Chapter 325

The crowd surrounding Sylvia Montgomery consisted of equally privileged socialites. They sneered at someone like Evelyn Carter, who came from humble beginnings yet dared to mingle in their elite circle during school days.

Their questions grew increasingly pointed as the conversation continued.

"Evelyn, where are you scraping by these days? What's your monthly paycheck?"

"Found anyone to marry you yet? Or are you still single?"

"Need me to set you up with someone decent?"

Evelyn remained silent, her expression unreadable.

Sylvia pretended to intervene. "What kind of questions are these? Evelyn isn't like us. We were all born with silver spoons."

"We never needed jobs - our family businesses were waiting. Evelyn's probably doing menial work! Stop teasing her. We're from different worlds."

Peals of laughter erupted, but Evelyn simply lowered her gaze, unaffected.

Then one sharp-eyed classmate noticed Evelyn's outfit - a rare Chanel limited edition piece, unavailable to the general public and exorbitantly priced.

How could someone like Evelyn afford this?

The words tumbled out before she could stop herself. "Evelyn, where'd you get that knockoff Chanel? The stitching's actually decent."

All eyes turned to Evelyn, finally noticing her impeccable attire.

Yet no one believed it could be genuine.

"That must have cost a fortune, Evelyn!"

"Counterfeits are getting scarily accurate these days."

"Probably found it on some shady online marketplace?"

Evelyn's lips curved into a faint smile. She'd felt their mocking gazes since arrival, treating her like some amusing spectacle.

"You're welcome to search online for this design," Evelyn countered coolly.

The group stiffened. This wasn't the passive Evelyn they remembered from school.

Sylvia adopted an innocent expression. "Evelyn, we're just joking! No harm meant."

The others quickly agreed. "Exactly! Can't you take a joke?"

"Sylvia, don't bother with her."

"She's just some country mouse who wouldn't know fashion if it bit her. Unlike Sylvia, who's representing Sterling Enterprises at tomorrow's business summit."

"Only top industry elites get invited. Sylvia, you're incredible."

Evelyn arched an eyebrow. "I had no idea the summit's standards had dropped so low."

The group erupted in shocked laughter.

"Evelyn, do you even know what the summit is? Mocking Sylvia? You'd never qualify to attend!"

Evelyn studied the speaker with sudden recognition.

"You're Iris Montgomery. Your family's in traditional retail, right? With e-commerce crushing your business, how many stores have you closed this year?"

Iris paled visibly.

She never expected Evelyn to know her family's financial troubles.

"That's nonsense! We've pivoted to livestream sales. Our products sell out daily!" Iris snapped defensively.