Filed To Story: The Scarlet Vengeance: Justice of a Framed Beauty Novel (Grace & Jason)
As she got nearer, she found a long line of people in front of her. Everyone was holding a box of mooncakes. Next to the person handing them out were the director and another woman in a beige outfit.
Valda Theller’s pupils suddenly constricted, and she stopped.
The woman was… Barbara Schuman!
Her misery in university started because of this woman!
Barbara Schuman’s long straight hair had become enchanting curls. She wore delicate makeup, looking more stunning than she used to.
The director waved toward Valda Theller and said, “Valda, here. This is Miss Barbara Schuman. I heard you were classmates in university. Miss Li’s the sponsor of our TV show. These are the mooncakes hercompany just released. She said they’re for the film crew to try.”
“Valda, I haven’t seen you for a long time. It’s so nice to see you again. I convinced my dad to sponsor the TV show because I learned that you’re the original comic artist. Consider it a way to cheer you on,”
Barbara Schuman said with a smile. The smile looked so gentle and amiable. Others would think she was on good terms with Valda Theller.
However, Valda Theller still remembered how Barbara Schuman had asked Raymond Bowman to make her the laughing stock of the whole school. Besides that, she had even looked at her like a high and mighty judge when she was bullied.
The girls who often bullied her were friendly with Barbara Schuman. They even dragged her in front of Barbara Schuman, kicking her and stepping on her hands.
It was just because Barbara Schuman disliked her hands.
She was only lucky to keep her hands because campus security spotted them and came to her rescue.
Later, she found out why Barbara Schuman targeted her that way. It was because her comic got published, and some classmates jokingly called her a comic artist. Barbara Schuman had also participated in a comic contest in high school but failed to win it.
In Barbara Schuman’s opinion, it was already a sin that her comic was published!
Valda Theller froze as every joint of her body seemingly stiffened:
Barbara Schuman smiled wider as she picked up a box of mooncakes and walked up to Valda Theller.
“By the way, try some of these mooncakes. I’ll give you more if you like them.”
Barbara Schuman said as she pretended to shove the mooncakes into Valda Theller’s hand.
Valda Theller raised her hand to push the mooncake box in front of her, but it fell to the floor before she could do so.
Barbara Schuman looked upset. “Valda, you don’t have to throw it on the floor like this even if you don’t like the mooncakes and think they’re cheap.”
They were so close that no one could see how the box of mooncakes fell to the floor. They only thought Valda Theller threw it based on Barbara Schuman’s statement.
The way the surrounding crowd looked at Valda Theller changed instantly. Someone even taunted, “Oh, she already thinks she’s superior before she’s even popular. We regular folks find these mooncakes amazing.”
“Will she have her nose in the air when she gets popular?”
“Didn’t the netizens say she used to be a bully at school? Is she trying to intimidate Miss Li?”
“Who does she think she is? Intimidate Miss Li? Who does she think Miss Li is?”
Valda Theller heard the whispers around her, which gradually brought her back to her senses.
Valda Theller crouched down, picked up the box of mooncakes, and handed it back to Barbara Schuman. “I think you misunderstood me. This box of mooncakes isn’t cheap to me. I’m not rich. How could I find a box of mooncakes worth hundreds of dollars cheap? You know I’m an orphan. Mooncakes symbolize reunion. But I stopped eating mooncakes since my parents died to prevent myself from being reminded of it. Regardless, thank you for the mooncakes. It’s better to give them to someone who can reunite with their family.”
She was no longer the pathetic pushover that she used to be. She would fight back if Barbara Schuman were up to no good against her.
The smile on Barbara Schuman’s face froze. Then, she smiled as she took the mooncakes. “I’m so sorry. I’ll give them to someone else, then.”
With that said, she looked past Valda Theller at the person coming over. “Raymond Bowman, why don’t I give you this box of mooncakes since Valda doesn’t eat them? Speaking of which, we haven’t seen each other in ages.”
