The Trending Topic Herself: The Villainess is the Superstar!-Chapter 67: Old Scores

Joel Quinn’s smug demeanor was evident; he found it immensely amusing to see Maya Monroe get flustered. When he was young, she used to bully him and beat him up, but now it was finally time for the tables to turn!

Maya was so angry with him that she was at a loss for words.

"Alright, Boss Maya, I’m just messing with you. Tristan needs to discuss something with me after the party, but the way you avoid me like the plague truly breaks my heart! Back then, you bullied me with your weight, yet I never avoided you like this. What’s with your attitude now?"

So Ian Rowe was involved in this matter too.

Maya felt she had nothing to talk about with Joel.

"Why don’t I see your date?"

Noticing he was alone, Maya daringly speculated another possibility. Could it be that Joel had brought Kiki Monroe directly to the party?

Kiki’s charm was undeniable; it wasn’t impossible for Joel to be unable to leave her side for even a moment.

Joel, dressed in a suit and tie, looked even more formal than before.

"No date this time. This kind of event isn’t the place to casually bring along a young model," Joel said with a sigh that seemed filled with regret. "What a shame, another missed opportunity to pair up with a beauty. If we hit it off, maybe even a candlelit dinner could be arranged!"

Maya smirked slightly; in classic romantic novels, there were always plenty of characters like Joel—handsome and flirtatious.

However, Joel’s words made her realize a problem: the room was devoid of any enchanting beauties, only sophisticated, opulent women with extraordinary presence.

"The women here..."

Joel chuckled, "What women? Those are Mrs. Chen, Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Liu... formidable figures in the socialite circle. You should eat less sugar; they say too much makes you dumb. I didn’t believe it, but looking at you, it might just be true."

He offered her some advice, "You should engage with them more often. These ladies are incredibly skilled, all very smart people—you should learn from them and fix those bad habits of yours."

Just as Joel ignored her advice, Maya let his suggestions go in one ear and out the other.

Why should a villainess like her change her bad habits? There’s even less reason to seek advice from those women.

"Aren’t you going to take a walk around the annual meeting?" Maya asked, still hopeful.

Joel raised his champagne, "You’re really no fun. I’m off to find Tristan."

Maya, unimpressed, spoke impatiently, "Go on, go on."

Joel flashed a bright smile and turned to leave.

*

At the annual meeting, glasses clinked and beautiful entertainers filled the room, some dressed in scanty outfits despite the winter chill, their intentions glaringly obvious.

Unexpectedly, Kiki Monroe had the chance to attend the event, yet she wasn’t the least bit happy. She had learned by chance that it was because Maya wasn’t attending that she got this opportunity. Kiki, with her high expectations, had always received the best since childhood, making this situation frustrating for her.

This made her feel like she was accepting Maya’s leftovers, like collecting the scraps Maya didn’t want, deeply affecting Kiki’s psyche.

Looking further into the crowd, she noticed all the investors were overweight and balding, their beer bellies protruding, making Kiki feel queasy at the sight.

Her agent, Tiffany Lawson, kept pushing her, "Take this glass of wine over to Mr. Wang and toast to him. See that round-faced, prosperous-looking gentleman? He’s no ordinary person; he’s extremely generous with his investments! To think you got a chance to attend the annual meeting as a newcomer, it’s thanks to that fool Maya not being here. This is a golden opportunity for you—make sure you seize it!"

Tiffany wasn’t aware that every word she spoke was like a knife to Kiki’s heart.

Kiki looked over and saw the burly Mr. Wang, who was remarkably unattractive, yet surrounded by many women flattering him.

Kiki considered herself superior and found such ingratiating behavior distasteful. She considered herself destined for great achievements and was unwilling to stoop to such dirty practices.

Tiffany, initially smiling, dropped her smile upon seeing Kiki’s unresponsive demeanor. She pushed Kiki with a stern face, "Why are you standing there? Go quickly!"

Kiki gritted her teeth, "Tiffany, I don’t want to do this..."

Tiffany turned cold, "I’ve spoiled you too much, and now you don’t know your place, daring to defy my orders! Everything I ask you to do is for your own good. Do you really think the Monroe Family is what it was ten years ago? With your family’s decline, you should be focusing on how to make something of yourself! Look at Maya, fearless as if she owns the world. Why do you think she can do that? It’s all because she has someone powerful backing her! If you had even a tenth of Maya’s tenacity, I wouldn’t need to push you like this!"

