âDonât be foolish! I still have you. Even if you were to get married, Iâll visit you frequently.â
There was a hint of sorrow in her tone.
Roger remained silent, but he made a silent vow in his heart.
After a restless, sleepless night, Stella decided it was time to get up. The sky was still dark outside.
She arrived at the training center so early that even the security guard wasnât there yet.
She swiped her card and entered the building. She sat down, placed her bag down, and took out a bun from inside for breakfast.
Roger would usually have breakfast in school, so she didnât bother preparing herself an elaborate breakfast. She was fine as long as she didnât feel hungry.
After she finished her breakfast , she changed into her workout gear and started doing some warm-up exercises.
It was only when she was dancing that she felt like the old Stella-the Stella who was pampered like a princess by her parents, never lacking in love and always glamorous, at the center of everyoneâs attention.
Her chin was always lifted high and proud wherever she went.
In contrast, she would always walk around with her head and eyes lowered now, as if the only thing she wanted most was to disappear into the crowd, away from everyoneâs prying eyes.
The soft sound of footsteps sounded from outside. People were starting to stream into the training center Those who spotted Stella were not surprised to see her and greeted her as usual.
Stella had always been the most diligent teacher here. Coupled with her strong foundation and patience, she was very well-liked amongst the parents.
Such special, extracurricular training centers would usually have a recommendation system â Parents who liked a particular teacher would recommend that teacher to other parents.
Parents would go ahead and register their kids for classes taught by a specific teacher, and the teacher, in turn, would be able to receive a portion of the registration fees.
Stella was doing some leg, stretches when she heard the sharp, sour voices of a couple of women from behind her.
âYouâre here so early again. Seems like youâre doing pretty wellâ¦â
âI donât think sheâs just putting on a show. She has so many students in her class, of course, she has to come early to prepare. Otherwise, sheâd end up wasting everyoneâs time.â âDo you really think that she has so many students because she teaches well?â
âWhat else could it be?â
The woman looked at Stellaâs lithe figure through the glass and said with jealousy, âItâs only because sheâs pretty! Looks are key in todayâs society. Just look at that face of hers. Didnât you notice that itâs the fathers who come and register their children for her classes? Youâre still young and tender and donât understand how society works!â
Even the young teaching intern could sense the jealousy in her words.
However, she was not bold enough to rebut her, and instead simply smiled and tried to smooth things over, âHow could that be? Youâre quite pretty yourself, too. Whatâs more, there are many mothers who register their children for Teacher Ellaâs classes tooâ¦.â
The other woman ignored the second part of her sentence and focused only on the first half.
A wide grin spread across her face, unable to hide her glee. Yet, she went on to say, âHow could I be as pretty as Ella? She probably comes in a couple of hours early to do her make-up. Look at her skin-
itâs probably some natural â colored makeup she has on. How scheming of herâ¦â
Stella simply ignored the ongoing conversation.
After so many years, she had long gotten used to the people around her.
There would be no lack of people making up stories behind other peopleâs backs, and there would also be a fair share of people who would try to set the record straight. Thus, she merely focused on being herself, ignoring what the others thought.