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.

on a few questions, but

You’re a genius,” came

lips into a smile at her words.

that his family had arranged for him to marry Juliana, a relief in

too

eyes as Daniel placed a

glanced at the result. His smile froze, ‘A? Was there

of mathematics is remarkable. Despite the difficulty of this

into whispers and turned heads, all eyes on the

back row.

in disbelief, turning to see Cordelia slowly lift her head, her gaze sharpening on him. Then, with a slow and knowing smile, Cordelia whispered just loud enough for

rushed to Hanley’s cheeks as if slapped by an invisible hand.

him, Juliana was equally frozen, her mind a loop of denial, “Impossible! How?‘

“Class dismissed!”

up the review just in time for the bell

had he gone than the room erupted into noise.

“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 makeup reminiscent of a cartoon character. She popped her

her for a moment, replying simply, “Nice

chirped, “The whole school is buzzing on the forum about whether Hanley can cling to his top spot. I gotta say I’ve had it up to here

with a noncommittal,

didn’t falter her chatter, “I heard the Foster family thought your grades were embarrassing, so they called off the engagement? Are you gonna try and top the

stayed silent, her first impression of Merry

a volunteer, collected the papers. The first thing was

paper in hand, just in time to catch Merry’s comment. “Hanley is no one–trick

she did

do you think you can take the top spot? Dream

blew another bubble and tilted her head at Juliana,” I’m not sure whether Cordelia beats Hanley or not, but she’ll definitely better than you. What’s there for

Juliana sneered, “Considering you’re at the bottom, I suppose you have no room for pride.” Merry chuckled, “Oh, I couldn’t be prouder

off,

out until the end of the school day, posted

just a number to her. She grabbed her bag and was