Chapter 598 - 606: Isn’t it inappropriate?

"So you’re still holding a grudge about her embarrassing you that morning by dressing you down," Hibiscus Wood pointed out, unable to suppress a laugh. "Are you that petty? It’s been so long, and you’re still bitter about it?"

"I’ll remember it for a lifetime!" Mair Williams admitted candidly. "I should remember for a lifetime. I’m well-grown and it was the first time I encountered a boy who wouldn’t give me face."

"Do you think your face commands the kind of respect as the Tathagata?" Jane Sampson gestured playfully in front of Mair’s face, "You have a palm-sized face, yet you expect so much respect?"

"Don’t think I didn’t understand that you were insulting me!" Mair Williams rolled her eyes at Jane Sampson.

Three girls laughed merrily together, while Charlotte Miller, standing in the bathroom and hearing the laughter outside, clenched her teeth in frustration. Why was Mair so prickly and brusque when speaking with her, yet so giggly and intimate like best friends when talking with Jane and Hibiscus Wood?

It was simply because Jane had powerful backers and Hibiscus Wood was popular. They acted as if they were so dignified, but it was all an act of convenience, matching their behavior to the company. She was not one whit less than them.

It was only after finishing his meal at the dining hall and preparing to leave that James Black finally noticed Jane and her party enter. The three girls walked in arm in arm, while another walked behind, chatting with a few boys.

James sat for a while, attempting to see if Jane would glance over in his direction.

However, even after Jane finished her meal and left, she didn’t cast a glance his way.

He couldn’t tell if she genuinely hadn’t noticed him or if she simply didn’t want to bother with him.

As someone who had left him behind halfway on their morning journey, didn’t she feel even a little bit of guilt for her mistake?

He wasn’t expecting her to come over to apologize, but didn’t she at least owe him a guilt-ridden look?

All the way back to his office from the dining hall, James pondered whether Jane was still angry with him.

Sitting at his office desk, James looked up just in time to see someone passing by the doorway. He opened his mouth and called the person in.

The person who entered was the ’black-face instructor’ the others talked about; he had just finished morning training, had not even gone for breakfast yet, but had stopped by the office to grab some things, not expecting to be called into the Chief’s office on his way past.

"Chief, you called me?" the black-face instructor asked, standing in front of James.

"Sit," James motioned toward the chair next to him and then suddenly said, "I have a question for you."

The black-face instructor straightened his posture, nodding in agreement. "Chief, what’s your question?"

James glanced at his subordinate next to him, quiet for a few seconds, then slowly asked, "Black Face, if your wife was angry with you, how do you think you could make it up to her?"

"..." The instructor’s expression visibly twitched. "Chief, isn’t it inappropriate to ask someone who isn’t in a relationship like me that sort of question?"

After saying that, the instructor was silent for a second before adding, "Also, Chief, I have a name."

Wasn’t it unfair to call him Black Face just because of his dark complexion?

He knew those damn kids referred to him that way behind his back, and even the artists did as well.

But what’s private is private. What did it mean for the Chief to call him that to his face?

Unlike their Chief who tanned dark, the instructor was naturally dark-skinned. In his hometown, it was hard to find anyone with much lighter skin, so he never found it strange. However, once he left his hometown, compared to his classmates and teammates, he did seem a bit darker.

Without a measure for comparison, there’s no sense of injury.