11.Shield Empire

After talking with Ren, Iril went straight to her bedroom because she suddenly remembered that her phone was there.

She grabbed her phone and quickly sent a message to Serena.

(S, did you know that Frau's fee is insanely high?) – Iril

Not long after, Serena replied.

(How much?) – Serena

(45*********) – Iril

Since Serena didn't respond right away, Iril decided to do her skincare routine. After finishing her facial treatment, she checked her phone again and saw that Serena had finally replied.

(No wonder! Even though he's still young, he's already a businessman. Just from his fees alone, he's making people suffer.) – Serena

Iril laughed at Serena's response. After calming down, she replied.

(Do you have enough savings? If you don't, I can lend you some.) – Iril

(I'm short by quite a lot, but I'd rather find a job as soon as possible.) – Serena

Iril hesitated about telling Serena about her cousin's job offer. But in the end, she decided to leave the final decision to Serena.

(Actually, my cousin is looking for an assistant, and the salary is pretty good. If you're interested, I can talk to him.) – Iril

(An assistant? Don't assistants usually need work experience?) – Serena

Iril paused because Serena had a point. Especially since Ren was a workaholic, his personal assistant needed to be highly professional. There were already plenty of employees in his company who were qualified for the role.

"So why is Ren offering it to Serena?"

Iril wondered in confusion.

Suddenly, her eyes widened as a crazy thought crossed her mind , could Ren be interested in Serena? But she quickly dismissed the idea. As far as she knew, Ren and Serena had never even met.

(I don't know, but if you're interested, I'll let my cousin know.) – Iril

(Okay, I'm interested.) – Serena

(But S, just a heads-up , my cousin is a total workaholic. You'll be super busy. What about your studies?) – Iril

(I'll figure out a solution after I talk to your cousin.) – Serena

(Alright.) – Iril

#######

The Next Morning

During breakfast, Serena kept glancing at Elena. She didn't know how to tell her mother that she would be staying at the dorm again for a while.

Even though she was sure Elena wouldn't be suspicious, Serena still felt guilty for lying. The real reason she was moving back to the dorm was because of her potential job with Iril's cousin. She knew she would be extremely busy, often coming home late. Instead of making her mother worry, she decided to tell a little white lie.

"Mom…"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Starting tomorrow, I'll be really busy, so I'll be staying at the dorm again for a while," Serena said carefully.

"How many classes are you taking this semester?"

Elena asked, concerned.

"The same as before, Mom. But I wasn't very focused in my first year because of David, so now I'm trying to catch up by reviewing my lessons after class,"

Serena lied smoothly.

Hearing Serena's reasonable explanation, Elena nodded in agreement. Serena let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"If you get lonely, you can ask Professor Darian to keep you company here,"

Serena teased with a smirk.

"Hei!!!"

Elena protested, her face turning red.

Seeing her mother's flustered reaction, Serena burst into laughter.

She knew that despite how close Elena and Darian were, their relationship hadn't reached the final stage yet. Serena wasn't sure why , they were practically inseparable when they were together.

After breakfast, Serena left for campus. Even though she only had an evening class today , she went early to pick up Iril since Iril had a morning class.

When she arrived, Serena waited at the campus gate. As soon as she spotted Iril, she walked up to her.

"Your class is over already?" Serena asked while getting into Iril's car.

"Yeah, it was only an hour long," Iril replied as she started the engine.

Soon, they were on their way to Ren's company.

&&&&&&&

When Serena saw the massive building in front of her, she was so shocked that she almost couldn't close her mouth.

Shield Empire.

Serena never expected that Iril's family was among the richest people in the country. She stared at her best friend in awe.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Iril asked, confused.

"I seriously didn't expect this… and honestly, I'm kind of jealous," Serena admitted. "No wonder you keep offering to lend me money , you have a fortune."

Iril chuckled at Serena's reaction. Seeing her best friend's eyes sparkle with admiration made her look incredibly cute.

"So, are you finally going to accept my loan offer?"

Iril teased with a playful smile.

"Hmm… I don't think so."

"Why not?"

Iril was surprised.

If anyone else was offered an interest-free loan, they'd take it in a heartbeat. Serena was definitely unique.

"Your cousin obviously has more money than you. If I work for him, I'll get a great salary, right? So I'd rather take money from your cousin than from you,"

Serena said matter-of-factly.

"Hey!!!" Iril protested.

"You're already siding with my cousin even though you haven't even met him yet!"

"Of course! He's my future boss, my future source of income!"

Iril burst into laughter at Serena's determined expression. Her eyes were practically filled with dollar signs.

"Go! Go! Don't keep my future boss waiting!" Serena eagerly dragged Iril into the building.

"Alright, alright…" Iril surrendered.

She just realized something—her best friend really loved money.

****