Lost and Found: Return of My Mysterious Fiancee

Sean's face suddenly changed. Amber stepped forward and scolded Tina, "Tina, I know you can't stand the fact that you can't become Sean's student, but you are being too arrogant!" "Save your foolish tricks." Tina looked at Sean as if he were a ludicrous clown, lightly tapping her right index finger on the armrest of her chair. "We've barely exchanged a few glances in this school, and you claim to know my talent for perfumery?"

She laughed again, her expression playful. "How did you figure it out? Telepathy? Brainwave? Or just WiFi?"

The air in the auditorium froze for a moment, then burst into thunderous laughter. One of the students loudly said, "I see it now, today Sean was just looking for trouble with Miss Reed. Miss Reed has two PhDs, why would she be desperate to be your student?"

The boy next to him chimed in, "Exactly, it's getting weirder by the minute. If he doesn't want to take Miss Reed as a student, just say no. From the beginning, Miss Reed never showed any interest in being his student, but he and Amber are making it look like she was eagerly pursuing it. WiFi talent detection, right? Impressive!"

The crowd turned to see Albert Sitwell and Hendrik Stiller. None of the students from Class 22D had come to listen to Sean's lecture tonight, and neither had they planned to.

They had just stepped out to grab some snacks from the school canteen during their study break when they passed by the auditorium and heard that Sean was taking Amber as a student, so they decided to check out the commotion. The auditorium was packed, and they stood in the aisle listening. The more they heard Sean demeaning Tina, the angrier they got, and they couldn't help but retort.

Their interjection made the audience also feel that Sean and Amber's actions were overly deliberate. They were supposedly apologizing to Tina, but it seemed more like an opportunity to humiliate her.

Their purpose was blatantly exposed, and Sean froze on stage, his face turning serious. He suddenly regretted his arrogance, agreeing to help Amber use this situation to embarrass Tina, now finding himself unable to exit gracefully. "But Tina, it's truth you don't have a talent for perfumery; Grandma tested you herself," Amber said as Sean was at a loss for words, quickly trying to patch things up.

"Grandma taught me perfumery from a young age, and she favored me because of my talent. But because of this, you held a grudge against her and even asked the Farrell family to drive our family to bankruptcy..." She spoke, tears starting to flow, her face a portrait of genuine pain.

This narrative completely shifted the blame for the Reed family's bankruptcy onto Tina's jealousy, lightly glossing over her own actions.

Yet, some people believed her.

After all, outsiders didn't know the full story. In their eyes, Tina was the real Miss Reed; how could a normal person bankrupt their own family over a foster daughter?

As the whispers of her being an "ingrate" grew, Sean found his footing again.

"Yes, your grandmother told me. She wanted me to choose one of you sisters as a student for the Reed family's perfume business, and I chose Amber because of her talent. But I didn't expect that just because you couldn't be my student, you would be so jealous as to drive the Reed family to bankruptcy!"

The two twisted the truth so convincingly it seemed real, making Tina laugh uncontrollably.

"My talent in perfumery isn't for Elizabeth to decide, nor you; it's proven by our creations."

She had initially wanted to see what their grand plan was for tonight.

That's it? She promptly lost her patience.

"What do you mean?" Sean doubted his understanding. "Are you challenging me?"

"Afraid?" Tina raised an eyebrow in response.

She disliked complications, but when trouble came knocking, she didn't mind teaching a lesson-after all, she was a teacher.

"Do you think you have what it takes to beat me?" Sean felt both that Tina was overestimating herself and underestimating him, and he laughed out of irritation.

"Tina, are you crazy?" Amber feigned surprise, but inside she was nearly ecstatic. She had only wanted to use Sean's reputation to embarrass Tina and vent her frustration. Unexpectedly, Tina was challenging Sean, setting herself up for embarrassment.

But her face still wore a mask of concern for Tina. "How could you possibly be better than Sean? Just apologize to Sean now, and let's pretend you never said that!"

The others shared Amber's disbelief, looking at Tina with astonishment.

Tina ignored Amber, just giving Sean a provocative smile.

"Fine! If you want to disgrace yourself, I'll oblige!" Sean snorted coldly, not taking Tina seriously. "I'll give you enough time, a week, that should suffice. In one week, we'll bring our creations here. I'll invite some of the best perfumers I know to come and judge!"

"No need, let's do it tonight," Tina countered.

"That's impossible," Sean refused with a bit of panic, "It's too rushed today. Where would we even find judges on such short notice? You know not just anyone is qualified to judge my perfumes!"

"Oh, but I know Vivienne Blaine is currently in this city, and she's certainly famous enough as a perfumer," Jared Farrell interjected with a lift of his dark eyes, speaking calmly. "She's here visiting her friend Mr. Henry White, who is also from Glasgow. Surely, they are qualified to judge your perfumes?"

"Even so, preparing the various essences and equipment takes time! Perfumery requires inspiration, only amateurs like you would think good perfumes can be crafted so hastily! I said one week, and I mean one week!" Tina nodded slightly in agreement, "Alright, then a week it is."

For some reason, seeing Tina agree so readily and confidently, Sean felt uneasy.

After a moment's thought, he said gravely, "I've heard that your late mother was also a perfumer, having left behind many perfume formulas. You're not planning to use your mother's formulas, are you?"

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"What? Are you scared?" Tina's eyes twinkled with mischief, her smile was light.

"Of course not!" Sean retorted.

Tina smiled satisfyingly and then told Sean pointedly, "Remember, you're the one who needs this week, not me. I'm merely doing it for you."

The auditorium erupted, with the audience pointing and murmuring towards Sean on stage.

It was clear to everyone that Sean had lost his nerve. At least in terms of presence, he had already lost.

Sean's face alternated between shades of red and white, thinking how he wouldn't have been so embarrassed if he hadn't listened to Amber's provocation. He glared at her bitterly and stormed off the stage.

Amber was startled and followed him. As she passed by Tina, she lowered her voice and said spitefully, "Tina, I hope you don't lose too embarrassingly when the time comes!"

Just then, Mr. Stiller called, apologizing profusely to Tina, "Tina, I'm so sorry. I didn't expect Sean to do something like this."

He had been at a meeting earlier in the evening, only attending the first half of the lecture before leaving the rest to other faculty members while he went to his meeting. Just after the meeting ended, he learned that Tina had been publicly humiliated by Sean.

He was genuinely angry, but there was nothing he could do about what had already happened.

"It's okay."

Yesterday, upon learning that Sean was a student of Q, she had someone buy back all the perfumes he had crafted.

Indeed, the perfumes were stunning and had a distinctive style. However, this style was very familiar to her, belonging to someone else.

Watching Sean's flustered retreat, she became more certain of her suspicions.