Chapter 45

Seeing Cordelia’s bewildered expression, Merry didn’t hesitate. She whipped out her smartphone, opened her browser, and scrolled through nphotos until she found one of her heartthrob on the cover of a famous men’s magazine.

There he was, draped casually in a white toga that looked ready to slip off his shoulders at any moment, a hint of mischief in his eye. A beauty spot shaped like a teardrop just below his eye added to his enigmatic allure. His gaze was intense, staring off into the distance, and his lips curved in a half–smile that seemed to reach through the screen and beckon the viewer closer.

“Hot, right? Tell me you wouldn’t want a piece of that!” Merry gushed, practically swooning over the image.

Cordelia just stared at it.

The man was undeniably handsome but in a completely different way from Everard, who had this dangerous, edgy vibe…Why was she even thinking about Everard?

Shaking her head to clear the thought, Cordelia was about to return to her studies when she overheard conversation nearby.

“Merry, I heard you moved out from your folks‘ place. You’re not staying on campus, so where are you crashing now?”

Merry rolled her eyes. “I got an apartment.”

“Wow, you got cash? Didn’t your family cut you off?” the person asked, surprised.

Merry snorted. “Do you think I lived for eighteen years without saving a dime?”

The other person just uttered an “Oh” and fell silent.

But Cordelia remembered Paulina had offered Merry a bank card after the incident with the stolen class funds, which Merry had declined. Not wanting to pry into her friend’s personal life, Cordelia hadn’t asked any further questions. But Merry might be having money troubles.

Casually, Cordelia tapped Merry on the shoulder. “You short on cash? I can lend you some.”

Merry glanced around and leaned closer, whispering, “Lia, I’m making my own money now. Don’t worry about it.” Did she say she was making money?

Cordelia blinked in confusion. “What?”

Lowering her voice, Merry confessed, “I’ve started streaming online for cash,”

After a pause, she added with anxiety, “Lia, you won’t think less of me, will you?”

Once the darling heiress of the Jordan family, she was a streamer then.

head slowly.

sigh

Cordelia, with Hanley and Juliana, stood up, grabbed their books, and walked out amid envious whispers from their

and physics competition dates were fast approaching, and the trio had stopped attending regular classes to focus full–time on their

by a need to validate some hypothesis, she headed

behind her, Juliana let out a relieved sigh. “Is she going all–in

on its heels. With such tight scheduling, most would choose

“Smart move on

Competition had shattered Hanley’s pride, but he wasn’t one to hold grudges. He had grown to

Cordelia’s desk, he saw that it was devoid of any math problems. but a single sheet of blank paper on which she was

confusion and

wrote and sketched, occasionally crumpling

dashed to the school library to borrow a book titled Batra’s Life, which Hanley recognized as a famous mathematical challenge, but

Cordelia continued with her mysterious project, which

saw what she was up to, he was shocked. “Cordelia, are trying to prove Batra’s Conjecture?”

She nodded.

you

been tackling that for over a hundred years without success. Many have failed at the final hurdle. It’s not something you should be wasting your time on. If you’re interested, you should wait until

off, remembering Cordelia had

Latham’s advice, Cordelia was determined to solve it. “Mr. Latham, I

make sure you get

problem,” Cordelia

hold back any

She didn’t respond.

The Galaxy Math Whiz Competition was off–syllabus, and I know you studied beyond that, but that doesn’t make your win entirely legitimate. There are countless math prodigies out there. Take Jake from Greenmeadow High. Last year, he won first prize at the National League and almost got himself to the winter

breakthrough, Cordelia was increasingly irritated by the

folks couldn’t help but snap back, her misty, cold gaze sweeping across the room.

froze, his mouth clamping

irritation. He had offered a friendly warning, but she treated his goodwill as worthless.

let the harsh reality teach her

problem until six in the evening

if she could prove this tiny

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