Chapter 22: The Male Lead Will Arrive Within Five Minutes

Seren Thorne led Jasper Vane around the hotel exterior, letting him analyze the building's Feng Shui layout and pointing out corrections whenever he made a mistake.

Jasper usually hated studying, and Seren had assumed he would be lazy about learning from her. To her surprise, Jasper had not only read everything she gave him but had also memorized it all by heart. Although he still made occasional errors in practical application, it wasn't a major issue; he just needed more real-world examples to analyze.

Once they finished their tour, they received a call from Alaric Vane, telling them to meet in the hotel lobby to head home.

By now, most of the guests had departed, leaving only the staff to clean up the remains of the banquet. When Seren and Jasper reached the lobby, they immediately spotted the man sitting in the lounge area.

Dressed in a simple shirt and slacks, he sat there quietly—elegant and handsome. Just his presence alone was enough to make one’s heart race.

As they approached, Jasper couldn't help but ask, "Brother, where did you go? We haven't seen you for ages."

Alaric replied casually, "I was handling some private business."

Jasper’s mind moved quickly. "Is it about Aunt’s boyfriend?"

Alaric gave a faint "Mhm" and briefly explained the situation. After hearing it, Jasper felt a phantom ache in his own backside. However, he felt no pity for Ethan Hart; after all, if Ethan hadn't harbored such malicious intent to seize everything his aunt owned, he wouldn't be facing this treatment now.

The two shared a brief exchange and prepared to leave, only to realize Seren was staring fixedly in one direction, completely unaware that they had finished talking.

{Holy crap, this fake heiress has quite a temper. She dares to attack the heroine in broad daylight. No wonder she gets kicked out by the male lead later, ending up as a mistress to some greasy old man before being beaten to death by his original wife.}

Alaric and Jasper followed Seren’s gaze outside and saw a young woman collapsed in the fountain pool outside the hotel entrance.

She was wearing a server’s uniform and looked as though she had just been pushed into the water. Her clothes were mostly soaked, and her long, beautiful black hair was draped over her shoulders, making her delicate skin look as white as snow. It should have been a pathetic sight, yet her appearance was so superior that anyone seeing her would first think of her as refined and graceful rather than disheveled.

"Miss Jia, I am truly sorry. I didn't see what I tripped over and accidentally broke the teacup. I really didn't mean to. Please tell me how much it costs, and I will do my best to repay you."

"Repay me?" Jasmine Jia sneered with a high-and-mighty air. "That teacup is an antique worth over a million. Can you afford that?"

{Here it comes! The most common trope in CEO novels: the vicious female supporting character publicly humiliating the heroine, followed by the male lead descending from the heavens for a hero-saves-the-beauty moment.}

{I’ll bet a bag of spicy strips that the male lead will be here within five minutes.}

Seren suddenly thought of something and turned to Alaric. "Mr. Vane, that girl seems to be being bullied. Do you want to go over and help?"

{Last time, this dog man must have been too far away to see the heroine’s face clearly, which is why he was indifferent. I have to create opportunities for them to interact.}

{If he falls for her sooner, he can hurry up and divorce me.}

Seren felt like a master strategist, but Alaric’s face was cold. Did this woman want to push him away that badly?

"I don't know her. There’s no need to meddle in other people's business."

Hearing this, Seren felt immense disdain.

{Stay indifferent now, but you’ll be crying once you fall for her later.}

{If you just lent a hand now, the heroine might remember your kindness later and choose not to send you to Myanmar to have your parts harvested even if you do bad things. You’re useless at seizing a chance to redeem yourself!}

Alaric: "..."

Is the "harvesting parts" joke never going to end?

While they were talking, the male lead, Sebastian North, made his entrance. He arrived beside Jasmine and the heroine, his overbearing aura instantly dominating the scene.

"What’s the commotion?"

Seeing him appear, the arrogance on Jasmine’s face vanished, replaced by a clingy, delicate expression. Her voice turned soft. "It’s nothing. This girl broke a tea set a friend gave me and was just apologizing. I wasn't going to take it to heart; I was just about to send her away."

Sebastian glanced at the drenched Evangeline Frost. "Is that all?"

Evangeline opened her mouth, but Jasmine shot her a sharp look. Frightened, she lowered her head and stammered, "That’s right. I accidentally tripped and fell into the pool, breaking the cup. Miss Jia is kind-hearted and didn't hold it against me."

Sebastian’s eyes were deep, and his handsome face remained expressionless, making it impossible to guess his thoughts.

Jasmine tugged at Sebastian’s hand. "Sebastian, our parents are waiting for us upstairs. Let's go."

Sebastian gave a curt "Mhm." Before leaving, he spoke to a nearby personal assistant: "Go find a change of clean clothes for this lady and give her a hundred thousand as compensation."

As soon as he said this, Jasmine’s composure nearly broke. "Sebastian, why are you compensating her? It’s not our fault she fell."

Sebastian looked at her with a lukewarm gaze. "It's enough to know the truth in your heart. Don't speak it out loud and embarrass yourself."

Jasmine bit her lip and fell silent. Evangeline wanted to say she didn't want the money, but the two had already walked away.

The North and Jia families were waiting for them upstairs. As they passed through the lobby to head to the elevators, Sebastian heard a somewhat familiar female voice:

{Sigh, Sebastian North truly had good intentions but did a bad thing. Protecting the heroine now will only make the female lead hate her more, triggering a series of tragedies.}

Sebastian paused and looked toward the source of the sound, spotting Alaric Vane and his wife. The voice he had just heard seemed to come from Mrs. Vane.

The voice continued: {That personal assistant was bought off by Jasmine Jia long ago. Not only will he fail to find new clothes for the heroine, but he’ll also subject her to all sorts of verbal abuse. Even that hundred thousand Sebastian ordered as compensation will be pocketed by the assistant.}

{The heroine's early life is truly tragic. Not only was her identity as a wealthy heiress and her status as the male lead's savior stolen by Jasmine, but her gambler father owes millions, and her grandmother is seriously ill without money for treatment. The pressure of life is nearly crushing her.}

{What kind of trashy novel is this? Is the author even the heroine's real mother?}

{She’s going to suffer so much more later. Should I intervene in the plot? But I don't know if interfering will affect this world.}

As Seren was hesitating, she suddenly noticed that Sebastian North’s fate had shifted. It seemed he was about to send someone else to help the heroine.

{The world in this book really is unstable; not a single one of these main characters has a stable fate.}