Chapter 51: What Kind of Twisted Sense of Humor Is This?

Ethan Mercer smiled easily as he walked out of the classroom.

He was already an experienced investor, and having lived a second life, he knew exactly which movies, television series, and startup companies would thrive. Making money would be a very easy for him.

"Victoria Sterling, I told you I can live just as well without you, and I will prove it to you!" Ethan muttered through gritted teeth, clenching his fists.

"Ethan."

A boy with long, messy hair covering his eyes walked up to Ethan’s table and slammed one foot squarely onto the wooden desk.

"I heard you complained to the professor that I skipped class?" Zach’s face was filled with cold disdain.

"So what if I did?" Ethan raised his chin arrogantly. This guy actually dared to harass Amelia. In that case, Zach had no one to blame but himself if he failed the course!

"Very well, very well indeed," Zach said coldly, a sharp glint in his eyes. "You just wait!"

Hearing those words, Ethan felt a sudden, inexplicable tremor in his heart. Zach was a known campus bully, and anyone who crossed him usually didn’t fare well.

But... remembering something from his past timeline, Ethan felt relieved again.

Zach was all talk and no action. In his previous life, Ethan had crossed him multiple times, but Zach had never dared to lay a single hand on him. In fact, Zach was eventually expelled from school altogether. Ethan refused to believe Zach could actually do anything to him.

Meanwhile, Julian Vance was completely immersed in his books. He spent the entire day engrossed in his studies.

There was no way around it—the system’s punishment was simply too harsh. Who could possibly endure letting out a full year’s worth of foul-smelling farts? That might actually scare Victoria away!

"By the way, we can sell our current holdings now," Julian said without looking up from his textbook. "Put everything into Ocean Electronics."

"Got it!" Sean’s face was full of unbridled joy. It felt amazing having someone reliable to guide his investments.

Across the room, Leo Vance stared intently in Julian’s direction with a somber, gloomy expression.

Leo’s desk mate frowned, leaning over to whisper, "Why has Julian suddenly become so diligent? Did he completely change his personality overnight?"

"Leo, could it be that he’s trying to study hard so he can enter your family company and compete with you for the inheritance?"

The Vance family head had handled the public relations crisis very well after the last engagement party, so the fact that Leo was an adopted son had only circulated within high-society circles. Very few ordinary students knew the truth.

Leo sneered, his eyes darkening. "Don’t worry, he can’t take anything away from me."

"With Julian’s terrible past grades, I don’t believe he can surpass me after only studying for a few days."

Leo had consistently ranked among the top two in his department, with only Ethan Mercer occasionally outscoring him. Julian had already taken his position as the school’s most handsome guy—Leo refused to believe Julian could ever take away his position as the top student in the class!

_________

At 8:00 PM in the Sterling Group executive office, Victoria Sterling closed the final document on her desk.

"I’ll deal with the rest tomorrow. I should head back now."

"President Sterling, are you in a hurry to go back and see Master Vance?" Secretary Evelyn asked with a subtle wink.

"Mmm." Victoria’s eyes softened with rare tenderness at the mention of Julian’s name.

Thinking of something, Secretary Evelyn couldn’t help but ask, "President Sterling, is Master Vance staying in the school dormitory again tonight?"

"Is there a problem?" Victoria glanced at her coolly.

Secretary Evelyn frowned slightly. Was President Sterling really planning to sneak up to Master Vance’s dorm balcony again?

Although Victoria didn’t need to climb awkwardly—she could easily vault herself up, grab the railing, and leap over—entering through a balcony so secretively really undermined her dignified corporate image.

"President Sterling," Secretary Evelyn suggested carefully, "now that you are the largest shareholder of Capital University, you can actually ask the chancellor to assign a private campus villa for Master Vance. That way, you won’t have to go see him through the balcony."

"No rush. We can arrange that in a few days," Victoria’s eyes gleamed with an unreadable light.

"Why wait?" Secretary Evelyn asked curiously. Wouldn’t a private villa be much better?

Victoria’s lips curled into a faint, alluring smile. "I think having an affair with Julian in his dorm is rather thrilling."

Secretary Evelyn: "..."

