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.

been a toss–up on a few questions, but it seemed they were all

genius,” came

a smile at her

just learned that his family had arranged for him to marry Juliana, a relief in itself. A guy like him deserved nothing but the best,

Not too

his eyes as Daniel placed

result. His smile froze,

breathless Latham added, “Let’s extend our warmest congratulations to Cordelia! Her grasp of mathematics is remarkable. Despite the difficulty of this exam, her result

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

back row.

disbelief, turning to see Cordelia slowly lift her head, her gaze sharpening on him. Then, with a slow and knowing smile, Cordelia

if slapped

him, Juliana was equally frozen, her mind a loop

“Class dismissed!”

in time for the bell and left the classroom.

had he gone than the room erupted into

“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

for a moment, replying simply, “Nice

Hanley can cling to his top spot. I gotta say I’ve had

a noncommittal, “Oh.”

family thought your grades were embarrassing, so they called off the engagement? Are you gonna

first impression of Merry

the papers. The first thing was check Cordelia’s result. Upon seeing the

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

she did

paper, “B+. Cordelia, with this result, do you think

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 you

the bottom, I suppose you have no room for pride.” Merry chuckled, “Oh,

stormed off, fuming.

until the end of the school day, posted on the wall for

She grabbed her bag