Iris' enrollment to Cross Academy was processed immediately. She met one more time with Professor Erwan Dupont and Giulia Moretti before they left the country to return to Switzerland. They told her that they would arrange for suitable instructors for her as soon as possible.
And they were true to their word.
By the following week, Iris welcomed her new instructors. There were two of them for now. Both were accomplished polyglots and Cross Academy alumni.
She was told that there was one more coming who would mentor her on business matters. However, she had no idea who this mentor was or when he or she would be coming.
The first instructor was Professor Kalisha Schwarz. The attractive half-German and half-Nigerian lady was a famous interpreter and translator with extensive experience working with the most notable figures in the world including multinational organizations and companies. Some of the most sought-after interpreters and translators in the world were trained by her. Her expertise lay in the major European and African languages.
The other instructor was Professor Hisakawa Akio who was currently one of the most celebrated authors in his home country of Japan. He frequently translated his own books to other languages for international release. He was assigned to train Iris in Asian languages.
Compared to European languages, Iris wasn't as proficient in other languages. Although this was the case, her proficiency level in these other languages were still leagues better than most regular people. However, as a Cross Academy student, this level was still not quite good enough. That was why she needed to study hard under the tutelage of her assigned instructors.
Professor Schwarz flew all the way from England where she had been living for the past decade. Professor Hisakawa was nearer, flying from Japan. The academy arranged separate accommodations for them a few minutes' drive away from Iris' condo building.
Before officially starting her studies, Iris invited the two instructors for dinner at her penthouse. She made sure to inform Jin Liwei in advance so that he could clear his schedule. She wanted him to meet her instructors because they were going to become a big part of her daily life from now on.
Iris and Jin Liwei welcomed the two instructors together at the penthouse.
"Madame Schwarz?" he blurted out even before the greetings.
The female professor took a few seconds before recognizing him. Then she replied in English with a posh British accent, a bit different from Iris' accent. "Oh, aren't you CEO Jin? What a surprise to see you here." Then she turned to Iris. "Xiulan, my dear, is he your lover?"
Iris nodded, a smile on her face. "Yes, Professor."
"Oh my." Professor Schwarz turned to Jin Liwei again. "What a lucky man you are. Seems like you hit the jackpot."
Iris giggled and looked at her man's astonished expression.
Of course Jin Liwei recognized Professor Schwarz. As the President-CEO of Jin Corporation, the number one company in the country, he often met up with other business leaders from other countries. During these meetings, they would often need the assistance of an interpreter and Professor Schwarz was one of the best in the world. As a result, he met the Professor a number of times in the past especially when he travelled to Europe for business meetings or conferences.
While he was still making sense of the situation, Iris formally greeted her instructors. She spoke in English. Both the professors could speak Mandarin, but Professor Schwarz wasn't quite as skilled in Asian languages. Her Mandarin sounded awkward.
"Professor Schwarz, Hisakawa-sensei, thank you very much for accepting me as your student. Both of you must be busy, so I appreciate that you flew all the way here to guide my education. I am looking forward to learning from both of you. I'll do my best." Iris spoke these words with great respect and sincerity.
"Ah, don't worry about it, child," Professor Hisakawa said, waving his hand. "I was getting bored anyway holed up in my house after finishing my recent novel, so I'm glad that Professor Dupont asked for me. I've never had a Chinese student before so I'm excited. I'm very strict, so you better be ready."
Jin Liwei didn't recognize Professor Hisakawa but he figured that he must be an important figure if he was with someone like Professor Schwarz.
"My dear, I've been looking forward to meeting you ever since I heard about you from Professor Dupont," Professor Schwarz said. "He rarely asks for me, you know."
Iris smiled. Afterwards, she formally introduced Jin Liwei and the two instructors to each other.
For people who belonged to the one and only Cross Academy, they knew that they were the most elite among the elites in the world. Most of them wouldn't go around bragging to everyone that they were from Cross Academy, but in their hearts, they knew that they were special and that others were "regular" people.
That was why, no matter how wealthy or powerful Jin Liwei was, he was still a regular person to people like Professor Schwarz and Professor Hisakawa or anyone else from Cross Academy. For people like them, they would never feel awed upon meeting Jin Liwei.
In front of the two professors, Jin Liwei felt like a child or someone insignificant. They were nice and polite, but he could feel that they didn't think much of him. This was the first in a long time that he felt this way, ever since succeeding the leadership of Jin Corporation.
Iris and Jin Liwei led their two guests to the living area for some tea while they waited for dinner.
Jin Liwei sat back and listened to their conversation. He only spoke when directly asked. The puzzle pieces were falling into place in his mind. He now had an idea which school his baby girl enrolled to.
Not many people were aware of it, but he knew that Professor Schwarz studied in that legendary Swiss school. He didn't really know Professor Hisakawa before this, but he suspected that he must also be affiliated with that school.
He wanted confirmation.
Clearing his throat, he asked, "Xiulan, is the school you're enrolled in perhaps...Cross Academy?"
Iris smiled. "Yes."
Although he already suspected it, he still felt shocked when she confirmed it. He looked at the two instructors.
Professor Schwarz chuckled seeing his reaction. Then she turned to Iris. "My dear, don't tell me you didn't mention it to your lover?"
Iris nodded. "I wanted to surprise him."
"Well, my dear. Looks like you succeeded. Just look at him."
Jin Liwei was looking at his baby girl in amazed disbelief. He already knew that she was a genius, but he still never expected that she would reach such a level to be admitted to THE Cross Academy.
Intense pride surged through him. Before he even realized it, he was already pulling her into a tight embrace.