The clueless ones were confused upon seeing the shocked expressions of the people around them.
“What’s going on? Why are you so shocked? What’s Cross Academy? Is it a good school? Like C9 League or maybe—OMG—Ivy league level?”
“Are you serious? You’re asking if Cross Academy is a good school?! Are you freaking kidding me?!!! What C9 League? What Ivy League? Those schools are nothing compared to Cross Academy!!! Don’t you know that Cross Academy is the freaking BESTEST OF THE BEST school in the world?!!! That’s the legendary school for geniuses!!!”
“Whoa! Really? Aren’t you exaggerating? If it’s really the best school in the world, why haven’t I heard about it before? Maybe it’s just an urban legend or something?”
“Sssssh! Not so loud! Do you want Sir Lu Jianhong to scold you like what he did to that poor guy just now? Just shut your mouth and don’t embarrass us. If you get scolded by Sir Lu Jianhong, I don’t know you!”
“Fine. What a friend you are! Anyway, just tell me what you know about this Cross Academy because I really don’t know anything about it.”
“Okay, listen to me. Not many people know about Cross Academy so it’s not surprising that you have no idea about it. Even I only learned about it by watching an English documentary. Cross Academy is a very isolated and secretive place somewhere in Europe. I forgot which country. It’s either in Sweden or Switzerland, maybe even in the Netherlands…I can’t remember. Very few students are admitted—only the most genius among geniuses! Apparently, they only enroll a student every few years because nobody could pass their extremely high standards!”
“Whoa! Really? Wow! So if Iris Long’s friend, that Amanpio guy, is really a Cross Academy student, then isn’t he awesome?!”
“Of course, he is! Duh!”
Conversations like this were occurring all over the audience. Iris swept her eyes across them, hearing most of what they were talking about with her great hearing. She asked her friends earlier if it was alright with them if she revealed that they were Cross Academy students. They had no issues with it at all.
The other guests looked at the group of foreigners again, trying to figure out who Theresa Blipsburg was.
“After buying the Bauer sibling’s homemade skincare concoctions at the street market in Munich, I sent Theresa a few samples. She confirmed through lab tests that every single one of them are indeed 100% natural. She did it for me even though she was extremely busy with her own research. Thanks to her, I made the decision to invest in the Bauer siblings and create Orchidia Beauty,” Iris revealed.
The audience oohed and aahed again.
“Thank you, Theresa. I know that you’re always busy with your own research but you still took the time to do me that favour. I’m so grateful. Can you please stand up and let everyone see you?” Iris asked her friend.
Theresa stood up and waved at the other guests who were clapping at her. Her actions were modest unlike Amanpio earlier.
“Oh, right. I almost forgot,” Iris said. “Theresa is also a Cross Academy student.”
WHAT?!!!
Seriously?!! Again?!!!
“Don’t tell me that all the foreigners in that group are Cross Academy students,” someone said.
“But we already have two Cross Academy students!”
“That’s it. I bet there are only two of them. No more!”
“Well, I bet that there would be more!”
“I bet that all those foreigners are from Cross Academy!”
“Game on!”
The audience suddenly descended into gambling. All of them turned to Iris while eyeing the group of foreigners at one side, as if she was drawing some winning lotto numbers.
Iris hid her smile. This was what she wanted. Yes, it was shameless to borrow her friends’ prestige to boost her own company’s image but this was what she was aiming for.
‘Don’t be afraid to be shameless in business, my girl! Bahahaha!’ was what Grandpa Lu taught her, so that was what she intended to do.
Wasn’t she a diligent student to apply her teacher’s teachings?
“I would also like to thank Florence O’Sevan, another inventor but focused on environmental sustainability. All of us from Orchidia Beauty are proud that our products are 100% natural. The contents inside are important but what about the outside? We also want our packaging to reflect our mission. Thus, we decided to make all our packaging environmentally sustainable.”
Intrigued expressions appeared on the audience’s faces after hearing what Iris said.
“My friend Florence was very kind to help design and manufacture our environmentally friendly packaging. Although we’re unable to make it 100% zero waste at the moment, we can still confidently claim to be miles ahead of our competitors in this area. Following Florence’s direction and advice, our company aims to develop our very own sustainable yet also affordable zero waste packaging system within a year, three years at the latest, and make it into a company-wide policy!”
The oohs and aahs from the audience were louder this time.
“Wow! The products are 100% natural, and now they want the packaging to be 100% zero waste in the future, too? Cool!”
“This Florence is another inventor like that Amanpio. Is she also a Cross Academy student?”
“No way. Do you think that all inventors are from Cross Academy?”
Iris smiled, enjoying the audience’s speculations.
“My friend, dear Florence, is also a student of Cross Academy,” she announced.
Sir Lu Jianhong was the only living Chinese alumni of the legendary school today. There were two of them before Jin Liwei’s grandfather died. Right now, there weren’t any Chinese student enrolled in Cross Academy. Wouldn’t it be cool to have another one? He or she would be the next great pride of the country, especially since Sir Lu Jianhong was already advanced in years. When it was time for the old man to go into eternal rest, would there be no one to hold the banner of their country as a Cross Academy student in the future?
Someone from the younger generation was needed. Sir Lu Jianhong was now too old for the country’s youth to fully understand the honour and pride he and his best friend, Jin Liwei’s grandfather, brought to the country when the two became Cross Academy students all those decades ago. Many of the young people didn’t know about the amazing legacy Sir Lu Jianhong and Jin Liwei’s grandfather left the country’s business world by building what was now the world-class Jin Corporation from the ground up.
If another Chinese became a Cross Academy student while Sir Lu Jianhong was still alive, how amazing would that be? They could brag to the whole world that their country didn’t lack for geniuses.
A few people in the audience cheered after Iris Long announced that Florence O’Sevan was a Cross Academy student as well. Some, however, groaned.
“Yes! I won the bet! I knew it! There are more than two Cross Academy present here tonight! Don’t forget to pay up!”
“Dammit! I lost. What the hell? How many Cross Academy students are here right now? Don’t tell me there are more after Florence?”
“I think that that there are only three.”
“I bet that that the other foreigners from the same table are all Cross Academy students. Who wants to bet against me? Come on!”
Florence O’Sevan stood up from her seat and waved at the other guests who clapped for her in amazement. She and the others from Cross Academy didn’t know the people started a betting pool because of them.
