Chapter 644 - 640: Helen White

"The school team? Not interested."

In a roadside coffee shop, the moment Helen White heard Ethan Sterling was there to recruit her for the school team, she shook her head and refused without a second of hesitation.

Seeing how decisively she refused, Jameson Stone couldn’t help but ask, "Why not? Ethan hasn’t even mentioned the terms and compensation. We’d make it worth your while."

"I’m just not interested. There’s no why," Helen White said with a shrug and a slight pout. "Besides, what does it matter how good the terms are for a school team? I’m not short on cash."

Hearing that, Jameson Stone’s hopes were instantly dashed.

’Great,’ he thought. ’Another one who doesn’t need the money.’

Ethan Sterling, looking desperate, clutched his cup and looked at her earnestly. "Please, just consider it. Your skills are incredible. It’d be a shame not to compete."

"What’s so shameful about it?" Helen White looked at Ethan. "To me, gaming is just for fun. It’s how I pass the time."

"Instead of wasting your time on me, you should hurry up and find someone else."

As she spoke, she raised her hand to call the waiter over. "I’ll have a thick-cut egg sandwich and a grilled chicken thigh garden salad. No dressing, thanks."

The waiter nodded and took out a scanner. Seeing this, Ethan quickly held out his phone’s payment code. "Scan mine, scan mine."

Helen White glanced at Ethan but didn’t fight him on it. She just reiterated, "I’m really not interested."

"I definitely won’t force you," Ethan said after paying. But he wasn’t ready to give up. He had finally found someone with real talent and couldn’t just let her go. "You can name your terms. If you’re willing to join, I’ll agree to anything."

Jameson Stone seemed to sense Ethan’s resolve and chimed in with a nod. "That’s right. You can ask for anything. This team belongs to Ethan. If he says he can agree to it, he definitely can."

But Helen White just shook her head again, her eyes clear and completely devoid of want.

"I don’t have any terms. I’m simply not interested in it."

Hearing this, Ethan deflated, feeling as if he had just punched a wad of cotton.

However, he knew better than to be pushy. Pestering her right from the start would likely just annoy her, and then he’d have no chance at all.

"Can I add you on WhatsApp, then?"

Jameson Stone glanced sideways at Ethan.

Helen White, however, had no problem with that. She picked up her phone readily. "Sure. You did buy me coffee and lunch, after all."

She took the initiative to scan Ethan’s contact card, then looked at Jameson. "Should we add each other too?"

Only then did Jameson realize what was happening and quickly held out his own WhatsApp contact card.

After they had all added each other, Helen White looked at Ethan and said, "You’re a great player. I don’t really follow the Collegiate League, but I’ve come across several clips of your gameplay. We should team up and grind for ranks sometime."

"Yeah, definitely."

’As long as we’re in touch, there’s still a chance.’ If he had been feeling a bit lost about forming the team before, meeting Helen White today suddenly made everything crystal clear.

After leaving the coffee shop, an excited Jameson couldn’t help but say, "Ethan, if we can get her to join, our team’s strength will be nothing to scoff at."

"She can play her best role, the Shooter Position, which means you can go back to your best role as the jungler. You dragged the Lorcain U team to the finals all by yourself. If our team has another player on your level, we’re bound to place even higher."

Ethan knew this, of course. He had already thought it all through.

"She’s just so blunt, though. She rejected us so flatly. Aren’t girls supposed to be more subtle? I was a little caught off guard back there."

Ethan just smiled, actually finding Helen White’s personality to be a good thing.

"Blunt people are easier to communicate with. But her attitude really is firm. You can tell she has zero interest."

"So what’s the plan? I can see you have no intention of giving up."

"Of course not. I actually feel like our team’s only hope is to get her on board," Ethan said honestly. "But we’ve just met, and I don’t know enough about her to be too aggressive. I’m anxious, but I can’t act anxious. I’ll take it slow."

Jameson nodded in understanding. "Well, the base is still under renovation anyway. We have some time."

Early that day, Cecilia Sterling arrived at her morning class right on time. The moment she sat down, the girl next to her hinted that there was something in her desk drawer.

Cecilia felt a flicker of annoyance at this and reached in to pull out an envelope.

’A handwritten love letter. How retro.’

But before she could react, a classmate called out to her, "Cecilia, someone’s at the door for you."

The call wasn’t too loud or too soft, but it once again drew the attention of the entire class. As a focal point of the school like her, this sort of thing happened all the time. Even when she was just walking across campus alone, people would constantly turn to look at her.

Cecilia was already used to it.

She got up and walked toward the door. The classmate who had called her leaned in and kindly reminded her, "It’s someone from the student council."

Cecilia understood immediately. She gave the classmate a small smile. "Thanks."

When she reached the doorway, she saw that it was, as expected, Elias Warner.

"Looking for me?"

Cecilia walked up to him. Her tone wasn’t particularly good, but it wasn’t bad either—it was simply flat.

Elias Warner glanced at the students coming and going around them, then looked at Cecilia and said in a low voice, "Let’s talk somewhere else."

Sharp as she was, she had already guessed why he had sought her out.

"If you’re paying me back, you can just transfer the money on WhatsApp. No need to come find me in person." As soon as she said it, she realized. "Oh, right, I forgot we’re not contacts. I’ll add you, and we can delete each other again after I get the money. Same difference."

Before Cecilia could even take out her phone, an envelope was held out in front of her.

Seeing the envelope, Cecilia’s brow furrowed again. "Cash?"

Elias Warner nodded, his expression embarrassed.

Cecilia took it and couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. She had just received a handwritten love letter, and now she was getting cash stuffed in an envelope.

’A regular renaissance?’

But after opening the envelope and glancing inside, she looked back at Elias Warner. "This isn’t enough, is it?"

"It’s not, but this is all I could scrape together for now. I’ll figure out a way to get the rest as soon as I can."

Cecilia nodded, deciding not to give him a hard time about it. At least he wasn’t trying to be a deadbeat; that showed some integrity. For a university student, it wasn’t a small sum.

Seeing Cecilia nod, Elias Warner turned and left as if he were escaping.

Watching his retreating back, Cecilia thought about his previous air of arrogant superiority and couldn’t help but snort with laughter.

"Cecilia!"

The next second, a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder from behind, startling her.

"Director Lawson?" Seeing who it was, Cecilia patted her chest, her heart still racing. "How can you walk without making a sound?"