Ava Sterling stopped abruptly, lifting her head to look ahead. Lauren Howell dashed towards her with a beaming smile, containing a hint of sycophantic flattery. First thing in the morning she goes crazy, does she think my mood isn’t bad enough? Lauren saw Ava Sterling and quickly ran up to her, saying joyfully, "You’re here?" After speaking, she immediately presented what she held in her hands to Ava. Because she saw what Lauren Howell was holding. A fish tank, filled with colorful stones and some greenery, along with a little green turtle crawling around inside. Ava’s bad mood disappeared instantly. She put away her phone and took the fish tank from Lauren Howell, her eyes bright as she looked at the turtle inside. Tiny, with a goofy little expression, very cute. Seeing her reaction, Lauren’s eyes squinted into a happy line, "You like it?" "This was personally delivered by Young Master Kingsley this morning." Ava paused, looking at Lauren Howell, "Jace Kingsley brought this?" "Young Master Kingsley said he intended to deliver it directly to your home, but when he rang the doorbell, no one answered. He wondered if you overslept and didn’t hear it. He was afraid of disturbing you, so he brought the turtle to the office and asked me to pass it to you." Lauren explained, with a trace of curiosity in her eyes, "Ava, how dead can your sleep be, not even hearing the doorbell? Were you not home?" Jace didn’t go to Ava’s house because he knew Ava didn’t live at The Kestrel Apartments but at Greenhill Villa. Yet he told Lauren he went there, intentionally letting her know Ava wasn’t home. So, upon hearing this, Lauren understood. Ava’s situation was not great; she seemed to be hiding something significant. Ava instantly picked up on Lauren’s probing, her lips curling into a cold smile, "What? Do I need to report to you whether I’m home or not?" Looking at Ava’s expression, Lauren knew it was true. Ava genuinely wasn’t home last night. "How could someone like me, a mere assistant, regulate the freedom of our supermodel Ava? I’m just worried that if our supermodel encountered any trouble, it would be difficult to resolve later." This implied, of course, that Ava was hiding something from her. Ava was no stranger to such implications. Yet she wouldn’t feel guilty; feeling guilty would prove there was something to hide. Raising her chin, her gaze downward, Ava looked at Lauren with a disdainful expression, "What trouble could I encounter? Even if there were trouble, so what? Can’t I solve it myself?" "Let me tell you, Lauren, there’s nothing in this world that can stump Ava Sterling." Lauren didn’t bother to argue with Ava, knowing for sure Ava was hiding something, but wouldn’t easily reveal it. Since questioning wouldn’t yield answers, she had to play detective and slowly figure it out. Seeing Lauren sufficient to stop, Ava chose not to continue talking. She quickly asked, "Where’s Eric? I called her, but her phone’s off. Where did she go? Not at the office?" Lauren was surprised, "You don’t know?" Ava frowned, "Know what?" "Eric went on a business trip last night. Didn’t she tell you?" Ava’s face darkened, "Why would she need to tell me about her business trip?" "Oh, right, but do you need to reach her for something?" Ava bluntly said, "Tell Eric to get that director out of here. If I see him again tomorrow, I’m walking away from this job." After speaking, Ava shoved the fish tank back to Lauren, "Keep this for me." After giving instructions, she strode into the training room, high heels clicking sharply. Lauren stood there, stunned. The morning session lasted three hours, during which Ava was furious. Not a pleasant expression the whole time. Those girls mostly couldn’t take the pressure. Standing posture practice lasted less than an hour before they started complaining. Initially, she ignored them, but it escalated; they started crying. Seeing tears, without a doubt, added fuel to the fire, leading her to send people out to cry. The others, seeing her temper, didn’t dare say anything more, enduring despite the hardship. Unexpectedly, later, someone fainted from standing, prompting Ava’s explosion. She told Lauren to take the person to the hospital, then called Eric, announcing a suspension of lessons; she wasn’t continuing. She insisted on a thorough re-selection, advising those in poor health not to come, and those who couldn’t endure hardship to go home and find their parents. Eric’s phone eventually got through, learning about Ava’s situation, she understood Ava perfectly, assuring, "Give me a day, I’ll have an answer for you the day after." The most update n0vels are published on novel[f]ire.net Ava was about to hang up but paused as a thought flashed through her mind about that director trying to make her laugh, asking, "And what about the director? I’ve seen him yesterday and today. What do you say?" Eric replied, "Lauren told me, I’ve already contacted him; he won’t appear again." "This time, I promise." "Alright, I’ll trust you one last time, the only time." With that, Ava disconnected the call, took a water cup from Lauren’s hand, and downed three large gulps, slightly calming her anger. Lauren, beside her, watching Ava’s extremely displeased manner, said, "Not everyone can endure like you do, especially kids nowadays; all coddled." Ava finished drinking, shoved the cup back into her hand, and coldly said, "What do you mean can’t endure hardship? All coddled? Why isn’t Simone like them?" "Three hours, she stood for three hours without moving an inch, just like everyone, if she can do it, why can’t they?"p>"Their legs are not even straight; shouldn’t they quickly correct them? Do they want to walk crookedly on stage?" "Don’t be an eyesore!" Saying this got Ava fired up again, she pointed at Lauren, "Get me another cup of hot water!" Lauren knew Ava was serious and responsible about her work, aware that Ava was doing this for the girls’ benefit. But indeed, not everyone could withstand the toughness like Ava. Training body posture and shape, daily catwalking, with no social life or leisure, just relentless practice; she was truly dedicated and earnest. Lauren continuously appeased Ava, finally recalling Jace’s words in the morning, eagerly saying, "Right, Young Master Kingsley said you’re cooking at his place today, and he invited me too. Have you settled on the time?"