What kind of twisted sense of humor is this?!

After having dinner and taking a quick shower, Victoria instructed her private chauffeur to drive her toward Capital University.

Butler Chen watched the luxury sedan pull out of the estate driveway, smiling fondly as he shook his head. "Miss really can’t stand being separated from Young Master Julian for even a single day."

He was genuinely pleased. The young lady was truly in love.

The better their relationship grew, the higher his chances of playing with future grandchildren. He was getting old and loved children. The young lady was cold and aloof, but Master Julian had a warm, agreeable temper. With Master Julian’s genes, any future child would surely be sweet and adorable.

Meanwhile, across town, Amelia Deng called Ethan Mercer on his cell phone.

"Ethan, I really want to eat Chen’s Crispy Chicken Legs, but I can’t leave the dorm right now. Can you go buy one for me?"

Ethan answered eagerly without hesitation. "Amelia, wait for me! I’ll go buy it for you right away!"

Earlier that day, Ethan had paid another medical bill for his mother at the hospital, leaving him with only three hundred dollars in cash.

The cost of living around Capital University was high, and three hundred dollars was barely enough to cover his own meals for a few days—let alone buying daily meals and snacks for Amelia.

Ethan looked at the few paper bills in his hand, his heart sinking lower and lower.

In his previous life, during the years he spent under Victoria Sterling’s care, he would buy items worth millions without batting an eye. How had things devolved to this point, where even taking a taxi required careful calculation?

If he had just stayed with Victoria in this life... would he still be in such dire straits?

The thought barely crossed his mind before Ethan shook his head violently.

Impossible! Even if I starve to death, I will never yield to Victoria Sterling!

Gritting his teeth, Ethan started running toward the food stall to buy the chicken leg for Amelia.

Chen’s Crispy Chicken Leg stall was two kilometers away from the student dormitory area. By the time Ethan arrived, he was panting heavily and drenched in sweat.

"I’d like one chicken leg, please," Ethan panted out.

The shop’s chicken legs were famous for their generous seasoning and delicious flavor, which naturally made them expensive. A single chicken leg cost thirty dollars.

Ethan felt a sharp pang in his wallet, but just imagining how happy Amelia would be when she ate it, a warm smile returned to his face.

Holding the warm paper bag, he hurried back toward the dorms.

Worried that the chicken leg would get cold before he reached her, Ethan decided to take a shortcut through a narrow, secluded alleyway where no pedestrians were around.

An inexplicable sense of unease suddenly welled up in Ethan’s chest, and he instinctively quickened his pace.

"Ethan Mercer, where do you think you’re going?"

At the far exit of the alley, a group of figures stepped out from the shadows, blocking his path.

It was Zach and his gang of campus bullies.

Ethan’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief when he saw them. Aren’t they supposed to be all talk and no action?!

"What do you want?" Ethan asked, his voice trembling slightly despite his effort to sound firm.

"What do I want?" Zach sneered coldly. "To beat you to a pulp, of course. Ethan, weren’t you acting all high and mighty in class today? Saying you weren’t afraid of me? Let me show you what I’m capable of."

"Get him, boys!"

Zach and his henchmen rolled up their sleeves, lunged forward, and immediately unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks on Ethan.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fists and heavy boots landed mercilessly against his body.

"Arghhh!" Ethan curled into a ball, clutching his head as he let out a painful scream.

One kilometer away.

"President Sterling," the driver said, frowning as he glanced at the dashboard navigation screen. "Traffic on the main boulevard is backed up. Would you like me to take the back alleys?"

"Mmm," Victoria nodded indifferently.

The driver stepped on the gas, navigating the luxury sedan through one narrow lane after another.

As fate would have it, the sedan rounded a corner and pulled directly into the alley where Ethan was being ruthlessly beaten up.

Lying on the dirty asphalt, Ethan caught sight of the iconic license plate through his swollen eyes.

It was Victoria Sterling’s car!

She’s here! Ethan thought with a surge of desperate relief. I’m saved! Victoria will never stand by and watch me get hurt!

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Readers, should I make Victoria fall for Ethan again???

Give me your suggestions😉