Chapter 106: The Public kiss

"Does anyone else here have any single remaining objections to Julian Vance receiving the grand prize?" Victoria asked, her eyes sweeping across the hall.

"NO!"

The students roared back in instant, unanimous agreement.

Victoria slowly turned her gaze back to Julian Vance. In that exact fraction of a second, the icy, predatory hostility that had frozen her face moments ago melted away, replaced by an expression of unusual, overwhelming gentleness.

A radiant, adoring smile lingered softly on her crimson lips.

The surrounding students clutched at their chests in absolute envy.

"Is CEO Victoria Sterling’s facial expression allowed to shift that fast without getting penalized by physics?!"

"My god... is this tender, melting gentleness a special privilege reserved exclusively for Julian Vance? Jealousy has officially mutated my DNA."

"I am officially volunteering to be Julian Vance right now. The way President Sterling looks at him is practically dripping with obsessive doting..."

What kind of top-tier, hyper-addictive idol drama script were they accidentally living through right now?!

Under the gaze of hundreds, Victoria took a deliberate, unhurried step forward across the aisle directly toward Julian.

Julian’s right eyebrow twitched involuntarily. Seeing that familiar, focused look in Victoria’s dark eyes, he instinctively felt a foreboding premonition that something wildly unpredictable was about to happen.

Victoria stopped right in front of Julian. Standing side-by-side, the two of them radiated an aura of aesthetic perfection, looking like a visually flawless match straight out of a glossy magazine cover.

Off to the side, Natasha’s face turned completely distorted with bitter, burning jealousy.

"My Julian," Victoria murmured, raising her fine, dark eyebrows playfully. "It appears there are still a few skeptical souls in this room who refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of our relationship. Why don’t we do something concrete to prove it to them once and for all?"

Julian frowned slightly, looking down at her with a puzzled expression. "Prove it? How?"

Victoria nodded firmly, her expression turning dead serious. "Yes. If we don’t thoroughly demonstrate the ironclad reality of our bond right here in front of everyone, these uneducated gossips will just continue whispering malicious lies behind our backs."

"It’s fine, Victoria, really—you don’t need to mind them," Julian replied dismissively.

After all, those students were just chirping birds in the background; listening to their petty noise wasn’t going to strip a single physical layer of flesh off his bones.

"But I mind," Victoria countered softly, her gaze unwavering. "I refuse to allow my Julian to carry even the slightest speck of dust or unverified scandal on his reputation."

"So... let’s give them absolute, indisputable proof, hmm?"

Julian’s brow furrowed deeper. He suddenly had a sinking, inescapable intuition that he had just willingly waltzed right into a meticulously baited trap sprung by Victoria.

"Well? Don’t you agree?" Victoria prodded gently, tilting her head up toward him. Her dark eyes reflected his silhouette entirely, crowding out the rest of the world.

"...Fine," Julian muttered, feeling as though he was being hypnotized by her gaze, nodding almost uncontrollably.

Victoria smiled triumphantly.

As she prepared to execute her plan, she deliberately cast a sharp, sideways glance directly toward Natasha’s row.

She wanted to let Natasha—Julian’s former, arrogant object of affection—witness this scene with her own eyes. She wanted to establish a crystal-clear visual boundary showing precisely who Julian Vance belonged to now, and who held his heart.

Slowly, Victoria rose up onto the tips of her toes.

Right in front of the entire third-year finance cohort and the stunned panel of university administrators, she leaned upward and pressed her soft, crimson lips straight onto Julian’s mouth.

Julian stood completely frozen on the spot, his mind going utterly blank. He genuinely never anticipated that Victoria would pull off a stunt this bold and brazen in the middle of a packed academic lecture hall.

He stood stiffly, caught entirely unawares.

Victoria closed her eyes peacefully, parting her lips slightly as she deepened the kiss, her tongue lightly brushing past his teeth, intertwining intimately with his lips.

The entire lecture hall was watching them live!

Up at the podium, Principal Smith felt his jaw literally unhinge, his brain short-circuiting.

Wait a minute... wasn’t the corporate rumor mill reporting that CEO Victoria Sterling was an ice-cold, aloof deity who lived a strictly celibate, untouched life?!

If those rumors were even remotely accurate, how on earth was the legendary CEO casually devouring a university student’s lips in front of two hundred witnesses?!

A few rows back, Ethan Mercer clenched his fists so hard his nails dug deep into his palms. Staring at the passionate display unfolding before him, a suffocating wave of bitter, indescribable jealousy tore through his chest.

Up until this exact second, Ethan had foolishly convinced himself that Victoria Sterling’s romantic fixation on Julian Vance was likely nothing more than a superficial, casual arrangement—a fleeting whim.

Yet, here she was, publicly kissing Julian with unreserved, fierce devotion!

In her past life, Victoria had never once offered him a kiss this intimate or passionate.

Just what dark, hypnotic sorcery did Julian use to completely manipulate Victoria into this state?!

Ethan drew a harsh, jagged breath.

Fine... let them be. With Victoria completely wrapped around Julian’s finger, she shouldn’t have any spare attention left to hunt him down.

And yet... watching Victoria belong so completely to another man left a vast, aching void inside Ethan’s chest. It felt sick and wrong, as though a piece of property that rightfully belonged in his universe had been permanently stolen away.

Meanwhile, Natasha stared wide-eyed, her pupils dilated as she watched Julian and Victoria locked in that intense embrace.

Julian actually let that woman kiss him again!

This made it the second time! And this time, they were kissing shamelessly in front of the entire university faculty and student body!

Julian had spent years acting as her most devoted, loyal lapdog, hanging onto her every word. Yet, suddenly, he was displaying this level of intimate passion with another woman.

Does he have any idea how the rest of the student body is going to view her from now on after this massive public humiliation? Does he genuinely care absolutely zero about her feelings and dignity anymore?!