No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)

Cedric's words obviously carried a hidden meaning, and it was hard to ignore the way people were interpreting them.

On the other side, Laura's expression nearly cracked. She had not expected Cedric to bring Noelle to this dinner, let alone act so close to her in front of everyone.

She could not help but think he did not care about her dignity at all. After all, everyone here had assumed she and Cedric were an item.

Noelle glanced back at him, wondering if he had any idea how misleading his words sounded. She was annoyed that he claimed she was his woman.

Without saying a word, Cedric pulled out a chair for Noelle and motioned for her to sit. Then, he sat down right next to her.

Noelle hesitated for a second. If she remembered correctly, that had been Laura's seat earlier. She questioned whether this man really could not see what he was doing.

The looks around the room shifted subtly. Word had it that Cedric was incredibly protective of a girl outside of work. Seeing this, they started speculating if that mysterious gaming streamer, SweetNelly, was actually Noelle.

Laura was clearly sidelined now, and she could not keep quiet any longer. "Ced, tonight we're discussing a new Al project. Ms. Liddell doesn't really have the background for this, so she might find it a little boring."noveldrama

Tommy jumped in right after. "Yeah, I mean, what would a gaming streamer even understand about tech like this?"

The tone in his voice had that unmistakable mix of snobbery and condescension.

Laura moved toward Tommy, and the people around him instantly stood to offer her a seat, giving her the respect she was used to. Just then, someone tried to steer the conversation back to the project.

"Maple Enterprise winning the bid was huge. They've got the best tech and the deepest pockets-once this hits the market, they'll dominate instantly."

"Yeah, that's all thanks to Mr. Greene's sharp instincts. My family initially didn't believe in the project, but now they're eating their words."

Noelle listened as they discussed the future of the Al project. Once it launched, Maple Enterprise's value would skyrocket—and so would her own share.

Laura turned to her with a faint smile. "If you're bored, feel free to leave anytime. No one here will hold it against you."

Noelle replied calmly, "I'm good."

Tommy jumped in again. "It sounds like Ms. SweetNelly is really into the Al project, then. Do you have anything you want to add?"

Noelle thought about it for a moment and shook her head. "Not at the moment."

After all, this was still just the beginning. All the projections they were talking about were just that-projections. Talking too much now would just come off as bluffing.

However, as soon as she said that, Tommy burst into laughter. His eyes held a mocking glint. "Ms. SweetNelly, if you don't get it, you can just ask. No need to pretend you know what we're talking about."

The vibe in the room instantly dropped. Laura lifted her glass and sipped her drink, but her eyes had turned cold. Tonight was the perfect chance to remind Noelle that when one did not belong in a certain circle, one really should not try to force one's way in.

Cedric's face darkened. He was just about to say something, but Noelle chuckled softly.

Tommy narrowed his eyes at her and said sharply, "Ms. SweetNelly, you find this funny? Is faking it hilarious to you?"

"It kind of is," Noelle said, her tone still calm. She looked at him without blinking. "You got the name of Maple Enterprise's newest system wrong. And the specs you mentioned? You were quoting the performance of the previous version."

"That's impossible," Tommy snapped. "How would a streamer like you even know

that? What, did you sneak a look at Mr. Greene's confidential files?"

He sounded rattled now and instinctively glanced at Laura, clearly trying not to embarrass himself in front of her.