When His Perfect Mask Shattered I Awoke (Anneliese and Zacharias) novel Chapter 696

Jonathan barely stepped out of the car when he bumped into someone familiar.

"Mr. Fullbuster? Are you here for today's competition, too? Is AeroAir involved in this year's competition?"

A man in glasses and a navy suit, with salt-and-pepper hair and a scholarly vibe, strode over and greeted Jonathan with genuine surprise.

Jonathan recognized him right away. He nodded politely and reached out to shake hands. "Dean Baltimore, yes, I'm here for the competition at your university today. But AeroAir isn't participating this time—I'm just here personally, to see my wife off for her contest."

"Hmm?"

The man clearly froze for a second, as if the words didn't quite make sense.

Then he saw Jonathan turn and wave to Anneliese on the other side of the car.

"Anne, come here."

Anneliese was caught off guard, too. She hadn't expected to run into someone she and Jonathan both knew.

She recognized the man immediately—Justin Baltimore, the dean of the College of Aerospace. Back in her college days at Oceaton University, Joseph Baltimore—Justin's younger brother—was the one who recommended her to join Alexander's lab.

Anneliese quickly walked around the car to Jonathan's side.

Jonathan slipped an arm around her shoulders and introduced them. "Dean Baltimore, this is my wife, Anneliese. Anne, you know Dean Baltimore, right?"

Justin finally seemed to regain his composure, now eyeing Anneliese with real curiosity.

She was gorgeous, with an elegant presence that made her and Jonathan seem perfectly matched.

But she looked so young that, without an introduction, he might have thought she was still an undergrad.

Yet, there was something about her that seemed oddly familiar...

"That's great! I have high hopes for you, Anne. Oh, Mr. Fullbuster, do you remember when the Fullbuster Group established the Soaring Scholarship at our college? Anne won the gold award in the first year. You were supposed to present her with the certificate yourself. Anne, I think you missed the ceremony because you were… sick, wasn't it?"

Anneliese glanced at Jonathan, shock rippling through her.

She remembered that scholarship from her freshman year. She did win the gold award, but she hadn't missed the ceremony because she was sick.

She'd gotten a call from Zacharias as she was heading to the hall. Melody had brought Lenora to Oceaton for a visit, but Lenora got lost at the train station.

She'd been so worried about Lenora that she'd ditched the ceremony entirely. She asked a classmate to cover for her, then ran off to help look for Lenora.

She remembered searching all day, skipping lunch, and even making two trips to the police station. In the end, they found out Lenora had purposely hidden in a nearby internet café, hoping to avoid being sent home so soon.

Anneliese thought about how foolish she'd been back then. She cringed thinking about it now.

But the thing that really got her was realizing Jonathan had been at Oceaton University that day, too.