Mysterious Woman is So Gentle by Mila Chan
Mysterious Woman Is So Gentle By Mila Chan Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Inside Arielle’s room.

Arielle felt neither unhappy nor unsettled in any way as she surveyedthe modestly

decorated interior of the hotel room.

Never mind that she had temporarily fallen out of favor with Henrick,her very presence

had already thrown this family into disarray, and amidst the ensuingchaos, she reckoned that

she would surely replace the truth which she sought!

The ceremony would begin in half-an-hour.

Before leaving the room behind, Arielle went before the mirror tostraighten out her

disheveled hair.

The girl staring back at her in the reflection looked unbelievablyfetching, coltish and

acquiescent, but only she herself knew this to be a mere facade.

A wolf masquerading in sheep skin bit faster, more incisively andviciously, and left no

chances for its enemies.

The venue for the ceremony was extravagantly luxurious, with thearoma of coffee from the

sampling stations of the various sponsoring roasters saturating the airinside.

Shandie picked up a cuppa the moment she entered and took a whifffrom it before tilting her head toward Henrick. “This is pretty good,smells full-bodied. And judging from its form, I

reckon that it should be from... Corleon.”

The sponsor at the side approached appreciatively when he incidentallyoverheard her. “You've a good eye, Miss. Our beans are indeed sourcedfrom Corleon.”

The man’s effusive praise for Shandie made Henrick’s heart swell withjoy as he looked

proudly at her.

While Shandie was basking in her moment of glory, she lifted her headto see that sponsor looking absolutely mesmerized by Arielle.

Shandie had no doubt that the man would start drooling were he tocarry on ogling, and

that irked her to no end.

I Although Shandie was a little over twenty just as Arielle was, theformer still came across

as a young lass who had yet to shake off her own girlishness.

In a few more years, there would be no telling whether Shandie herselfwould even be fit enough to be a complementary leaf to the ravishingrose that Arielle could become.

The very thought of that had Shandie gnashing her teeth and wishingfor Arielle to

disappear.

She thought that a country girl like Arielle should not show up andmess up her life like this!

Shandie took two steps to her left to block off the man’s line of sight,and harbored

deviousness in her eyes when she picked up a cup of coffee in the samemotion.

She shoved the beverage into Arielle’s hands and said, “Have a taste oftheir coffee too, Arielle. I thought it's rather decent.”

Before Arielle could respond, Shandie pressed a hand to her ownmouth as if she had hit

upon a realization. “I forgot that you“ve always stayed in thecountryside... So you must not have

taken coffee before, haven't you?”

The sparkle vanished from the sponsor's eyes behind her. He waslooking for an

ambassador for his company and had thought Arielle’s outwardlyappearance fit the bill.

It did not occur to him that she was from the countryside and had noteven drank coffee

before.

As lovely as the girl was, he deemed her unsuitable, or evenundesirable, as a brand ambassador since such an appointment wouldlikely be received negatively by netizens.

Arielle paid little heed toward Shandie’s comments and only wished totaste it for herself. The result of her sampling drew a frown from her.“Too bitter."

As fragrant as the coffee smelled, it was too acrid to the taste-buds andapart from the bitterness, there was little complexity to the aftertaste —The quality was not all that Shandie

made it out to be.

Shandie snatched the cup back from Arielle, adamant in the view that itwas Arielle who

did not understand coffee.

What does a country bumpkin like her know about coffee?

Arielle’s response was exactly as Shandie anticipated, and that greatlypleased her. The

latter then turned to the sponsor apologetically. “I'm sorry, mister. It'snot that your coffee isn't

good, but my sister here doesn’t know how to appreciate it.”

The man became more certain than ever that Arielle, who did notunderstand his product at

all, should not be up for consideration.

Once again, he regarded Shandie smilingly. “That's okay, since noteveryone is a coffee lover.

In that case, I'll be taking my leave. Good day, ladies.”

The sponsor nodded at Shandie before turning away.

Henrick was thoughtful as he watched the man depart, believing hisyounger daughter to be far more capable than his elder girl.

Afraid that Henrick might be upset, Cindy purposefully chided, “Really,Shannie. Why did you have to let your sister drink coffee in front of somany people?”

Shandie’s appeared quite indignant. “It just slipped my mind...”Henrick waved it off. “The girl had always been forgetful, but Arielle,how could you tell the

sponsor in his face that his coffee was bitter? You've really embarrassedme back there!”

With her head bowed, Arielle lowered her gaze apologetically. “I'msorry, Dad. Don't be

mad...”

“Bah, forget it!” Henrick looked away in annoyance before he regardedShandie. “It's almost

time, so you should go prepare yourself backstage. Dad and Momwould be waiting out there for

you to receive your prize.”

