“I hope the Chamber of Commerce will become warmer as it grows bigger and stronger, and undertake more responsibilities. This is why I want to continue to serve as a board member of the Chamber of Commerce.” Gloria bowed a little to conclude her speech.

  A three-minute speech wasn’t long, but it made the guests stop smiling and begin to ponder.

  Cyril smirked at Gloria. Only an inexperienced young girl like her would have such immature thoughts and even say it out loud at such an occasion.

  Jeffree was looking at Gloria with a complicated gaze.

  Mag looked at Gloria thoughtfully. The vision and plan that she had displayed already veered from her original intention of proving herself to Jeffree. They had evolved into a touching plan and a long-term goal.

  “This Miss Gloria has a responsible heart that few business people have. If she could become the Moreton Family’s successor, or even the president of the Chamber of Commerce, she might bring a lot more to Chaos City.” In the VIP sitting area, Michael was looking at Gloria with admiration.

  “So, my lord’s meaning is, you wish to help Miss Gloria stay on board?” his aide asked softly.

  “The city lord’s castle will give her a little boost. As for whether she is able to remain, it will all depend on her capabilities.” Michael nodded slightly.

  “Yes.” That aide swiftly strode off.

  Soon, a waiter was moving in between the board members’ tables, and passing notes around discreetly.

  Scheer was also staring at Gloria. An opponent like her would make things far more interesting in a few years’ time.

  As for Cyril, she had never deemed him an opponent before.

  Scheer’s gaze swept over the crowd, and landed on Mag in the corner. She narrowed her eyes slightly.

  Manard went onto the stage again, and loudly said to all the board members, “Miss Gloria has already finished her speech. Next, the board members will have three minutes to think and choose before writing down on the ballot slips if Miss Gloria should continue to stay on the board. Our staff will collect all the ballot slips filled up by the board members three minutes later, and we will count the votes immediately to get the final result.”


  All the board members looked at one another before picking up their ballot slips and pens. They tilted their bodies slightly, and wrote down their respective choice.

  Although this round of voting seemed to have happened out of the blue, in actuality, the majority of the board members had already made their choice before they arrived at the event hall.

  This wasn’t simply a round of voting; it also meant choosing sides.

  Even though the Dodges Family and the Marquis Family were not as powerful as the Moretons and Buffetts in recent years, and had been slowly losing board member seats annually, they still retained a certain level of influence as influential clans.

  As for the Moretons, Cyril had paid a visit to almost all the board members under them. He had either bribed or threatened them, so his influence was rather great too.

  As for the Buffetts, nobody could guess what choice Scheer was going to make, but nobody believed that she would side with Gloria.

  Amy suddenly returned to Mag’s side. As she snuggled into his arms, she nervously asked, “Will Big Sister Gloria win?”


  “Maybe. Her speech was rather moving.” Mag nodded smilingly. A kind soul was the most beautiful and touching.

  Camilla warningly snorted, and secretly murmured, “Hey, that’s my girl.”


  All of them from the restaurant had gathered around Mag again. After all, it was Miss Gloria who’d invited them to the banquet, so they were somewhat like her supporters, and should naturally stand on her side.

  “Do you think Gloria can retain her board member’s position?” Debra asked Lance at the side, clenching her hands nervously.

  “Don’t worry. It’s not a big deal even if she can’t continue to be a board member. She is a kind child, and will succeed at whatever she endeavors to do.” Lance smiled as he placed his hand on her shoulder gently, and looked at Gloria with a gratified gaze.

  Mickey clenched his fists, and solemnly said, “Big Sister is the best, and I believe in her too.”


  Three minutes passed in a flash. Under Manard’s instructions, the staff members started to collect the ballot tickets that the board members had filled.

  Although Gloria looked calm, she had already clenched her hands into fists, and was nervously looking at the ballot box that was carried up to the stage by the staff members.

  “It’s time to count the votes, and time for you to return where you should be.” Cyril smirked next to Gloria, almost certain about his victory.

  Gloria didn’t answer him, and maintained her silence.

  She was given plenty of cold-shoulder treatment when she visited the board members. She also received many excuses, and almost nobody agreed to take her side on the spot.

  Compared to Cyril, who had over 20 years of experience in the business world, it was indeed difficult for her to gain their trust.

  She also had no way to ascertain the outcome of tonight’s voting. She could only hope some board members would change their opinions of her, and choose to stand on her side after her short speech.

  “Now, I would like to invite all our guests present to bear witness. I will read out the votes on the spot right now.” Manard approached the ballot box and reached in. He pulled out one vote, opened it up, and then loudly said, “The first vote, disagree.”


  A staff member drew a horizontal line[1] on a blackboard at the side.

  “The second vote, disagree.

  “The third vote, disagree.

  “The fourth vote, abstain.

  “The fifth vote, agree.

  “The sixth vote, disagree.”


  ***

  Manard continued to read out the votes with his steady voice. The two columns of “agree” and “disagree” on the blackboard had an obvious difference.

  The banquet hall was in a complete silence as everyone was staring at the blackboard that had strokes added onto it with all kinds of expressions.

  Cyril’s smile was getting increasingly smug by the seconds. Following this trend, he was going to win this bet with an absolute advantage.

  Harvey was glaring at Gloria with a cold gaze. Everything was proceeding according to their plans. How could a young girl be a match for two big families?

  When the “disagree” votes reached 23, and there were only five “agree” votes, the disparity was so great that it made them feel oppressed.

  The guests were looking at Gloria piteously. A beautiful and kind-hearted maiden like her actually couldn’t continue to be a board member after being impeached by Cyril.

  “The 29th vote, agree.

  “The 30th vote, agree.”


  ***

  “The 40th vote, agree!”


  After 12 continuous “agree” votes, Manard couldn’t help raising his voice a little.

  The guests’ eyes also lit up again.

  “This…… This is impossible!” Cyril, who thought he had already won, and was about to celebrate his win, glared and instantly became slightly nervous.

  [1] If you expected vertical lines and find it odd, an explanation for you: the Chinese first draw the —, and then add lines until they draw the character 正. This character has exactly five strokes in total (top flat, right vertical, the short flat in the middle, then the small left vertical, and lastly the bottom flat one), so it stands for 5 when counting this way. You can compare it to the Roman digit V or to counting with vertical strokes until IIII and striking it through to mark every five.