Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Give me a little more time. I’ll be sure to reclaim my position. I will become Timothy’s wife and the Barkers’ matriarch!”

A sudden thought occurred to Harmony as she smiled and grinned evilly. “Besides, I already have a plan.”

“Alright then. I hope you won’t let ‘him’ down again.”

The other person ended the call after saying that.

Harmony frowned in dissatisfaction and put her phone away angrily.

Sooner or later, she was going to straighten out all those who looked down on her!

…

Having decided on securing the qualification to do the news report, Samantha wasted no time in collecting information about Selby Cornell.

After all, the only way to gain the upper hand was to understand the people involved.

Unfortunately, the information on the internet was relatively one-sided and the information that was available to all was practically worthless.

Making contact offline was a better course of action.

Samantha clicked on the university’s official website and downloaded a copy of the professor’s course schedule. She glossed over it and saw that he had lessons for the day.

Although Samantha did not know whether Selby would show up at the university to teach after what had happened, she might as well try her luck rather than sit around doing nothing. After all, she was never going to find out anything if she just sat around idly.

With that thought in mind, Samantha immediately packed her stuff, grabbed her bag, got up, and walked out.

Anchors who were tasked with assignments were allowed to leave the office and chase leads.

As Harmony returned, she chanced upon seeing Samantha head out. An unsettling grin appeared on her lips as she stared intently at Samantha’s back.

‘Samantha can keep dreaming if she thinks she can beat me again! I’ll be sure to destroy her in a single blow this time!’

Samantha took a taxi to the university. Upon entering, she politely asked a student who was just passing by, “Hello, may I know the directions to the physics department?”

The student was surprised but replied indifferently, “It’s that way.”

Samantha raised her eyebrows slightly and said, “Thank you.”

She walked toward the physics department and saw a group of people surrounding the entrance to the building. The cameras and microphones they held up was a clear indication that they were all reporters.

No wonder the student whom she asked for directions earlier had that expression and spoke in such a tone.

The news was a sensational one alright. The number of reporters waiting there was almost surpassing the number of students who came to attend class. It was so tightly packed that not even a fly could get through.

Judging from the situation, the professor must have come to teach that day.

Samantha thought for a moment then decided to head elsewhere instead of going over to join the group of reporters.

She soon arrived at the dining hall near the physics department and walked right in.

Since it was not yet lunchtime, the only people inside the dining hall were a few lunch ladies. They were sitting around idly and gossiping.

Samantha walked over and greeted them warmly with a smile. “Hello, ladies. How are you?”

The ladies in the dining hall raised their eyes to look at her.

Samantha’s smile became even more resplendent. “I’d like to request a favor.”

…

The school bell rang an hour later.

Students came out of the classroom building and walked towards the dining hall. A steady stream of people gradually poured in.

Samantha stood at one side and saw the lunch ladies asking the students whether they would be willing to do a questionnaire in exchange for some complimentary spare ribs.

The students were more than happy to fill out the questionnaire and claim their free ribs.

Samantha waited patiently in the dining hall for more than three hours. Once all the students had finished their meals and left, she got up and walked toward the ladies.

She paid them for the spare ribs, took the thick stack of questionnaires, then thanked them and turned around to leave.

After getting in the car, she logged onto Waybo and found out that the group of reporters earlier had come up empty handed, just as she expected.

Samantha put down her phone and looked at the stack of questionnaires, hoping that she would be able to collect some useful information that day.

When she returned to the villa, she informed Old Madam Barker and Aunt Julia that she already had a quick dinner in the university dining hall then went straight upstairs and headed for the study. 

Samantha went through every single questionnaire in the stack and set aside those from the students of the physics department.

After separating and organising everything else, she picked up the questionnaires from the physics department and began reading the results.

Since she had not been able to hear it straight from Selby himself, she might be able to understand Selby’s character through a different perspective. Those students were all Selby’s students and everything they said was worth referring to.

There were good and bad evaluations, which she further separated into different piles. The good evaluations were put on the left, the bad on the right, and neutral ones in between.

She finally finished going through them after about an hour and decided to blink her eyes a little to rid herself of the fatigue.

Neutral evaluations were relatively rare and the majority of responses were positive.

Samantha frowned as a result.

Since everything was skewed in one direction, the professor was either someone with really good character or he was very skilled at pretending.

If Samantha accidentally made a wrong judgment, she would have little chance of making any progress.

Samantha drummed her fingers on the table and flipped through the questionnaires once more. She wanted to try and see if she could find any detailed information from the material she had.

All of a sudden, a pair of fingertips were placed on her eyebrows and gently smoothened the creases of her frown.

Samantha was stunned for a moment. She looked up and was surprised to see Timothy’s handsome face. “Why are you home?”

She had been so engrossed in her work earlier that she did not even notice him coming in.

Timothy cocked an eyebrow when he heard her question. “Just yesterday, you were blaming me for neglecting you and causing you to overthink. Now you’re asking me why I’m home after I took the initiative to come back and spend time with you today?”

“…No, I’m just…surprised!” Samantha hurriedly found an excuse and blinked her big eyes at him.

Timothy’s slender fingers reached forward to pinch her cheek as he glanced over at the questionnaires scattered on the desk. “What’s all this?”

“I’m reading the university students’ opinions of Professor Selby Cornell.” Samantha responded, “Our department head tasked us with investigating Professor Cornell and writing a press release. Whoever produces the best draft will be given the chance to report it on television. This is also a chance for us to make an impression on Ms. Goldman.”

“Selby Cornell? The Cornells’ only son?” the man asked plainly.

That tone of his…

Samantha unconsciously looked at Timothy. “That’s him. Do you know him, Timothy?”

“Yes.”

It should not come as a surprise that Timothy knew Selby since the Cornells had a long history as a rich family.

Samantha finally had a breakthrough!

Samantha’s eyes lit up immediately. She hugged Timothy’s arm and looked at him eagerly as she asked, “In that case, how much do you know about Selby?”

Timothy lowered his gaze to make eye contact with her and the corners of his lips curled up into a suggestive little grin. “That would depend on how sincere you are, Mrs. Barker.”

Samantha blinked a couple of times, and became both embarrassed and angry the next second. “Timothy! It’s your duty to help your wife, especially after what you did yesterday…”

He did her in all sorts of positions the night before and her back still ached as a result. If he were to do it to her again that night, she felt she would not be able to get out of bed the next day.

She was on assignment during the next couple of days and could not just let him do as he pleased.

Samantha thought for a moment and stood up abruptly. She shoved Timothy onto the chair and immediately sat on his lap. He pressed both hands over his shoulders and threatened him aggressively, “Don’t even think about leaving if you don’t give me a proper answer!”

Timothy’s black pupils stared calmly at her. After half a second, he opened his lips and spoke in a slightly hoarse tone, “Do you really expect me to give you a proper answer after you do this to me?”

Samantha merely wanted to trap him, but she just noticed how ambiguous of a posture she was in. After coming to realize that, a blush started to appear on her cheeks.

She instinctively tried to get up, but the man had already hugged his arms over her slender waist and pressed her back into his embrace. He placed his thin lips against her ears and said in a naughty tone, “I’ll answer you now that I’ve seen your sincerity.”

“Selby…is a very honorable man..”