Chapter 5 Chloe sat quietly in the hospital room for over half an hour. She had her backpack with her, and she drew a simple pencil sketch, placing it on the bedside table. Finishing, she stood up, looked at Michael, who had been silently sitting on the sofa watching her, and said in a calm voice, "I'll come visit every day at this time. Does Mr. Rhodes mind?" Michael remained silent. Of course, he minded a lot. But. She knew the most confidential things about the Rhodes family, and her closeness with Grandpa far exceeded that of his. He even had a ridiculous thought-what if this young girl was Grandpa's mistress… Uh, that shouldn't be possible, right? 'The age gap is way too big!' he thought to himself. At that moment, Chloe took out her phone and opened WhatsApp. "Scan me, let's add each other on WhatsApp." Michael scanned it. Chloe smiled. "See you tomorrow, Michael." Michael was momentarily stunned. Being called by name by a high schooler felt very uncomfortable. But when he met her clear yet steady gaze, it somehow felt like she was meant to call him that. Yeah, Grandpa was "Tris" to her, so calling him Michael didn't seem so bad. Soon, Michael saw Chloe out, instructing the driver to make sure she got home safely. After the car left, he ordered in a low voice, "Keep an eye on her. If she contacts any business people, immediately restrict her movements." It was already past seven o'clock. So Chloe asked the driver to take her back to the Lancaster family. "Miss Lancaster, you're back," the maid came over and asked, "Have you eaten yet?" Chloe said, "Just make me some pasta." Then, she sat on the sofa, took out the book she borrowed from the library, and started reading seriously. It was a study on algebraic differential equations, filled with lots of formulas, which was very interesting. Whenever she found something intriguing, she even took out paper and pen to further narrow down the solvable regions. "Miss Lancaster, dinner is ready," the maid said soon. "Just a sec." Chloe's pen swiftly scribbled across the paper, filling it with various formulas. She finished in one go, the last stroke bringing a smile to her face-that long-lost feeling was finally back. She walked over to the dining table, sat down, and picked up her fork. But as soon as the pasta reached her lips, her expression changed. Chloe looked up. On the stairs, Joel stood with a sly grin. 1/3 She put down her fork, saying, "Come here." Joel snorted, "Who the fuck do you think you are, my lord and master? Keep dreaming." Chloe stood up, grabbed his collar, and shoved him onto the dining table. "What are you doing? Let go of me! You hick, how dare you do this to me? Let go!" Joel struggled violently, but his shoulders felt like they were clamped by two vices, unable to move. Then, a fork was shoved into his hands. "Eat," Chloe ordered coldly. Joel's eyes widened. After the servant brought the pasta to the table, he secretly poured half a bottle of salt and half a bottle of vinegar into it, and most importantly, spat in it. "I'm not eating it!" he refused. Chloe wasn't about to baby him. Gripping his jaw, she rammed a fork-loaded pasta straight down his throat. Half the planet was still chewing on dirt. Her ultimate rage trigger? Watching some punk waste food like confetti. "Let go, ugh- "I'll tell Mom and Dad!" The servants were all stunned. The young lady had always been docile and dull. No matter what Joel said or did, all kinds of ridicule and mockery, Chloe always silently endured. Yet, she actually fought back? Before the servants could react, the noise of a car engine came from outside-it was Sergio and Sarah back home. "Daddy! Mommy-"Joel's voice cracked into full-blown meltdown mode, snot and tears on parade. "She went full bully on me!" "What's going on here?" Sergio walked into the dining room. Seeing his son in a mess, she immediately turned to Chloe, questioning angrily, "What time is it? Why are you home so early, bullying Joel? Look at yourself, do you even look like a big sister?" "Precisely because I'm the big sister that I'm teaching him to cherish food." Chloe handed over the fork, adding, "Dad, if you feel sorry for him, why not finish it for him?" Sergio looked down and immediately knew there was something wrong with this bowl of pasta. "Not his first rodeo," Chloe said casually. "Since the adults don't care, guess it's up to me, isn't it?" Sarah's face darkened immediately. "Joel, apologize to your sister!" Being called by his full name,, Joel forgot to cry and shrank his neck. "S-sorry…" Chloe picked up an apple from the table and headed upstairs. Sarah dragged Joel into the study and scolded coldly, "Can't you spend less time messing around and more time studying? It's not hard to score a few more points, is it? She's just a country bumpkin. Why do you keep picking on her? "In two years, she'll be married off and won't affect you. But if you keep goofing off like this, your grades won't improve, and you'll lose your chance to inherit the family business!" Hearing that, Joel started doing his homework obediently. Chloe was busy solving equations while reading, and before she knew it, it was past 2 AM. She quickly went to bed, only to wake up dark circles under her eyes for school the next day. Her deskmate Callum's seat was empty, as were the seats of his usual gang. It looked like they skipped class. 2/3 with Chloe didn't care. During class, she finished the last book, closed it, and placed it on her desk, planning to return it to the library at noon. It was math class. The math teacher, Luke Gibbons, a forty-something man with glasses, stood at the podium, monotonously teaching high school math, year in and year out. Watching the class of underachievers doing their own thing, few paying attention, he sighed deeply. Then, he spotted a book on advanced microequations on Chloe's desk. He'd been reading that book lately, too. He wanted to use microequations as a breakthrough to redefine solvable areas. If he could publish in a prestigious journal, he'd have the capital to leave this underachiever class. 'An underachiever reading this book?' He sneered and continued teaching. At noon, after a quick meal in the cafeteria, Chloe carried the ten books to the library. As soon as she walked in, she ran into a boy and a girl. The girl was Erin. The boy… if she remembered correctly, should be Zayne Fuller. The school hottie and top student, also Erin's fiancé. This engagement was arranged by the two families' elders. Back then, before Chloe's parents divorced, Zayne's fiancée should have been her. Because of this, when Chloe returned to the Lancaster family and saw Zayne's excellence, she developed a crush and tried to get close to him, only to be met with his disgust and Erin's intense hostility… Like now, Erin was glaring at her warily, as if afraid she'd charge over like before to give Zayne something.