The Alchemists

Finland ran towards the bar and looked for Jean. She found him with a glass of liquor at the open bar. The LTX girls were all over him; giggling, flirting and taking pictures together.

"Jean... It's so good that you're here...!!" Finland exclaimed hastily. Jean put down his glass and welcomed Finland with a hug.

"This is a really cool event. Good job," he said.

"Yes, but we have a problem..." Finland whispered what happened to Jean's ear and his face changed instantly.

"Geez... he so desperately wants to win the bet..." Jean was very annoyed to hear what had happened, "Okay, I can help. Let's go backstage and I'll help directing."

Finland pulled Jean's hand to the backstage and the two disappeared into the crowd. The LTX girls who saw their interaction seemed very surprised. They did not expect Finland to be so friendly with the handsome man.

Could it be... that Finland invited him?

Meilin felt like she was swallowing a bitter pill. She herself said that she would thank anyone who invited her supermodel idol to the event. She never expected that the person would be Finland, the girl she hated.

Backstage, Ms. Fang, the models, staff from Bartz, and Tony Wu were taken aback when they saw Finland come in with Jean. They knew that the man was one of the most sought after and expensive male supermodels today. Many designers considered him to be their muse and he was also the face of various European premium products.

Even Bartz wanted to make him their ambassador, but Jean was just too busy to confirm.

His mere presence was a surprise to them, and when Finland proposed for Jean to take over the spot of their missing model, they were in shock.

"Are you serious?" They all asked almost simultaneously.

"She is serious," Jean answered. "Finland is my best friend, I will not let her hard work go down the drain because of a small issue like this. Let's just prepare everything, I can perform."

Sighs of relief was heard in the room and, somehow, someone started clapping and the rest follow suit.

"Just thank Finland, she invited me here. I'd do anything for this girl."

At that moment Tony threw a strange look at Jean. Finland caught the tension between the two.

What's with them? They only met on campus a few times, then Jean quit school and Tony continued his master's degree in United States. Finland didn't even expect they knew each other.

"If you had done your job well, Finland wouldn't have to suffer being gossiped as someone's sugar baby recently," Tony said curtly, but his voice was low enough so that only the two of them heard it.

"Finland is fine. If you don't know anything, don't be a smartass," Jean replied. He changed his clothes to the clothes prepared by the stylist, then put on a watch and some of Bartz's most expensive jewelries. Within a short time, he had transformed into the main model, no longer a guest of the show ...

Finland approached Jean and asked him in a whisper, "Why are you guys so hostile toward each other? How come I don't know?"

"Oh, he's still upset because I scolded him not to toy around with you, back in uni. He told everyone that he liked you, but when I challenged him to take you to his rich family, he didn't dare. He admitted to being embarrassed to take you to meet his rich family and friends. " Jean snorted, "He was a big jerk. I told him that he was not a good fit for you."

"Oh..." Now Finland understood what happened back in university, why there was a rumor that Tony had a crush on her but never approached her openly. Apparently, it was Jean who protected Finland from being played by men who were not serious with her.

She owed Jean again.

"Thank you..." Finland hugged Jean and tried to hold back her tears that almost fell. "I'm so blessed to have you."

Jean smiled and wiped her tears gently. "Psshhh... don't ruin your mascara. OK, time for me to perform..."

He entered the stage along with 9 other models and immediately captivated the audience. They were impressed by the latest and most luxurious products from Bartz as well as by Jean's mere presence. He was the hottest model in Europe and it was usually very difficult to book his schedule, but this evening he unexpectedly showed up here.

The managers from Bartz were very satisfied and excited. They couldn't wait to talk to Jean after the show was over.

The LTX International girls were just as surprised as the guests when they saw Jean appear. They felt very fortunate because their event became more exclusive with his presence.

Finland was relieved, because the show was a success... but she was also sad because she lost the bet…

After his performance Jean returned to the open bar where he could finally chat with Finland, under the watchful eyes of so many envious girls.

"I lost the bet..." Finland complained.

Jean was also sad to hear that. He knew how important the bet was for Finland. The girl had never been kissed by anyone before.

"Hello everyone, please, may I have your attention... We have a special guest this evening," said Ms. Fang who suddenly took the microphone from the MC. "The very busy Continental Hotel owner is willing to say a word or two."

Everyone looked at each other and immediately turned their gaze to the stage. Finland's office mates were one of the first to turn because they knew that she had a connection with the old cow.

"Good evening everyone, I am Heinrich Schneider. Thank you for choosing to hold this prestigious event at our hotel. Please enjoy the presentation that we prepared especially for LTX International and Bartz. I hope this event is a success."

The man wore a blue tuxedo and looked rich from head to toe. He was definitely not the old and ugly cow many people in LTX initially assumed. This was the mysterious rich man whose pictures or information could never be found on the internet. That was why people easily assumed that he was an old cow who liked to date beautiful young girls as sugar babies.

Now many were whispering how young and handsome this Continental Hotel owner was.

It was so unexpected!

Tony frowned and turned to Finland, "Why does he look like the impostor we sent to the police?"

Finland did not answer. She only pursed her lips, annoyed. She saw Caspar's gaze fixed on her, with his nonchalant look. The gaze then turned serious and dangerous when he looked at the person standing to Finland's right. She realized that Caspar was watching Jean.

Instinctively Finland took Jean's hand and stood in front of him to block Caspar's view. She didn't want Caspar to harm Jean like he had when he tried killing LTX's shares last week.

Finland would never forgive Caspar if he touched Jean, her only friend.

Caspar's face looked unhappy.