My Ex-Girlfriend Bullied Me In My Own Five Star Hotel

Chapter 19: The University Board Inspection

The central avenue of East China University was immaculate. Fresh red banners fluttered between the grand ginkgo trees lining the walkways, announcing the arrival of the National Board of Trustees for the annual donor inspection and institutional evaluation. This was the single most important administrative event on the university calendar, a high-stakes gathering of billionaire philanthropists, state education directors, and regional corporate chairs who controlled the university’s multi-billion-yuan endowment fund.

Hundreds of students in formal attire gathered along the perimeter hedges near the main administration building, eager to witness the arrival of the nation's corporate elite. Faculty members in black academic gowns stood rigidly at the top of the grand marble steps, led by Chancellor Vance and his senior deans, all adjusting their ties with visible nervousness.

Near the base of the steps, standing beside a group of senior economic majors, was Linda Vance.

She wore a plain white shirt and a dark navy skirt, her long hair tied back loosely. Her face was pale, devoid of all cosmetics, and her eyes looked hollow. Following the total liquidation of Hengtai Construction, the arrest of Kevin’s father, and the criminal charges filed against Kevin for the sub-zero freezer incident last night, the Zhang family had been erased from high society overnight. Linda’s own family was living in a cramped, rented outer-district apartment, clutching every copper coin just to pay for daily meals.

Beside Linda stood several former socialites who had once begged for invitations to her birthday parties. Now, they stood three paces away, whispering behind their hands and casting cold, sharp sneers in her direction.

"Look at her," one girl snickered under her breath, fanning herself with a event program. "Her father lost his business, her boyfriend is in a police detention center, and she’s still trying to stand near the front row."

"She used to boast about that fake designer dress," another whispered back with a spiteful giggle. "Now she can't even afford a coffee in the student canteen."

Linda heard every word, but she didn't turn around. She kept her eyes fixed on the pavement, her heart aching with an absolute, crushing shame that felt like a physical weight upon her chest.

Down the central avenue, a quiet hum of high-end hybrid engines broke through the chatter of the crowd.

A fleet of eight black executive sedans, led by a municipal police escort with flashing blue lights, pulled up smoothly to the foot of the administration plaza. White-gloved valets immediately rushed forward, snapping the heavy sedan doors open in perfect unison.

Out of the lead luxury vehicle stepped Chairman Richard Sterling—the supreme head of the National University Board of Trustees, owner of Sterling International Conglomerate, and one of the five most powerful corporate titans in the entire country. He was an elderly man with silver hair, wearing an immaculate bespoke charcoal suit, carrying himself with an aura of immense, unyielding authority. Flanking him were twelve senior trustees, corporate directors, and city officials.

Chancellor Vance instantly led the entire faculty board down the marble steps in a hurried, submissive march, stopping three feet away to bow ninety degrees in deep reverence.

"Welcome to East China University, Chairman Sterling!" Chancellor Vance announced, his voice trembling slightly with extreme respect. "The faculty, administrative council, and student body are deeply honored by your presence!"

Chairman Sterling gave a brief, polite nod, though his sharp eyes scanned the crowd of assembled students with cool, professional detachment. "Proceed with the routine department review, Chancellor. We have a tight schedule."

At that moment, Zhang Weimin—Kevin’s father—suddenly stumbled out from behind a side decorative pillar near the library steps.

He looked wretched. His suit was wrinkled and stained, his eyes bloodshot, and his face pale with desperate madness. Having used his last remaining personal contacts to sneak onto campus grounds, he believed that if he could publicly appeal to Chairman Sterling—a long-time associate of the municipal trade board—he might somehow secure a stay of execution for Hengtai Construction’s frozen assets.

"Chairman Sterling!" Zhang Weimin shrieked, breaking through the student line and dropping onto his knees in front of the walking delegation.

The security detail instantly moved forward, but Zhang Weimin raised his hands frantically, weeping openly in front of hundreds of shocked students and national reporters.

"Chairman Sterling! Save my family!" Zhang Weimin sobbed, pointing a shaking finger toward the crowd. "My firm served this university for ten years! We built the student sports center! But recent administrative audits have ruined us! It’s all because of a rogue working student who used corporate proxies to sabotage our permits!"

Chancellor Vance’s face turned bright red with pure fury. "Security! Remove this lunatic immediately! How dare he interrupt the National Board inspection?!"

"Wait!" Zhang Weimin screamed, scrambling on his hands and knees toward the crowd, pointing wildly until his finger locked onto Liam Coop, who was walking calmly down the side library path carrying his leather lecture binder. "There he is! Look at him! Liam Coop! A penniless server from the Dragon Phoenix Hotel! He manipulated internal bank files to destroy my son and freeze my company!"

