Chapter 30 Michael stepped out onto the balcony . "Melanie, your brother did break the law . Rhodes Group has a strict zero-tolerance policy," he said gently. "But if he can repay ten times the amount within three days , we'll drop the charges." "Ten times?" Melanie gasped. "He doesn't have that kind of money-that's basically a death sentence! Michael , you'll help us… won't you?" Michael's voice stayed calm . "Don't worry. Leave it to me." Thank you, Michael. I don't even know what I'd do without you.. thank you so much…" It took more than ten minutes of comforting her before he could finally hang up He stayed on the balcony, the cool night breeze brushing against him as he rubbed his temples in frustration. Meanwhile, Chloe had slept soundly." Early that morning, she received several pages of equations from Daniel. He wanted her to continue the calculations and solve the first step. The problem was related to plotting a planet's orbital path It wasn't exactly easy-especially since Chloe had barely touched anything related to aerospace science before. As soon as she entered the classroom, she pulled out a stack of scratch paper and got to work. Once she was focused, time flew. By the time she finished, the second class of the day was already over. She snapped photos of her ten-plus pages of calculations and sent them off. Daniel had just wrapped up his own lecture when he saw the messages. He assumed Chloe had run into a tough spot and needed help. But the moment he opened the chat-bam. A flood of photos came in. Clicking through, he realized she'd already worked out the entire first phase of the problem. It was based on a newly discovered asteroid from the previous month-one that was drawing closer to Earth. The Aerospace Research Institute had made its calculations top priority and invited mathematicians across the country to help track its trajectory. Only Inte last night had they finally produced an accurate model. And Chloe's results? They matched the internal numbers exactly. Daniel stared in disbelief. The institute had used some of the most advanced computer systems available. Chloe had done it all by hand . Just a pen and some paper. No wonder Ronda had been so eager to take her on as a student . She must've been afraid someone else would snatch her away . He quickly sent her another message : [Chlor, here's the next data set . Try working out phase two of the orbital path | As soon as Chloe saw the message, she dove right back into the calculations Their next class was physics Ciianna walked in looking more cheerful than anyone had seen her in ages . Class 20 had a reputation for being the worst-performing class in the school. Since becoming their homeroom teacher, Gianna had halaAnang visibly aged-at least ten years by the students count This was the first time she looked genuinely radiant. Thave gone exciting news ," she said , beaming. "Our capsmate Chilor scored a perfect mark in the preliminary round of the International Physio Olympiad She started clapping, leading the applause herself. The rest of the class looked wch other, stunned. After a moment, they clapped along-still dazed-before the room burst into lond whispers and chatter. Chapter 30 "A perfect score? In physics?" "No way." "Wasn't she a liberal arts student? I heard her last mock exam score was barely above 100. Her grades were awful! How did she manage to ace physics of all things?" Gianna just smiled. Think back -ever since Chloe transferred to Class 3 20, hasn't she been focused entirely on studying? Barry paused. Come to think of it… yeah, that was true. Chloe was beautiful, so naturally he'd paid more attention to her than most. And every time he looked over, she was at her desk, quietly scribbling away on math problems. "Chloe's score in the last exam-just over 100-was due to a slip-up, not because she lacks ability, Gianna said with a warm smile. "Barry, Daryll , Allen-you three are our top students. Another exam is just around the corner. I'm really curious… which one of you is Chloe going to knock out of the top three?" Barry instantly felt the pressure. Daryll frowned slightly. If Chloe's really that smart , why'd she get transferred to Class 20 in the first place? Allen pursed her lips. She hangs out with Callum and those other slackers all day. Her grades can't be that good, right?" The three of them were all thinking different things. But as soon as the bell rang, Allen was the first to approach. "Hey, Chloe, could you walk me through this physics problem?" Barry and Daryll exchanged a look , then quietly walked over to eavesdrop. Chloe glanced at the question, scribbled down the answer in a few quick strokes-but then paused. Remembering Gianna's advice, she crossed it out and began explaining patiently. "This problem's actually based on a really basic concept.." Allen blinked in disbelief. That problem had stumped her for a while -and Chloe solved it in seconds, using the simplest method? She clearly wasn't bluffing. She really knew her stuff. Not to be outdone, Barry spoke up. "What about this one?" Chloe didn't lose her patience. She calmly walked them through it step-by-step. Daryll was about to ask something else when- Smack! Callum slammed his palm on the desk. "She's been tutoring you guys for five minutes already. Any longer and the cafeteria won't even have leftovers! Everyone snapped out of it and rushed toward the cafeteria. It was already packed when they got there, but Callum had his own way of solving that problem. All he had to do was knock on a table he wanted, and the people sitting there would immediately clear out. Chloe shot him a look. Callum instantly flinched and mumbled. '1-1 mean they were about to leave anyway Vincent covered his face. He had never seen Callum look that sheepish-like a kid caught stealing snacks The cafeteria was buzzing. Everyone was talking about the physics competition I heard Zayne from the honors class got a perfect score in the prelima. He's qualified for the mer "Seriously: A perfect score in physical That's not just top student level-that's genius" Chapter 30 "If he wins a national award, he's guaranteed a spot at Evergreen University. Some people are just built different." Callum rolled d his eyes. "It's just a perfect score. Why are people acting like he just discovered a new planet?" " Oof, someone sounds jealous." "Of course he is. He used to chase after Erin. Zayne was his rival. Of course he's bitter." |_ "Didn't he start dating Chloe, though? " Please. How does Chloe even compare to Erin!" That one really got under Callum's skin. Sure, he'd chased after Erin back in the day-mostly because she was crowned the school beauty and he wanted the thrill of winning her over. That was years ago. He thought. Why do people keep bringing it up?" "Me? Jealous over a physics score?" He scoffed. "Chloe from our Class 20 also got a perfect score and made it to the next round. Do you see her going around bragging about it?" "Exactly!" Vincent chimed in. "Chloe scored full marks too and qualified for the regionals. Has she posted about it, told anyone, flexed even once? Nope. The entire cafeteria went dead silent . "Wait.. who's Chloe again?" "You know, the one who joined that talent show with the school beauty. I heard she's repeating a year-her grades were trash." "She got a perfect score? No way. That's insane." "She probably sat next to Zayne and copied his answers. Obvious." Clatter Callum slammed his fork down and stood up sharply. "Say that again. I dare you . Chloe had been a college student seventy years ago-a grad student, a professor, a researcher. And someone dared to accuse her of cheating? Over physics? Okay, sure, he had once wondered if she might be too out of touch to keep up with modern academics. Yeah . That was wishful thinking. People like her? They shined no matter where or when you put them