Chapter 4

The next day, Nancy showed up on crutches, wearing a mask and sunglasses. It looked like her face had been beaten so badly that she couldn't show it in public.

After school, Eugene stopped me the second I stepped out of the classroom. He said calmly, "I looked at your test paper. Your way of solving the problems is different from ours. I know your family's poor, so I'll pay you by the hour if you come to my place and study with me."

I didn't act shy about it and said bluntly, "Sure. Two million dollars for the semester."

Eugene froze for a second, then let out a short laugh. "Do you even know how much two million is? You've got some nerve, asking for that much right off the bat."

I gave him a sideways glance and turned to leave.

He immediately stepped in front of me again. "Fine. Give me your bank account details."

I nodded and headed straight for his family's car. "Let's go. We'll start today. I won't take advantage of you."

The comments instantly exploded.

[Nancy, where are you? Nadia is about to steal Eugene from you!]

[Why would he go to Nadia in the first place? She's totally scamming him. She's got no real skills at all!]

[Nadia's obviously doing it on purpose. She just wants to steal Nancy's guy. She's disgusting!]

Right then, Nancy rushed over and grabbed Eugene's arm. "Eugene, how can you take Nadia back to your house? We're the ones who should be studying together! Her grades are fake!"

He shook her off, looking annoyed. "You came in dead last. What makes you think you're qualified to study with me?"

Nancy already had a broken leg from the beating her parents had given her. At his words, she was so furious that she could barely stay standing. Still, all she could do was watch as I got into the Lloyd family's car and rode off.

When we sat down at his desk to start studying, Eugene transferred two million dollars to me.

I wasn't stingy about my knowledge at all. I laid everything I knew out for him.

A few hours later, Eugene was singing my praises. "You're honestly the smartest person I've ever met, Nadia. You can come over all throughout high school if you want. The price is your call!"

I smiled and nodded. With that kind of money, of course I wasn't going to say no.

We studied until 9:00 pm. I was just about to head home when the comments started coming through in a panicked frenzy.

[Help! Someone, help her! Nancy's about to get beaten to death!]

[This is all Nadia's fault. Nancy's parents are mad at her because she can't get close to Eugene and his family. They think she's useless and want to beat her to death so they can adopt Nadia instead! They're monsters!]

[Eugene, go next door right now! Nancy's literally down to her last breath!]