Something complicated flickered in Raymond Bowman’s eyes.
“Yeah, it’s been ages.”
If Valda Theller was the one he wanted to see the most, Barbara Schuman was the last person he wanted to see. He thought he loved this woman and had even done everything that he thought was despicable for her, only to realize that he loved nothing but his pride.
What he wanted was to conquer Barbara Schuman and prove that he could get any woman he wanted.
He did not love Barbara Schuman. He even became an exchange student and left the university without hesitation and reluctance.
“Let’s find a place to sit after I finish giving out the mooncakes. It’s been so long that I have so much to say to you,” Barbara Schuman said gently.
Raymond Bowman’s thin lips were almost pressed into a straight line. He glanced at Valda Theller, who was turning to leave.
Moments later, his eyes fell on Barbara Schuman again. He slowly uttered one word. “Okay.”
At noon, in the private room of a restaurant room near the film studio, Barbara Schuman looked at Raymond Bowman and smiled. “Speaking of which, how many years have we not seen each other? It’s been almost eight years, right? When you went abroad as an exchange student, you never contacted me again. I didn’t know you returned until I saw you in the photo of the TV show’s booting ceremony.”
“What on earth are you up to? You suddenly sponsored this show under the guise of business,”
Raymond Bowman asked as he stared at her.
Barbara Schuman said, “Didn’t you also invest in this TV show? What about you? What are you up to?”
Both of them looked at each other.
Finally, Barbara Schuman smiled and said, “You’re not gonna tell me that you invested in this TV show for Valda Theller, are you? You stopped at nothing to make her a fool back then.”
Raymond Bowman’s face darkened. “Shut up. I won’t go easy on you if you bring it up again.”
Barbara Schuman’s smile grew sweeter. “We were partners in crime back in the day.”
His face instantly turned pale, and the words ‘partners in crime’
stung.
“Raymond Bowman, I’ve never forgotten you all these years,”
Barbara Schuman said as she reached forward and touched Raymond Bowman’s hand suggestively. “Now that we’ve met again, why don’t…”
Raymond Bowman shook off her hand and got up, saying, “Barbara Schuman, you’re not the one I love, so nothing will happen even if we meet again. I only came here to tell you to leave Valda Theller alone whatever the purpose of your sponsorship is.”
Barbara Schuman’s expression changed slightly. “What if I don’t want to leave Valda Theller alone?” “Then your factory might not be able to make mooncakes anymore next year.” Raymond Bowman’s tone was dangerous.
“Is that a threat?” Barbara Schuman glared at Raymond Bowman.
“I’m just telling you what might happen!”
“You’re so protective of Valda Theller. Don’t tell me you’re in love with Valda Theller,” she said sarcastically.
He unexpectedly confessed, “Yes, I love her, so I won’t let you hurt her again!”
Barbara Schuman froze for a long time before suddenly laughing and saying, “Hahaha… Did you fall in love with Valda Theller? What kind of joke is this? We were partners in crime. You loved me!”
Raymond Bowman’s face darkened. “What happened back then is my biggest regret. Barbara Schuman, you’d better watch out!”
With that said, he turned around and left.
Barbara Schuman stood sullenly as her manicured nails dug hard into her palms.
‘What does an ordinary woman like Valda Theller have to make Raymond Bowman fall in love with her? Raymond Bowman was in love with me first!
‘Why is Valda Theller always in the way? It’s just like when I participated in a comic contest in high school, but Valda Theller was the champion while I was the runner-up.
‘Runner-up? I don’t want that!
‘I’d rather not want it if it isn’t first place!’ It was why she withdrew her comic and stopped drawing comics.
Drawing comics was only her hobby at the time, and she did not see it as a future career.
However, she met Valda Theller again at university. She was still drawing comics, and they were published.
Every time she saw her classmates praising Valda Theller’s drawing skills, she felt as if she was being humiliated. Hence, she wanted Valda Theller to suffer. She wanted to destroy her!