Chapter 62: A Garbage scheme

Tom watched Victoria’s retreating figure disappear into the night, his hands tightly clenching into fists.

A surge of ugly envy consumed him. He knew he had to find a way to make this powerful woman despise Julian Vance! Julian didn’t deserve to be with a woman like that—not even if he was just her kept mistress! A woman of her status would definitely never tolerate her sweet kept boy secretly flirting or getting involved with other women behind her back.

A dark, malicious glint flashed in Tom’s eyes.

He could secretly inform Victoria about the ongoing relationship between Julian and Natasha! He had no idea, however, that Victoria’s mind worked in completely unpredictable and terrifying ways.

Tom did not return to his dormitory immediately. Instead, he hurried across campus to seek out Natasha once again.

"What’s wrong?" Natasha asked, her voice tinged with frustration as she met him. She was in a terrible mood—all she could think about was that dark, prominent red mark she had seen on Julian’s neck earlier. The lingering image made it completely impossible for her to concentrate on her studies.

"Goddess Natasha," Tom said earnestly, putting on a sympathetic face. "I don’t know what caused that red mark on Julian’s neck, but I can assure you with absolute certainty that Julian has always had you in his heart."

"Just a little while ago in the dorm, I saw him holding his phone the entire time, staring intently at your picture and muttering to himself: ’Why doesn’t she like me?’"

Hearing this, Natasha’s lips curved into a proud, knowing smile. She knew it! Julian could never truly let go of her. His recent coldness and distancing were clearly nothing more than a calculated ploy to make her care about him!

"Buety Natasha," Tom continued, pushing further. "Julian probably feels that you don’t like him, and he worries that his constant pestering is causing you trouble. That’s why he’s trying so hard to force himself to stay away from you."

Natasha was taken aback. Is that really how it is? Was Julian actually using a strategy of playing hard-to-get with her all along?

Tom was Julian’s best friend, after all. He knew Julian better than anyone else, so he certainly wouldn’t lie to her about something like this.

No... how could Julian ever truly abandon me? A sudden, overwhelming sense of panic flared up inside Natasha’s heart.

"Charming Natasha, I think if you have any feelings for Julian, or even if you just consider him a good friend, you should take the initiative this time," Tom urged. "That’s all I have to say. I’m leaving now."

With his work done, Tom turned and walked away into the shadows.

Natasha returned to her dormitory and bit her lower lip nervously. Fine... Julian has given me so many things and treated me so well in the past, so I suppose I can lower my pride and reciprocate a little.

Of course, she would never actually date Julian directly; at most, she would simply give him a fair chance to pursue her again.

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The next day marked the official entrance placement exams for Capital University.

The entrance exams were taken by all students in the same major class, with seating arrangements meticulously assigned in advance.

Julian Vance had not arrived in the classroom yet.

Natasha carried a freshly bought, high-end breakfast across the room and placed it directly onto Julian’s designated desk. Afterwards, she turned and returned to her own seat with an expectant look.

Sitting nearby, Sean raised an eyebrow in utter disbelief. Although he was a recent transfer student, he had heard endless rumors about his godfather, Julian Vance, and the campus beauty, Natasha. According to everyone, his godfather used to be Natasha’s absolute biggest simp, while Natasha deeply disdained him. Yet here she was, actually taking the initiative to buy and deliver breakfast to his godfather! How bizarre!

Two minutes later, Julian walked into the classroom and took his seat.

Natasha watched Julian intently from across the room, feeling a swell of pride. She couldn’t help but think that once Julian realized she was the one who had personally brought him breakfast, he would be ecstatic beyond words.

Julian frowned the moment he sat down. "Whose breakfast is this?"

Sean leaned over and whispered low, "It was brought over by Natasha just a minute ago."

Julian: "..."

Natasha brought me breakfast? Could it be that she’s genuinely delusional enough to think I want this? Julian instantly felt like the breakfast sitting on his desk was a scorching hot potato.

Sean grinned and asked, "Julian, are you going to eat it or not? If you’re not eating it, what are you going to do with it?"

"Here, for you," Julian said casually, tossing the entire breakfast package onto Sean’s table without a second thought.

"Thank you, Godfather!" Sean beamed with joy, happily unwrapping it. Just as he had expected, his godfather wouldn’t touch anything brought by Natasha anymore.

"This—" Natasha’s eyes widened in complete shock.

