Thanks to Severo Laris, Paula Rouco’s contract with the Universal Group was successfully terminated a year earlier.
Debt free.
The mailbox was full of agency appointments, but Paula Rouco didn’t bother with them, as she wanted to take a break and work on signings for later.
In a few moments, an e-invitation card for the Imperial University centennial arrived in my mailbox.
Paula Rouco was stunned.
Suddenly several messages arrived on Facebook, all from Susana.
“Paulita, this Saturday is the centennial of your alma mater, let’s go together!”
“It turns out that the next day is my wedding, and you’re going to Imperial anyway, so we’ll all go to Imperial on Saturday and have fun. ”
It is followed by several cute emojis.
Paula Rouco replied to the message by asking, “But the next day you got married, didn’t you go from La Ciudad Santa to Imperial?”
Susana said, “At first we wanted to leave La Ciudad Santa for Imperial first thing the next morning, the Sheng family said they could charter a plane to take the bridal party there, but it was too much trouble and required getting up early, and our family’s bully father, as you know, thought he was already happy to have gotten on the Sheng family’s horse from Imperial, just like selling his Como a daughter, nods to Rufio and is willing to do whatever the Shengs want.”
Susana has always spoken with humor and lightheartedness, and Paula Rouco, who has met Papa Yip and now has the image in her head, can’t help but be amused.
Paula Rouco said, “Uncle also wants you to marry into a better family so you won’t have to suffer later.”
Susana nodded, “It’s true, he still loves me quite a bit. So for the weekend wedding, we will go straight from Imperial, and Rufio and I have agreed that we don’t want to have the wedding on land, so we will have it on a cruise ship and have a day of fun. The Sheng elders were quite open and said they respected our decision.”
Paula Rouco thought a cruise ship wedding would be fine, after all it was new.
Susana added, “By the way, when the cruise ship wedding comes, we will have to ask you, the piano master, to play the wedding march for us.”
Paula Rouco said, “We have to play.”
Susana said, “Then we are going to Imperial together on Saturday, and as maid of honor, you will have to come with me to Imperial on Saturday even if you don’t go to the school festival. ”
Paula Rouco didn’t refuse, “Fine.”
…
In fact, on Friday, Paula Rouco went to Imperial first on her own.
It was a day early, and not because there was something to do at Imperial, but because she first wanted to go to Imperial College alone and did not want a group of people.
On Friday afternoon, Paula Rouco arrived in Imperial, went to her hotel to store her luggage and then took a cab to Imperial University.
Imperial University was very busy on Friday, with people coming and going, and many university students attending classes.
On the basketball court, a group of young boys in T-shirts were sweating and throwing the ball around, the sound of basketballs hitting the floor, the energy was overwhelming.
Paula Rouco holds up her SLR and takes some pictures of the school.
Seven years old, this is her first time back at her alma mater, which she then only attended her freshman year and transferred to study abroad less than a year later.
Although I’ve been at Curtis College for much longer than I’ve been here, I still feel most attached to Imperial College.
There are your friends, your memories and, most of all, your youth.
Those are the ones that the deluge of time cannot take away.
Imperial University is huge, and she was a bit tired after her circuit, sitting on a lounger by the lake and looking at the photos on her SLR.
After a while, a little girl with a small red backpack approached and asked shyly, “Sister, what are you doing?”
Paula Rouco, puzzled, looked at the boy and said with a smile, “Sister is looking at the photos.”
“Sister, I want to look with you, may I?” The girl winked at her, looking adorable in her powdered form.
“Yes.”
The little girl sits next to Paula Rouco with her school bag.
Paula Rouco patted the little girl’s head and asked, “Why are you alone, where’s your mom?”
The little girl said, “Mommy is working.”
Paula Rouco thought her mother was working at school.
“What is your name?”
“My name is Beanstalk.”
“And how old are you?” asked Paula Rouco.
The little beanstalk said, “I’m seven years old.”
Paula Rouco smiled and reached over to pinch his cheeks, “Don’t go wandering off by yourself and getting lost, mommy and daddy will worry.”
Little Beanstalk grunted and said, a little discouraged, “Daddy’s not worried.”
Paula Rouco asked unconsciously, “You had a fight with your daddy, huh?”.
The little bean sprout shook his head, a little piteously, “Dad doesn’t love me and Mom anymore, I haven’t seen him.”
When Paula Rouco heard this, she thought to herself, “What a scumbag of a father for not loving such a cute little boy,” and couldn’t help but feel sorry for the little bean sprout.
The little bean sprout frowned and said to her, “Sister, you must find a good man to marry in the future; if that man is bad and doesn’t want my sister, the little baby in my sister’s womb will be as miserable as the little bean sprout. My mother is having a hard time.”
Paula Rouco stroked her little head and reassured her, “It will all pass, and when the little bean sprout grows up, it will be able to protect its mother.”
The little bean sprout nodded vigorously, “Mmm!”.
…
Amado Villegas had just left work and was carrying his briefcase when he passed by the lake and saw a familiar figure.
Amado Villegas fixed his gaze on her for a few moments, and his eyes lit up as if it really was the same kind of pupils he had educated then.
“Paula Rouco?”
At the sound of her name, Paula Rouco turned hesitantly, only to see Amado Villegas standing under the silk of the weeping willow and waving at her.
Amado Villegas approached and laughed, “It really is you, I thought I had made a mistake.”
After seven years of absence, Amado Villegas is older but still kind and elegant, and Paula Rouco never expected to meet by chance her former tutor at school.
She stood up and politely said, “Mr. Amado, it’s been a long time.”
Amado Villegas congratulated her effusively: “Indeed, it has been a long time. I heard that later you went to Curtis to study piano and now you are a great pianist, I am very happy.”
Paula Rouco just smiles.
Amado Villegas looked around and asked, “Who did I think I saw you talking to a moment ago?”
Fang, Amado Villegas did not notice anyone beside him and only saw Paula Rouco with her head to the side, smiling faintly as if she were talking.
Paula Rouco turned to see that the little bean had disappeared, and explained, “It was a girl, she seems to be the daughter of a university professor, and at this moment she has disappeared, probably because she is afraid to be born.”
Amado Villegas didn’t care, he just smiled and asked, “By the way, the centennial celebration is tomorrow, I remember I sent you an invitation card, why are you here today, are you coming to play at the Imperial?”
“I just thought I’d come.”
When Amado Villegas looked at her, he thought of Severo Laris and couldn’t help but feel sad, “Back then, I was responsible too. I always thought you and Severo Laris would make it to the end, and I thought about waiting for your graduation and eating your wedding candy. But it wasn’t planned. I still have to solemnly apologize to you for not doing my job and worrying about my students.”
Hearing him say that, Paula Rouco was a little embarrassed and quickly said, “Mr. Beloved, this matter is over, I really don’t blame you, it was my own youthful ignorance.”
“I have heard that … that Severo Laris is very successful now and that I have had occasional contact with him for the past seven years, and it seems that he has recently returned to The Holy City. Are you, really, ruled out?”
When Severo Laris and Paula Rouco were together, they were the perfect couple, the envy of many students.
Amado Villegas has been very sorry to see how they turned out.
Paula Rouco shook her head, “Mr. Lee, he and I, is a thing of the past.”
Seeing that she didn’t want to mention it, Amado Villegas stopped mentioning it and said with a smile, “Looking forward is the only way to have hope, Paula, come on, someday you will meet the right person.”