Ducking Out

With Lin momentarily vanished, Lia was left to fend for herself, scanning the faces around her and hoping for an opening to slip upstairs. The mansion was an opulent labyrinth of rooms and hallways, all lit by soft, golden chandeliers that threw everything into a warm glow.

She wasn't exactly sure if she was happy about not recognizing any of the people around her just yet. It always just led to trouble somehow.

However, she was thankful to her fate a little too early.

As she rounded the corner near the lavishly decorated grand hall, she spotted someone familiar through the crowd—Zhang Chen...

Luckily she hadn't seemed to notice Lia just yet. While Lia had no problem interacting with Chen on a normal day, she'd already exhausted her social energy for the day. She definitely did not have it in her to talk to evil bitches after the long day she'd had.

So instead of continuing in the same direction, Lia decided to turn around and head towards the rest of the professors on the 2nd floor. While they were all a lot older than her, those were the connections she needed from this party.

Everyone else was either the kids of the people on the 2nd floor, or students hoping to claw their way up the social tree.

While Lia had a love-hate relationship with these types of gatherings, she figured the upper floor crowd would at least keep their conversations relatively civil. The ground floor, on the other hand, was populated by the sons and daughters of professors or social climbers, ambitious souls looking to make the right impressions at any cost. And at the moment, the cost was her dwindling patience.

Lia slowly turned around the grand stairs leading up to the second floor, but beauties like her couldn't exactly sneak around.

Another great evil had spotted her.

As she started up the stairs, the faint brush of a quiet conversation behind her was interrupted by an unmistakable screech.

"Look at that whore!" came a shrill, furious voice from the crowd below.

Lia's face tightened, but she didn't let it show. She kept walking, eyes forward and posture straight. But the screeching continued.

"Going up there to seduce someone, I bet!" Yaya's voice rang out, and as she and her posse followed behind, the tone turned increasingly hostile. Lia kept her head held high, ignoring the taunts and jabs echoing up the stairs, though her muscles grew tense. The last thing she wanted was an open confrontation at a party where she had come to network with her colleagues.

"Oh, come on!" Yaya shouted, her voice growing louder. "Whore, I know you can hear me!"

Lia resisted the urge to respond and kept walking up the marble staircase, her heels clicking in calm, measured steps. Each corner was lined with fine art, delicate statues on marble pedestals, and intricately carved banisters that should have given the entire place a grand, serene atmosphere. But the shrieking from Yaya was starting to attract attention, echoing through the hall and drawing the gazes of curious onlookers.

By the time she reached the second floor, a security guard—a tall, broad-shouldered man with an earpiece and a stony face—had stepped in front of her. Dressed in a tailored suit that made him look like a member of some elite security detail, he placed himself in her path, hands folded behind his back in a no-nonsense stance.

"Miss," he said in a deep, calm voice, "I'm going to need to see your ID or have you escorted by someone authorized to be on this floor."

There was a pause as Lia dug into her purse, ignoring the approaching, snickering Yaya and the stares of the assembled guests below. Lia knew her ID would be questioned—she was younger than most professors, and it wasn't every day someone her age was allowed onto the upper floor.

"Whore! You can't get in there!"

Yaya's screaming had attracted quite the crowd, and now even Zhang Chen was suspiciously eyeing the familiar back.

"Here's my ID." Lia whispered.

At that moment, Lia's fingers closed around her ID card, and she slipped it out, holding it up for the security guard to inspect. The newly printed text glinted under the chandelier light, clearly identifying her as a professor.

The guard examined the ID and nodded, his face remaining impassive but respectful. "Thank you, Professor Zhang. You may proceed."

"Whore!" Yaya shouted one last time, her voice crackling with frustration as Lia slowly walked in.

Lia could feel the burning stares of Yaya and her posse, practically hear their gritted teeth. But for all her restraint, she'd finally had enough.

Lia finally gave into the rage and turned around to face the ever raging Yaya.

She then stuck her tongue out at Yaya cheekily before swiftly making her way into civilized society. Yaya, mouth hanging open, speechless stared at the gesture only she had managed to catch.

What the heck just happened...