William's Card

"Hey, it's me. Last time in Mapleville, you won three million dollars from me, remember?" Gabriel pointed to his highly recognizable face and shouted at the rising car window. The co-driver's window wasn't closed tightly, leaving a significant gap. Gabriel's words were clearly heard by the three people in the car. Leonard's eyes involuntarily widened in surprise. Three million dollars? He couldn't control himself and turned his head backward, looking at Valentina, who had an indifferent look on her face as if she didn't recognize Gabriel at all. Did Valentina win three million dollars from Mr. Wright? Did Mr. Wright mistake her for someone else? For the first time, the ordinarily uncurious Leonard felt an impulse to gossip, and the urge was especially strong. Gabriel became desperate. Ignoring the horn from the car behind, he abruptly backed his car up. Just as he reached out to knock on Valentina's window, the green light came on, and the black Maybach swiftly pulled away. "Hey! Damn!" Gabriel cursed in frustration, unable to notice the man in the black Maybach. He muttered to himself, perplexed, "No, it was her. Why is she ignoring me? Did she not recognize me?" Though Valentina had lost a lot of weight and become a lot prettier, when he first saw her, he hesitated, but he was sure that the girl in the car was the same one who raced and won against him in Mapleville in her shabby Volkswagen. Gabriel clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, his mood foul. Hearing the car behind incessantly honking, he turned around and swore, "Damn it, see if I don't smash your car to pieces!" The black Maybach stopped at the entrance of Heroic Hotel. Before Valentina could get out of the car, William proposed, "If you don't mind, my assistant can go up with you to collect the luggage. I can arrange for your trip to the airport after." Valentina responded sarcastically, "Mr. Felton, you are really quite considerate." William replied, "It's only proper." "No need, I'll stay here tonight and leave tomorrow." Valentina didn't pretend with him anymore. Unexpectedly, William was not surprised at all. Instead, he took the opportunity to say, "Then, may I invite you for a casual meal?" "I'm on a diet." William gave a wry laugh, and had to give up. Valentina got out of the car and took a large bag of medicine from Leonard's hand, but saw William also get out of the car and come to her. He was at least 1.9 meters tall, much taller than Valentina by more than a head. His slender fingers held a black gold name card. "Miss Ricardo, if you need help, you can contact me." William's business card was indeed hard to come by. Valentina stared at the card for a while, then looked up at William and said, "Since it's your kind gesture, thanks." She took the card, turned, and walked into the hotel. On the way back, Leonard said, "Mr. William, Gabriel was in the sports car just now." William interlaced his fingers in the back seat and closed his eyes to rest his mind. After a while, Leonard finally heard a leisurely reply from him, "Mmm." Leonard wanted to say something, but seeing his eyes closed in the rearview mirror, he had to swallow his doubts and curiosity. Early the next morning, Valentina boarded the plane back to Mapleville. At the same time, Biddeford University... "Hey, have you heard? The math genius who's even more awesome than Paul showed up at our university yesterday." "Really? Where did you hear that? I didn't catch any wind of it. Is it reliable?" "Absolutely true. The vice-chancellor personally received her, and in no time, the chancellor came over. It was quite a scene." "I heard that they found the person who has solved the math problem on the forum, and she's a pretty girl! The main point is, she's only a high school senior!" "A senior? That's just way too awesome!" "Moreover, I heard she solved this problem that had been troubling Paul for half a year in just two months." "Are the TV stations going to come?" "At least our school's news agency has already gone!" "Indeed, exceptional people excel in all aspects." "She's still in senior high and she's a pretty girl. That sounds a perfect match for Paul. Please, no!" At this time, in a tranquil, elegant cafe on campus, Paul, who rarely stepped out of his lab, was leisurely sipping coffee. Sitting across from Paul was a girl with a slender face, an upturned nose, and long black hair. She was dressed in a white dress, and her lady-like appearance slightly concealed the sharpness in her eyes. This girl was Diana. "Are you sure you can't find the draft?" Paul asked Diana again, not giving up. Diana shook her head. "I'm sorry, I had too many drafts. They took up too much space at home, so I got rid of them all." "I have a request. Since you've already received your assured admission to Biddeford University and no longer need to take the SAT, could you stick around to re-create a detailed solution process with your problem-solving approach? The school requires it for lectures, and I need it greatly as well." Diana appeared hesitant, and she was indeed in a predicament. "Let me think about it. This is a huge project. Solving this problem took me two full months. It has drained me mentally and physically. Well, Paul, I can say that even the sight of this problem causes me physical discomfort now." Diana had got her assured admission to Biddeford University yesterday, and she was very satisfied. Paul said, "I understand. Then I'll wait for your response." Diana heaved a sigh of relief and started to chat with Paul. "Do you have any hobbies, Paul?" "I only have an interest in mathematics. Besides eating and sleeping, most of my time is spent in the lab." "Isn't that exhausting and tedious?" "Not at all, I love mathematics", Paul immediately countered, "Do you find mathematics dull and boring?" Diana quickly responded, "Absolutely not. Like you, I love mathematics the most." "Well, Paul, do you have a girlf-" Staring at Paul's handsome face with heart pounding and the flush of shyness on her face, Diana was about to utter what she had held in her heart. Paul swiftly gulped down his coffee and asked, "I've got a problem that I've been unable to come up with a better solution for, could you help me?" "Me?" Diana was taken by surprise. "Yes, you are more brilliant than I am. You definitely will come up with a better solution. Is that okay?" "I…" Diana was instantly stupefied, guilty as a thief. How could she possibly be better than Paul? She knew precisely how she managed to secure direct admission to Biddeford University, how she obtained the title of a mathematical genius that surpasses even Paul, and how she had the opportunity to sit together and drink coffee with the Paul whom she worshipped and admired. She swallowed nervously, feeling rather overwhelmed. She was desperately thinking of a suitable way to decline. "Is it inconvenient?" asked Paul. "It's not inconvenient. It's just..." Before Diana could find an excuse, a waiter, carrying a tray, accidentally stumbled beside her, spilling orange juice all over her. Diana screamed and stood up. Seeing her ruined white dress, she was furious, "You…" she was about to curse. "Are you okay?" asked Paul. Paul's voice made Diana hold her tongue just in time. Once she regained her senses, she quickly put on her gentle and considerate facade again, and said to the waiter who was apologizing and giving her tissues, "I'm fine. How about you? Did you get hurt?" "I'm really sorry. It wasn't intentional. How much is your dress worth? I'll compensate you," the waiter kept apologizing. "Compensate? Can you afford to compensate?" Diana thought scathingly, but showed sympathetic concern on her face and said, "It's okay. There's no need. I'll just wash it when I get back." After this commotion, Paul couldn't ask Diana for help again. Diana, distressed over her dress, was secretly relieved to have dodged a bullet. As soon as she returned to the hotel, Diana frantically started washing the dress, but no matter how hard she tried, the stain wouldn't come off. In her frustration, she threw the dress into the trash can. Selena was heartbroken because of the loss of money. Upon getting off the train yesterday, the two of them went to the mall first. In order for her daughter to look presentable, Selena didn't mind spending her savings to buy this dress, which cost her a total of one thousand eight hundred dollars. In the end, it was worn just for a day. Selena grumbled as she picked up the dress. ... "Where's my draft book?" Augus had been looking for his draft book but to no avail. He would never have guessed that his draft book was stolen by Diana and taken to Biddeford. At this moment, the door was opened. It was Valentina who had been away in Biddeford for two days. "Val." Excited, Augus exclaimed, "You're back."