Chapter 558: She Refuses to Play the Saint

The foreign man with blond hair and blue eyes was surrounded by a crowd, arrogantly lifting his chin to offer his critique.

"Indeed, your Veridia’s green plum is quite peculiar, but isn’t your national flower the peony instead of the plum blossom?"

"The peony’s flower language symbolizes wealth and prosperity. No wonder people say Veridia is a country without faith, where everything revolves around money..."

Upon hearing these words, many students at Stellerton University showed anger. Although Mr. Adams spoke in English, it wasn’t hard to understand the mocking tone in his words.

Unexpectedly, Fiona Vaughn and a few other girls approached with friendly smiles, seemingly ignoring the sarcasm in Adams’ words.

"Mr. Adams, it’s true that the national flowers of Veridia and Vesperia are different. Vesperia has the rose as its national flower, believing it brings love and fortune, peace to the world, and true courage, as well as the spirit of dedication to beauty."

Fiona Vaughn’s smile was gentle and elegant, but in the eyes of the angry students, her charm was no longer visible.

"Fiona, don’t you realize that Mr. Adams is mocking us?"

Of course, Fiona understood, but her role as the youth ambassador of both Veridia and Vesperia was obtained with Adams’ help. There were still many future events that required his assistance, so naturally, she couldn’t join the students in their outrage.

She pretended to be surprised and slightly furrowed her delicate brow.

"No? Mr. Adams is just stating the facts, right? Our national flower is indeed the peony, which symbolizes wealth and honor. Isn’t that common knowledge?"

"Fiona, no, I can’t call you a goddess anymore! Don’t you see that Adams is blatantly mocking us as being solely money-driven mediocrities?"

Fiona pursed her lips, her expression revealing a hint of grievance.

"But... Mr. Adams isn’t wrong. Isn’t society quite restless nowadays? Across Veridia, it’s true that there are fewer pursuing spiritual devotion; everyone is sacrificing important things for fame and fortune. In this aspect, for example, Vesperia’s universities are different from those at home. Their professors prefer innovative students over those who only know how to write papers or flatter their superiors."

What Fiona described indeed exists, but such matters must be viewed from both sides. Moreover, people from Veridia have a tendency to defend their own. Criticizing oneself is noble, but when a foreigner piles on, it’s naturally unpleasant.

The students were rendered speechless by Fiona’s words, unable to think of a rebuttal.

Although Mr. Adams didn’t understand Fiona’s Chinese, he could guess from the students’ flushed and speechless expressions.

He looked down proudly at the students.

"If you have objections, why not debate with me about why Veridia is a faithless country? Apart from money, is there no other divine aura that you collectively pursue?"

"For a populous nation of over a billion, if it’s solely fixated on money, its future development might be questionable. Although Veridia’s economy is currently the world’s second largest, it’s at the cost of sacrificing the environment and people’s health and welfare. This is unsustainable development."

"But it’s different in Vesperia. Our country supports youth entrepreneurship and values environmental protection and equality. I’ve heard many of you can’t even afford meals, and the welfare for those who wish to study is minimal. If you have the opportunity, you’re welcome to study in Vesperia and witness the true grandeur of a major nation."

As Adams droned on, a gentle yet sharp female voice suddenly interrupted him.

"May I ask, Mr. Adams, did you say all this just to elevate your country and satirize Veridia as being inferior everywhere?"

The crowd was surprised by the straightforward question, and they looked up to see a well-matched couple approaching hand in hand.

Cecilia Vaughn stood alongside Adrian Law. Despite their considerable height difference, they looked harmonious together, much like two picturesque landscapes, seemingly different yet beautifully united in their disparity.

...

"Sister..."

Fiona Vaughn stared wide-eyed at Cecilia Vaughn and Adrian Law’s interlocked hands, shocked beyond belief.

"Sister, where’s Rosalind? Why isn’t she with you? Mr. Law, how can you leave Rosalind unattended?"

Fiona’s elegant brows furrowed deeper as she saw Cecilia Vaughn looking nonchalant, unable to imagine what Cecilia had been up to the previous night.

Clearly, when Mr. Adams returned in the morning, she saw his clothes disheveled, with red marks on his neck and arms, indicative of some intimate encounter. Yet, Cecilia appeared calm, even comfortably holding Adrian Law’s hand...

An eerie suspicion arose in Fiona’s mind.

She tried to grasp onto that suspicion but didn’t dare to think further.

Cecilia looked at Fiona with amusement.

"Excuse me, isn’t Rosalind supposed to be with you? Why should I and Adrian be responsible for wherever she went?"

"But Rosalind said she was going to find Mr. Law..."

"She’s an adult; she has her own legs. Are we supposed to control her?"

Cecilia recalled the earlier scene at the campus gate where Rosalind fled in tears, clearly deeply affected.

— She had no sympathy for Rosalind wasting a night with someone like Adams. A woman who wanted to seduce her husband? If she could have sympathy, that would make her The Virgin Mary!

Sorry, Cecilia Vaughn is just an ordinary person!

...

Fiona bit her lip, trying to argue further.

But Cecilia was no longer interested in dealing with her and walked gracefully up to Mr. Adams.

"Mr. Adams, my previous question, could you answer it directly?"

Adams felt a headache seeing Cecilia, even somewhat guilty. He did enjoy himself immensely last night, only the partner happened to be Rosalind, and Adams didn’t dare to admit to Fiona that he hadn’t accomplished his task.

"Miss Cecilia Vaughn, you must have misunderstood. What I meant is that we can learn from each other, and indeed Vesperia is ahead in development. Wouldn’t you agree?"

Cecilia smiled sweetly, but her eyes were as sharp as a blade.

"Mr. Adams, hasn’t Vesperia ever experienced industrial pollution? Do Vesperians not care about money, and do each and every one of them have faith in noble causes?"