “I didn’t expect the oldest young master of the Winthrop Family would enjoy this
sort of delicacy.”
Although Callum was slurping noodles, his actions remained elegant as ever. He ate a mouthful of noodles and asked, “What do
you think I eat on a daily basis? Steaks? Caviar? Lobsters?”
“I just didn’t expect that you’d enjoy such hearty meals.” Elspeth’s smile became even more unrestrained, but she suddenly
looked at him with bright eyes while stating, “But... I like them too. Although I’d eat them almost every day, I still think that no
food can compare to the noodles my dad made.”
Unfortunately, all of that has passed and I can’t return to those days.
Meanwhile, Callum stayed silent and lowered his head to eat his noodles, but his mood was slightly affected. This was the first
time he heard her mention her family; though it was just a brief sentence, he was still deeply moved.
The two went back to the company and a colleague patted Elspeth on the shoulder when she was just about to get off work.
“Elspeth, log on to your Twitter. Something happened!”
Feeling her heart sink, she logged onto her Twitter account and scanned through the contents with some large, attention-
grabbing words.
‘Elspeth Lynwood acts intimately with a foreign man while being engaged to the Winthrop Family.’
‘Though Elspeth Lynwood looks obedient, she’s actually a playgirl who plays with the Winthrop men’s feelings.’
‘Having been surrounded by so many men, who will get Elspeth Lynwood in the end?’

...
There was also a blurry picture on Twitter circling around. From it, Elspeth could make out that it was taken on the day of the
auction when Theo was touching her head; they were smiling happily and seemed very close.
Although they were both wearing sunglasses, it was not difficult to make out that the woman in the picture was herself.
Squinting her eyes, Elspeth felt a cold sensation pass through her. She seemed to know who was behind all of this, so she
immediately called Harper to get rid of those news articles. In the meantime, she was called home by Theodore.
When she came out of the company, she just happened to bump into Callum, who was going home as well. However, he merely
glanced at her before walking away. It seemed like he had also found out about the hottest news articles.
At last, Elspeth returned to the Winthrop Residence under everyone’s presence and was immediately met with Margot’s lecture.
“Elspeth! I thought you were a good kid. I cannot believe that you’re such a sl*t!”
Frowning, Elspeth did not retort but tried to explain instead, “It’s all just a misunderstanding.”
However, Margot was not having it. “I can understand it if you don’t like any of my sons, but how can you agree to spend time
with my sons while secretly dating another man? Elspeth, do you think you’re being fair to Theodore?”
Elspeth knew that if she could not explain this situation clearly, perhaps even Theodore would be disappointed in her.
“Elspeth, all the evidence is crystal clear, so I suggest you admit your doings!” Max had long since despised Elspeth’s aloof
attitude and sneered, “You’d better get out of here as soon as possible. Maybe, by then, I’ll be the bigger person and forgive
you.”
Shaking her head, Elspeth explained again, “It’s not what you guys think. That man is my senior.”
A senior? Who are you kidding?
While staring at her with his cold gaze, Max reprimanded, “Even if he’s your senior, someone who’s able to interact so intimately
with you must be someone close to you, right? Elspeth, things have already gotten to this point, yet you’re still trying to reason
your way out of this.”
Meanwhile, Theodore was frowning with mixed emotions surging within him. He stared at Elspeth and asked calmly, “Elsie, are
they telling the truth? Are you and that man—”
She replied in a deep tone, “Mr. Winthrop, that person is really only a senior to me. I can call him right now if you don’t believe
me.”
At that moment, Margot smirked. “What can you prove by calling him? Wouldn’t you be able to trick everyone by getting your
story straightened out with him?”
Feeling a headache coming, Elspeth felt that it was indeed difficult for her to explain things in such a situation.
Suddenly, Blake, who was scrolling through Twitter, shouted in surprise, “Hey, everyone. Someone just posted an official
statement on Twitter.”
The person was a mix of Edenian and Charsian and he looked just like the person in the pictures. Subsequently, the post wrote,

‘I am a man with a fiancé and we’re going to get married this June. Elspeth Lynwood is like a younger sister to me, and caring for
her is the task our teacher gave me, so there is no need to blow this out of proportion. I hope that all of you netizens can be kind
with your words and spare the young woman.’
Since Mark had received a lot of grand prizes abroad, he had substantial popularity, so no one dared to easily refute him.
Therefore, the tides suddenly changed and some even began to guess which evil person would have the time to take the photo
and frame Elspeth with baseless accusation.
Margot, who was furious earlier, began to calm down and looked at Elspeth’s face while lost in thought. “Elspeth, I...”
With a satisfied smile on his face, Theodore assured her, “I knew my judgment was correct. Elsie, you’ve been wronged.”
While nodding her head, Elspeth smiled. “Mr. Winthrop, thank you for believing in me.”
On the other hand, Max felt embarrassed as he tapped his nose while stubbornly saying, “I’m sorry, but I still don’t like you.”
“I don’t need you to like me, but don’t ever accuse me of something I didn’t do.” Elspeth threw him a sideways glance and
replied.
He clenched his fists. “Don’t push your luck, lady!”
“Alright, already. Now that this is settled, let’s not pursue it anymore.” Theodore waved his hand to stop Max from spitting any
more hurtful words.
After the crowd had dispersed, Callum was still standing not far away while staring at Elspeth. He had a strange feeling when he
saw her usual calmness and composure while dealing with this matter instead of crying and making a fuss.
Sensing his gaze, she tilted her head and beamed. “Do you think I have something to do with that man?”
He remained silent, which in a way meant that he admitted to being bothered by it. However, it was not to the extent that he truly
believed she was such a person.
While looking at his expression, Elspeth flashed him a smile, but it did not reach her eyes.