Chapter 615 - 611: A Date?

The commotion at this base quickly attracted the attention of the other teams on the floor. A number of curious people came out into the hallway to watch the spectacle. They all looked to be university students around the same age as Cecilia and Ethan Sterling.

And they were almost all guys.

"This place got rented out?"

"Beats me. The team from Republic University moved out over a month ago, so it makes sense that it’s been rented."

"Looks like they’re planning to renovate, huh?"

People were asking around as they watched the spectacle, but a new team moving in was nothing new to them. Practically all the university esports teams in Lorcain were based here in Solara Tower.

"I’ll transfer you 500 first. You just focus on getting the renovations done. Don’t worry about the money. Decorate it however you like. From now on, this is your territory. Everything has to be the best."

As Cecilia spoke, she was already transferring 500 to her brother’s account.

But then she reconsidered. For a base over 200 square meters, if they were to renovate it completely with the best materials and furnishings, inside and out, that amount might not be enough.

"Let me send you another 500."

"Sis, I don’t need that much! It’s way too much!"

Ethan Sterling was so shocked he quickly tried to stop her. While his sister often sent him money, it was always just for his allowance.

And now she was about to send him a thousand dollars all at once. He’d never had such a large sum deposited into his account before!

"It’s not a lot. This is for something important." Cecilia had already sent the money. She looked at her brother, her expression serious. "Spend what you need to spend. I have plenty of money. This is just to get you started. Once you’ve found your team members and officially formed the team, I’ll send you more."

Large transfers were usually delayed, so Cecilia told her brother to keep an eye out for the deposit.

"Sis, you bought me a base and now you’re investing all this money in me... It’s so much all at once. I don’t know how long it’ll take before you see any return on it." Ethan clutched his phone, looking both flustered and deeply moved.

"It’s too early to talk about returns. Even though I’m your investor, what I care about most isn’t the return, it’s that my little brother is happy. As long as you’re enjoying yourself, I can afford to spend whatever it takes. You just focus on having fun with this." Cecilia pinched her brother’s fair, tender cheek. "Besides, I have faith that you’ll bring me a return someday."

Ethan smiled, a little embarrassed. But since his sister had such strong faith in him, he wouldn’t sell himself short or be pessimistic.

"E-Ethan?"

While everyone was busy moving things out, someone at the doorway suddenly leaned in and called out to Ethan.

Ethan turned, and his face lit up. "Senior!"

Chandler Wright was peeking in from the doorway. He broke into a grin and asked, "Can I come in?"

"Of course! Come on in!" Ethan waved him over, and only then did Chandler Wright step inside.

Just then, Cecilia walked over to the window to take a call. Chandler pulled Ethan aside and whispered, "I heard yesterday... you bought this place?"

"My sister bought it for me." As he spoke, Ethan glanced toward his sister, his eyes filled with happiness. "She said renting was too much of a hassle, so she just bought it. Now it’s our own place."

"Your actual sister?"

"Yep. My sister’s the investor for my team. We haven’t even formed the team yet, but she told me to just go for it and not worry about the money."

"That’s amazing," Chandler said wistfully. "The other day when I heard you were going to form another university team, I was thinking about how hard that would be. The toughest part is finding an investor. I never imagined the hardest part for everyone else would be the easiest part for you."

"For me, the hardest part is finding team members." As he spoke, Ethan grabbed Chandler’s forearm and asked earnestly, "Chandler, want to give it a shot?"

"My skills aren’t on your level." Chandler seemed to lose his nerve, his voice barely a whisper. "Besides, I’ve been slacking for over a year. I haven’t really played seriously in a long time."

"You have to at least try! How can you say you’re not good enough before you’ve even tried?" Ethan looked at him, disapproving. "You’ve been a sub on their team for so long. Have you really never dreamed of stepping onto the main stage of a tournament one day?"

"I did, but I never got the chance. After a while, I just gave up on the idea."

"Don’t be so down on yourself. Seriously, trust me. Starting today, play for five hours every day and get your groove back. Sometime next week, let me see what you’ve got. If you meet my standards, I’ll sign you as an official team member right away. Chandler, you have to try! You’ve got nothing to lose!"

Just then, Cecilia finished her call and walked back over. Apparently having overheard her brother, she went right up to them, casually draped an arm over Ethan’s shoulder, and smiled at Chandler. "If you want to give it a try, don’t hold yourself back. Join my brother’s team. I can’t speak for everything, but the salary will definitely be higher than other teams, and the base environment and benefits will be the best, without a doubt."

Chandler stared at Cecilia, watching her pretty lips move, but he didn’t hear a single thing she said. Her words were just a blur. His mind was filled with just two words: ’So beautiful!’

"Then it’s a deal, Chandler!"

Ethan clapped Chandler on the shoulder, snapping him out of his daze. Chandler subconsciously gave a slow, wooden nod.

「Tuesday.」

Cecilia was up early, washing her face, putting on makeup, and picking out an outfit. She tried to be as quiet as possible, but the faint sounds still managed to wake Estelle Goodman.

Estelle Goodman groggily fumbled for her phone beside her pillow and glanced at the time.

Seven-thirty in the morning.

"Good lord, don’t you have late classes on Tuesdays?" Estelle Goodman poked her head out from behind her bed curtain. She was stunned to see Cecilia with a full face of makeup. "Is *this* your ’no-makeup’ look?"

"It’s a date!"

"Huh?" Estelle was flabbergasted. "What kind of sane person goes on a date at seven-thirty in the morning?"

"It’s a special situation today. Don’t worry about it. Just go back to sleep."

With that, Cecilia grabbed her bag, gave herself a once-over in the full-length mirror, and walked out of the dorm room.

The late autumn mornings in the north were already quite cold. The moment Cecilia stepped out of the dormitory building, she instinctively pulled her overcoat tighter and quickened her pace.

At the university entrance, Emeric Grant stood by a car at the side of the road. He wore black casual slacks, a light-gray knit sweater, and a matching jacket. The clean, coordinated color palette gave him a serious and composed air.

When he saw Cecilia, Emeric Grant raised his arm and waved.

Cecilia smiled from across the street. ’He really went to the trouble of coming to get me this early in the morning.’

After crossing the street, Cecilia stopped in front of Emeric Grant. She looked at him and said softly, in a natural tone, "Isn’t this a little too early?"

"Not at all." He was, as always, a man of few words. Before Cecilia could say anything else, he motioned for her to get in. "It’s cold out here. Get in the car."