Philip covered his face.
It hurt.
He felt a burning sensation on his cheek.
It was so humiliating.
The slap from Ben almost shattered the bond between them.
And it happened publicly.
The reporters captured everything.
It was the most humiliating experience of Philip’s life.
Ben’s statement that Philip was his best disciple now seemed ironic and laughable.
Ben also realized this as he quickly took out his phone and deleted the tweet he had posted.
Sandra found their attempt to divert attention pitiful.
“Emily, what about you?”
Sandra had asked Emily several times, and Emily had earnestly chosen Ben.
Emily believed that Ben wouldn’t speak without reason. If Ben had said the design was bad, then it must have been truly bad.
Therefore, Emily had sided with the wrong person.
“Sandra, it’s my fault. I thought that you might not have received a good education and couldn’t compare to Mr. Harrison.”
Henric sneered.
“Not having received a good education doesn’t necessarily mean that a person has poor character or knowledge.
“Mrs. Cooper perfectly exemplifies this. I don’t think I need to explain further.”
He appeared so proud, as if he had claimed all the designs.
Then, he looked at Wesley obsequiously.
Ben left in a huff.
Philip and Emily also headed towards the door.
As they left, the air felt much fresher.
It was Wesley’s task to negotiate with the two men. So, Sandra went back to the technical department.
At the entrance of the Cooper Group,
“Leave me alone!” Ben yelled.
If there were a time machine in the world, he would go back to the day he posted the tweet.
He would never admit that he had a disciple named Philip.
“And this.”
He took out the bottle of red ink and handed it back to Philip.
“I haven’t opened it. From now on, you are no longer my disciple. Goodbye!”
Philip panicked.
Everything had been going smoothly.
He had traded nearly half of the Hill family for the bottle of red ink, and now Ben was returning it to him!
Ben quickly got into his car and left when Philip wasn’t looking.
“Philip.”
Tears welled up in Emily’s eyes.
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to help.”
Philip was still immersed in the pain of being expelled by Ben.
He wasn’t in the right state of mind to comfort Emily.
“You go back. I want to be alone for a while.”
Emily was stunned.
Did he really not want to comfort her?
How was this possible?
She even felt like Philip no longer cared about her.
“Philip.”
She wiped away the tears in the corners of her eyes.
“Would you abandon me?”
Philip’s face darkened.
“Would you stop crying?”
Emily’s eyes widened instantly. Tears stood on the rims of his red eyes.
Philip yelled at her!
He had always been pampered and protected since he was a child.
Philip had never yelled at her.
But now, he left her alone and yelled at her.
She couldn’t help but cry out loud.
But because Philip was in a bad mood, her crying only irritated him further.
“Alright, I’m leaving.”
He hailed a taxi and left without looking back.
Emily hurriedly hailed a taxi, wanting to follow him.
But she hesitated.
He had just said those words out of anger, and he would still treat her well in the future.
She had more important things to do.
With this in mind, Emily let out a sigh of relief and told the driver, “The Hill Mansion.”
The taxi quickly left.
What she didn’t know was that another taxi was following closely behind.
The design department had done a great job. The reporters eagerly reported on it.
But after being discussed for a few days, it had lost some of its buzz.
In order to attract attention, the reporters leaked the details of what had happened in the design department at that time. They had filmed many videos and gradually released them online. Netizens insulted and eventually completely boycotted Ben and Philip.
Philip was a proud person.
His school was affected by public opinion.
He might even be fired.
Philip sneered.
“It was all for nothing.”
“Did I really do something wrong?”
At the thought of Sandra and Emily, he frowned.
“I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“She’s just a village girl.”
Before he could finish, he let out a bitter laugh.
Philip had always trusted his own eyes and judgments.
The first time he saw Sandra, she was standing at the top of a mountain. He was out of breath and nearly fainted. Sandra, however, could go up and down the mountain several times a day without breaking a sweat.
He couldn’t accept being outdone by a woman, so he grew to dislike Sandra.
Later, when they went to pick up Sandra, Emily fell out of the car. Deep down, Philip could sense that Sandra was proud but would never resort to such lowly acts.
Yet, when everyone blamed Sandra, he didn’t speak up for her. Instead, he joined in slandering her.
He convinced himself that he hadn’t done anything wrong, but the strange feeling in his heart lingered.
In fact, he even felt… a little guilty.
Of course, it was only a little. How could he have any sympathy for a village girl?
So, he closed his eyes and tried to forget about it.
But the incident spread across the Internet, instantly becoming a hot topic.
Ben’s reputation was left in tatters.
He had once been a respected master painter, but his lack of knowledge of ancient patterns meant he no longer deserved to be called a professor.
The university where Ben had served quickly issued a statement, revoking his professorship and terminating his contract.
Furthermore, folk organizations like the Academy of Fine Arts distanced themselves from him.
Ben’s disciples, all capable and well-known in the industry, found their futures ruined because of him.
But things were different now.
After coming down from the mountain, she had seen the world in a new light. She realized there were many things more important than life itself.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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