Chapter 57

The weekend passed, and Stella quickly immersed herself in her busy work. The reconstruction of the factory at the R&D base was basically completed, and Dorian personally led the team to Skyloop, where they would be stationed permanently to establish a research laboratory. Meanwhile, in Seattle, she was responsible for marketing and negotiating cooperation agreements after the first batch of hyaluronic acid sodium products went online. Just as Stella finished reading the email Dorian sent last night and was thinking about when to meet with Bella, Aurora knocked on the door and walked in. "Dorian has arrived in Kenwest. Is your business trip scheduled for the end of the month or the middle?" Aurora asked. Although Dorian had already arrived in Kenwest, it was still necessary for her to make a trip there. It was already the end of the month, and there were still some other tasks to wrap up. If she went on a business trip to Kenwest, with some overtime, she could arrange it as soon as mid-December. But Stella thought about the class reunion this weekend, almost said something about it, then changed her mind and said, "I'll go at the end of the month." Aurora nodded. "Okay." ... The busy work continued until Friday, and it wasn't just Stella who was constantly busy. As the end of the year approached, Ethan's matters also increased. Saturday night was the class reunion, and she didn't work overtime, intentionally making time to attend. But Ethan suddenly had an unavoidable engagement. In the evening, the driver dropped Stella off at the restaurant for the gathering. ... In the luxurious private room, Jimmy, dressed like a tycoon, had just walked in, immediately attracting teasing from everyone at the table. "I'm just saying, Jimmy, can you tone it down a bit? You've been wearing that big gold chain since high school, still loyal to it," Liora joked. Jefferson High School was not strict, and students were not restricted in their attire. Among them, although there was no officially designated elite class, the so-called parallel class was quite unique. Although Jimmy and Tom didn't have good grades, the other classmates didn't have that kind of superior attitude toward them either. Besides, these two were easygoing and humorous, and they had always been well-liked. At this moment, Liora joked without reservation, and even others joined in with a few teasing remarks. Jimmy patted his big gold chain and smirked, "You guys don't understand. This is a family heirloom. My dad said I could only get into college because of this gold chain. Back then, I was like a dark horse making a comeback." They barely managed to meet the requirements for applying to schools. That's what Jimmy called a "comeback." Hearing this, Liora rolled her eyes and remarked, "Jimmy, give me a break. If you want to talk about a comeback, look at how awesome Ethan was back then. He even got into the Chicago Art Institute." The teachers used Ethan as a typical example to promote to younger students. Ethan was forcibly placed into Class 1 by his father, who donated a building. Although he skipped class and got into fights all the time, his memory was really good. Dylan wasn't good at study when he was young, but he hoped his son could get into the Chicago Art Institute, a dream he had cherished since his youth. Later, Ethan fulfilled his wish, and Dylan was so excited that he even wrote a check for Stella right there in the teacher's office. But of course, Stella refused to accept it. "Well, if I had the top student in our grade as my desk mate, giving me tutoring every day, I might be able to get in that college too," Jimmy grumbled. He wasn't entirely convinced. Why did others get such a gentle top student desk mate to help with tutoring? But even though he envied Ethan, he didn't dare to compete with him for the desk mate. Fate was so unfair to him! As soon as he finished speaking, the door to the private room was pushed open. Stella's slender figure appeared in the doorway. Seeing the familiar faces at the table, everyone looked at each other, somewhat stunned. She politely smiled and said, "Sorry, I'm late." It had been so long since they last saw each other that they were all a bit hesitant to recognize her. Especially considering how different Stella looked now, with her elegant and sophisticated attire, compared to how she only wore the school uniform in high school. But Tom was the first to react, laughing and calling out, "Alright, look who's here! Our top student!" "Stella, take a seat there. We have been waiting for you," Tom pointed to an empty seat and then asked, "Didn't Ethan come with you?" Stella took the seat next to Liora and replied softly, "He had a last-minute engagement. If it ends early, he might join us later." "Stella, do you still keep in touch with Ethan?" Celeste asked in confusion. Jimmy chuckled, "Not just keeping in touch, they're both married." "What?" More than one person exclaimed. Stella didn't see any reason to hide it and nodded openly, "Yeah, we're married." Everyone was somewhat surprised, considering that their relationship wasn't particularly good in the beginning. However, over the years, not hearing much about them made it easier for everyone to accept. Celeste exclaimed, "I never would have guessed." At this moment, there seemed to be a hint of awkwardness in the way everyone looked at Stella. Stella knew the reason why. In high school, Ethan was handsome, athletic, and usually aloof and silent, which made many girls like him but most were too afraid to approach him. Some even gathered the courage to give him love letters, only to be rejected. Because she was Ethan's desk mate, Celeste once asked Stella to help deliver a love letter on Valentine's Day. Ethan accepted it quite happily, but then turned around and had other girls come to her. Stella, busy with her own studies, found the whole situation annoying and during late-night study sessions, she ended up giving Ethan a pile of love letters. The result was that he was visibly furious and didn't speak to her for several days. However, Stella, who was focused on her studies, felt that without Ethan bothering her, the world was much quieter, and she could concentrate more on her studies. After a few days, Ethan returned to normal. As Stella finished reminiscing, she couldn't help but smile. Then she noticed something and looked up to meet someone's gaze. Not far away, the person staring at her with a complex expression turned out to be Ella, who had transferred schools. The change was so drastic that it took Stella several seconds to recognize her. She never would have expected Ella to show up too. ... The hotel was booked by Tom, the class president. In the luxurious private room, there was even a ready-made area for table games. Amid polite conversation, they finished their meal. After being full and satisfied, Tom invited everyone to play tabletop games at the adjacent long table. Liora called Stella over, but when Stella saw Celeste already seated at the card table, her gaze seemed a bit awkward. Politely declining the invitation, she said she needed some fresh air. Stepping out of the well-heated private room, Stella stood by the window in the corridor, feeling the breeze for a while before taking out her phone. She sent a message to Ethan, asking if the gathering was over and when he would be coming. Feeling that they had played enough, she turned to go back when she encountered Ella coming out of the room. "Stella, can we talk for a moment?" Ella said, pursing her lips and smiling at her. Stella looked at the now more subdued Ella, who had washed away her red hair, without saying anything, her attitude neutral. "I heard you were coming today, so I came here specifically to find you. What I did back then, my immature actions, caused you some harm, and I'm truly sorry. I know what I did was wrong, and I don't expect forgiveness. I just want to convey my apology to you," Ella said sincerely, her tone and expression genuine, then she bowed deeply to Stella. After straightening up, she added, "And, I'm a teacher now." Stella's eyes widened, quite surprised. "Didn't expect that, huh?" Ella chuckled. "The children are lovely, and I hope that when I meet students like myself, I can help them." After Ella transferred from Seattle, Stella only then heard about Ella's family situation. Ella's parents divorced, and her mother didn't want the children. Her father had a factory in a city far away and left her with her grandmother to take care of, rarely coming back to see her. She didn't have any particularly sinister intentions, but her friends were all around her because they saw her lavish spending, making her easily influenced by others' instigation. In essence, it was her arrogance that made her seem more formidable. Ella had once made things difficult for Stella, but time had passed, and she had already learned her lesson. While she wasn't blameless, Stella didn't want to cause trouble by seeking her out. So she nodded, "That's good." "Since we're done talking, I should go," Ella said, bidding farewell to Stella. Pausing for a moment, as if remembering something, she asked, "By the way, you and Ethan have a good relationship, right?"