Vincent Hawthorne was stunned by Tanya Sinclair’s crisp and resolute backhand slap. The burning pain on his right cheek clearly reminded him that this wasn’t an accidental hit from Tanya Sinclair, but a premeditated slap! Shock and anger... along with the humiliation of being slapped by a woman in public, filled his entire chest. "Tanya Sinclair! Are you crazy?!" Vincent Hawthorne roared furiously. He rarely showed his temper outside, but now the veins on his neck bulged, as if he might throw a punch at her at any moment. Yet Tanya Sinclair showed no fear at all. She stood there with icy calm, looking at him coldly, her gaze devoid of the tenderness and obedience of the past, replaced by disgust and vigilance. Vincent Hawthorne even had an illusion that if he dared to make the first move, Tanya Sinclair would leap forward fiercely! This realization made a chill run through Vincent Hawthorne’s heart, along with some other emotion he couldn’t quite identify, and Cindy Lynn already came running toward him, clutching her swollen cheek and crying. "President Hawthorne... save me!" "..." Vincent Hawthorne instinctively reached out to shield Cindy Lynn behind him, warning Tanya Sinclair in a cold voice, "Don’t go too far!" Tanya Sinclair laughed, was this just the beginning? Compared to the filthy things Cindy Lynn and her mother did to The Sinclair Family back then, these slaps were far too light! "Ms. Tanya, I won’t call the police." Cindy Lynn whimpered, appearing weak and pitiful, "As long as you vent it out and don’t blame President Hawthorne anymore..." "To make me calm down, how could these few slaps be enough?" Tanya Sinclair said, rubbing her wrist that had hurt from hitting too hard, as she walked toward Cindy Lynn, her clear eyes cold as ice. Upon closer inspection, there’s a chilling intensity in them. In Cindy Lynn’s face, she saw the shadow of Shelly Sullivan! The hate that scorched through her eyes, turning them crimson. Cindy Lynn sobbed, "Ms. Tanya, what more do you want me to do? Shall I kneel to you?" Tanya Sinclair coldly replied, "Only if you die!" "Enough!" Vincent Hawthorne couldn’t bear it anymore upon hearing this and wrapped his arm around Cindy Lynn, who was about to kneel, safeguarding her in his embrace, staring at Tanya Sinclair angrily. "You’ve slapped, you’ve cursed, Tanya Sinclair, I won’t endlessly indulge you to harm her!" Cindy Lynn leaned against Vincent Hawthorne’s chest, her eyes filled with tears as she looked at Tanya Sinclair, but a smug smile crept onto the corner of her mouth. These slaps, she wouldn’t take them for nothing. In the future, she’d make sure Tanya Sinclair pays back tenfold, a hundredfold! Tanya Sinclair found these two nauseating. The scumbag and the slut, pretending to be a pair of star-crossed lovers. She glanced at the time; reason returned, she needed to get back to the company. There was a bunch of work waiting in the afternoon. Tanya Sinclair turned around indifferently and left. "Tanya Sinclair, did I say you could leave!" Vincent Hawthorne shouted angrily. Tanya Sinclair didn’t respond, quickening her pace. Vincent Hawthorne frowned, gently pushing Cindy Lynn aside, and strode quickly after Tanya Sinclair’s departing figure. Tanya Sinclair, just reaching the corner, nearly collided with someone coming her way. In the next second, she smelled the familiar, brisk scent of the man and instinctively looked up, meeting Declan Pierce’s profound and dark eyes. Tanya Sinclair paused, "President Pierce?" Behind her, Vincent Hawthorne had already caught up, suppressing his anger as he reached out to grab Tanya Sinclair. But before he touched the hem of Tanya Sinclair’s clothes, the man’s long, slender hand clamped onto his wrist with a grip so tight Vincent Hawthorne nearly couldn’t withstand the pain. "Are manners not taught to Mr. Hawthorne when speaking?" Declan Pierce’s voice came down without warmth. "..." Vincent Hawthorne looked up to see the man in front of him, instantly recalling their previous meeting at Westgard Pharmaceuticals. Just now, Tanya Sinclair had called him President Pierce! He was indeed Declan Pierce! Vincent Hawthorne suddenly fixed his gaze on Janne Hayes, who stood obediently behind Declan Pierce, with fury burning! Janne Hayes, familiar with Tanya Sinclair, immediately grabbed Tanya Sinclair and moved her to a safe place when he sensed the tension. Having just let go, Janne Hayes faintly felt a hostile gaze charging straight at him. He looked towards