Chapter 313



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When Nora arrived at the garage, it just so happened that Joel was also on his way out. When the two met, Joel suddenly said, “Miss Smith.”

Nora stopped and looked at him, “Is something wrong with you Mr. Smith?”

They were both a little surprised by the conversation.

It was clear that they both shared the same last name and yet why was there such a strong sense of estrangement?

Joel first repressed his emotions. He handed her the bank card he carried in his pocket and said, “Louis thank you for your kindness, but you should take good care of a card as valuable as this one.”

Valuable?

Nora raised her eyebrows. To be honest, she didn’t think it was that valuable.

But since Joel was handing it back to her, she reached out unceremoniously and took it from him. Then, he asked nonchalantly, “Do you still have work at this hour?”.

Joel: “…”

Sensing his silence, Nora looked at him. “What?”

Joel was speechless for a moment. “I’m going to pick up the kids.”

Nora didn’t feel the slightest twinge of guilt for forgetting to pick up her son from the garden even upon hearing Joel’s response. On the contrary, she said, “Bring Cherry with you too, thank you.”

After saying that, she climbed into the jeep first and drove off.

Joel, still standing where he was and about to get into his car: “?”

Even the corners of the man’s usually polite lips couldn’t help but spasm.

How ruthless was she?

He held his forehead and headed for the garden.

As soon as she arrived, she saw Tanya hugging Pete and asking, “What’s your mother doing lately? Tell her to come to my house and have fun. I’m the only one home and she bores the hell out of me.”

“… Oh, okay,” Pete replied.

gαℓησν𝒆𝓁s․com offers tales worth telling Tanya was about to say something when she spotted Joel in the distance. He immediately got up, turned around and left, not giving her a chance to say anything at all.

Joel: “…”

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Nora followed the map Quinn had sent and arrived at an office building.

When she saw the office workers, all of them dressed presentably in suits and leather shoes, coming and going, Nora wondered if she had come to the wrong place.

She dialed Quinn’s number and asked, “Dude, are you kidding me?”

Quinn let out a “hmph” and replied, “What’s so funny about joking with you? Like I’m going to do that…. Go into the building and head to the basement. You can go in after you let them know your name.”

“…Oh,” Nora said.

She was about to hang up when Quinn added, “By the way, remember to disguise yourself so the others won’t recognize you. Didn’t you want to blend in?”

Nora scoffed, “Since you know I want to blend in, why did you ask me to come?”.

Quinn: “…”

Nora hung up, rummaged through the car and pulled out a cosmetic bag.

She hadn’t been very comfortable doing a lot of things lately, so she had learned how to apply makeup. Makeup artists in the United States had broad and deep knowledge, so putting on makeup was no different than dressing up.

Nora did a lot of makeup. She used blue eyeliner and drew wing tips on the ends of her docile-looking almond-shaped eyes. A flirtatious woman immediately appeared in the mirror.

Then, she pulled out a red lipstick and painted her lips bright red. When she was done, even she was about to not recognize herself. Next, she pulled out a dress from the back seat.

It was a black, tight-fitting dress.

After putting on the dress, Nora looked incredibly beautiful, as well as extremely different from her original self.

She was sure that no one would recognize her. Only then did she enter the building while chewing gum.

Undoubtedly, everyone around her looked on curiously. However, perhaps because there were too many strange people coming in and out of the building, they didn’t think much of it.

As Nora entered the office building and headed for the basement, someone suddenly stopped her.

Two large, muscular guards said to her, “Stop right there, who are you?”

“Smithra.”

Nora blew a bubble.

The lazy-looking tips of her eyes lifted, giving her a flirtatious, seductive look.

One of the guards eyed her warily as the other typed her name into the tablet in his hands. Soon after, he handed her a bracelet and a license plate and said, “Your contestant number is 028. This is your mask.”

He handed Nora a mask.

Nora: “…”

She stared at the mask blankly. “What is this supposed to be?”

The guard replied solemnly, “Everyone who enters the basement has to conceal their identity, so masks are given to all participants. The criterion for determining victory in the tournament is to remove the opponent’s mask.”

…

As she was walking down the stairs, Nora called out to Quinn. She asked, “Why do we have to wear a mask for the tournament? Isn’t such a rule very strange?”

“Since the country started cracking down on the underworld many years ago, they’ve become stricter with martial arts practitioners. Many of them don’t want to be recognized, so they wear masks. It is much more convenient than wearing makeup. Putting on a disguise wastes a lot of time.”

“…”

Nora felt a headache coming on. She said, “Why didn’t you just make it clear from the beginning old man?”

She had spent so much time doing her makeup in the car. If she had known, she would have walked in wearing a mask and sunglasses.

He looked at the mask in his hand. It was a silver half mask that covered only the upper half of the face. The lower half of the face, down to the lips, was left uncovered.

The mask clung to the skin, so it would not fall off unless pulled hard.

Nora curved her lips in disdain.

She hung up and pocketed her phone. As she followed the staff member leading her down the stairs, he asked, “What sect are you from, young lady?”

“The Quinn School of Martial Arts.”

Nora replied nonchalantly.

“The Quinn School of Martial Arts?” The staff member was a very enthusiastic man in his forties. He said, “They’re really amazing! It’s been so many years, AND they’re still going so strong! They have a promising future there.”

Then he began to enthusiastically explain to her the things that were going on around them. He said, “The number of people participating in the martial arts tournament this year is less than half of what it was before. Most of them have changed jobs to earn more money after getting married. The development of martial arts is getting weaker and weaker these days. My goodness!”

Nora: “…”

Although she did not speak, the man continued alone. He asked, “By the way, do you know who the champion was ten years ago?”.

Without waiting for Nora’s answer, he answered his own question, “The Senior Brother of the Irvin Martial Arts School!.

At that time he was just a teenager and was even a slim and slender boy. Even now, I still remember how he looked when he stood on the platform, coldly surveyed the background and asked if the rest conceded defeat. It was a really exciting sight.”

Nora looked down and said coldly, “That’s because Big Sister Quinn Martial Arts School hadn’t participated in the tournament.”

The man laughed and said, “Yes, Big Sister Quinn Martial Arts School’s Big Sister Quinn is the most mysterious person ever. I have heard that even in the sect, there are very few disciples who have ever seen her.Have you ever seen her?”

“…No,” Nora replied.

Other than looking in the mirror, it was true that she couldn’t ‘see’ herself after all.

The man shook his head and said, “That’s too bad. I’ve heard that all the disciples of the Quinn School of Martial Arts look up to Big Sister as their idol.”

Suddenly he leaned toward Nora, lowered his voice and said, “If you give me fifteen hundred dollars, I’ll take you to Big Sister Quinn Martial Arts School. what do you say?”

Nora: “?”

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