Let's start over, Your Majesty.

Chapter 231 A Small Tea Party
Aside from the first piece they picked up, no one dared to take a second mint-flavored ginger biscuit except for Muirner, who ate it with relish.

"Hmm? Doesn't everyone like it?" she asked, looking at the four people in front of her who hadn't touched it much.

"Uh, I ate a bit too much at the cafeteria at noon, and I haven't digested it yet," Leon replied with difficulty.

"Is that so? I thought it was because my taste was too strange for you guys to eat." Muirna picked up another cookie.

"Ha, haha." They all forced a smile with bitter expressions.

“Oh, little Sassa, you haven’t introduced your two friends yet,” Muirna said, looking at Caesar.

"Well, I'm not exactly someone worth introducing," Leon scratched his head. "My name is Leon Jackson, and I'm Caesar's deskmate. I've been getting a lot of help with my homework and assignments thanks to Caesar."

"I...I...my name..." Tess blushed slightly. She knew her family was ostracized by Muirna, yet she had brazenly come forward, and what she said might very well offend him.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Muirner looked at Tess, who was overly nervous, with a puzzled expression.

“This is Tess Wallace, my deskmate. We're very close at school; she's a very outstanding girl,” Caesar introduced her, then smiled slightly at Muirner.
"Besides, she's also very interested in the fashion world, so she admires you a lot, Professor,"

Tess watched Muirner nervously, only to find that he had merely taken a sip of juice and his face showed little expression.

Despite her inner turmoil, she still said, "I'm sorry, Professor, I didn't tell you my surname beforehand. But I really wanted to meet you, which is why I concealed my identity. I know my family did something that you can't forgive. I apologize to you on their behalf!"

She stood up and bowed deeply.

"If, if you mind, I, I can leave now."

Muirner put down his teacup and gave her a faint smile.

“Don’t worry about it, Tess. Since you’re here today, you’re my friend.”

"Besides, since Xiao Sa said you're a good kid, I'm willing to believe him."

"Yes, it is."

Tess looked up and gave Caesar a grateful look. She could sense Muirner's hidden emotions; she guessed that if it weren't for Caesar's sake, she would have been asked to leave.

She then relaxed and sat down again.

Muirna turned his gaze to Sia and smiled slightly: "Then, this one needs no introduction, our princess."

Sia remained calm, put down her water glass, and looked directly at Muirna.

"Professor, if you may, could you tell me why you called me here?"

The reason I invited her over was definitely not just for casual conversation.

“It’s nothing important, you don’t need to be so nervous,” Muirner said.

Sia frowned. Was I nervous? How could she tell without any expression on my face?

“Perhaps we can talk about our business later, okay? Let’s talk about something more pleasant first,” Muirna said.

These words silenced the doubts that Xia was about to express, and she sat down in silence.

"Oh, right, Xiao Sa, I've forgotten about your book."

Muirner got up, found Caesar's recently bestselling fantasy novel, and handed it to him.

“Thank you so much. I’ve finished the whole book, and it’s indeed as wonderful as you said, except the ending is a bit unclear,” Muirner said. “That’s how stream-of-consciousness endings are. This style of writing is quite popular lately. It mainly aims to create a sense of immersion, to allow the reader to resonate with the protagonist, which makes the reading experience much more enjoyable,” Caesar said.

"The main problem is that the writing is too bizarre, and the information gleaned from it is too chaotic. The protagonist is involved in several storylines simultaneously. If it were me, I would at least establish a central theme, otherwise the readers would end up not understanding it at all."

"This is also why this book is so controversial; some people think the stream-of-consciousness ending is brilliant, while others think it's a jumbled mess and they don't know what it's trying to say..."

"After all, everyone has different ideas. Personally, I prefer to see something simpler."

The dean's tea party continued in this way, with Caesar and Muirner doing most of the conversation. The other three couldn't understand what they were saying and could only sit on the sidelines. However, Tess mustered up the courage to ask a few questions about the fashion industry, and Muirner patiently answered them for her, making the young girl very happy.

The alarm clock on the wall ticked away, and the exchange meeting came to an end.

“Oh, you guys have to go back now, or someone might come after me,” Muirna said, clapping his hands.

"I'm very happy today, and thank you all for spending time with me," Muirna said with a smile, her eyes narrowed.

"I guess Caesar's company is the main thing," Leon thought to himself. Having only come for the fun, he was practically falling asleep sitting there.
"Um, Professor, it might be a bit offensive, but could you please sign my autograph? I... I'd like to keep it as a souvenir," Tess finally mustered her courage to say.

"Okay, it's not a big deal."

Muirner pulled a book from a nearby bookshelf, quickly signed his name on it, and handed it to Tess.

"Thank you!"

Tess excitedly took the book, but when she looked at the title, she found it was "Pulse of the Planet," written by Muirner. Tess had read it before, and the book mentioned the massive pollution incident involving the Rock Group.

“Your family cannot be forgiven, that’s a fact, but perhaps you can do something to change all of this.” Muirner smiled slightly at her and reached out to pat Tess on the head.

"I believe what Xiaosa said, you are a good girl."

"Teach, instruct."

Tess was so moved she almost cried.

"You two go first. I have some things to attend to and I need to consult the professor later," Caesar said to the two of them.

Sia remained seated, waiting for Muirna to say what he wanted to say.

"Xiao Sa, why don't you leave for a bit? I need to talk to Xia alone," Muirna said.

Caesar gave Sia a deep look, nodded, and walked out of the hut first.

At this moment, only Xia and Muirna remained in the room, sitting opposite each other.

"So, what is it that you want to tell me, Professor?" Sia asked in a low voice.

Muirner remained calm as he tidied up the water glasses on the table, saying, "I'm sorry I didn't attend your birthday party before. Actually, they had sent me an invitation."

"It's alright, no need for you to trouble yourself," Xia said.

Looking at her wary expression, Muirner couldn't help but laugh and said:
“Don’t be so wary of me, I just want to ask you a simple question,” Muirner said.

"You've had contact with Rean, haven't you?"

(End of this chapter)