Chapter 3

The student immediately posted Adam's profile in our year's group chat. The shoelace photo Riley had posted happened to match one of his listings perfectly.

"Service: Shoelace Check.

"Base Fee: 30 dollars.

"Remarks: Inspection only. Retie fee not included."

There was even an additional charge listed underneath.

"Shoelace found loose—retied. Additional fee: 15 dollars."

Soon, his other listings were dug up too.

The original price for carrying my drawing board was 15 dollars, but Adam thought the arts building without an elevator was unacceptable, so he bumped it up to 37 dollars.

Badminton practice was 45 dollars, but he thought I was terrible and had a habit of blaming my mistakes on my sparring partner. So, he added a 75-dollar emotional-distress fee.

To scare off my admirers, I originally offered him 45 dollars. But after discovering the guy was an athlete, Adam tacked on another 100 dollars in workers' compensation insurance.

As for the cheap jobs, he rejected those without hesitation.

"Too little pay. Not taking it.

"Too far away. Pay me more.

"Be nice, and I'll take 5% off. Treat me like a butler, and it's an extra 75 dollars."

Those who had just been sympathizing with him in the chat went silent for a full 30 seconds. Then it exploded.

"Dude. He earns at least 50 dollars by doing one simple task?"

"Who exactly needs saving here? Someone, please save me first. I only get 120 dollars a month for allowance."

"That's pretty privilege for you. Even a sugar baby gets to set his own rates."

"Sophie, please. I'll carry you up five floors for only 25 dollars."

"Be my sugar mommy, please. I can always leave my dignity at home."

Soon, the most popular comment became…

"Hey, Riley. If you're going to report her, fine. But why didn't you attach the hiring link, too?"

Riley stared at the screen, her face flushing in embarrassment. "Adam only learned to haggle because you forced him to!"

Honestly, I was almost impressed.

If Adam raised his rates, it was oppression. If he turned down jobs, it was a trauma response.

Once she had settled on a conclusion, she could twist the evidence to fit whatever story she wanted.

Ten minutes later, I was summoned to the teacher's office.

Mary Parker slammed the screenshots of the orders onto her desk.

"You're a lady, Ms. Williams. Don't you have any shame? You have a guy carrying your things, tying your shoelaces, and chasing off your admirers. Do you feel good about yourself?"

I pointed at the screenshots. "He accepted the orders of his own volition. And he set those prices."

She laughed coldly. "He was so broke that he had to ask you for money, and you still think this is all voluntary? Adam is one of the school's top students.

"He's supposed to win awards and bring glory to the school, not be humiliated with your money!"

Her reasoning was giving me a headache.

I retorted, "He's getting paid for his labor. Why are you making it sound like he's getting paid for something else?"

"Enough!" Mary slammed her hand against the desk. "You spend all day throwing money at some guy and go around feeling proud about it. You don't even have the basic dignity and self-respect of a woman.

"Who's ever going to respect you?"

Riley quickly stepped in and grabbed her arm. "Ms. Parker, please don't put it like that. Maybe Sophie just likes Adam too much and went about it the wrong way."

Instantly, she established the narrative that I was throwing myself at the so-called hottest guy in school.

Mary looked at me with even more contempt. "Just because you have feelings for someone, it doesn't mean you can take advantage of them when they're down.

"Riley comes from a struggling family, yet she knows that being poor doesn't mean losing your backbone. Your family has money, but somehow, you've grown to be utterly shameless!"

A few students had gathered outside the office to watch. Someone quietly pointed out, saying, "But Adam actually makes pretty good money doing it."

Mary yanked the door open. "No amount of money gives you the right to trample someone's dignity! And all of you egging her on are letting your values be corrupted!"

She told the class president to make a list of everyone who had spoken up for me, saying they would all be given a mandatory lecture on "proper values".

The students lining up to apply for my jobs scattered immediately.

Riley wiped away her tears and said softly, "Ms. Parker, this is no longer just a conflict between students. This is financial bullying."

Mary agreed to launch an investigation on the spot. She notified the platform and froze the 417 dollars Adam had earned from completed gigs but hadn't been paid out yet.

I raised an eyebrow. "So you can refuse to pay someone for work they've already done? That's convenient."

She glared at me. "How are you still trying to use money to corrupt him?"

Ultimately, the school decided to hold a disciplinary hearing for financial bullying on the day the basketball team returned. Riley submitted the evidence.

I would give a public self-reflection, while Adam would attend as the victim.

Riley stood beside me, her eyes red. "Once Adam comes back, he'll understand that I was only trying to help him."

I looked at the payment screen, where his money had been frozen.

"Pending Payment: 417 dollars."

"Current Status: Funds Frozen Due to Dispute."

I nodded and said, "Let's hope he feels the same when he returns."