As Aria led Mono into the private dining room at Amour Bistro, they drew everyone’s attention. She said, “Let me introduce you all. This is my mentor, Mono, and this is Gael.”

    Stunned, Cathy dropped the cup on the table and stood up at once. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Smith. I’m Cathy.”

    The others stood as well.

    Mono nodded and said, “Nice to meet you all. Thanks for having me here.”

    Cathy was still a bit stunned when the food arrived. She knew Aria was skilled in medicine under Maverick, but never guessed she was also Mono’s student.

    She thought, ‘Damn, Aria is so lucky to learn from the best traditional doctor and the top painter here.’

    Cathy leaned over to Aria and said, “My birthday ising up. Can I ask you for a birthday gift?”

    Aria nodded and said, “Sure.”

    Cathy grinned. “I want one of your paintings.”

    Mono let out a dramatic sigh and turned to Gael. “See? My student got more popr than I.”

    Gael took a sip of wine and said, “Madelyn is indeed impressive.”

    Mono felt speechless.

    After the meal, Cathy and the others left Aria and Mono alone. They waved goodbye to them, saying, “See you next time.”

    Just as Aria was about to say something, Mono said, “Please drive me to the Fine Art Society.”

    Aria said reluctantly, “Mr. Smith, you can stay at my ce.”

    Mono snorted. “You have all kinds of rules at your house. I just don’t feelfortable there. Nobody dares to give me trouble at the Fine Art Society. If you don’t drive me there, I’ll just call Westin toe to pick me up.”

    Aria sighed. “Fine, I’ll take you there.”

    Meanwhile, Westin was waiting by the entrance. When he saw Aria, he quickly came over, holding out his hand. “Hi, Aria. I’m Westin, Mr. Smith’s student.”

    He was genuinely d to see her.

    Aria smiled. “d to meet you, Westin. Mr. Smith told me about you.” Although he was highly experienced, she didn’t sense any arrogance from him.

    Westin was so excited that he blurted out, “Mr. Smith didn’t say anything bad about me, did he?”

    Mono rubbed his forehead, feeling speechless.

    “No, he said you’re amazing.” Aria replied, “Please take care of Mr. Smith. He has stomach issues, and he can’t drink or eat too much spicy food.”

    Mono’s stomach had been ruined during the exhibition in Fraibia. Though in his seventies, he suddenly developed a

    fondness for red wine.

    ? ????

    Mono grumbled, “Shut up. I would have just taken a taxi myself.”

    Aria pretended not to hear him and turned to Westin. “Thanks for your help. If Mr. Smith won’t listen, just call me.”

    Westin nodded. “No problem. I’ll take good care of him.”

    Mono got impatient. “Alright. Aria, you should go.”

    Before leaving, Aria warned, “If I catch you drinking, I’ll take you back to my ce.”

    “You’ve said it a thousand times.” Mono waved his hand dismissively and turned to head inside, his back straight and full of

    energy.

    Aria stared at him, a bit worried.

    Aria was lost in thought about remedies for stomach issues on her way back to the office when a ponytailed female student suddenly stopped her. “Ms. Saxon, someone secretly filmed and spread rumors about you.”

    She held up her phone, showing a video ying with the hashtag: [Hot criminal scares child on train].

    Some people in thements recognized Aria and were shocked she might have broken thew. Soon, people found out she worked at Mandino University, and lots of poprments attacked the university for bad hiring.

    Some people were skeptical. [They say she’s a criminal, but what crime did shemit?]

    Aria said, “Thank you for letting me know.”

    The girl reassured her, “Ms. Saxon, we all believe you. You should call the police and they’ll find out who’s behind this.”

    “I will,” Aria replied.

    Aria returned to the office and immediately contacted the Stars Group’s legal team to file awsuit. Then she found the video and sent it to Tessa without a word.

    Tessa: [Leave it to the State Security Bureau. We’ll clear things up.]

    After a while, Aria’s phone buzzed again.

    Owen: [Madelyn, I’ll work with the Stars Group’s legal team. I got this.]

    Aria: [Okay. Thank you so much. Love you.]

    Owen smiled, but his eyes instantly grew cold as he thought of the video. He had underestimated these clickbait ounts, and this time, he wouldn’t let them off easily.

    Comethin

    clickbait

    J