Li Jia's gaze lingered politely on Sandy for only a moment before she turned her attention back to the two of them.
Although the two were somewhat different, the confidence and exuberance in their eyes were exactly the same. As soon as Jessica came up to Li Jia, she introduced herself. Her fluent Chinese impressed Li Jia. She hadn't expected Jessica to speak such standard Mandarin, which greatly improved Li Jia's first impression of the two of them.
"Hello, I'm Li Jia, it's a pleasure to meet you." Li Jia generously extended her hand and shook hands with the two very different beauties. Her Roman accent surprised the two women, who immediately switched back to Italian and chatted happily with Li Jia.
Sandy and Jessica are teachers at the Lillelands Middle School in Florence, Italy. They were invited by the organizers to participate in an exchange event on this beautiful island. According to Jessica, the exchange event was similar to a social gathering, where students from different countries would mingle together to enhance mutual understanding and communication, and the teachers would do the same. Jessica's words raised another question in Li Jia's mind: "A three-country student exchange event, just middle school students, they can only have simple English conversations, what kind of effect can that have?"
“Actually, this trip is something I’m really looking forward to. I came here hoping to experience a romance in a foreign land, and I think that would be a wonderful thing!” Jessica said with a smile, holding a glass of wine and standing next to Li Jia. Her sapphire blue eyes kept looking Li Jia up and down, making no attempt to hide her affection for her.
"Hehe, everyone says Italians are very romantic, and today I finally saw it for myself. Believe me, with your beauty, you're sure to have a wonderful romance." Li Jia raised her wine glass, clinked it against Jessica's, and then downed the entire glass of wine in one gulp. She replied with a smile.
Sandy, standing next to Li Jia, stared at her with a strange look in her eyes. After Li Jia said those words, Sandy's eyes became even more wary.
Sandy's reaction naturally didn't escape Li Jia's notice. Li Jia wasn't interested in the relationship between the two, but perhaps through them, she could indirectly verify whether her own thoughts were right or wrong.
"Jessica, what were your impressions of this place when you first arrived?" Li Jia changed the subject, abandoning the previous topic and launching into seemingly random small talk.
“It’s beautiful here, the mountains are beautiful, the water is beautiful, it’s just that the men aren’t handsome enough, haha. What about you? Is this your first time visiting this island?” Jessica seemed not to notice Sandy’s gaze beside her, and continued to walk with Li Jia to the huge window, chatting with great interest.
"Yes, this is my first time here. I feel about the same as you. The mountains are beautiful, the water is beautiful, and the people are beautiful too, hehe." Li Jia was very relaxed in this kind of situation and subtly complimented Jessica and Sandy. Immediately, Jessica's face lit up even more, and even Sandy's expression softened a lot.
“The only downside is the hotel’s service. I prepared a ton of documents for registration, but they told me I didn’t need them, just an invitation. Why did I bring so many documents? Don’t you think I should feel annoyed?” Li Jia said, making a frustrated expression. Before Jessica could speak, Sandy whispered, “It’s just an exchange meeting, not a political gathering. It’s unnecessary. We only looked at the invitation when we arrived.”
“Oh, I see. It seems I was overthinking it. I’m sorry, it’s just our Chinese custom. We tend to take these kinds of things quite seriously.” Both women nodded in agreement with Li Jia’s explanation. Although they didn’t understand why Chinese customs were like this, since the man in front of them had said so, it must be true, because a teacher wouldn’t lie.
Temporarily putting aside his doubts, Li Jia hoped his intuition was wrong. After explaining, a charming smile appeared on his handsome face. "Ladies, how about we take a stroll over there?" Li Jia pointed to the area where students were gathered in the distance. Jessica and Sandy nodded, and the three of them, holding their wine glasses, walked towards the student area. Among hundreds of students, Li Jia found the person he was looking for in the shortest amount of time. At the edge of the student area, two tall men stood out conspicuously, and not far in front of them was Li Xiaoyue, the person he was looking for.
Li Xiaoyue has now grown into a young woman. What impressed Li Jia the most was her expression. It was an unusually calm face with an air of authority between her brows. Yes, an air of authority. As she watched the students around her chatting happily with their new friends, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, proclaiming her disdain.
"What are you looking at?" Jessica noticed that Li Jia's eyes were slightly dazed, and then followed Li Jia's gaze. When her eyes fell on Li Xiaoyue, she immediately smiled at Li Jia and said, "It's Emily, a very unique girl."
“Emily?” Li Jia murmured, repeating the name. Looking at Li Xiaoyue, she sensed the faint authority emanating from her. “What gives her such an aura?” Li Jia shifted her gaze away from Li Xiaoyue, a bigger question rising in her mind.
What kind of environment did Li Xiaoyue, whom we haven't seen for many years, live in that led to her current state? With these questions in mind, Li Jia turned to look at Jessica, who was still standing beside her. "Jessica, how much do you know about Emily? I think she really is as unique as you said."
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