Chapter 609: Oh No

[Chapter 609: Oh No]

After chatting for a bit, a girl named Melanie realized that Eric likely wouldn't take her car. Although she mustered the courage to strike up a conversation with the guy for the first time and it ended in failure, Melanie politely said goodbye to Eric and drove away.

As the red Ford sedan passed over the Charles River and moved a few yards ahead, Melanie turned down a side road and parked in the spacious lot in front of Harvard Business School. She pulled out the everyday items she had bought from the trunk and wandered toward an apartment building on the east side of the lot, her mind still lingering on the image of that guy. It felt oddly familiar, and this time she was sure it wasn't just deja vu; she had definitely seen him before.

Reaching her third-floor apartment, she placed the shopping bag on the coffee table in the living room. It was only then that she noticed a copy of Businessweek sitting nearby, and she suddenly remembered. Picking up the magazine, she began flipping through it.

Businessweek was bought by Melanie's roommate, a petite girl from an aristocratic family in England who often flipped through magazines to look up about a certain Hollywood big shot, Melanie even teasing her for being a bit of a fangirl.

After flipping a few pages, Melanie quickly found a spirited photo of Eric at the press conference announcing Firefly's acquisition of ABC. She blocked out Eric's eyes with her hand and imagined him dressed in that casual outfit he wore earlier, before throwing the magazine back onto the coffee table and leaning back on the sofa, muttering to herself, "So it was Eric Williams, no wonder he wasn't eager to introduce himself."

Thinking back to times she had caught her shy roommate secretly checking out Eric Williams' news, Melanie felt a twinge of guilt. She remembered fondly their brief meeting; even though Eric had refused to introduce himself, his gentlemanly act of helping her open the trunk and his casual humor showed he was definitely a charming guy. Maybe if he had actually gotten into her car and revealed who he was, she would have had a hard time resisting his allure knowing exactly who he was.

She couldn't help but mutter, "If that fangirl knew Eric Williams was in Boston, she would be thrilled."

Yet, Melanie also realized her roommate had no connection to Eric Williams. This thought made her hesitant -- or perhaps a bit jealous; genuinely, she didn't want to share this with her. Imagining her roommate like a little mouse sneaking glances at Eric's news while she had actually met the man on a street corner filled her with a faint sense of superiority and satisfaction.

...

Eric looked at the roadside markers and figured out that the Soldiers Field Melanie had mentioned must be the residential area just east of the Harvard Business School.

After making his way to the Harvard campus, he wandered aimlessly for a while, taking in the tree-shaded buildings. He sat down on a bench at an intersection near one of the academic buildings, casually observing small groups of students, some of whom occasionally threw curious glances his way.

Any place that had once seemed mysterious lost that allure when one was actually there.

Feeling a bit disinterested, Eric sat for a while, realizing he was getting hungry and about to head off to find a restaurant, when he heard a conversation coming from a couple walking by.

"Caroline, I got tickets for the early screening of The Mummy from Universal -- Nicole Kidman stars in it. Want to join me tonight?"

"Thanks for the invite, Howard, but I'm sorry, I'm not a Nicole Kidman fan," replied a girl's voice with a clear British accent, polite yet still a bit coy in her rejection.

The mention of Caroline sparked Eric's attention, turning his head to see a petite figure walking alongside a tall guy, suddenly unsure whether to greet her or not. He had once felt the weight of Caroline's affections and didn't want this enchanting, innocent girl to be caught up in the chaos of Hollywood. So he had pushed her back to her original path.

Yet, here they were, unexpectedly meeting again less than a year later.

Caroline Wilson sensed the sunglasses-wearing guy on the bench suddenly staring at her, which made her instinctively glance over. She seemed frozen for a few seconds until Eric stood up, and her beautiful eyes blinked in disbelief. Even though Eric's casual look was quite different from what she remembered, she recognized him immediately.

"Eric, you... what are you doing here?" Caroline stammered a bit, stepping towards him as if drawn in by some magnetic force, before regaining her composure and stopping, though she still bravely held her gaze up at Eric as if afraid to blink lest he vanish.

Eric thought Caroline might not easily recognize him and intended to pass by as a stranger, but upon seeing her reaction, he realized he couldn't hide, so he stood up. Noticing the unchanged affection in her eyes made him sigh lightly, but he opened his arms with a smile and said, "It's been a while! How about a hug?"

Caught in some strong magnetic pull, Caroline stepped forward, feeling the warmth of his strong arms wrapping around her. She had just mustered the courage to hug him when he let go, asking, "What brings you here?"

With a hint of disappointment, Caroline replied, "I'm studying here."

"Here, at the business school?" Eric was surprised but then chuckled, knowing all too well that Caroline had the qualities of a top student, but he found it hard to imagine her, this somewhat innocent, shy girl mixed in with a group of ambitious wannabe business elites.

Watching the tall guy, Howard, who had not even been able to hold Caroline's hand despite chasing her for ages, get increasingly frustrated, he knew this was a moment Howard had been waiting for. Hearing Eric's comment finally gave Howard a chance to speak up as he stepped forward, "Sir, why can't Caroline attend business school? Aren't you being discriminatory?"

Before Eric could respond, Caroline, who had felt her cheeks flush from Eric's teasing laughter, quickly replied, "Howard, how can you say that? Eric is just joking."

