Chapter 10
After leaving Wright Villa, Samantha rented an apartment alone in a new city. It wasn’t too big or too small, but it was just enough for her.
In this lifetime, Samantha was determined to live for herself. She would pursue her passion for fashion design, her college major.
With the assets she received from the divorce, she had enough to start all over. Without hesitation, she signed up for the leading fashion design course in the city.
The studio was filled with the sounds of her pencil gliding across the paper. She was so absorbed in
sketching the folds of the skirt that she didn’t even notice the charcoal dust on her clothes.
As Samantha got up to get some paint, she accidentally bumped into a man, and his coffee instantly
spilled on her drawing.
“Sorry about that! Be careful!” a man’s gentle voice came from beside her.
Samantha looked up and met his apologetic gaze.
The man wore a gray knit sweater. He had a warm and sophisticated demeanor, even though he was
holding a cup of spilled coffee. The dark brown liquid dripped off the edge of the table, splashing right
onto the sketch Samantha had just finished.
“Oh!” Samantha instinctively reached out to save her sketch, but all she felt was a wet, soggy paper.
“I’m really sorry about that.” The man frowned. He immediately took out some tissues and dabbed them
on the stained papers. “I wasn’t paying attention, so I bumped into your table… Is this your work?”
Samantha’s heart sank as she looked at the ruined sketch. Still, she shook her head. “It’s fine. I’ll make
another sketch.”
“I’ll compensate you for this.” The man looked extremely apologetic as he dabbed at the stained sketch
with the tissues.
But in the next second, he noticed a part of the drawing that the coffee hadn’t ruined and suddenly said, Hold up.
He carefully lifted the stained edge of the paper. “This cut is really unique. Did you design that?”
Samantha was taken aback. She didn’t think he would notice the thought she had put into the design.
The design did take a lot of effort, but her other classmates criticized her for being too conservative.
“You noticed that?” She couldn’t help but look at the man again.
With a chuckle, the man pulled out a name card from his briefcase. “I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Lionel Gray, the guest lecturer for today.
Chapter 10
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“If you
don’t mind, I can compensate you by contacting some professional fabric suppliers or anything you need help with in the future.”
The sunlight seemed to reflect off the edge of his glasses. As Samantha took the namecard, she noticed a small smudge of paint on his hand.
Samantha never expected to be lucky enough to run into Lionel Gray, a teacher she had admired for a
long time.
“If that’s the case… Thank you.”
“Call me whenever you need help.” Lionel shot Samantha a smile before leaving the studio.
However, Samantha didn’t realize she would meet Lionel again so soon.
The next day, the fashion design course held its first project review. Samantha’s revamped version of a
sheath dress was displayed on the screen in the center of the room.
“The color scheme’s way too dull.” The lead judge furrowed his brows. “The design needs a stronger
visual impact.”
Samantha gripped her pen tightly. As she was about to speak up, she heard Lionel’s clear, familiar voice
ringing out from the back row.
“But I find her choice of colors quite dynamic.”
Lionel got to his feet and gently tapped on the details of Samantha’s design. He pointed out the highlights
and gave his reasoning.
The entire room fell into silence for a moment before everyone eventually murmured their agreement.
The lead judge coughed in embarrassment. In the end, he awarded Samantha the highest score in class.
After class, Lionel stopped Samantha in the corridor. “Your design was extremely unique. I really admire
you.”
While speaking, he lowered his head slightly. Samantha caught a faint whiff of pine-scented paint on him.
“Thank you…”
In the next moment, Samantha impulsively took out her tablet. She and Lionel spent an hour talking by the floor-to-ceiling window until the sunset stretched its shadows.
“Oh, right. There’s a special exhibition at the city art museum coming up next week.” Before leaving, Lionel casually brought it up. “If you’re interested, I have an extra ticket here.”
Samantha felt her ears turn warm and suddenly let out a chuckle. “Sure.”
Her phone buzzed, and a new message popped up on the screen. Lionel had sent her a link to the
exhibition along with a message.
“Your design reminds me of many experts’ work. It’s unassuming but full of life. Keep it up. I’m certain you’ll only get better from now on.”
Outside the window, the trees had just begun budding in early spring.
Samantha read the message over and over again. To her, life was gradually getting better.
