Chapter 2

The rest of our classmates were equally furious and looked like they wanted to rip me apart.

"Zach went through all that effort to get us this opportunity! If you refuse to go, we'll report you for abusing your authority as the class president to bully us, thereby forcing the university to kick you out!"

"That's right! We're still hoping to get management jobs at his father's factory later on! If you dare ruin our futures, we'll definitely not let you go!"

They stalked toward me like a possessed crowd, as though they would immediately tear into me if I refused to nod.

Zachary quirked a brow smugly and pressed, "Adrian, you won't be the only one affected by your refusal. You're also ruining everyone else's chances! Do you want the whole class to hate you for the rest of your life?"

Clenching my fists, I finally nodded as a way to buy myself some time.

"Fine, I agree to work at his family's factory for the summer."

After returning home, I instantly bought my flight tickets to Carula. Since I clearly knew Zachary was after my compensation money, there was no way I would still work there this time around! Once I left the country, I would be able to avoid my previous life's fate!

However, the day I was supposed to fly off, I discovered that the entire class had come to my home.

Natania was all smiles as she dragged me out of the house while telling my parents, "Mr. and Mrs. Locke, we'll be working at the Fullers' factory this summer, so Adrian won't be back home for the next two months!"

My parents had always trusted Natania since we were young, and when they saw our entire class was also there, they didn't suspect a thing and readily agreed.

Zachary dragged me toward the bus, waving at my parents with fake politeness so that they would be at ease.

Natania, worried that I would run off, quickly bound me with the safety belt.

"Don't worry, Adrian. The factory is located in a rather remote area, so even if those Carulans come, they won't be able to find you! Once you've finished working for the two months, you'll be able to pay off your debt, and that's all thanks to Zachary! You should be immensely grateful to him for providing you with this opportunity, you know!"

Zachary waved a hand with a guffaw of laughter. In a meaningful tone, he said, "No, we should be grateful to him! After all, he'll be the one paying our salaries then!"

Our classmates roared with laughter. They all assumed that he was just deliberately mocking me.

Only I knew that he was simply stating the truth!

It wasn't long before the bus entered the highway. If I didn't get out soon, I wouldn't be able to escape once we reached the factory's entrance.

Forcing myself to appear calm, I yelled, "Tell the driver to stop for a moment. I need to use the toilet!"

Zachary glared at me and responded impatiently, "Just hold it in! We're almost there."

"It's your family's factory, so what's the issue with being a few minutes late? We haven't even started working there yet, but they're already so strict with the time? Then how are we any different from slaves?" I retorted through gritted teeth.

The others agreed with me and instantly chimed in with their two cents.

In the end, Zachary had no choice but to tell the driver to stop at a gas station.

"Alright, you guys can go ahead and relieve yourselves. However, everyone has to hand over their phones to me to prevent anyone from sneakily escaping. This is just a form of trust between us, right?"

Grinding my teeth, I glared at him furiously. This idea was clearly meant to deter my escape!

Natania was the first to pass him her phone. Then, she turned to frown at me and snapped, "Hurry up and hand your phone over! Ugh, you're just so troublesome!"

Everyone's eyes were locked onto me as they urged, "Go on! We've all handed our phones over already. Zachary is just trying to put us at ease."