Ch 11 - Credit Falsely Claimed

While Rose Scott was daydreaming, her father spoke up, "My daughter, how is that solution I found? Rose, I got a little anxious this morning. I said I'd give you to Luciel Brennan in anger. Don't be mad at me, please…"

Her father's words made Rose blush even more.

"What are you talking about? My friends are all listening! You said you'd given me to Luciel—how could you have said that!" she exclaimed.

Rose's face turned red as she stood up and walked a few feet to take the call personally.

"Dad, you're not the one who found a solution, are you?" Rose asked.

"If I could have found a solution, do you think I'd let you spend the night with Luciel?"

Rose closed her eyes and took a deep breath, pushing down the curses that were rising in her throat. "Can you not mention this anymore? My friends all knew and were listening just now. You've completely embarrassed your daughter!"

"Your friends were all there? Oh, but it's not my fault. Rose, why didn't you mention that when you made this call?" her father asked.

"Ugh, moving on. I wish I could find a hole to hide in." Rose held her forehead in her hands.

"Why did you not mention it? I thought that you were just trying to show off in front of your friends that you had connections and found a solution, but now I see that you haven't shown off. You've become an idiot who blew this up into a scandal!" her father exclaimed.

He paused, then added, "Hey, Rose, could it be that a friend of yours helped you find a solution?"

"A friend?" Rose turned around and glanced at the other people around the table. It was quite possible. They had all made calls for her.

"It's probably because of a friend. They did us a big favour, so you have to thank them well," her father said.

"Fine… that's it. I'm hanging up." Rose's attitude was much more casual now. Could it be that a friend had helped her? Before, her father was scolding her, and now, he's making her feel bad.

"Wait a moment… the person who helped our family could be related to the president of the New York City Merchant Union, William Chase. This matter seemed solved through William. This friend is no ordinary person," her dad added at the end.

After hanging up the phone, Rose walked back to the dining table with suspicion. After hearing about this, everyone was very interested. Who was it that could get so close to the president of the union?

Rose's expression was very calm. She scanned everyone's faces and finally locked her gaze onto the right side of Betty Thompson's head. Betty was closest to her, so Rose asked with a smile, "Betty, was it you who helped me?"

Betty was stunned, shook her head, and said with a wry smile, "How could I have such a strong connection? Are you kidding me, Rose?"

"Really?" Rose's face lowered slightly as she asked again.

"It wasn't!" Betty felt a bit scared.

Rose's gaze shifted to Stacy, who was sitting beside Betty. "Stacy, did you help me?"

"No, no, I can't take credit for it. Rose, I've already used up my favours with all the relatives that could have helped," Stacy said as she shook her head.

Rose's gaze turned to each person, one by one.

"Joe, did you help me? Ben? Was it you?"

Rose asked everyone, but when she got to Alex, she skipped over him.

She was not sure about the others, but she thought to herself, This Alex—hmph—this fool that dared to enter Metro Sky Bank without a card—was it him? Is this a joke?

"Then who was it?" Rose lowered her gaze as she seriously pondered this question. A name flashed through her mind like a bolt of lightning.

"Zane!"

Apart from the people here, the only person Rose had contacted was Zane. Zane must have been the one that helped!

Rose grabbed her phone and called Zane.

Was it him? How could his family have a relationship with William Chase? She asked herself.

Zane answered while Rose was still feeling suspicious.

"Hey, Rose, how are you doing?" Zane asked urgently.

"Did you help me?" Rose did not slow down to answer his question. She wanted to know Zane's answer first.

"I begged my dad after you called me. My dad said that he and President Chase used to be classmates, so he would go to the Merchant Union to try. But I haven't asked my dad about it yet," Zane said uncertainly.

"It's done—it's been solved perfectly!" Rose beamed with joy. "Zane, I knew it was you. My dad told me that someone went to look for President Chase to intervene. Zane, thank you so much!"

"It's fine as long as it's solved. What is there to thank me for? It was nothing," Zane's tone softened.

"You also know how strong the Heavenly Lion Group is—even if they were to disappear or go bankrupt, Luciel definitely won't let this spat go like that—I might have been… Look, you've helped me a lot!" Rose felt a lingering fear in her heart as she thought about this. The gratitude she felt toward Zane intensified, and tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Don't think like that," Zane smiled faintly.

"Come to the Rookie's Lodge now. I'll treat you here. I'll thank you in person!" Rose invited him enthusiastically.

"Yep—I'll head over right away," Zane agreed. Thinking of Rose's charming face, a trace of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

After hanging up the phone, Rose proudly looked around.

When the others heard about the president of the Merchant Union, they were shocked. Someone who could befriend the president was no ordinary person.

Rose had such a good friend. How could they not be envious? They looked forward to seeing Zane.

Zane was studying at Preston University, and he was not far from campus. When Zane arrived at Rookie's Lodge and saw the other people with the look of envy in their eyes, his heart became a bit calmer and his expression a bit haughty.

Zane was six feet tall and a bit chubby with a slightly oily complexion to his white face.

"Hi, Zane!" Rose walked up to Zane with a smile on her face and grabbed his hand. She stared into his eyes like a little girl, "Thank you. I am touched that you helped when I needed you the most."

Zane glanced at Rose's hand. With a boost of courage, he gently grabbed her hand and looked at her charming face. His eyes were unmoved as he gently said, "Don't say such things—it's not a big deal."

Rose smiled sweetly and pulled him toward the table. The others at the table all stood up when they saw Zane coming over and looking at him fawningly.

Zane had a connection with the head of the New York City Merchant Union, so he had a much higher position than his classmates.

"So many people," Zane whispered to himself as he walked toward the dining table. He felt very satisfied as he saw everyone standing up to welcome him. He lowered his hand and asked, "Everyone, why are you all standing there?"

After Zane's words, they all sat down.

"You sit with me," Rose pulled Zane toward her seat, but he was so strong.

Suzan Ogden called out to the others to shift their seats, but Rose and Zane still felt crowded.

"Alex," she said as she motioned him to move.

Just when everyone was moving the chairs, Rose looked at Alex with a dark expression. When Alex looked back at her, Rose felt embarrassed.

She then bluntly said, "Why don't you leave first? I didn't ask you to come out anyway, and now you're almost done eating. The university isn't too far away, so you should go back to your dorm."