Kiki knew who Maya’s powerful backer was, and listening to Tiffany only exacerbated her sense of injustice. Why should someone like Maya, so unworthy, get to have someone as incredible as Ian Rowe as her support, while she, Kiki, had to flatter and entertain investors at the annual meeting?

"Don’t say any more; I told you I’m not going."

Tiffany was furious, finding Kiki utterly disappointing, "You’re really not going?"

"I’m not."

"Don’t regret it later when you refuse to listen to me today!" Tiffany huffed, turning abruptly and leaving the hall.

Kiki watched her departing figure, and suddenly a sense of loneliness and sadness surged within her.

"Kiki?"

Kiki looked up, genuinely not expecting to encounter Madeline Underwood here.

Her first thought wasn’t happiness; instead, she speculated why Madeline Underwood, who clearly wasn’t supposed to attend the annual meeting, was here—could it be that she used her backer connections?

At that moment, countless dirty thoughts arose, with no end in sight.

"Sister Madeline, long time no see." Kiki managed a faint smile.

In fact, ever since Madeline Underwood was targeted and sidelined, Kiki didn’t interact much with her.

She herself had lost more than half of her resources, so how could she possibly help someone else?

Madeline Underwood held a wine glass, the rim casting a sharp gleam under the light.

"I haven’t seen you for a while, and to be honest, I’ve missed you. Don’t you check WeChat? I sent you messages, but you never replied."

Kiki’s cheeks showed a moment of panic, but she quickly composed herself, taking a deep sip of the red wine in her glass.

Perhaps it was her mood, but she found the wine unbearably bitter.

"Cough... I’m sorry, Sister Madeline, I actually don’t check WeChat often, I just neglected it for a moment."

Facing each other with drinks in hand, the two looked like "sisters in misfortune."

Madeline Underwood wasn’t foolish; she could see Kiki’s indifference.

Since being targeted, her so-called friends had stopped interacting with her, treating her as if they were complete strangers. Back when she was popular, everyone was eager to be in her good graces.

Thinking of this, Madeline couldn’t help but feel a touch of cold disdain. She used to think of Kiki as simple, kind, and loyal, which was why she came over to chat. However, she didn’t expect Kiki’s attitude towards her to be no different from others’.

Madeline’s eyes turned cold: "I have something to do, so I’ll leave first."

Kiki glanced at her, no longer looking like the usual obedient junior: "Okay."

Madeline turned her head, searching for her target among the crowd; she had persuaded her high-ranking boyfriend to get the opportunity to attend the annual meeting. This time, the goal was clear, and Madeline was determined to succeed. Soon, she would make those who turned their backs on her regret it!

*

Maya Monroe’s biggest gain at the banquet was eating a lot, and it tasted pretty good.

In recent days, Maya had tried many delicious dishes, and her palate had improved a lot.

Ian Rowe had something to discuss with Joel Quinn, so he instructed the driver to take Maya home. Maya poked her head out of the car window to wave Ian goodbye and didn’t forget her usual routine: "Honey, I’m leaving first~ Don’t miss me too much~"

Ian stood outside, slightly nodding, and said, "Stay safe."

Maya didn’t catch what he said, and after her playful farewell, she quickly pulled her head back and shut the car window with a swift click. Her action was seamless, direct, and startlingly efficient.

She grabbed another handful of seeds and said without a hint of reluctance, "Driver, take me home."

From inside the car window, the outside scene was clearly visible, but from the outside, nothing could be seen within. Just seeing how quickly Maya withdrew her head was enough to make Joel marvel.

"Boss Monroe is so peculiar... Would you call her affectionate or heartless? If she’s affectionate, she pulled back her head so quickly. If she’s heartless, she didn’t miss a single sweet word. Her offhand sweet talk flows more smoothly than mine!"

Ian withdrew his gaze, looking at Joel: "Let’s go."

The two of them got into another car.

Joel asked, "Is the information from before accurate? Is Tristan Rowe really coming home for the holidays? He hasn’t returned home for several years, so why is he suddenly coming back now?"

Regarding Tristan Rowe, Ian’s expression turned unusually cold: "He must have his reasons, and it looks like he’s preparing for some big actions again..."

Joel cursed, "The old fox, just won’t stop... I’m also puzzled by one thing: how the Monroe Family has been declining over the years. Probably Tristan is involved as well. The Monroe Family has no grudge with him; why does he keep bothering them?"

"The Monroe Family?"

"Yeah, Boss Monroe’s family. Her father is the current head of the Monroes, your father-in-law!"

Ian’s expression darkened: "It’s probably still because of those old grievances..."