The Day I Kissed An Older Man

[Look! She’s getting all anxious again!]
[Is she Corinne?]
LuckyAnn replied, [I’m Joe Mama!]
Corinne looked at the screen and knew right away that the enthusiastic individual with the ‘LuckyAnn’ username was Annie. She
exited the live stream and sent a message to Annie. [Go to bed. Don’t waste your time with them.]
Annie quickly sent another message. [But I’m pissed at them, Corinne! They’re slandering you when they don’t even understand
what’s going on!]
[I didn’t do anything wrong, so I have no reason to be afraid of anything. Be a good girl, and ignore them.]
Annie sent another emoticon denoting her frustration. Corinne did not reply to her anymore and clicked into the group chat just
below her chat with Annie.
[Aaron: What’s going on, boss? Why are people slandering your university entrance exam all of a sudden?]
[Xante: Our boss is the top student in the university entrance examination. That much is undisputed. Everyone in her year knows
that she excelled in her studies!]
[Aaron: Exactly! Every piece of news about her that has gone viral is nothing more than a bunch of bull! They’re alleging that our
boss got into the university using that person’s grades when it was the dean who personally made sure she enrolled in the
university!]
Corinne typed a reply. [The truth is often buried under a sea of wild rumors.]
[Aaron: That mother and her daughter who cried in the live stream... Who are they? Holden Group’s stock market value has
dived because of this incident. Things are much more serious than I imagined!]
[Corinne: She’s a classmate of mine in high school. They couldn’t have made such a huge commotion on their own. Someone
must be helping them to influence public opinion online.]
[Aaron: What should we do now? You’re skilled enough to hack into those platforms and remove the posts!]

Corinne pondered over Aaron’s suggestion before replying, [Let it be for now. I’m planning to observe the way this incident
progresses. Did you send anyone to keep an eye on the Carews recently, Aaron?]
[Aaron: The Carews? I’ve not paid any attention to them after you severed ties with them. Does this incident have something to
do with them?]
[Corinne: Get someone to watch their every move for the next couple of days. I’m curious to know if they might be in contact with
anyone. If you receive any information, make sure to let me know at once.]
[Aaron: At your command!]
[Xante: Is everything okay on your end? Did Mister Jeremy get angry at you?]
With the Holden Group’s stock market value plummeting because of what happened, it was blamed for it. After all, she was the
reason for the crashing value.
[Corinne: Don’t worry. I’m fine. He isn’t the type to believe something blindly.]
[Xante: That’s good to hear, Boss. Come back home if they ever treat you badly, okay?]
Corinne replied succinctly, [I will.]
Xante and Aaron were more than just her subordinates—they were like family to her. The three of them grew up together and
faced many hardships with each other along the way.
As soon as she exited the group chat, she saw that the most recent unread message was from Jason.
Corinne was reminded of Jason’s devilish face. He was the kind of person who would revel amid chaos. Though Corinne did not
want to click on his message, she gave it a bit of thought and decided to click on it in the end.
[How are you holding up, Corinne? Are the Holdens being harsh on you? If you need my help, just say the word, and I’ll do what
I can.]
It was one of those rare occasions that Jason refrained from making any flirty comments. Corinne did not plan to reply to him at
all, but Jeremy chanced upon that message as soon as he came out of the shower.