Chapter 009: Seems to Have Forgotten

It was true that Seraphina had taken notice of Gillian Gong, but that didn't mean Gillian held any significant weight in her eyes. Gillian was merely one of the many "rotten peach blossoms" around Solas—not worth her resentment, and certainly not worth her fear.

She was simply contemplating what methods would best prevent Solas from being deceived by Gillian this time around. Besides, even if Gillian was Solas's girlfriend in her past life and she intended to help him ward off this unwanted attraction, the words "resentment" or "fear" were hardly applicable. After all, she didn't harbor

that

kind of romantic feeling for Solas.

Furthermore, whether as the woman who possessed memories of a past life or as the twenty-two-year-old girl she was now, she had never taken kindly to being provoked. If she let Jade Foster's deliberate meddling slide so easily, wouldn't it signal to the world that anyone could come and bully her? That would be a gross lack of respect for her and the Pierce family.

In Seahaven, the dignity of the Pierces was not to be trifled with—especially for a woman living her second life.

"I..." Jade grit her teeth, unwilling but defeated. "I’m sorry. I didn't mean it." Since childhood, as long as Seraphina was around, no one ever looked at Jade. She had long found Seraphina eyesore, but she simply couldn't afford to offend her. Forget the Pierces; even her own family would never take her side if she crossed Seraphina.

"It better stay that way," Zelda snorted coldly. Then she turned to Seraphina. "Sera, let's go."

"Oh? Are you leaving already? Sera, Zelda, it's rare to run into each other—why not shop a bit longer? Or find a place to sit and catch up?" one of the girls asked.

This was Tina Wu, a socialite who had been on decent terms with Zelda during school and had some acquaintance with Seraphina through her. Tina had a round, slightly baby-faced look and was usually very quiet, maintaining a low profile in social circles. Her sudden invitation was likely because it had been a long time since she’d seen them.

Zelda looked at her. "I'll set up a separate time to meet with you later." It wasn't that she wanted to exclude Tina, but since Tina was with this specific group, taking her away while leaving the others would make things awkward for Tina in the future.

Tina didn't insist. "Alright then." She then looked at Seraphina, appearing a bit shy. "Sera, when you have another performance, could you... could you give me a ticket? I-I'm a big fan of yours, but whether it's your solo concert or the orchestra's, the tickets are always impossible to buy..."

Seraphina's memory of Tina was vague; she only remembered her as a high school classmate from a mid-to-upper tier family in Seahaven. They weren't particularly close, and in her memory, Tina wasn't the type to ask for favors directly. Was Tina a fan? She didn't recall. However, seeing that Zelda seemed to have a good relationship with her, Seraphina decided to grant the request for Zelda's sake.

She nodded slightly. "Sure. I'll have someone send a ticket to you when the next performance comes up."

Tina froze for a second, then became visibly excited. "Really? That’s wonderful! Thank you so much, Sera!"

Seraphina didn't say much, offering only a polite smile. Zelda wasn't surprised by the gesture; Seraphina was never stingy with her friends when it came to performance tickets. But she did find Tina's sudden admission curious. "Tina, you’re a fan? I never heard you mention that."

Tina’s face flushed a soft red. "I-I was too embarrassed to say. I didn't want people to think I was just pretending to be a fan to climb the Pierce family's social ladder." She glanced nervously at Seraphina as if afraid of offending her.

Seraphina observed this without comment. Standing among the group of socialites in her vintage gown and flowing hair, she remained the most striking figure—and the most inscrutable. No one could guess what she was thinking.

"What nonsense are you talking? Sera has so many fans; one more doesn't change anything," Zelda said, sounding both annoyed and protective. "Besides, we grew up together. Who would be bored enough to care if you were 'climbing'? By that logic, would people think I'm only friends with Sera for her status? Tina, I don't like that way of thinking. Does Sera not deserve to have friends just because she's a Pierce?"

Tina panicked. "No, no! That’s not what I meant, I..." She looked at Seraphina, her face turning crimson, then turned back to Zelda. "Zelda, you know me. I've always been timid. I just... I just..."

Seeing her so flustered she couldn't speak, Zelda cut her off. "Tina, if I didn't know your personality, I'd actually be angry. Forget it this time, but don't say things like that again. Our Sera is human; she has every right to make friends."

Seeing the cautious look Tina cast toward Seraphina, Zelda added, "Don't worry, Sera isn't angry either."

Tina let out a sigh of relief and gave a shy smile. "Yeah, I won't say it again. Let's meet up some other day." As she met Seraphina's gaze, Tina lowered her head bashfully.

Seraphina's eyes rested on her for only a second before sweeping past Gillian and moving on. Just as she and Zelda were about to walk away, a voice called out, "Miss Pierce!"

It was Gillian Gong. She was clutching her handbag tightly, looking incredibly nervous. She stared directly at Seraphina, silent and tense. To an outsider, it looked as if Seraphina were bullying her.

Seraphina’s smile remained, but her eyes darkened. "Yes?"

"T-that... Miss Pierce, please don't misunderstand. I-I have... no special relationship with Mr. Sterling." She stammered, lowering her head as her grip on her bag tightened. She looked the picture of a woman suffering a great grievance.

This behavior, combined with those words, made it easy for others to imagine there

was

something between her and Solas, but that she was too intimidated by Seraphina's status to admit it.

Seraphina's gaze turned cold. "If there is no relationship, then there is no relationship. Why the aggrieved look? If Solas truly had entanglements with other women, would my father have introduced him to me? My father is the head of the Pierce family; do you think he lacks the judgment to read a man's character?"

In Seraphina’s heart, her father, Quentin, had always been a towering figure. In her past life, he was only deceived because Silas and Fiona had been away for so long and were master pretenders. Before he could see the truth, Leo’s tragic death had shattered his spirit, leaving him vulnerable to the subsequent "accident."

"Please rest assured, Miss Gong. I am not so petty as to be unable to tolerate an ordinary actress under Solas's company. However, since you've stopped me, I should mention one thing: for the future, please refrain from making misleading statements in public. I, Seraphina Pierce, have no desire to be labeled by the uninformed as a 'third party' who breaks up a relationship."

"After all, as far as I know, Solas has never had a girlfriend and has never had women around him. He is quite the man of integrity."

Whether in her past life or this one, Solas had stayed single until he was twenty-five—specifically, until he took her in. As for what happened later...

Seraphina suddenly paused. What was it that had made Solas so obsessed with dating later on, to the point where he was repeatedly deceived and yet continued with tireless enthusiasm?

She seemed... to have forgotten.

Forgotten?!