The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)

Elijah was invited to Cloudcrest High School as an honored alum to give a talk, all thanks to Lysander.

Over the years, his perfume brand had gained international prestige, and naturally, his fame in the country was sky-high.

When the news spread that the founder of this internationally renowned perfume brand was coming to the school for a talk, the guys were chill about it, but the girls were all over it. On the night of the speech, the girls who were waiting to give Elijah flowers even blocked the school's entrance.

Not only were the students from Cloudcrest High School present, but girls from other schools also flocked here upon hearing that Elijah was coming. Just for a glimpse of him.

Among all the girls in the school, only the girls of Class Eighteen were the exception. They were all busy studying and had no plans to attend the lecture.

However, Charlotte was still shocked by the bustling crowd in front of the school auditorium. She said to Faye, "Elijah's comeback this time has caused quite a fuss. You might not know, but he once had a thing for Arabella, but she was totally not into him. Now Arabella's reputation has hit rock bottom while he is making big waves. I wonder if Arabella will regret it."

Before Faye had a chance to respond, a cold laugh came from behind.

"Ha."

They turned around, and it was Arabella.

She looked at Charlotte and Faye with a smirk and then headed towards the auditorium.

"She's such a fake saint. She moves like a ghost." Charlotte mumbled under her breath after her.

"Forget it. Let's go back to the classroom and hit the books." Faye pulled Charlotte away.

School auditorium.

Vivienne could have chosen not to attend Elijah's speech, but she was curious about his intentions, so she came anyway.

As soon as she sat down, Percival plopped down next to her and naturally took her hand.

Vivienne was initially engrossed in her phone and didn't react, but after a while, she realized that she seemed to have gotten used to Percival's hand-holding. When he held her hand, she didn't feel uncomfortable or repulsed. In fact, she felt like it was right, as if they were meant to be that way.

She was startled by her own thoughts and abruptly tried to pull her hand away.

Her action was so sudden that Percival didn't react in time and got scratched by her nails.

Both of them were stunned.

Vivienne looked at the scratch on Percival's palm and felt guilty.

Because of this guilt, when Percival took her hand again with a pitiful face, she couldn't refuse and even felt helpless.

"Heh."

A cold laugh came from behind.

Vivienne turned around, and saw that Arabella was sitting two rows behind her.

Even though Dr. Caleb confessed his crimes and Arabella was released due to a lack of evidence, it was a fact that she had framed Vivienne.

Almost all the students in the school had seen the video from the hospital room that day. Arabella, out of jealousy, attempted to kidnap Vivienne and even tried to kill her with a knife.

Even though this incident did not physically harm Vivienne, and Arabella got off the hook because other people took the blame for her other crimes, the fact that she could turn into a killer at any moment frightened everyone.

Therefore, other students did not want to have anything to do with her, including Coral, who once considered her a close friend. Even though the auditorium was packed, nobody was sitting near Arabella. When Vivienne looked at her, Arabella laughed coldly as her eyes greedily landed on Percival. "You and Mr. Ellington seem to be very close." However, today, Vivienne felt annoyed to see Arabella staring at Percival. It was as if something that belonged to her was being coveted. At this moment, she didn't realize that this was the possessiveness she had for Percival.

"Vivienne, let's move. This place is a bit filthy." Percival didn't even glance at Arabella. He pulled Vivienne away and changed seats. Upon hearing what Percival said, Arabella's face twisted, but she quickly calmed down and quietly waited there.

She had no room for mistakes.

But given the chance, she would snatch Percival back from Vivienne.

That man was supposed to be hers.

Soon, the students in the auditorium welcomed Elijah on stage with thunderous applause.

As soon as Elijah appeared, the girls in the audience immediately let out screams. "He's so handsome!"

Elijah on stage obviously heard this, and a smug smile appeared on his face. He enjoyed being adored by the crowd.

After delivering a passionate speech, he suddenly said, "Today, I came to Cloudcrest High School to take a fellow alum as my student."

The auditorium quieted down instantly at this statement, followed by gasps of surprise. People knew that many had wanted to be Elijah's student in the past, but Elijah had always refused, saying it wasn't the right time.

Now, he was openly announcing that he was taking an apprentice.

Everyone was guessing who this lucky person that Elijah had his eyes on might be.

Everyone knew that Elijah was not only the internationally famous Perfume Prince but also a student of Master Q.

To be accepted as his student was like having a connection with Master Q.

As long as this student wasn't a complete dud, it would be a piece of cake to make them famous.

This student was destined for great things if they continued on the path of a perfumer.

While sitting in the audience, a smug smile spread across Arabella's face upon hearing Elijah's declaration.

The next moment, Elijah, mic in hand, announced the name of the lucky student. "The student I'm going to take under my wing is Arabella."

"What?!"

"How could it be Arabella?"

"Has Elijah lost his marbles? Why would he choose someone with such bad behavior as a student?"

"Elijah must have just gotten back from abroad. He doesn't know what Arabella has done. She's fooled him!"

The auditorium was filled with a commotion as everyone's gaze shifted to Arabella. At Elijah's signal, she rose from her seat and nonchalantly made her way to the stage.

After seeing the bewildered expressions on the faces of the students below, Arabella's heart was filled with satisfaction and joy.

This was something she and Elijah had planned in advance. Even though they had pinned the blame on Dr. Caleb, her previous false accusations against Vivienne were still undeniable.

To wipe the slate clean of her past mistakes, she needed to overshadow them with greater glory.

If she could become the one and only student of the Perfume Prince, her past errors could be chalked up to youthful ignorance.

The only thing people would remember would be the fact that she was about to become a perfumer with boundless potential.

Upon hearing the doubtful voices of the students below, Elijah raised his hand to quiet everyone down. "Please settle down. I haven't been hoodwinked by Arabella. I know she's made some mistakes in the past."