"Okay, Dad.” Shandie smiled pleasantly and waved to Cindy before shetook her pass

backstage, while Arielle followed Henrick and Cindy to the gallery.Whether by accident or intent, Arielle found herself left far behind by aHenrick who looked

like he was trying to keep his distance from something repugnant,acting as if they did not

arrive together.

Well, that was her dad. A good father who would happily toss her asideonce she no longer

proved useful!

Arielle’s eyes darkened in wistfulness, albeit for a second, but she kepther own emotions in

check and continued walking pliantly behind Henrick.

The ceremony commenced shortly after they were seated. The numberof visitors on the day was more than usual, primarily because of thepresence

of Vinson Nightshire as one of the guest-of-honors this year.

Many had fought tooth and nail to secure a slot at the event just for theopportunity to get

close to him.

Finally, the guests emerged after the introduction by the host; startingwith one of the

founders of Crown Coffee Academy, followed by a renowned barista inthe industry; and then

Rain Evans, who Arielle ran into earlier on the plane.

Last but not least, the host welcomed in the final guest. “Please putyour hands together for

the CEO of Nightshire Group, Vinson Nightshire!"

The rapturous reception at the mention of his name ignited went far toillustrate that more

than half of the crowd were here for him.

Those mounted video cameras were promptly directed toward the doorleading backstage.

At the end of the ceremony, the technicians would edit the footage andpost it onto Crown Coffee

Academy's official blog.

The documentation of the ceremony each year would receive extraattention largely

because of Vinson's expected appearance.

When Vinson strolled unhurriedly to the front of the stage to greet theaudience, he

suddenly caught sight of a familiar face.

Is that... Arielle?

His gaze lingered upon her for awhile before pulling away. He thenextended a bow to the people gathered in the seats. “Hello everyone,I'm Vinson Nightshire.”

The applause from the audience grew ever more fervent.

Seeing the positive response from the audience, the host called afterhim while he was

about to take his place amongst the other guests. “Look at the crowd,Mr. Nightshire. Why don’t you share a few more words with us?”Vinson considered turning down the invitation, but could not help butagree when his

thoughts came to that someone seated in the gallery.

He cleared his throat and unprecedentedly added, “It's an honor to beable to attend the awards ceremony at the invitation of Crown CoffeeAcademy. Today, I shall be announcing the

brand ambassador for Soir Coffee after the prize-giving.”

These words which were amplified by the sound system reached theears of Shandie backstage and sent her heart racing. Her eyes lightedup as though she would be accelerating to the highest point in her lifewithin the next second.

Becoming an ambassador for Soir Coffee meant that she would be ableto meet with Vinson in-person quite often, and that could only help hersecure a role in Sam's new film and catapult her into the upperechelons of society—-pure icing on the cake.

The very notion of that made Shandie grip her fists tightly. Being thechampion meant that the role of brand ambassador was surely hers forthe taking!

Meanwhile, at the front of the stage.

The host warmed up the crowd and saw Vinson to his seat beforeinviting the presiding

judge Rain onstage.

Rain was all smiles and glanced ambiguously in Arielle’s directionbefore he turned to

regard the audience. “Thank you, everyone, for taking time away fromyour busy schedules to

attend the awards ceremony...”

After some opening statements, he went on straight to the matter athand. “Now, we shall

announce the results of this round of competition, starting with thesecond runner-up..."

With the second and third placed prizes handed out, Rain took a pausebefore he declared,

“Congratulations to our champion, Shandie Southall!”

Backstage, Shandie held her breath before she elatedly walked onstageamidst thunderous

applause,

A blushing Shandie then received the winner's trophy from Rain.Made of pure gold, the trophy was quite hefty inside her hands, but shefelt like she was riding on cloud nine.

“Thanks, everyone. Thank you, Mr. Evans. And I'd also like to extend mygratitude to my parents for their continued support. I'll promise to keepworking hard!” Shandie was almost choking up with emotions.

At that moment, Rain said, “Now, let's invite Mr. Nightshire onstage toannounce his choice

for brand ambassador.”

Watching Vinson step up only made Shandie even more antsy, so muchso that she nearly

forgot to hand the microphone over to him in the process.

Vinson began when he took over, “I'm going to keep this brief and getright to the announcement.”

Eagerness as well as nerves consumed Shandie. Looking inside heropen palm, she found

that there was already a veneer of sweat on it.

Here it comes. Here it comes!

The pivotal moment of her life!

Without even glimpsing at Shandie, Vinson's eyes hovered over Ariellefor a second before I he said, “And the brand ambassador is... Arielle.Ms. Areille Moore.”