The Unveiling of Secret Queen

Chapter 728: If It’s Broken, Swallow It_1

Upon seeing Twitter, that person was utterly dumbfounded. Holding their phone, it took them quite a while to stiffly turn their neck to look at Wallace, with an expression uglier than crying, and said, "Mr. Radcliff... Why didn’t you tell me Ms. Quinlan is also Mr. Norton’s student?"

Wallace: ?????

"Mr. Norton?"

He snatched the phone, "Let me see!"

He didn’t know a damn thing. Neither Alfred nor Amadeus had mentioned Ms. Quinlan knew Mr. Norton. Being a native of Beijing himself, he was of course aware that people from the great families of Beijing all coveted the title of Mr. Norton’s student. So, Ms. Quinlan was Mr. Norton’s student?????

*

In the banquet hall on the third floor of Narayan Hotel, the place was filled with guests at the moment.

Even though Ivy had said that Ghania’s celebration for her academic advancement was cancelled, Emilia, for the sake of face and because they couldn’t possibly cancel the hotel reservation at the last minute, still invited quite a few friends over, against her better judgement.

But without Ivy, and no one from the Tucker Family attending, the caliber of the banquet had noticeably decreased.

Though it seemed crowded, most were relatives from the Quinlan side. In addition, there were some former business partners of Jeff.

But very few of them came.

After all, the Quinlan Family had been thriving in McKinney mostly due to its strong ties with Pinecone Group. Once Pinecone Group publicly fell out with the Quinlans, refusing to give them any more ’face’, most of their cooperative partners quickly pivoted towards Pinecone Group, gradually cutting ties with the Quinlan Family...

Even so, the atmosphere was strange during Ghania’s celebration dinner for her admission into Tsinghua University.

Most of the Quinlan relatives knew about the family’s scandals. Ghania getting into Tsinghua should have been a cause for celebration.

However, with Nathalie Quinlan, whom Emilia had personally driven out, ranking first, Ghania’s nineteenth place seemed rather laughable.

Especially since Tsinghua had just released the results today, and one could easily find news of Nathalie’s first-place finish online.

No. 1 Middle School had never produced such results before, so when Tsinghua announced the scores in the morning, the school even set off firecrackers at the gate to celebrate.

Banners congratulating Nathalie were hung up all over McKinney’s streets and alleys.

Ghania, too, made it into Tsinghua, and her school records were at No. 5 Middle School. Although her school also hung banners to celebrate, with such a brilliant performance ahead of her, her nineteenth rank seemed somewhat overshadowed.

What should have been a happy occasion turned into Ghania eating her meal with a downcast look, constantly feeling the scrutinizing gazes of her relatives and friends on her.

Those looks felt like knives, each one scraping against her heart.

Throughout the banquet, her face scarcely had any color, and mid-meal, she pushed her bowl away, squeezing out a smile, and said to Emilia, "Mom, I’m going to the restroom."

"You’ve barely eaten anything."

Ghania, feeling the gazes of everyone at the table on her, had no appetite, barely holding herself up, "I’m full."

Emilia noticed her pallor and patted her hand worriedly, "Go ahead, come back soon."

"Mhm," Ghania said as she pulled out her chair.

And left without looking back.

She walked briskly out of the banquet hall, and upon reaching the railing outside, finally found a place where she could breathe easily.

She had just settled outside when Zayn Fisher followed her out.

"Zayn." Seeing Zayn Fisher, Ghania’s bloodless face managed a weak smile as she greeted the boy walking toward her.

Zayn, standing at an impressive six feet tall, had a straight posture and a naturally handsome appearance.

He approached Ghania, looking at the girl who looked as delicate as a lily, and asked gently, "Why did you come out so soon?"