CHAPTER 11: CHAPTER 11: SHE BULLIES CLAIRE

"Hmm." Serena Jennings nodded to Justin Nash. Although she was in the middle of a divorce spat with Caleb Lockwood, the divorce wasn’t final yet, so she was still a married woman.

The thought of divorce made Serena’s mood a bit heavy. She sighed and then turned to Lily Sutton, saying, "I’m just having a meal with a colleague. There’s no law that says a married woman can’t have a meal with a man, right? Are you still living in ancient times?"

"Colleague? Where does a housewife get colleagues?"

"Why don’t you say ’classmates’? You can’t even make up a good lie."

"She doesn’t have many classmates either, right? Didn’t she dropout before finishing college?"

Seeing the two women at the neighboring table intentionally picking a fight, Justin Nash immediately defended Serena Jennings, "Don’t look down on people. Miss Jennings is actually a psychological counselor at the youth detention center now."

"Psychological counselor at the youth detention center?" Lily Sutton rolled her eyes, "How much can that even make?"

"Lily, look what I’ve found."

At this moment, Owen Warren handed his phone to Lily Sutton.

He showed Lily Sutton an online job posting for the youth detention center.

"Volunteer? Isn’t that just a volunteer job? You don’t earn a penny from that, what’s there to brag about?"

"Exactly, and she calls herself a teacher? Who is she kidding?"

Lily Sutton and Owen Warren continued their banter, making Justin Nash furious enough to want to hit someone, but he couldn’t really hit women.

Serena Jennings didn’t really care about Claire Shaw’s friends provoking her; she simply thought that Justin Nash, who wanted to stand up for her and had clenched his fists tightly, was rather adorable.

"You guys stop talking, Serena’s life is not easy."

At this moment, Claire Shaw’s sweet voice rang out, her face with exquisite makeup full of sympathy for Serena Jennings.

"After all, the youth detention center is not a good place. It’s filled with troubled students, almost like a prison. Someone like me, a psychology PhD from a prestigious university, would never apply to such a place. So they can only hire volunteers from society’s idle individuals, which saves costs and provides opportunities for those with no degree and ability who want to accumulate work experience."

Claire Shaw’s words may seem reasonable upon first hearing, but in reality, they belittled both Serena Jennings and the work at the youth detention center, which made Justin Nash even angrier.

Serena Jennings silently opened her handbag and calmly took out several certificates.

"You can slander me, but the youth detention center isn’t as unprofessional as you claim. Psychological counselors there require having three certificates. Without even one, you can’t even take the written test, let alone join."

Serena presented certificates including a practicing physician certificate, a social work certificate, and the basic training certificate for psychological counseling from the Institute of Psychology, Academy of Sciences.

Lily Sutton and Owen Warren exchanged glances.

Claire Shaw’s face briefly showed unease because she hadn’t obtained any of those certificates.

"In this day and age, there aren’t many people who make fake certificates online, are there? Who knows if these certificates are real?"

"Yeah, yeah, just bluffing, unlike Claire’s doctoral degree which has genuine merit."

Serena Jennings had not expected Claire Shaw’s friends to acknowledge her. She smiled calmly and was about to put the certificates away when the owner of this Japanese restaurant approached.

The owner, a Japanese who married and moved to City A, could speak some English, though not very fluently.

Upon seeing Serena Jennings’ certificates, she excitedly mixed Japanese and English to ask Serena.

Serena understood Japanese and directly conversed with her in it.

It turned out the owner’s child was preparing for a psychological counselor exam, had failed last time, and wanted to ask Serena for better study materials.

Serena recommended some books and emphasized some key points, earning praise from the owner for being excellent, attractive, and kind, which made Serena quite embarrassed.

Lily Sutton and Owen Warren basically couldn’t understand a single word, but both Claire Shaw and Justin Nash understood Japanese, though they didn’t speak it.

Claire Shaw’s face looked unpleasant.

Justin Nash, however, already viewed Serena Jennings as his idol, amazed that merely doing some social practice during the summer could lead him to meet an outstanding woman like her.

The owner was delighted in the end, switching to English to offer Serena her meal for free, but Serena graciously declined.

"Serena, you don’t need to pretend. Considering your tight finances right now, it’s better to accept the owner’s kind offer for a free meal. It’s not shameful."

Claire Shaw acted as if she had Serena Jennings’ best interest at heart, which disgusted Serena Jennings.

"Miss Shaw and I are not familiar, so how do you know I’m short on money?" Serena said, as she used her phone to pay.

"Oh, look at her being so generous, someone might think she’s earning millions annually, but isn’t she just spending her husband’s money?"

Mocked by Lily Sutton, Serena opened her mouth but didn’t retort immediately.

She wasn’t using Caleb’s money but rather the dividends Peter had given her over the years.

Though she would spend a million dollars annually on medical expenses, the FY piano series was sold worldwide, leaving her with a significant remaining balance, an astronomical amount to ordinary people.

Serena swallowed the explanation she was about to say, smiled instead, and said, "Finding a wealthy and capable husband willing to support me reflects my own capability. You can ask Miss Shaw, wouldn’t she want such a husband?"

"Serena!"

"Don’t push it too far!"

Owen Warren and Lily Sutton panicked, clearly understanding the meaning behind Serena’s words.

Claire Shaw was twisting her handbag strap into knots.

She’d never felt so humiliated, her eyes flaring with unmasked hatred towards Serena Jennings.

Originally, she was just dining with friends today, but since Serena made her uncomfortable, she wouldn’t let Serena have it easy either.

"I’m going to the restroom."

Claire Shaw fled in distress, while Justin Nash felt even more satisfied than Serena Jennings, giving her a thumbs up.

As dish after dish arrived, Serena and Justin feasted heartily, noticing Claire Shaw took a long time in the restroom, returning with eyes reddened, as if she’d cried.

Serena hadn’t realized she had the ability to anger Caleb Lockwood’s first love to tears, feeling rather pleased, until fragments of movements sounded from the restaurant’s entrance.

"Who is this guy, he’s so handsome!"

"Is he a celebrity!"

"Don’t you know him? The CEO of The Lockwood Group, Caleb Lockwood."

Serena sprang up her head to see Claire Shaw standing and waving.

"Caleb, I’m over here."

Caleb Lockwood followed the voice, seeing Claire Shaw just as he saw Serena Jennings.

Next, his gaze fell on Justin Nash, sitting across from Serena.

Caleb Lockwood and Justin Nash exchanged brief glances, both raising their eyebrows.

Caleb Lockwood sat down at Claire Shaw’s table, naturally sitting beside her.

"I saw your post on social media, your eyes are red. Did something happen?" Caleb Lockwood asked softly.

Serena Jennings, sitting at the neighboring table, heard Caleb Lockwood’s words clearly, realizing what Claire Shaw had done during her time in the restroom.

It wasn’t her skill that led Claire Shaw to tears; Claire Shaw intended to cry for Caleb Lockwood’s attention.

"It was Serena." Owen Warren immediately pointed at Serena Jennings, indignantly, "She bullied Claire!"