Chapter 527 An Embarrassment to Family
Elise then withdrew her hands and pulled out her phone, casually saying, “Besides, I don’t really care how strangers perceive me. However, my bad temper won’t allow me to take false accusations silently, so I shall let the truth speak for itself.”
Hearing that, Sophie started to grow uneasy as her heart uncontrollably palpitated.
With that, Elise raised her phone and played a voice recording.
‘Sure. If I lose, I’ll kowtow thrice before you right in front of the club members. If I win, however, you shall do the same and pay me what I deserve!’
Having revealed the recording, Elise put her phone away and caused an uproar within the crowd.
“So it was Sophie instead of Miss Sinclair who specifically asked for the kowtow!”
“Wasn’t she extra aggressive when she was talking? Look at how she’s all p*ssied up now! What a shameless woman! She’s an embarrassment to her family!”
“Know what? If she were the winner, she would surely have Miss Sinclair to do what she asked for!”
The people that were looked down upon earlier quickly voiced their thoughts, forcing Sophie to fulfill her promise.
“Practice what you preach, Sophie! What, do your words mean nothing? You fart with that mouth too?”
“And here I was feeling sympathetic for her! Why was I even doing that? Get down on your knees, liar!”
All their cruel words ultimately forced her to her boundaries. She felt a tingle in her nose, and her eyes were wet with tears. She then turned to Warren as she whimpered.
Nevertheless, Warren was extremely exasperated, strictly uttering, “I only accepted you back then because of your genuinity and talent. Now that you have turned into such an unreasonable person, you have broken the master-student tie between us. From now on, I no longer recognize you as my student!”
“Master…”
Thoroughly dumbfounded, Sophie had her mouth hanging agape. She would never have expected Warren to go this far for Elise’s sake. Having become Warren’s student was the only reason she was respected back at home. Now that she was publicly disowned, she had severely disgraced her family, and her parents definitely wouldn’t let her off so easily.
As Sophie opened her mouth and was about to defend herself, Warren was already right beside Elise, trying to please her. “It’s been a long time, Master Sinclair. How about a cup of tea at my place? Treat it as my apology. I have some exquisite Earl Grey tea leaves with me. They’ll certainly be to your taste.”
Without rejecting him, Elise turned to Kenneth. “Are you gonna play your last game?”
Kenneth faintly smirked. “Since Old Mr. Reynolds is already asking you, there’s no point in that. And thanks to you, I have the chance to taste some fine tea. Let’s go.”
As they were about to leave, another white-haired senile man in a tailcoat came forth from within the crowd. He humbly inquired, “Miss Sinclair, would you mind adding this old one to your tea-tasting chatter?”
Speedily, information of the old man flashed across Elise’s mind—he was the president of Randall International, Steven Randall.
Seeing no response from Elise, Warren cut in, “This is my old friend, Steven. He’s pretty skilled at chess as well. Come on, Steven, perhaps we’ll get to learn a thing or two from Master Sinclair.”
Overjoyed, Steven excitedly walked beside Warren.
Wordlessly, Kenneth turned to Elise with a knowing look, signaling that they could now push forward their celebration as they had gotten close to their target.
Subconsciously, Elise grinned and showed Kenneth an amicable look.
Warren had two major hobbies—chess, and tea tasting. And the tea he would serve his precious guests with were unquestionably invaluable.
At Warren’s confident and admiring eyes, Elise slowly took a sip. When she gulped it down, she revealed a contented beam. “Pretty good. Soothing, and comes with a subtle sweetness and fragrance. Exquisite it is.”
Warren nodded in satisfaction. “Only if you say so. Right, when did you come back? Why didn’t you look for me for a game?”
As if she remembered something, she seemed stunned for a bit before quickly laughing. “I’m a Cittadelian, so staying too long overseas doesn’t feel right. Plus, it’s not my fault for not finding you, but you’re the one who’s always locking himself at home. How am I supposed to look for you?”
“Haha! Well, lucky for us, you had your ‘fool’ tactic. I mean, Malta Tactic. I’ve sworn to myself that if I can’t break through the formation, I’ll never come out to meet you. But I guess only the locksmith can pick her own locks. You’re still the superior chess player.” Warren’s words were filled with admiration. It was as if he was treating her like an irreplaceable celebrity.
Listening to their conversation, Steven had no idea how to join in, or how to interact with Elise.
“Ugh. Master this, master that. Stop calling me that like I’m some sort of old man, or I’ll stop playing with you. As we agreed, I can be your teacher, but age still comes first. I’ll refer to you as Old Reynolds, and you’ll simply call me Elise. Do that or I’ll stop visiting you.” Elise pretended to be angry.
“Fine, fine. Elise it is. Haha, you’re always this humble!” The adoration in Warren’s eyes grew deeper.
In that instant, Richard and Steven had a sudden realization. They thought it was rather impolite for Elise to address Warren as “Old Reynolds.” In fact, she was already holding herself back. If she were to call him by his first name, he would certainly appear far inferior.
After half an hour, Warren grew tired and retreated for a rest, leaving Elise to converse with Steven.
“Care for a chat with your junior, Mr. Randall?”
“Of course!” Since Warren’s teacher was already putting herself down, he had no reason to refute her. Steven was a straightforward man, and after figuring out Elise’s motive, he sat down and candidly stated, “Please ask anything you wish to, Miss Sinclair. A person’s quality is reflected from their chess skills, so I trust you. Anything you ask, I’ll reveal everything I know. Of course, I also wish to befriend you, and perhaps earn myself the opportunity to have some chess matches with you in the future.”
“That’s no problem,” Elise openly agreed.
After exchanging a look with Elise, Kenneth inquired, “We want to know about the Peculiar Jadeite that you keep in your household. Where does it come from?”
At that, skepticism surged in Steven’s eyes as he hastily turned away. “The jadeite is with me, but why are you asking about the source?”
