The Unveiling of Secret Queen

Chapter 1101: Chapter 1101: Playing dumb with him on purpose!

Her computer is typically assembled by herself, buying the parts and putting them together. Even the software running on the computer was specially developed for Red Alliance.

No takeout.

But the system runs so smoothly, it’s absolutely better than the ones commonly available.

”Hungry? Broken?”

”The disk is broken.”

Shawn Norton couldn’t figure out exactly which disk in the computer was broken, nodded, and didn’t protest: ”Alright, I’ll transfer the money to you later.”

Nathalie Quinlan gave a light chuckle, like a breeze ruffling the surface of a lake, relaxed and at ease: ”No need. It’s just a little money.”

”...” Shawn saw she didn’t care and didn’t insist on paying, but he made a mental note about it, deciding that if Nathalie wouldn’t take money, he’d buy her some gift as compensation for the computer. His somewhat clouded eyes flashed insightfully as he brought up the earlier topic: ”Have you decided what you’ll perform at the orientation ceremony?”

Talking about this made Nathalie’s head ache.

She had initially thought Tiffany Olsen would take the stage, allowing herself to evade the situation, but it turned out she couldn’t escape after all.

She didn’t hide it from Shawn and directly told him the decision made during the department’s negotiations: ”Nirvana.”

Shawn: ...

”There’s a solo dancer in our department who wants me to accompany her. She likes Lighten Chaser, so she chose Nirvana.” She explained further.

The explanation didn’t help much—if anything, it made it worse.

”...” Shawn rubbed his temples, a touch of exasperation showing in his expression as he looked at her with a half-suppressed grin: ”You’re done for. Once the orientation ceremony is over, your classmates will figure out who you really are.”

In fact, Nathalie just wanted to quietly get through university, but this kind of situation was inevitable. The Chinese Medicine department had just a handful of students; if none of them showed up, it wasn’t like they could just quit the whole thing.

Plus, Tiffany bringing this up clearly showed she had worked up the courage to contribute something for the department, and Nathalie herself had always hoped Chinese Medicine could gain more recognition. Besides, it was just a small favor—at most, people would find out she was Lighten Chaser, and that wasn’t a big deal.

”Doesn’t matter.” Nathalie shrugged, still carrying her usual laid-back, unconcerned demeanor.

Shawn didn’t dwell on it either and mentioned something else to her: ”Nathalie, it’s been a while since you wrote a new song. Stephanie Tanzil reached out to me as a middleman, asking if you could write her a new track. It’s meant to be for a pretty positive project... What do you think? If you’re too busy, I’ll turn her down for you.”

Shawn explained the project Stephanie had approached him with.

Nathalie didn’t immediately agree, nor did she outright reject it—she simply told him they’d talk about it after school started.

*

Meanwhile...

Zachmann Family.

Audrick Zackmann hurried back home in the evening after hearing from his agent that Caryn Zachmann was planning to perform Lighten Chaser’s Nirvana on the piano at the orientation ceremony.

Leonardy Zachmann had also just gotten home after finishing his work and was eating dinner with the family.

Caryn Zachmann and Celine Tucker were both there.

Prestigious families emphasized etiquette—don’t talk while eating or sleeping—so nobody really spoke at the dinner table; each person quietly ate in their own seat.

Audrick almost charged into the house as soon as his car was parked.

”Second Young Master is back,” the servant greeted him enthusiastically, hurrying over to help him with his stuff.

Leonardy, on the other hand, frowned slightly when he saw Audrick storm in like a whirlwind, showing no signs of maturity or composure, and spoke with irritation: ”Audrick, what’s this now? Coming home without calling ahead...”

Audrick ignored him, bypassed him entirely, and went straight to Caryn. Standing in front of her, his expression seemed heavy: ”I heard you’re going to perform Lighten Chaser’s piece at the orientation ceremony?”

”Why?”

Caryn placed her chopsticks on the bowl, unable to understand what he’d come home for, just to pick a fight with her. Why? She was clearly displeased, her face pulling into a frown as she lowered her gaze, acting as if she didn’t understand: ”What do you mean, why?”