Chapter 472: Slapping Claire Yeats’ Face! Humiliating!

Chapter 472: Chapter 472: Slapping Claire Yeats’ Face! Humiliating!

"I still have other matters to attend to. As long as the gift is delivered, I won’t go in." Old Mr. Rhodes was very amiable and easygoing. "Miss Yeats, just continue to be diligent in the future. We will naturally meet again if fate allows."

Claire Yeats and Old Mrs. Yeats knew that by saying this, Old Mr. Rhodes wasn’t going to stay. However, it didn’t matter. She had already obtained his calligraphy, which would be a great bragging right.

"Old Mr. Rhodes, where are you off to in such a hurry?" someone couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity. After all, who wouldn’t want to rub elbows with the old gentleman? He was not only an artist but also a professor at Innerland’s top university. What these wealthy people feared most was reeking of "the stench of new money." They constantly sought to discuss academic matters to show that they were different from ordinary rich folks.

Claire quickly took the opportunity to show off. "It’s all right. If you have business to attend to, Old Mr. Rhodes, please go ahead. I’ll walk you out."

"All right, but there’s no need for that," Old Mr. Rhodes said cheerfully, though his next words made the smile freeze on Claire’s face. "I’m just heading across the street. It’s only a few steps away. There’s no need to see me off, Miss Yeats. Go back and continue your banquet."

With that, Old Mr. Rhodes turned to leave.

"What?!" Old Mrs. Yeats roared in shock. "Across the street?!"

Old Mr. Rhodes paused and turned back, bewildered. "Well... naturally. Why are you so agitated, madam?"

Old Mrs. Yeats nearly jumped. Had she misheard? What did Old Mr. Rhodes say? He was going across the street?! Who was across the street? It was Estelle Lockwood! What was he going there for? Could he possibly be going to celebrate Estelle’s birthday?

Claire bit her lip lightly and squeezed out a smile. "Old Mr. Rhodes, my grandmother is just surprised. May I ask what you are doing across the street?

"It’s not that I want to pry into your private matters, but if you go over there today, I’m just afraid you’ll cause trouble for yourself. After all, the person across the street... Sigh."

The surrounding guests caught on and chimed in to persuade him. "Old sir, did you receive an invitation from Mr. Sloan, and that’s why you’re going to Tidal Pavilion? Oh, please don’t do that.

"If you go, tomorrow’s news and public opinion will be flying everywhere. When the time comes, they’ll use your name to elevate their own status. Wouldn’t that cause trouble for you?"

Old Mr. Rhodes’s expression darkened slightly.

A hint of joy flashed in Claire’s eyes. Thinking that Old Mr. Rhodes had taken their words to heart and was annoyed at being plotted against by Estelle, she pressed her advantage. "Old Mr. Rhodes, the person across the street is, strictly speaking, my sister. She wasn’t like this before. Perhaps she’s been a bit anxious recently, so her methods have become... In short, I still advise you—"

"Claire Yeats." Old Mr. Rhodes cut her off, his face having turned completely foul.

Claire’s smile remained gentle. "Old Mr. Rhodes..."

"I am taking back this calligraphy!" Old Mr. Rhodes flared up suddenly and sneered. "Of course I know Miss Lockwood across the street is your sister. Otherwise, why do you think I came here?!

"I originally came to celebrate Miss Lockwood’s birthday. She mentioned that her sister was holding a celebration banquet at Seaview Tower today. I thought, since you two are sisters, I might as well write a piece of calligraphy for you too. But I never expected this!

"I never expected you to backbite like this!" Old Mr. Rhodes was furious at this point. "She was thinking of you, and look at what you’re doing!

"Hmph! You are not worthy of my calligraphy, Miss Yeats. I will remember what happened today!"

With a flick of his sleeve, Old Mr. Rhodes stormed off.

Everyone was stunned. Wait, wait a minute. What did they just hear? Old Mr. Rhodes was here today to celebrate Estelle’s birthday! How could that be possible?! But... Old Mr. Rhodes was indeed already walking toward Tidal Pavilion across the street.

In that case...

The crowd subconsciously looked at Claire. How embarrassing this must be for Miss Yeats. Everyone knew exactly why she had insisted on holding her banquet right across from Estelle today, and why she had gone out of her way to snatch Seaview Tower, which the latter had originally booked. She had finally felt like she had the upper hand over Estelle, especially after obtaining Old Mr. Rhodes’s calligraphy.

Yet, it turned out that Old Mr. Rhodes was actually here for Estelle’s birthday?!

Giving a gift to Claire was entirely out of convenience, simply because she was Estelle’s "sister." In the end, she was just riding on Estelle’s coattails! If Estelle wasn’t right across the street, Old Mr. Rhodes wouldn’t have even "dropped by" to give a gift.

Claire gritted her teeth tightly as anger and humiliation surged in her heart. She clenched her fists, trembling all over. She wondered, "What is going on... Why did this happen?!"

Wasn’t Estelle supposed to have no guests today? Wasn’t she destined to be trampled underfoot?! The banquet was already halfway through, so why did Old Mr. Rhodes suddenly show up!?

The surrounding guests exchanged bewildered glances, some pondering whether they should go over and take a look. However, offending Old Mrs. Yeats over Old Mr. Rhodes simply wasn’t worth it. After all, Estelle only had this one prominent guest... Forget it, maybe it was just an accident! At least there were still plenty of people with status at Claire’s banquet, enough for them to curry favor with.

Claire thought the same. Perhaps he was the only one. Estelle would have to rely entirely on Old Mr. Rhodes to save face for her entire banquet.

However, at this moment, another elderly man walked in with a beaming smile, flanked by admirers.

"GASP... That’s the God of Culinary Arts, Old Mr. Summers!"

"Huh? He’s Old Mr. Summers?"

The reason Old Mr. Summers was hailed as the God of Culinary Arts was that his restaurant chain had expanded worldwide, universally praised for its deliciousness by people of all nationalities. He had personally won gold medals in culinary competitions for five consecutive terms, making him a veritable god in the kitchen.

Nowadays, he was already a billionaire magnate who rarely cooked personally unless the guest was incredibly important.

As soon as Old Mr. Summers walked in, the owner of Seaview Tower hurried over to greet him fawningly. "Mr. Summers, you’re here!"

"Yes, not bad. I came to take a look."

The owner of Seaview Tower immediately explained to the crowd, "Today, all the catering at Seaview Tower is being handled by Mr. Summers’s personal apprentices, and Mr. Summers himself has prepared a premium ginseng chicken soup!"

Everyone instantly looked at Claire in shock. This time, they were truly a bit envious. Old Mr. Rhodes was still the president of the Calligraphy Association; his work was rare, but not extinct. But this Old Mr. Summers truly rarely cooked anymore, at least very rarely at someone else’s banquet.

Given his status, no one could afford to hire him. No one would dare to treat him merely as a chef, either. But now, looking at Claire’s expression, she was clearly unaware of this. That meant—

The crowd’s breathing hitched. That meant Old Mr. Summers had voluntarily and proactively taken charge of the catering for Miss Yeats’s banquet. What a tremendous honor!

"No wonder the dishes taste exceptionally good today."

"To think they were prepared by Mr. Summers’s apprentices. It’s truly our honor."

"What’s that compared to what Miss Yeats gets? She will be drinking the chicken soup cooked by Mr. Summers himself later!"

Claire stepped forward with a beaming smile, her eyes full of excitement. Just as she was about to reach for the bowl of chicken soup—

"Wait." Old Mr. Summers frowned, looking at the guests who had just spoken. "What did you say her surname is? Yeats?"