bChapter /bb836 /b

    林家74%份

    A colleague warned the medical intern, “Thank goodness we managed to save Mr. Cole. If he’d died because of what you said, you’d never forgive yourself. You need to mind your words.”

    “I’ll keep that in mind,” the medical intern replied. She hadn’t expected Daniel to be this fragile.

    Meanwhile, standing off to the side, Liam looked utterly defeated. He spoke up, “It’s not her fault. I’m the one to me.” He thought, ‘One wrong step, and everything just kept spiraling out of control.

    ‘My irresponsibility has brought disaster to the Cole family and Grandpa.”

    Aria finished organizing her teaching materials, grabbed the prepared folder, and headed to Adrian’s office.

    The door was slightly ajar. Inside, Adrian was busy guiding n and a few other students.

    Aria waited until they were done before knocking and stepping inside. She said, “Prof. Gn, I am back again.”

    Adrian gave her a casual nce and said, “You’re here right after the project ended. You really don’t give me a moment’s rest, do you?”

    Aria made herselffortable in the chair, shing a smile. She said, “Prof. Gn, you’re so popr, I have to act fast.” She ced the folder on the table and continued, “I’d like to invite you to join the Stars Group again.”

    Every time Aria came by, she always brought a contract with her, but Adrian never even bothered to look at it.

    Adrian took off his sses and wiped them. With a faint smile on his face, he said, “You’re with the State Security Bureau now. You must have tons ofpanies fighting to work with the Stars Group, right?

    “So why are you still chasing after an old guy like me?”

    Aria’s lips curled into a slight smile, and she said, “The Stars Group will always stay true to its roots.”

    Adrian froze for a second, then let out a heartyugh. He said, “Alright, I’ll sign a one–year contract with the Stars Group.”

    He tapped the folder with his finger and continued, “If it manages to impress me, then we can consider something more long-

    term.”

    “The Stars Group definitely won’t let you down, Prof. Gn,” Aria said. She pulled out the contract and added, “Take a look–feel free to suggest any changes.”

    n couldn’t help but chime in, “Prof. Gn, the Stars Group’sb equipment is way more advanced than what we have here at

    school.”

    Adrian shot him a re and teased, “You little brat, you haven’t even been interning there that long, and you’re already taking their

    side.”

    Laughter erupted in the office.

    “Prof. Gn, we’d be happy to join the Stars Group too,” one of the students chimed in.

    The Stars Group was famous for how well it treated its employees, and most Mandino University graduates applied there first.

    12:41 Fri, 22 Aug

    Getting to sign on with the Stars Group alongside Adrian and head straight into theb–everyone was pretty excited about it.

    Adrian nced around and said, “Rx, even if I don’t stay after a year, you’ll still have the freedom to make your own choices.”

    Then he turned to Aria and said, “This contract is more than fair–no changes needed. I’ll sign it right nowi./ii” /i

    After signing, he looked at Aria and warned, “Watch out for Richard.”

    “Thanks for the heads–up, Prof. Gn,” Aria replied.

    Adrian said, “Don’t brush it off. Right after that video came out, Richard went straight to the school administration and tried to have you dismissed. But the higher–ups all trust you.”

    Adrian wasn’t the type to stick his nose into other people’s business, but he considered Aria one of his own, so he offered the advice out of genuine concern.

    Aria’s smile widened as she said, “Don’t worry, Prof. Gn. I know how to look out for myself.”

    With the signed contract in hand, Aria headed to the Stars Group.

    Johnny eximed, “It really had to be you–so many people tried and failed to get Adrian, but you actually pulled it off.”

    When it came to connections, Johnny had to hand it to Aria. On the surface, Aria wasn’t actively involved in the Stars Group’s operations–she had only invested money.

    In reality, during the early days when the Stars Group was struggling, she was the one who secured many of their partnerships.

    Take their uing partnership with Nimbus Tech, for example. It was a smallpany, but it was full of hidden talent. In just one year, they achieved a technological breakthrough and sessfully applied for a patent.

    Several bigpanies were interested in that patent and offered generous terms, but Patrick, the boss, turned them all down and chose the Stars Group instead, saying he trusted Aria.

    When the odds were stacked against one, it was pretty normal for smallpanies to get squeezed out of the game.

    Patrick’s choosing to team up with the Stars Group was definitely a smart move.

    “The hardest part is done. The rest is all yours now,” Aria said.

    Johnny clutched the contract,ughing. He said, “I take back what I said about youst time. Honestly, you could join any institution you want–not just the State Security Bureau.”

    He thought, ‘Aria always ys her trump card right out of the gate. By joining the State Security Bureau, she’d be able towork with even more top talent and really put the Stars Group’s name on the map.‘

    Aria rolled her eyes at him. Then she said, “I’m leaving.”

    “Hold on. The Stars Group is nning a project pre–release next month. I’ll take some photos and send them to you—just make a few paintings from them,” Johnny said.

    Aria replied, “Alright.”

    As soon as Aria arrived, she saw Owening out with a te of food in his hands. ol start="12"li12. /li/ol

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    “Madelyn, you’re back,” Owen said.

    “Yeah, the Stars Group has already filed awsuit against those marketing ounts. It’s notplicated, so I won’t burden you with it,” Aria replied.

    “Let the Stars Group handle those marketing ounts. As for Griffin, I’ll take care of hiswsuit for you,” Owen said.

    After discovering that Griffin was the one stirring up trouble behind the scenes, Owen went to have a word with him.

    Griffin didn’t even bother to deny it. He just shrugged and told them to go ahead and sue him if they wanted.

    Owen thought, ‘Honestly, this guy is seriously unhinged. He insisted that Madelyn was the reason Hannah ended up in jail, and now he was out for revenge on her behalf.‘

    Aria replied, “Okay.”

    That day, Aria went to the Fletcher residence to give Avery a follow–up checkup.

    After examination, Aria said, “She’s recovering really well. You can stop the medication now.”

    With a beaming smile, Susan took Aria’s hand and said, “Aria, I really can’t thank you enough.”

    Aria smiled softly and said, “Susan, you’ve already thanked me so many times.”

    Susan said, “No matter how many times I thank you, it could never make up for what you did for us.”

    Susan really wanted to do something more–at the very least, give Aria a gift–but Aria had made it clear she only epted the consultation fee and nothing else. That was just the way things worked in the Todd School.

    Susan honestly had no idea how else to thank Aria.

    Avery looked up at Aria and asked, “Aria, now that I’m all better, will you stille visit me?”

    Aria gently patted her head and said, “I won’t being by anymore, but you and Derek cane hang out with me anytime you want.”

    Avery smiled and said, “Okay, promise.”