Chapter 33: The Game
Eleanor Rhodes’s words made Vivian Lowell laugh.
The Celestial Castrator.
She remembered the short videos Eleanor Rhodes used to film of herself rescuing cats.
Eleanor Rhodes was cute, almost doll-like, but she also had a gift for being a bit of a goofball.
She didn’t like people thinking she was too cutesy and delicate, so she put on a mystical, eccentric act, turning herself into something of an ancient "Scammer."
She even gave herself a title: "The Celestial Castrator"!
That whole bit went viral for a while back then.
It got to the point that when people brought their cats to the pet hospital for treatment, their opening line would be, "Have your Celestial Castrator snip my little baby!"
And then...
They would see the utterly adorable Eleanor Rhodes, holding a veterinary scalpel.
They couldn’t help but sigh. What they saw online was clearly a lie. This was no grand master; she was an adorable "little angel"!
The two of them chatted and laughed, and the atmosphere quickly improved.
Vivian Lowell watched the surveillance feed for a while, but didn’t see Shelly Lowell’s paramour show up. She had no choice but to tell her assistant, "You stay here and keep an eye on things for me."
"If a man, about five-foot-nine, a little tan, wearing a black baseball cap, comes sneaking in, notify me, understand?"
The assistant had come with Vivian Lowell. He nodded and said, "Don’t worry, Boss. With me here, there won’t be any problems!"
"Mm. Do a good job, and you’ll have a bright future."
As Vivian Lowell spoke, she patted her assistant on the shoulder, not forgetting to dangle a carrot.
The assistant was certainly motivated. Thinking about his triple overtime pay, he began to watch the surveillance footage with intense focus.
Vivian Lowell and Eleanor Rhodes quickly left the surveillance room and returned to the banquet hall on the hotel’s first floor.
A good number of people had already arrived in the banquet hall. Sharon Galahad was there as well, greeting the guests with Shelly Lowell by her side.
Shelly Lowell was beautifully dressed tonight. It was clear that Sharon Galahad, just as in her past life, had hired an excellent makeup artist to conceal the blemishes on Shelly’s skin.
Shelly Lowell’s features weren’t actually bad; it was just that her difficult upbringing meant she hadn’t used sunscreen or paid attention to skincare routines like anti-glycation, so her skin wasn’t very well cared for.
It was prone to oiliness and breakouts, and had a somewhat sallow, dark complexion.
Vivian Lowell didn’t go over to Shelly Lowell and Sharon Galahad. Instead, she and Eleanor Rhodes found a table in a corner and sat down to eat some small cakes.
"Here, have some tiramisu."
Vivian Lowell handed a slice to Eleanor Rhodes.
Eleanor Rhodes took it, pulling her gaze away from Wendy Wynn, whom she had been surreptitiously studying. She lowered her head and focused on the cake.
Soon, everyone had arrived.
Although Vivian Lowell was sitting in the corner, people occasionally came over to exchange pleasantries. These were all people who had dealings with the Lowell Group and maintained business partnerships with them.
They were all smart people.
They knew that even though the Lowell Family had found their true heiress, Vivian Lowell still held considerable sway until that heiress could fully take over.
Besides—
They were all aware of Vivian Lowell’s talent for design.
In all of Veridia, there were very, very few designers of Vivian Lowell’s age with her level of skill. Staying on her good side was definitely the right move.
The situation was actually better than Vivian Lowell had expected.
She even gave her personal business card to a couple of people with whom she was especially close.
They took the cards, looking a little surprised, but quietly pocketed them, understanding Vivian Lowell’s intentions.
It seemed Vivian Lowell was planning to leave the Lowell Group.
The Lowell Group might not have such a great designer in the future. If they still wanted excellent design plans, they would have to think about whether to partner with the Lowell Group or with Vivian Lowell herself.
After a while in the corner.
Over by Sharon Galahad, she had Shelly Lowell in tow. Holding up Vivian Lowell’s previous design sketches, she was showing them off to some of the titans of the design world, claiming they were Shelly’s work.
The titans were, naturally, very surprised.
They were all seasoned veterans in the field; they could tell at a glance that creating such designs would be impossible without an extremely strong foundation.
So, they started asking Shelly Lowell some questions about her design process.
Vivian Lowell had coached Shelly Lowell on these questions beforehand. Although Shelly’s answers were stiff and rote, they sounded as if there was nothing wrong.
It was just that...
They sounded like they were recited from memory!
A flicker of doubt inevitably crossed the titans’ minds. They glanced back toward Vivian Lowell, sitting in the distance, a thoughtful look on their faces.
Vivian Lowell felt their gazes on her but pretended not to notice.
Hmph.
’Sharon Galahad is so shrewd, she’s calculated everything. She knows these titans aren’t idiots; they wouldn’t believe Shelly drew these just by looking at a picture.’
’That’s why she had me prepare the Communication Skills for Shelly to recite.’
But.
’Sharon Galahad might be shrewd, but I’m not stupid. The Communication Skills I prepared seem fine on the surface, but anyone in the industry who thinks about them carefully will spot the inconsistencies and grow suspicious!’
Just then.
Sharon Galahad noticed the shift in atmosphere. Seeing all the titans looking toward Vivian Lowell, she felt a flare of annoyance and waved Vivian over.
"Vivian."
Sharon Galahad forced an extremely gentle smile, as if they were still the picture of a loving mother and a filial daughter.
"I’ll be right back."
Vivian Lowell got up, told Eleanor Rhodes to go on eating, and walked over to Sharon Galahad.
Just then, Sharon Galahad linked her arm through Vivian Lowell’s on one side and Shelly Lowell’s on the other, and said to the titans, "To be honest with you all, Vivian has also said that Shelly has a great talent for design!"
"In fact, Vivian guided Shelly as she completed these drawings. With Vivian’s help going forward, Shelly’s future will surely be limitless!"
With this, Sharon Galahad was explaining why Shelly Lowell’s earlier answers had seemed a little "off."
The titans all nodded; on second thought, it made sense.
A young woman like Shelly Lowell, just starting out in the design world, couldn’t possibly produce such a complex design plan on her own.
But with Vivian Lowell’s guidance from the sidelines, it was perfectly logical!
If everything was truly as Sharon Galahad said, and Shelly Lowell had Vivian Lowell’s help, then Shelly’s future might really be quite promising.
After all, a great master produces a brilliant disciple!
At her side.
Vivian Lowell listened to Sharon Galahad’s speech and scoffed internally.
"That’s right."
Vivian Lowell smiled faintly, a hint of inexplicable mockery in her tone. "Although Shelly just returned to the Lowell Family and has had absolutely no prior exposure to design..."
"...I will be sure to teach her well, even if it’s from scratch."
Just returned to the Lowell Family, absolutely no prior exposure to design, from scratch.
The moment the titans heard those phrases, they understood everything.
Heh.
Starting from scratch... that’s a long and arduous road!
It looked like the person who really called the shots in the Lowell Family was still Vivian Lowell!