the source of the hostility, only to meet Vincent Hawthorne’s eyes that wished to tear him apart. He looked left, then right—no one else was around. Janne Hayes was even more puzzled; he hadn’t directly offended Vincent Hawthorne, right? He was just a background character! By now, Cindy Lynn had also come over. Declan Pierce had already let go, glancing at Cindy Lynn’s face with the bloody five-finger mark, then at Vincent Hawthorne’s face that hadn’t escaped unscathed... He looked down, his long eyelashes hiding the faint smile that flickered through his eyes. Yes, this was indeed something Tanya Sinclair would do. "President Pierce, I have words with my wife, please step aside!" Vincent Hawthorne spoke with a cold demeanor, his tone firm. Now aware of Declan Pierce’s identity, Vincent Hawthorne preferred not to offend him unless necessary. Declan Pierce paid no attention. He pulled out a handkerchief, leisurely wiping the hand that had just touched Vincent Hawthorne. This silent action naturally carried a sense of humiliation. Vincent Hawthorne’s expression turned ugly. "Does it hurt?" Declan Pierce suddenly asked. Cindy Lynn, having felt Declan Pierce’s gaze lingering on her for several seconds earlier, subconsciously thought he was asking her and felt slightly flattered. She lightly bit her lip, speaking softly: "It hurts a bit, but that’s okay, Mr. Pierce..." Declan Pierce directly ignored her, turning his gaze to Tanya Sinclair, asking her, "Does your hand hurt?" "..." Cindy Lynn squeezed her fist tight, the hint of bashful presumptuousness still lingering on her face, absurdly so. Tanya Sinclair hadn’t expected Declan Pierce to be concerned about her hand, and hesitated for a moment. She was about to say it didn’t hurt, but Declan Pierce extended his long arm and directly took hold of her hand. His hand was large, with a faint coolness in his palm. The hand Tanya Sinclair had just used to slap was enveloped in a comforting warmth and coolness. Yet this sudden physical contact made her uneasy, especially since the person was Declan Pierce... Tanya Sinclair only felt danger. In the next second, Declan Pierce spoke in a low, indifferent voice: "Ms. Sinclair is now the project leader I hired; these hands of hers are hands for experiments, worth billions. If they’re accidentally hurt..." Declan Pierce’s gaze coolly swept over Cindy Lynn and Vincent Hawthorne, his smile not reaching his eyes, "Which of your faces could afford to pay for that?" A single sentence humiliated two people. If it weren’t for the inappropriate timing, Tanya would have almost applauded Declan. The unease she originally felt faded away. So he was just worried her hand might hurt, affecting the research progress. Indeed, Declan was still the same Declan, never taking a loss. Vincent’s molars almost ground into pieces. "It’s not work time now, my wife and I have personal matters to address. President Pierce, you can’t interfere in family affairs!" Having said that, Vincent bypassed him to grab Tanya! However, this time, two black-clad bodyguards from the Pierce Family appeared out of nowhere and blocked Vincent firmly. Declan: "Janne, escort Ms. Sinclair back to the company!" "Yes, President Pierce." Others might suffer a loss against Vincent, but not Declan. That man... whoever goes against him is truly unfortunate. Tanya confidently followed Janne outside. Behind her was Vincent’s nearly frantic voice: "Tanya, if you dare walk away, don’t come back begging me!" Although Declan didn’t look back, he was still watching from the corner of his eye. He knew how much Tanya once loved Vincent, and he feared she’d turn back, fearing she might actually stay because of his words... But in the corner of his eye, not only did Tanya not look back, she walked away even faster, as if disgusted. Declan’s lips curled slightly, his fingers casually playing with the oncoming wind. As they approached the entrance, Tanya politely said to Janne, "Special Assistant Hayes, I drove here, I’ll head back to the company myself." She knew the boundaries, Declan’s goodwill was to help her out of the situation, and she couldn’t really expect him to have his personal assistant drive her. Janne thought for a moment, seeing that Vincent was blocked, and nodded, "Alright, Ms. Sinclair, take care on your way. Remember to inform President Pierce once you reach the company." Such a small matter, does it need mentioning to Declan? It seemed like she was of great importance. Tanya took Janne’s words