She couldn't fathom Asher Land's intentions now; this man was always unpredictable.
"What are you still standing there for? You can leave."
His tone sounded like he was trying to drive her away.
Sophie Smith walked out, and Eva Miller was shocked to see Sophie's face full of tears.
"Ah! Sophie, what's wrong? It's okay if you didn't get selected; we still have plenty of opportunities! Don't cry!" Eva seriously consoled.
Sophie was about to explain when a middle-aged man around forty came out and announced loudly, "That's all for today."
"What? It's over? Could it be that President Land already has someone in mind?" Eva looked dejected, "I haven't even started, and it's already over. How could this happen?"
Faced with this sudden 'cruel' reality, Eva's eyes reddened, and now it was Sophie's turn to comfort Eva as they chatted and walked back to their dormitory.
Back at the dorm, Sophie felt Isabella Yates's unfriendly gaze.
"Why did you return so late? Were you in the assessment hall for a long time?" Isabella was displeased; ever since she entered the hall, Asher Land hadn't given her a glance, as if it was just a formality. So, she was out in less than three minutes.
"Don't mention it. I didn't even enter the hall before President Land had someone announce it was over." Eva looked defeated, "Sophie was the last one; how lucky. By the way, Sophie, you seemed to be in there for quite a while. Was President Land satisfied with you?"
"I..." Sophie was about to explain but was mercilessly interrupted by Isabella.
"President Land isn't blind; how could he possibly be interested in her?"
Sophie shook her head, not arguing with Isabella. Isabella perceived herself as superior and often had an arrogant demeanor. While Sophie was unhappy with her, she didn't want to get into verbal disputes with her. Most of the time, she preferred to keep a peaceful mindset.
"Oh, Sophie, the counselor said you need to go to the office." Amy reminded from the side.
Sophie naturally knew what it was about. It's been almost a month since school started, yet she hadn't paid the tuition. The counselor was looking for her just about this matter.
She had been working hard to find part-time jobs and would go to various film sets to play small roles every weekend, but these were far from enough to cover her hefty tuition fees.
Sophie met with the counselor and said she would pay the tuition by the end of this month.
She felt overwhelmed with mixed emotions.
What was she to do? She couldn't ask her family for money because she knew her father was under a lot of pressure. However, relying on her current abilities, she wouldn't be able to gather enough for the tuition no matter what.
Around nine in the evening, Sophie received a call from an unknown number.
"Hello, this is Sophie Smith."
She answered the phone, but there was no response for a while.
"Hello, I'm Sophie Smith."
She hesitated and glanced at the number, thinking it might be a wrong call. Just as she was about to hang up, a cold voice came through.
"Come to room 1502 at the Imperial Court Hotel now."
"W-what?" Sophie tried to contain her dissatisfaction; what did calling a girl to a hotel in the middle of the night mean? What's more, she didn't even know who was on the other end.
"Sir, I don't know you, I..."
Asher Land suppressed his inner temper; this woman didn't even recognize his voice.