Free Web NovelChapter 49: Chapter 49: Returning to the Alma Mater
### Chapter 49: Return to the Alma Mater
The creaking of the mattress, mixed with increasingly face-reddening gasps and moans, drifted over intermittently, sounding exceptionally clear and piercing in the silent night.
Maxine Rhodes couldn’t help but bury her head deeper into the blankets.
At that moment, Ethan Hawthorne’s thoughts drifted uncontrollably to Maxine Rhodes having been with Benjamin Sterling. A fire fueled by a mixture of jealousy, anger, and an indescribable bitterness threatened to consume him. He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.
Just then, the sounds that had started so suddenly died down even faster. After only a few short minutes, just as Rose Joyce’s coquettish moans were reaching their peak, they stopped abruptly, as if cut off mid-breath.
The silence was even more eerie than the amorous sounds from before.
’Three seconds? Five at most?’
Maxine Rhodes found it all rather absurd, a silent smile touching her lips.
"President Sterling is... quite efficient."
Ethan Hawthorne raised an eyebrow and suddenly moved closer.
His warm breath instantly invaded her personal space. His deep eyes were startlingly bright in the darkness, swirling with undisguised aggression and absolute confidence.
"Since we’re on the topic, there’s something I want you to know."
"In every way... I’m," he paused deliberately, ensuring each word struck home, "far superior to him."
Hearing this, Maxine Rhodes’s mind was involuntarily flooded with R-rated images, and her cheeks instantly burned. She yanked the covers over her head, her muffled voice escaping through the fabric. "Just go to sleep!"
Ethan Hawthorne watched her bury her head like an ostrich and chuckled softly. He thoughtfully turned off the last night light and, just before the room plunged into darkness, whispered, "Good night, Mrs. Hawthorne."
Morning light peeked through a gap in the curtains, falling on Maxine Rhodes’s face. The new day was purely for work.
This trip to Jaxen would determine if the Sterling Group could secure a cutting-edge technology. At the negotiating table, the other party’s team was unyielding, their terms severe.
The executives Benjamin Sterling brought were consistently outmaneuvered on the technical details. For the entire meeting, it was Maxine Rhodes, virtually on her own, who engaged the other side in a battle of wits. With astounding professionalism and negotiation skills, she dismantled their technical barriers and commercial traps one by one, single-handedly breaking the deadlock.
Ultimately, under her leadership, a letter of intent highly favorable to the Sterling Group was painstakingly secured.
On the way back to the hotel, the atmosphere in the car was delicate.
Benjamin Sterling gazed out the window. "You did pretty well today. You didn’t disappoint my expectations, after all."
He turned his head slightly, his eyes filled with condescending approval. "It seems putting you in this position was the right decision. After all, not everyone can keep up with my pace and strategic vision."
From the passenger seat, Rose Joyce immediately turned around and chimed in with a saccharine smile, "That’s right! Benjamin, the way you made the final call was so impressive! If you hadn’t been steering the big picture, all of Maxine’s efforts would’ve been for nothing!"
Maxine Rhodes couldn’t be bothered to even lift an eyelid. She simply turned her head to watch the familiar streetscapes flashing by, a flicker of emotion stirring within her.
She couldn’t be bothered to refute their absurd narrative of the brilliant general and the foot soldier. To argue with people like them was to demean herself.
But the negotiations had been draining. Since she was already in the city that held her entire youth, she wanted to visit her alma mater. It would be a way to relax.
With half a day to spare before their return flight, Maxine Rhodes was preparing to head to her alma mater alone when Benjamin Sterling appeared in the hotel lobby, as if he had been expecting her.
"How about we go check out Jaxen First High?" he asked, his tone deliberately familiar.
Benjamin Sterling wanted to go with her to awaken her memories of how she used to revolve around him, to remind her of how much she had once loved him.
Before he could finish, Rose Joyce appeared out of nowhere, latching onto his arm and interjecting in a syrupy voice, "Benjamin, I want to go too! I want to see where you went to school!"
The look she gave Maxine Rhodes was clearly defensive.
Maxine Rhodes thought this was perfect. The idea of going alone with Benjamin Sterling made her skin crawl.
