The Retired CEO's Guide To Being Spoiled-Chapter 208: Acknowledging the Identity
After Vince Sutton and his group of followers finally departed from the vicinity, Julian turned around and prepared to pack up his personal belongings. Right at this exact moment, he caught Kian’s highly curious gaze, and so Julian asked in return: "What is it?"
"Are you... are you truly the real young master of the Sterling family?"
Hearing this sudden question, Julian could not help but raise an eyebrow in mild surprise. Who would have expected that this highly dramatic tale of the real and fake young masters had actually reached all the way to St. Lawrence University, and that there were people even here who had heard of it. But thinking about it carefully, it made perfect sense. After all, this was the very place where Aaron Sterling, the esteemed main character of this novel, was currently studying and actively building up his flawless public image. Rumors and gossips concerning the high society elites had always been the most passionately discussed topics among the various student groups and social circles.
How could a matter regarding such a sensitive background possibly escape the rampant rumors circulating throughout the school grounds? It was just that he had no idea what kind of version was currently being widely circulated within the confines of this university campus. The news had probably stagnated at the time when the Julian in the book was still alive, acting as a clumsy background character, forever serving as the target of everyone’s criticism and constantly being brought out to be compared against the utterly perfect Aaron Sterling.
No wonder Vince Sutton possessed such an arrogant attitude, even daring to publicly declare him to be a dog abandoned by the Sterling family right in the middle of a crowded place.
However, Julian did not mind this at all. When it came to reputations, for the upper-class society or those greedy for profit, there were certain things that could easily be bought off in large quantities simply by spending a little money and utilizing the right manipulative tricks. If Aaron Sterling could trample upon the flesh and blood of others, using the original owner’s profound misfortune to forge his own reputation as a pure white swan, then Julian certainly did not lack the means to step right over Aaron Sterling’s head and ascend to the top. He was fundamentally never the type of person who would simply resign himself to letting other people dictate the course of his own destiny.
And so, he did not hesitate in the slightest as he nodded his head, calmly acknowledging the truth: "That is correct, it is me, why do you ask for this?"
"Ah... about that..." Kian’s tone of voice was quite hesitant, and his two hands clasped together in clear embarrassment and confusion. It seemed as though Kian wanted to delve deeper into the hidden corners of this wealthy family’s dramatic saga, yet he did not dare to be overly abrupt or intrusive.
Kian was originally a person with a highly sociable and lively personality, but that inherent friendliness was strictly limited within clear, measured boundaries. Furthermore, Kian was a very delicate and observant individual, someone who typically would not casually try to befriend those who dressed in an overly luxurious manner or radiated a cold, distant aura. Perhaps it was precisely because Julian’s way of dressing appeared far too ordinary, wearing only simple and unadorned clothing without intentionally showing off designer brands or expensive jewelry, that Kian had been able to converse with Julian so comfortably and naturally right from the very beginning. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
Now that he knew Julian actually came from an upper-class family with a resoundingly illustrious reputation, and furthermore carried such a relatively sensitive and complicated status, Kian inevitably felt a strong sense of apprehension and kept his guard up.
They were, after all, merely friends meeting for the first time in a university environment. At the very most, it was nothing more than a standard, superficial social relationship. As for Julian, he had long become far too accustomed to dealing with superficial social interactions of this exact nature.
"You can just ask directly, are you curious about matters relating to my background?"
Kian looked closely at Julian, and seeing that Julian did not seem to be the least bit angry, Kian timidly gave a very slight nod of his head.
"Well, it is exactly as you have heard, I am a member of the Sterling family. But the absolute truth is that they no longer have any need for me, or to put it more accurately, my very presence is a profound annoyance to them."
"But earlier you said to Vince Sutton... about that... the matter regarding the lawsuit or the financial compensation..."
"I was merely scaring Vince. If I did not put up a tough and unyielding front, what else could I possibly do? Was I supposed to just stand perfectly still and allow Vince to ruthlessly bully and oppress me, letting Vince completely humiliate my personal honor? Moreover, there was one particular sentence that Vince said which was entirely wrong. It is not that the Sterling family does not need me, but rather, to be perfectly exact, it is I who do not need the Sterling family."
As Julian spoke these words, he lowered his head and continuously proceeded to pack up his personal belongings into his backpack. He meticulously placed his laptop into its shockproof sleeve, then turned around to gaze at the tablet that had been trampled by that group of people until its screen was thoroughly shattered into a devastatingly crushed mess, secretly clicking his tongue in profound regret. This specific device was the very machine that Ethan Caldwell had so painstakingly selected, having just purchased it as a special gift for Julian not too long ago. In reality, there had not even been enough time to store any truly important data inside it.
The main issue was simply that Julian felt a lingering sense of pity for the immense effort and the deep, heartfelt care of the person who had gifted it to him.
Consequently, Julian gave a faint pout of his lips, yet he still meticulously picked up the ruined device and securely tucked it away inside his backpack. However, this somewhat regretful demeanor, coupled with the soft hair that cascaded down to obscure a portion of Julian’s face, caused the remaining university students who were still lingering behind to look upon his slender, fragile-looking back and suddenly develop a deep, welling sense of immense pity. In their observing eyes, he currently appeared just like a deeply wounded little kitten that was still desperately trying its absolute best to put on a strong, unyielding front.
Kian also felt a slight ache in his heart. He took it upon himself to overthink the situation, vividly imagining that Julian’s firm declaration from just a moment ago was nothing more than Julian throwing a temporary tantrum, desperately attempting to conceal the agonizing pain of being mercilessly abandoned by his own family. And so, Kian quickly stepped right up to Julian’s side, actively helping Julian gather up the few remaining school supplies scattered across the surface of the desk, before softly offering words of comfort, "It is all right now, after all, everyone is still a part of the exact same family... They are probably just temporarily angry with you over some trivial matter, just give it some time and everything will eventually be fine."