Why on earth did Julian just give my breakfast away to Sean?! Does he not even know that I was the one who personally brought it for him?!

Thinking of this, Natasha began to frantically comfort herself again. Right... when I put the breakfast on his desk, he wasn’t in the classroom yet. He probably has no idea it came from me.

She decided to forgive Julian this one time. She would find another opportunity later today to have a proper, private talk with him.

Soon, the exam officially began.

Julian picked up his test paper, casually scanned through the questions, and immediately began filling in the answers. With his current vast store of advanced knowledge, these university entrance questions were as ridiculously simple as answering second-grade elementary math problems.

Julian finished the entire exam in just half an hour, smoothly handing in his paper early.

Sitting a few rows away, Leo vance let out a cold, contemptuous laugh. Julian Vance handed in his paper after only half an hour? It seems he’s completely given up on his studies. He will never be as good as me!

Meanwhile, Eathan Mercer was staring at his own exam paper with a swollen, pig-like face from his recent beating.

In his past life, these academic exams would have been a total piece of cake for him, but this time... Eathan’s brows furrowed in pure agony. He didn’t even know where to begin writing!

In his previous life, he had died in a tragic car accident seven years in the future—more than five full years after graduating from university! Damn it all! Although he possessed all the grand memories and future knowledge of his previous life, after so many years, he had completely forgotten every bit of basic university coursework!

When the exam concluded, Eathas face turned deathly pale.

At noon, after the exam session ended, Julian Vance didn’t head back to his dormitory building right away. Instead, he stayed behind in the quiet classroom, casually playing games on his phone for a while before finally walking back toward the dorms.

At this time of day, most students were already at the cafeteria, leaving the campus walkways nearly deserted.

Natasha bit her lower lip nervously as she stepped out from behind a tree and hurried over.

"Julian Vance."

Julian frowned in immediate annoyance. How did Natasha suddenly pop out of nowhere again? Lately, she’s been like a stubborn plaster stuck to my shoe—completely impossible to shake off.

"What do you want?" Julian asked, his voice dripping with icy detachment.

"Julian Vance..."

Natasha took a step forward, moving uncomfortably close to him.

Click! Click!

Hidden deep in the dark shadows of a nearby building, Tom frantically snapped photo after photo of Natasha and Julian with his smartphone, specifically maneuvering to capture the most intimate-looking angles possible.

Julian instinctively took several big steps backward, creating a clear distance between them. "Natasha, if you have something to say, just say it from over there. Don’t get so close to me."

Through his previous interactions with Victoria , he had learned that even though he appeared to be alone on campus, there were actually quite a few professional bodyguards constantly shadowing him from afar. These people were all sent directly by Victoria to keep an eye on his safety.

If he had any ambiguous contact with Natasha, it would definitely be reported back to Victoria immediately. He knew he couldn’t handle it when his possessive yandere girlfriend got jealous. He had to nip any potential misunderstandings right in the bud!

Natasha was completely taken aback by his sudden retreat. Shouldn’t Julian be overjoyed and floating on cloud nine that I’m willingly getting close to him? Why is he actively avoiding my touch?!

"Julian Vance," Natasha took a deep breath, trying to stay calm as she continued, "I know why you’ve been acting like this toward me."

Julian’s brows furrowed even tighter. What earth-shattering delusion is Natasha going to spew out of her mouth this time?

"You’re just afraid of bothering me and causing me trouble, aren’t you?" Natasha said, her tone filled with self-assured pity. "That’s why you’ve been forcing yourself to ignore me all this time, trying to let me go."

Julian:"..."

"Julian, you don’t have to do that anymore. I’m not afraid of being bothered by you. I’ve always considered you my friend."

In truth, she deeply missed and enjoyed the feeling of Julian constantly trailing behind her like a devoted puppy. Especially now that Julian was widely recognized as the handsomest guy on campus, having him fawn over her like before satisfied her vanity like nothing else.

Julian stood there with one hand casually tucked into his pocket. Looking down at her with cold, merciless eyes, he said, "Natasha, you really shouldn’t be so narcissistic."

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Dear Readers,

Last time, in Ms. Ross’s engagement scenario, a misunderstanding occurred between Julian and Victoria.

For Natasha’s Arc , should I create a similar misunderstanding between them, or should I clear it up before it even happens?

Let me know your suggestions! 😉