Chapter 25 Outside the school gates, everyone was talking about the weekend's talent show, Erin stood in the center of a crowd of students. "I heard from someone on the inside-Erin placed first in the premiere episode! That's amazing. "Can't believe we have a real celebrity at our school. We're so lucky," "She's getting prettier every day . Just looking at her is a total vibe…" At that moment, Chloe arrived at the school entrance . The crowd quieted for a beat-then the whispering kicked back up . "Wait , didn't she enter the same show too?" "She's that slacker from Class 20, right? Is she trying to copy Erin's path to fame?" "I heard they might actually be sisters, "No way. Erin's stylish and gorgeous. Chloe's so out of touch. Look at her shoes those were trendy like four or five years ago. They're totally out now. She's still wearing them? That's hilarious Erin's gaze flicked over instinctively. Those shoes? They were a flagship item from a major international brand's latest collection. Everyone knew fashion was cyclical, and right now, this exact style was trending again overseas. Retail price? Over 70 thousand dollars. Her eyes narrowed with disdain. She thought , "If you can't afford the real thing, don't wear knockoffs. Don't embarrass yourself. "Ugh, what's that barking noise-who let the dog out?" Callum strolled up, one hand in his pocket, sweeping a cold glare over the group. of gossiping girls. "If you're that bored, maybe go help fertilize crops in the village ." One of the girls gasped . "You -how can you be so rude?" "Yeah, I'm rude. So what? Keep yapping and I'll have your names carved in stone." The whole area went dead silent. Erin frowned. "Callum, we're all classmates . No need to be so aggressive," He scoffed. "Maybe you should spend less time being a campus belle' and more time teaching your brainless fans some manners, Then he turned and casually jogged to catch up with Chloe. Erin's expression twisted into a sucer She thought. That bumpkin Chloe probably can't attract anyone but a delinquent like Callum. 'Sure, she might be enjoying being protected and fawurd over by the school bad boy now-but just wait Once she ends up pregnant. and forced into marriage, she'll see just how lun that really is. The classroom. Chloe quietly opened her book and started reading. After a while, she glanced up-show, Callum had disappeared from his seat without her nothing He didn't return nisl right before the nest class coded, his elbow scraped and bruised "You've been out of clays for seventy six minutes. That's a 25 thousand dollars deduction" Chloe said without looking up. Fighting) Another 3 thousand dollars gone. Friendly remunder your allowance for next month is already running low, Krep an eye on your P P Chapter 25 Callum was speechless. ask why I got into He let out a slow breath. "Aren't you even gonna ask why I got into a fight?" "You're so ungrateful, Chloe!" Vincent cut in, sounding furious. "Some guys from the other class were spreading disgusting rumors online about you-saying you're sleeping your way to fame. Callum was nearby having a smoke, heard it, got pissed, and beat them up "Smoking. Minus 1500 dollars," Chloe said calmly, cutting him off just before Callum could blow up. Then she added, "Still, the fact that you defended me in front of others means you've got a good heart. Bonus: 3 thousand dollars." Vincent was speechless. "Did she just say 'good heart? he thought. talked, she might as well have been his mom. Chloe was just a year older than Callum, repeating the year but the way she talk And the wildest part? He actually saw Callum-who never gave a damn about anyone-scratch the back of his head like a sheepish little kid. He thought, 'Oh my god. That is Callum's living expenses. Chloe deducts them like it is pocket change, then hands out a reward right after-and he doesn't even flinch? 'Aren't we supposed to be setting her up just to dump her later? "So why does it feel like… Callum is seriously falling for her?" "But!" Chloe's voice sharpened, "this is just the first episode of the show. Once it airs and starts gaining traction, the gossip's only going to get worse. What then? You gonna take them all on, one by one? You think you can handle that?" Callum scowled. "So we're just supposed to let them slander you?" "If you cracked a book once in a while, you'd know there are smarter ways to handle this," Chloe replied with a faint smile. "If a defamatory post gets shared over 500 times, it becomes a criminal offense. Let them spend a little time in jail-they'll shut up on their OWIL Vincent was speechless. "Damn. That is cold-and brilliant. Callum muttered, "Okay.. I overreacted." "Sit still" Chloe pulled a bandage from her backpack and gently covered the scrape on his elbow. "Doesn't matter what career you end up in-nght now, you need to focus on your studies. Don't waste your youth." Callum nodded hard . "Got it, Great -Gra-uh… I mean, got it . " He was on his best behavior, At least until lunchtime. As soon as the bell rang, he whipped out his phone and dove into a gaming session with Vincent and a few others. A crowd of underachievers quickly gathered to watch. Chloe glanced over The moment Callum felt her gaze , something primal kicked in-he shut to his feet. "Oh crap, I almost forgot-I promised I'd show you Chilor was always open to trying new things She pulled out her phone downloaded the hit game, and registered an account. After Callum walked her through the basics, he invited her to join the team. Five players, one goal: destroy the enemy base "Wait-Chloe! What are you dong Don't charge in ali Vincent panicked as she darted straight toward the enemy stronghold. Fall back! We're supposed to sin Chapter 25 Double kill. Triple kill… Four out of five e opponents were down. The last one was running for dear life. It was like she was in god mode-she cut through the entire team and reached the crystal tower in under five minutes. Game over. "This game's way too easy , Chloe frowned. "You guys waste your time on this every day ?" Callum and Vincent were speechless. "You've totally played before, Vincent accused. " You were faking the whole time?" But Callum knew the truth-Chloe had never touched a video game before today. Yet she wiped the floor with everyone. He always thought he was good, but compared to her? He looked like a total rookie. So humiliating. Focus on your studies, boys," Chloe said calmly. "If you're good at math, you can predict enemy movement patterns-based on speed, cooldown timers, wave timing. Plug all that into a basic model and you'll She started explaining. And the whole class just stared, dumbfounded. 'Is she seriously talking about building mathematical models for a mobile game? *Sure, it sounds plausible in theory… but who has time to run equations in the middle of a match? This was way beyond overkill. Chloe hadn't even finished when their homeroom teacher, Gianna , walked in. "Chloe, get ready. You're coming with me to Erord University this afternoon for the physics competition." Right. She did sign up for that. With the trip and the test, the entire afternoon was pretty much gone.