Love or Die CEO’s Daily Dose of Swoon

Chapter 8

Latham strode into the classroom, his arrival predating the bell’s chime by mere seconds.

He dropped a stack of thick papers onto the desk at the front, Daniel, would you mind handing these out?”

A hush fell over the room as Cordelia, seated at the back, watched necks crane and bodies lean forward in anticipation. As the papers made their rounds, a cacophony of sighs and gasps peppered the air from every

comer.

Daniel, a slim figure with glasses that seemed too heavy for his face, approached Juliana and handed her the

paper.

Curiosity bubbled up from the desks, “What do you get?”

Juliana glanced at her score with a mix of ease and pride in her voice. “A”

“And you nailed that with these brain–busters? Impressive!”

Juliana feigned modesty. ‘Oh, it’s nothing. I’m still trailing behind Hanley”

“No need to compare with that guy who is been raking in math awards since he was in diapers. But you know, you’re two peas in a pod, academically speaking.

Amidst the surrounding exclamations of admiration, Juliana inevitably drifted her gaze to the back row

With a hint of teasing, she said, “Daniel, would you be a dear and check my cousin’s grade?”

Fumbling through the papers, Daniel didn’t find Cordelia’s but instead pulled out Hanley’s and promptly handed it over…

Before the commotion could settle, Latham announced from the front, “This math test, there’s only one perfect score in the entire grade, and it’s from our class!”

“Wow!”

“Hanley’s got to be the man, right?”

As the class buzzed with astonishment, Hanley quietly exhaled in relief.

a few questions, but it seemed they

genius,” came

lips into a smile at

his family had arranged for him to marry Juliana, a relief in itself. A guy like him

too shabby.

a blur before his eyes as Daniel placed a paper

the result. His smile

a breathless Latham added, “Let’s extend our warmest congratulations to Cordelia! Her grasp of

still as a tableau, erupted into whispers and turned heads, all eyes on the

back row.

head, her gaze sharpening on him. Then, with a slow and knowing smile,

if slapped by an invisible hand.

her mind a loop of

“Class dismissed!”

review just in time for the bell and left the classroom.

gone than the room erupted

“Screech!”

her seat. With the laxity of a ragdoll, she leaned on Cordelia’s desk. “Hey, you’re Cordelia, right? I’m Merry,” she announced, her vibrant pink hair and dramatic

a moment, replying simply, “Nice

spot. I gotta say I’ve had it up to here with Hanley and

responded with a noncommittal, “Oh.”

embarrassing, so they

Merry

a volunteer, collected the papers. The first thing was check Cordelia’s result. Upon seeing the grade, Juliana exhaled in relief.

comment. “Hanley is no one–trick pony,” Juliana

she did

do you think you can take

Cordelia beats Hanley or not, but she’ll definitely better than you. What’s there

have no room for pride.” Merry chuckled, “Oh, I

off, fuming.

out until the end of the school day, posted on the wall for all to

look. Grades were just a number to her. She grabbed her bag and was