First Encounter with Felicity

Feeling somewhat affected by her recent conversation, Thea didn't feel like going back to work. She picked up the phone and called her mother. "Mom, I'm going out and won't be back for a while."

"Is it because he spoke to you? Are you okay?" Moira asked anxiously over the phone.

"I'm fine. We had a good talk," Thea replied with a laugh, although they did indeed have a good conversation. However, she didn't want Moira to worry, so she decided to update her.

"Dear, no matter what decision you make, just know that Mom will always support you."

"Thank you, Mom."

After hanging up the phone, Thea sighed deeply. Her parents might not be considered good people in the eyes of the world, but she had nothing to say about their treatment of her. Regardless of the cost, she would protect their lives.

She had arranged to meet Malcolm for martial arts practice in the evening, but it was still early in the morning. Thea decided to go to the library to read some books and gain a better understanding of the world.

As she stood up, ready to leave, she bumped into a figure dressed in pink with a loud clang. 'Oh my, who is this rushing around like a whirlwind?' Fortunately for Thea, there was a coffee table behind her, so after the collision, she simply sat back down. It wasn't a big deal.

The other person involved in the collision wasn't as fortunate. The person sitting on the ground in front of her was a young woman wearing a pink dress and a beige coat. She had blonde hair, wore a pair of square glasses, and seemed dazed, not quite understanding what had just happened, staring blankly at Thea.

This person looked very familiar. Thea recognized her from the character she had admired in her previous life. With her blonde hair and glasses, she was indeed beautiful, no wonder she had captivated heroes like Green Arrow, Flash, and Atom.

Pretending to be stern, Thea said, "Miss Felicity Smoak, can you tell me why you're here during working hours?" as she gestured around the surroundings.

Felicity, with her mouth agape, stammered, "To drink coffee? No, wait, uh, I'm here to write a report, yes, to write a report!"

Listening to Felicity's words was entertaining. Although she seemed clueless, she was actually quite formidable, one of the main members of the future Green Arrow team and a top-tier global hacker. But for now, she had just turned over a new leaf and was working at Queen Consolidated.

"Who are you writing the report for? Let me ask?" Thea teased as she took out her phone.

Felicity, caught off guard by Thea's spirited questioning, began to fumble, her beautiful eyes darting around as she tried to come up with a name. She planned to use her hacking skills later to create a fake order.

Suddenly realizing that she was giving answers to an unknown person, Felicity asked, "Who are you, and why do I need to explain to you?"

'Huh? This person doesn't know me? It seems there are corners of the company that I haven't seen. She must have been sleeping somewhere when I was inspecting the premises.'

Taking out her identification from her bag, Thea handed it to her. "Thea Queen? Who's that?" Felicity exclaimed, drawing the attention of the café staff.

Thea almost fainted. This girl was too jumpy. It's impossible for someone with a heart condition to work with her.

"I screamed, didn't I? Well, I did. You're the Miss of the Queen family?" Felicity covered her mouth in disbelief.

Thea nodded, confirming her identity. But Felicity still seemed skeptical. She took out her personal computer and quickly operated it, turning the screen around to point at an image. "Is this you? I've always thought this photo was taken very nicely, very beautiful!"

Looking down at the image, Thea recognized it as a photo, and the environment seemed familiar. It was probably from the other day when she was acting drunk at the bar, right? Who took this photo? The angle was well chosen, perfectly capturing her natural beauty and melancholy temperament! Not bad! But it wasn't appropriate for someone to openly hack into a server like this in front of her!

"Miss Smoak, where did you get this photo?" Thea asked.

"Oh, it's from the newspaper," Felicity replied nervously, realizing she might be getting into trouble, while frantically gesturing around as if Thea's photo was plastered all over the street.

"Felicity Smoak, you achieved second place in the National Information Technology Competition at the age of nineteen, and you obtained a master's degree in network security and computer science from MIT. I know a bit about you," Thea said, recalling Felicity's credentials as the only highly educated member among the illiterates in the Green Arrow team.

Felicity was speechless. The young girl in front of her casually revealed her background, without using a computer to search, which meant that Queen Consolidated was keeping an eye on her. As a top-tier hacker, she started feeling a bit scared.

Seeing that she had startled Felicity, Thea felt secretly pleased. This was the advantage of knowing the plot. She knew countless storylines, but she dared not reveal them in front of Malcolm. Today, she had a rare opportunity to show off a bit, and it felt great!

"Do you want to grab a drink together? My treat?" Thea still hoped to be friends with her.

Felicity pointed to the distant Queen Consolidated building, indicating that Thea should go back immediately.

Thea laughed, "Haha, I'm just out for some fun."

"You're out for fun, and I'm... I'm out here working," Felicity insisted awkwardly.

"Yes, we're both out here working. Whatever you want to drink, it's on me." In fact, this was Thea's way of showing off. Malcolm was the one who kept the accounts here initially, she just never left.

Although Felicity still didn't fully trust her, she felt like she could get by anywhere, and her current job was inconsequential. They chatted away, Thea telling a few jokes about the company's executives, while Felicity shared stories from her university days. They were having a great time, and when the topic of photographs came up, they decided to go visit the site in person.

At the bar, they happened to see the bartender who had served Thea last time. Thea ordered drinks for both of them, and they continued to chat and bond. Felicity now looked quite innocent in her golden dress. In fact, she used to be quite wild, with smokey makeup and punk style. However, she changed her appearance after her boyfriend ended up in jail. She wasn't averse to bars like this one; instead, she felt a strange sense of familiarity.

As Felicity continued to share her experiences, at least the ones she could talk about, Thea learned that she graduated high school at 16, college at 18, and obtained her master's degree at 20. She was indeed an academic genius.

"Thea, you're really smart. You could finish high school in two years. College is where the real fun is, high school is so boring," Felicity said, a bit tipsy from drinking alcohol after a while, and not as cautious with her words as before.

Thea found herself intrigued by this notion. She had previously considered high school a waste of time, especially with her involvement in company management and martial arts training. But hearing Felicity's perspective today made her wonder if she could expedite the process. In the United States, high school spanned four years from ninth to twelfth grade, and the content was relatively simple compared to education systems elsewhere. She could easily pass it. If worse came to worst, she could always throw money at it. After all, Queen Consolidated had sponsored quite a few university labs.