as mere pleasantries, smiled at him, then turned to leave. Just as she stepped out the door, a group in front caught Tanya’s attention. The elderly man surrounded by them stood upright, his hair white, still wearing the same traditional yet refined Zhongshan suit... Tanya’s eyes instantly turned warm. "Teacher..." she softly called out to Professor Truman’s retreating figure. Preston Truman had lunch today with several students and an old friend he hadn’t seen in a while—Ethan Carter, Professor Carter, mainly discussing the government’s S-level project, The Veridia Project. As the project’s primary leader, Ethan Carter intended to persuade Preston Truman to bring along his students to tackle the core challenges of The Veridia Project together. The conversation went smoothly, leaving a rough breakthrough idea, but whether it could work would have to be verified through experiments... As Preston Truman walked, he suddenly stopped and felt his pocket. "I’ve left my pen behind!" he exclaimed a bit anxiously. Ethan Carter generously offered, "Here, take mine." Preston rolled his eyes at his friend, "Why would I want yours? My pen isn’t something you can casually buy!" His first apprentice, Cameron Wenworth, said, "Professor, I’ll go back to the room to find it." "No need, I’ll go myself. You all get in the car first," said Preston Truman, turning around to head back. Tanya was following about ten meters behind them, simply wanting to stay close to her teacher and senior brothers and sisters, to see more clearly. Unexpectedly, her mentor turned back suddenly, and Tanya didn’t have time to hide, crashing straight into Preston Truman’s line of sight! Tanya could clearly see her teacher’s stiffened expression. Since they had seen each other, Tanya simply walked up to Preston Truman, nervously squeezing her palms, her heart pounding faster the closer she got to her teacher. Shame and nostalgia intertwined, as Tanya stopped in front of Preston Truman, her eyes were already red. "Professor Truman..." After seven years, the word "teacher" came out with a stifled sob in Tanya’s voice. She struggled to hold back her tears. Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩✶𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚✶𝕟𝕖𝕥 Cameron Wenworth and the others also glanced over, seeing Tanya’s figure, their expressions turned complicated. Celine Nash crossed her arms coldly and turned her face away. Second senior brother, Harrison Langdon, tugged at her sleeve, quietly saying, "Hey, don’t be like that. Little Junior Sister can see it, she’s already feeling bad enough." Celine shrugged him off, irritated, "I have no Little Junior Sister! See if our teacher acknowledges that ungrateful one!" Harrison glanced towards the scene, feeling a bit pained. It proved Celine wasn’t wrong; Preston Truman only froze momentarily at the sight of Tanya, and afterwards, his expression turned stern, walking past her as though she wasn’t there. Completely treating her like air. To that call of "Professor Truman," he naturally gave no response. Tanya closed her eyes, heartache overwhelming her. She knew she deserved this; she had no face to plead for her teacher’s forgiveness... "Little Junior Sister," Cameron Wenworth’s somewhat compassionate voice came through. Tanya wiped her tears, looked up as Cameron Wenworth approached, and gave a grateful smile, "Senior Brother." He was still willing to call her Little Junior Sister. Behind, Harrison had also wanted to step forward but, upon Celine’s glare, hesitated and retracted his foot. Cameron looked at their teacher’s back, sighed helplessly. "Don’t be too upset; the teacher is just that stubborn," he comforted Tanya, "I think the teacher just needs more time, but I believe eventually, he’ll move past the past, and accept you again. After all, you might just be the most proud student he’s ever had." Tanya lowered her head, looking dim and remorseful, "But I’m also the one who disappointed and hurt him the most." Cameron patted her shoulder, wanting to say more. "I’m fine, Senior Wenworth." Tanya smiled at Cameron, then glanced at Harrison and Celine behind, "Please send my regards to Senior Brother Langdon and Senior Sister Nash on my behalf; I’ll be leaving now." Staying there would only add to the awkwardness. Tanya gave Cameron a slight bow and left. Ethan, who had been watching the entire time, discreetly kicked Sam Sawyer beside him. "Quick!" he urged in a hushed tone, "Go around and get her phone number!"