“Don’t be foolish! I still have you. Even if you were to get married, I’ll visit you frequently.”
There was a hint of sorrow in her tone.
Roger remained silent, but he made a silent vow in his heart.
After a restless, sleepless night, Stella decided it was time to get up. The sky was still dark outside.
She arrived at the training center so early that even the security guard wasn’t there yet.
She swiped her card and entered the building. She sat down, placed her bag down, and took out a bun
from inside for breakfast.
Roger would usually have breakfast in school, so she didn’t bother preparing herself an elaborate
breakfast. She was fine as long as she didn’t feel hungry.
After she finished her breakfast , she changed into her workout gear and started doing some warm-up
exercises.
It was only when she was dancing that she felt like the old Stella-the Stella who was pampered like a
princess by her parents, never lacking in love and always glamorous, at the center of everyone’s
attention.
Her chin was always lifted high and proud wherever she went.
In contrast, she would always walk around with her head and eyes lowered now, as if the only thing she
wanted most was to disappear into the crowd, away from everyone’s prying eyes.
The soft sound of footsteps sounded from outside. People were starting to stream into the training
center
Those who spotted Stella were not surprised to see her and greeted her as usual.
Stella had always been the most diligent teacher here. Coupled with her strong foundation and
patience, she was very well-liked amongst the parents.
Such special, extracurricular training centers would usually have a recommendation system – Parents
who liked a particular teacher would recommend that teacher to other parents.
Parents would go ahead and register their kids for classes taught by a specific teacher, and the
teacher, in turn, would be able to receive a portion of the registration fees.
Stella was doing some leg, stretches when she heard the sharp, sour voices of a couple of women
from behind her.
“You’re here so early again. Seems like you’re doing pretty well…”
“I don’t think she’s just putting on a show. She has so many students in her class, of course, she has to
come early to prepare. Otherwise, she’d end up wasting everyone’s time.” “Do you really think that she
has so many students because she teaches well?”
“What else could it be?”
The woman looked at Stella’s lithe figure through the glass and said with jealousy, “It’s only because
she’s pretty! Looks are key in today’s society. Just look at that face of hers. Didn’t you notice that it’s
the fathers who come and register their children for her classes? You’re still young and tender and
don’t understand how society works!”
Even the young teaching intern could sense the jealousy in her words.
However, she was not bold enough to rebut her, and instead simply smiled and tried to smooth things
over, “How could that be? You’re quite pretty yourself, too. What’s more, there are many mothers who
register their children for Teacher Ella’s classes too….”
The other woman ignored the second part of her sentence and focused only on the first half.
A wide grin spread across her face, unable to hide her glee. Yet, she went on to say, “How could I be
as pretty as Ella? She probably comes in a couple of hours early to do her make-up. Look at her skin-
it’s probably some natural – colored makeup she has on. How scheming of her…”
Stella simply ignored the ongoing conversation.
After so many years, she had long gotten used to the people around her.
There would be no lack of people making up stories behind other people’s backs, and there would also
be a fair share of people who would try to set the record straight. Thus, she merely focused on being
herself, ignoring what the others thought.
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