The entire plaza erupted into loud, frantic whispers. Hundreds of camera lenses instantly pivoted from Chairman Sterling toward Liam Coop.

Linda’s heart dropped into a dark, bottomless pit. She gasped, covering her mouth with trembling hands. "Uncle Zhang... stop..."

Liam stopped in the middle of the brick pathway. He wore his simple dark jacket and trousers, holding his lecture binder loosely under his arm. He didn't run, he didn't hide his face, and his calm, dark eyes didn't show a single flicker of panic. He simply looked at the groveling, hysterical Zhang Weimin with absolute, undisturbed composure.

Zhang Weimin grinned insanely, turning to Chairman Sterling. "See?! He doesn't even deny it! Chairman Sterling, use your authority to expel this boy and lift the audit on Hengtai Construction!"

Chairman Sterling slowly turned his head. His sharp eyes followed Zhang Weimin’s shaking finger, landing directly on Liam Coop standing quietly near the ginkgo trees.

The moment Chairman Sterling’s eyes locked onto Liam’s face, the silver-haired corporate titan froze.

The color instantly drained from Chairman Sterling’s face. His breathing hitched sharply, his hands trembling so violently that he nearly dropped his gold-trimmed executive leather folder onto the pavement.

Chairman Sterling had personally attended the private, closed-door global trust summit in New York three weeks ago, where the late Peter Coop’s master legal council had revealed the portrait and sole legal identity of the Young Master who inherited the ninety-three-billion-dollar Coop Sovereign Trust.

Chairman Sterling pushed past Chancellor Vance, pushed past the security guards, and shoved Zhang Weimin aside with such force the ruined businessman tumbled sideways into the dirt.

In full view of hundreds of university students, national news reporters, academic deans, and the terrified Linda Vance, Chairman Sterling walked briskly over to Liam Coop.

Stopping two feet away, Chairman Sterling bowed his head at a deep, precise ninety-degree angle of absolute, unreserved submission.

"Master Liam," Chairman Sterling said, his deep voice carrying across the deathly quiet plaza with absolute clarity. "The National Board of Trustees is honored to report for your inspection. Forgive the intrusion of this groveling trash upon your academic peace."

THUD.

Chancellor Vance’s leather folder slipped from his hand, hitting the granite steps with a heavy smack.

The twelve senior corporate trustees behind Chairman Sterling immediately stepped forward, lining up in a precise row, and bowed ninety degrees in unison toward the young man in the simple dark jacket!

The entire campus plaza fell into a dead, suffocating silence so intense that even the autumn wind seemed to stop blowing through the trees.

Reporters forgot to press their camera shutters. Faculty members stood with their mouths wide open like statues. Students stared with eyes bulged out of their heads, completely paralyzed by the sheer impossibility of what they were witnessing.

The Chairman of the National Board of Trustees—a man who advised state presidents and controlled tens of billions in capital—was bowing to a working student!

Zhang Weimin sat frozen on the dirty pavement, his mouth open, his bloodshot eyes staring at Liam in sheer, uncomprehending horror. The realization hit him like a mountain collapsing onto his chest: the boy he had mocked, the boy his son had tried to freeze to death, was the supreme owner of the very ground they stood upon.

Linda Vance collapsed to her knees right on the brick pathway, her hands clutching her head as hot, heavy tears poured down her cold cheeks. Her mind shattered into a thousand jagged pieces.

It was true. Every impossible rumor, every gold card, every luxury hotel bowing, every real estate title—it was all real. The boy who had spent three years holding an umbrella over her head while getting his own clothes soaked was the single most powerful heir in the nation. And she had thrown him away for a fake plastic necklace and an Audi on a thirty-year lease.

Liam looked down at Chairman Sterling, his face calm, serene, and entirely unbothered. He didn't look at the kneeling Zhang Weimin, nor did he offer a glance to the weeping Linda.

"The campus academic environment should remain quiet, Chairman Sterling," Liam said softly, his smooth voice echoing through the silent plaza. "Proceed with your inspection."

"Understood, Master Liam," Chairman Sterling replied reverently, straightening his posture with profound respect.

Liam adjusted his lecture binder under his arm, turned smoothly on his heel, and walked calmly toward the economic building, leaving the frozen crowd, the ruined corporate chairs, and the shattered girl weeping on the bricks far behind him.

What unbelievable humiliation will strike Linda tomorrow when she attempts to buy a basic handbag at a luxury boutique, only to find herself permanently blacklisted from every store owned by Liam's fashion empire?