When Ethan Hawthorne returned to the hotel after finishing his work, Erza Sinclair was by his side, reporting in a low voice, "Mr. Hawthorne, Mrs. Hawthorne and the others just left for Jaxen First High School."
Jaxen First High School. The place that held the secret feelings of his youth. As it happened, he wanted to go take a look, too.
Meanwhile, Maxine Rhodes and the other two arrived at the gates of Jaxen First High School. It was the weekend, so the campus was especially quiet.
"Can I help you folks?" The guard on duty stopped them, his gaze one of routine scrutiny.
Benjamin Sterling immediately stepped forward and offered a business card, his tone laced with his usual sense of superiority. "Here, my card."
He paused, as if it were a casual aside, though he couldn’t hide his boastful tone. "You must be new. I was a pretty big deal when I was a student here."
The guard took the card and glanced at it, his expression completely flat. "Ah," he said in a businesslike tone. "As per the rules, no outside personnel are allowed on campus."
Clearly, he’d seen plenty of people trying to trade on their "distinguished alumni" status.
Benjamin Sterling’s hand froze in midair, a flicker of embarrassment flashing across his face. Rose Joyce saw this and immediately jumped in. "Sir, we really are alumni, we just want to take a quick look..."
Just then, Maxine Rhodes took a student ID from her purse and handed it over with both hands.
Her voice was calm and clear. "Is it possible to register using my information? This is my student ID."
The guard’s gaze fell on the card. It was visibly dated, yet perfectly preserved. He was clearly taken aback.
He took the student ID and looked at the photo of the fresh-faced girl with exceptionally bright eyes. Then he looked up at the poised, professional Maxine Rhodes standing before him, and his expression of nonchalance instantly shifted to one of sincere respect.
"Wow, this ID has some years on it, and you’ve kept it in perfect condition!" The guard’s tone immediately warmed. He briskly opened the gate, remarking, "You can tell right away she’s a good student who truly cares about her school! Please, come in, come in!"
The sudden reversal left Benjamin Sterling’s hand, which had been extended to retrieve his card, frozen in midair. His face turned pale, and Rose Joyce sullenly shut her mouth.
Far behind them, Ethan Hawthorne took in the entire scene, a knowing tenderness in his eyes.
’She cherishes this place, just as I do.’
Stepping onto campus, a familiar yet strange atmosphere washed over her. The camphor trees lining the avenues were thicker and more luxuriant, casting vast, cool shadows. The old red running track had been replaced with a standard synthetic one, and the academic buildings had been given a fresh coat of paint.
Walking down this familiar path, Maxine Rhodes’s feelings were complicated.
This place was indeed the burial ground of her tumultuous youth—the heart-pounding crushes, the anxious emotional swings, the humble and cautious affections.
Looking back now, it didn’t feel like a fond memory. All that remained was a faint sense of absurdity and self-deprecation. She had wasted so much energy here, chasing a silhouette that was utterly unworthy of her.
As they walked along the tree-lined path, Benjamin Sterling deliberately slowed his pace to walk beside Maxine Rhodes.
He cleared his throat, adopting a tone of manufactured gentleness. "Maxine, do you remember? You always used to..."
"I don’t remember." ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Maxine Rhodes cut him off calmly. Her gaze swept over a newly installed reading nook by the path, her tone unreadable. "The only thing I remember is how much time I wasted here that I should have spent studying and doing practice problems."
Benjamin Sterling’s expression froze, and his fingers tightened slightly around his phone. The nostalgic atmosphere he’d tried to create was shattered by her casual dismissal. ’Those deeply felt moments he was so proud of... were just a waste of time to her?’
Not wanting Benjamin Sterling to keep talking to Maxine Rhodes, Rose Joyce pointed to a spot in the distance. "Benjamin, the wisteria trellis over there is so beautiful! Let’s go take pictures!"
She all but dragged Benjamin Sterling away in the other direction.
Just then, Maxine Rhodes’s steps faltered. Her gaze was drawn to an unremarkable green bench by the path, its paint chipped and worn.
Before she could process the strange feeling that flashed through her mind, a deep, steady voice sounded clearly from behind her. "This spot, between four and four-thirty in the afternoon, gets the best light. Not too glaring."