Since his rebirth, Eric had grown to dislike it whenever someone carelessly threw around the term discrimination like that, especially in Hollywood, where the concern for racial biases had led to a situation where many black actors found themselves only playing good roles. Also, regardless of whether a film actually needed it, mainstream films had to feature a plethora of black actors, creating a misconception for audiences in other countries that black people represented 50% of America's population instead of the actual 10%.

However, in such a society, many things were bound to be tolerated. Eric typically chose to ignore such provocations.

Hearing Caroline defend him had Eric smiling slightly, and ignoring Howard, he said, "I'm indeed discriminating against you. I really want to see what you are like in the business school classroom."

Caroline blushed and shot him a glare, but a hint of a smile emerged, "Eric, you're still as naughty."

Eric almost couldn't resist pinching her cute face and said, "Since we met by chance, why don't you show me around? I don't even know where to go."

Recalling their previous time together in Europe, Caroline felt a burst of excitement, "Sure!"

Eric pointed toward a building in the distance. "Let's go, take me to the library first."

Eric ignored Howard, but Caroline's upbringing didn't allow her to do the same. Watching Eric about to leave, she tugged at his sleeve and gestured at Howard, gently saying, "Eric, you can't be rude like that."

Hearing Caroline say this, Howard, whose face had turned slightly green at being ignored, felt invigorated, thinking this was his chance to show his gentlemanly side, stepping forward with a humble attitude and extending his hand, "Hello, I'm Howard Heinz."

Although he tried to sound polite, there was an undeniable air of arrogance when he stated his last name.

Since Howard had deliberately emphasized the "Heinz" pronunciation, Eric easily figured out his background, knowing the Heinz family controlled one of the largest food companies in the world.

Eric never felt the need to accommodate people he didn't like. And these days, there weren't many who felt they could draw a sense of superiority from being around him, especially not Howard. Since he hadn't recognized Eric yet, he wouldn't mind introducing himself. With his sunglasses removed, Eric reached out for a handshake, "Hello, I'm Eric Williams."

...

Walking alongside Eric down the tree-lined path, Caroline grinned recalling Howard Heinz's nearly falling over in shock after hearing Eric's introduction. She could no longer maintain her lady-like demeanor and suddenly burst out laughing. Noticing Eric watching her, Caroline blushed and said, "Eric, Howard has always been the most proud one in our class; you probably bruised his ego."

Eric adjusted his slipping sunglasses, continuing forward as he replied, "If he sources his self-esteem from his family's name, then he ought to brace himself for those who have more power than his family."

Caroline was matching Eric's pace, gazing up at him with slight admiration, and added, "There aren't many people as amazing as you."

Eric asked, "Didn't you say that Harvard Business School had tons of wealthy kids?"

"There are some, but not as many as you'd think. Like in our class, half had to take out loans just to get their MBA; they all work very hard."

Only then did Eric remember to ask, "Then what about you? Shouldn't you be at Cambridge instead?"

"Rachel said if I don't do things I'm scared to do, I'll just end up living like other rich girls, so I came to Harvard to pursue my MBA," Caroline explained, though her gaze flitted around, unwilling to meet Eric's eyes.

Eric was aware that a big part of why she had come to the States was because of him. While not too familiar with the Wilson family, he could still imagine there had been quite a disagreement for her to earn a chance to attend Harvard.

Noticing her hesitant demeanor, Eric didn't want to put her on the spot, so he changed the subject. "Harvard Business School must be hard to get into. I heard the acceptance rate is only 11%, and you missed the application last year, right?"

"My dad is good friends with the dean of the business school, and our family has consistently donated to it; dad facilitated the connections himself."

"Oh..." Eric feigned clarity and teased, "So you're a legacy student."

Caroline immediately raised her chin, seriously rebutting, "No way! I passed the entrance exam!"

"Hmm, a legacy student who passed the exam."

Caroline shot him an annoyed glare. "You... Hmph, after coming to America, I realized how naughty you are."

Eric chuckled, "Where's the naughtiness? Tell me so I can mend my wicked ways."

Caroline opened her mouth to say something, hesitated a moment, feeling that mentioning all the gossip about Eric she'd read in the newspapers would seem quite unladylike, stammering before finally saying, "You were really mean when you were teasing Howard just now."

They entered the library together and explored for a while. Eric didn't particularly care for the cold tones of Harvard's library furnishings; he left soon after. They wandered to a few other places until it was evening when they finally headed into a small diner on campus.

Eric casually ordered a beef burger and asked Caroline, sitting opposite him, "Didn't they say MBA students have countless assignments, studying fourteen hours a day? You look pretty relaxed."

"It was indeed hectic at first," Caroline nodded. "But our courses are quite finished now; next year, there won't be many left, and many are already looking for internships."

Thinking of the upcoming summer break, Eric suddenly realized students in the U.S. would already be on summer vacation starting in May, and today was already May 18th.

Having left school for so long, Eric lost track of these things. Hearing Caroline's last words, he jokingly said, "You'll be looking for an internship too, right? Why not come be my assistant? My previous assistant just quit."

He had blurted this out without thinking, instantly regretting it upon seeing the sparkle in the girl's eyes. Eric wanted to smack himself; what was he thinking?

*****

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