Chapter 2

Maya's friends practically laughed themselves to tears.

"Oh, my God, Maya! Where did your parents even find this country bumpkin?"

"Do you have to speak only English with her all the time, then? That must be torture. She's vulgaire!"

Just then, there was some bustle at the front door. Simon came in with a foreign businessman.

The moment he saw me in my plain white T-shirt and jeans, his expression darkened. Evidently, he thought I was embarrassing him.

He quickly pulled Maya forward to hide me from view and introduced her with a smile.

"This is my younger daughter, Maya."

Maya immediately put on her most polished smile, a sweet and elegant one that she seemed to have rehearsed a thousand times.

"Welcome to our family's party. My father has always greatly admired the corporate philosophy embodied by you and your company. Actually, I've always been very interested in other cultures myself. For example…"

She launched into a long speech in a foreign language without pausing for breath. When she finally finished, she shot me a smug glance.

"Colette, I suggest you stand a little further away. It'll save you the embarrassment of not being able to join the conversation."

What she failed to notice, however, was that the businessman, Robert Landry, hadn't reacted at all. In fact, he remained silent the whole time with a faintly bewildered look on his face.

Clearly, he hadn't understood a word Maya said.

Simon's smile had stiffened as well, and I couldn't help bursting into laughter.

"What are you laughing at?" Maya demanded in a raised voice. "A country bumpkin like you probably didn't even understand a word I said!"

Ignoring her, I turned to Robert, who was practically dizzy from Maya's incoherent words, and smoothly repeated everything she said for him in fluent, natural accent.

Simon's eyes flashed with surprise, while Robert's expression immediately cleared. After thanking me, he turned to Maya and said in Carenese, "I actually speak a little English myself. If you're not comfortable speaking my language, we can communicate in English instead."

Snickers immediately broke out around us. Maya's face turned bright red.

I paid her no mind and continued chatting with Robert. We discussed everything from Marshenian colleges and Anglorian art history to capital markets and classical music.

I even switched between different languages when the conversation called for it.

No one else around us spoke. The bunch of socialites who'd been mocking me with Maya were sporting stiff, awkward expressions as well.

I caught the looks of shock and even awe in the guests' faces.

I'd done it again! Yet another group of people had been blown away by me.

Maya stood rooted to the spot. She jabbed a finger at me and shrieked in fury, "Colette! You said you couldn't understand anything! Were you playing me this whole time?"

I shrugged. "That's not a fair accusation. If even a native speaker couldn't understand what you said, isn't it perfectly reasonable that I couldn't either?"

"Why, you—"

Seeing his precious little sister being humiliated, Alvin hurried over and stood defensively in front of her. "You think you're so great just because you know a few other languages?"

Eyeing me coldly, he declared, "Children in families like ours are brought up to have vision, competence, and a broad perspective! We're not trained to be translators. Who'd brag about knowing a handful of languages?

"And besides, you clearly understood everything Maya said just now. You deliberately pretended not to, just to embarrass her. That says everything about your character—"

"That's enough," Simon abruptly spoke up to cut Alvin off.

He now bore an entirely different expression—looking like a sly old fox who'd caught the whiff of opportunity.

"Colette has always been a smart kid. She just keeps a low profile and doesn't like flaunting her abilities," he declared while taking the initiative to pull me to his side, looking like a loving father.

"I owe this daughter of mine the most. She has had a hard life out there, away from the family. Thank goodness we've finally found her. The party today is held in her honor to welcome her home."

Inwardly, I sneered at his shameless performance.

Robert's admiration for me only grew, and he even suggested a business partnership with the family.

"Why don't we discuss that project in Angloria you previously brought up in more detail? Consider it a gift from me to celebrate Colette's reunion with the family."