Due to Rose's highly successful concert in H City, the executives at Starlight Entertainment Group granted her a month's vacation. Every afternoon during this break, she visited Imperial Holdings to see Alex, her love for him driving her to madness. Alex didn't refuse her visits; he knew this girl had fallen deeply for him.
The midterm exams at First High arrived. Both Alex and Kate entered the exam hall with confidence. Teacher Ava handed out the exam papers, and the entire class quickly bowed their heads, diligently answering the questions. Alex was no exception. Teacher Ava was puzzled, seeing this student, who never attended a single class, now answering the exam. Alex rapidly answered the questions, finishing all within twenty minutes. Feeling smug, he nudged Kate with his elbow and tilted his completed paper for her to see. Kate glanced over and was shocked to see that Alex's paper was completely filled out, with not a single blank.
Alex stood up, handed in his paper, and casually walked out of the classroom.
For every exam, Alex maintained his twenty-minute submission time. All the students thought the same thing: Alex was undoubtedly going to be the last in the class this year.
After the two-day exams, everyone eagerly awaited the results. Teacher Ava entered the classroom holding the score sheets, and the room fell silent. She looked at Alex and Kate and announced, "I'll now reveal the results of the midterm exams. Kate scored a total of 722, earning her the second place in the entire grade."
Hearing her score of 722, Kate felt quite satisfied, knowing the total score was 750. However, hearing she was second in the grade was hard to believe, as she had always been first. Her heart sank, and tears welled up in her eyes. The whole class was surprised, wondering who could have beaten Kate. A murmur of conversation filled the room.
Teacher Ava cleared her throat and continued, "The first place in the grade, with a total score of 749, is Alex from our class. Let's all give him a round of applause."
The classroom fell silent for several seconds, then erupted in applause. Every student looked at Alex with admiration, complete and utter admiration. Kate turned her head, staring at Alex in disbelief. Alex smiled at her and said, "Ah! I didn't get a perfect score, so I won't get Kate's reward."
Kate smiled shyly, "Alex, since you got first place, I should reward you."
Alex grinned mischievously and said, "Kate, let's tell the teacher we're leaving now to get a room; your husband can't wait."
Kate rolled her eyes at Alex and turned away, her heart pounding, recalling the exquisite feelings of that night.
After class, Jack walked up to Alex with a mournful expression, complaining, "Boss, you really did me in this time."
Alex scratched his head in confusion, "Jack, what happened?"
Jack sighed, "I used to be second to last, but now I'm dead last, and it's all because of you."
Alex blinked, puzzled, "Why is it my fault that you're last?"
"Boss, Sam used to be the last, and I was second to last. You beat Sam so badly he dropped out, so now the glorious title of last place has fallen to me. Boss, don't you think I'm unlucky?"
"So that's it. Well, you can't blame me for that. It's not my fault you're not as capable as I am," Alex said.
"Then, Boss, you should compensate me," Jack said with a sly grin.
"Compensate you, my foot! Always looking to scheme against your boss. Once Ben can walk again, I'll compensate you both."
"Of course, blessings should be shared. I'm not in a hurry," Jack said cheerfully.
Alex and Kate laughed together as they watched Jack happily skip out of the classroom.
In the presidential suite of the Hilton Hotel, Rose paced anxiously. Every day at three in the afternoon, she went to Imperial Holdings to see Alex. Today, however, she was blocked by Noah in the hotel. If it weren't for Tess and the hotel security keeping Noah at bay, he would have likely barged into her room already. Rose glanced at her watch from time to time, each minute feeling agonizingly long as her heart yearned to see her beloved. She was on the verge of hating Noah, yet dared not offend him, knowing the power of the Noah's family in XG City. Rose felt like crying in her desperation, wondering how to handle the situation.
Alex arrived at Imperial Holdings just before three o'clock. Bored, he paced around the office, feeling a sense of restlessness. Glancing at the clock, which now showed almost half past three, he grew concerned about Rose. Had something happened to her? Alex picked up the phone and dialed Rose's number.
"Hey, Alex, I didn't mean to be late. Please don't be angry. Noah blocked me in the hotel, and I can't get out. Please don't be mad at me, Alex," Rose said anxiously over the phone.
Alex chuckled and replied, "Why would I be angry? I'm just worried about you. After all, you're my good friend and Kate's ultimate idol. If anything happened to you, Kate wouldn't forgive me. Don't worry, I'm coming over right now. Wait for me."
Alex hung up the phone and hurried out of Imperial Holdings.
In the hotel lobby, Noah argued with Rose's agent, Tess, accompanied by dozens of bodyguards.
"You wretch, if you keep blocking me, don't blame me for being rude," Noah cursed at Rose's agent, Tess.
"Mr. Noah, Rose hasn't been feeling well these days. Can you come back another day?" Tess pleaded.
"Do you think I'm an idiot? She feels comfortable seeing that Alex every day, but uncomfortable seeing me. Move out of my way immediately," Noah demanded.
"Mr. Noah, Rose is really not feeling well. Can you come back another day?" Tess tugged at Noah's clothes, pleading.
"Is she really unwell? If she's truly unwell, then I'll go up and make her feel better," Noah said with a smirk. He pushed Tess aside and was about to move forward when he saw Rose coming out of the hotel elevator. He stopped in his tracks as Rose approached, her face cold. "Noah, what do you want from me?" she asked.
Noah's face instantly lit up with a brilliant smile, and he said softly, "Rose, I missed you and came to see you. Am I not welcome?"
Rose felt nauseous at Noah's words, a feeling of wanting to vomit rising in her stomach. Disgusted, she replied, "Thank you for your concern, but I have something to do. Please leave."
"Rose, are you going to disrespect me like this? I know you're going to see that Alex again. I'll wait here today and see what makes him better than me," Noah said angrily.
Alex walked into the hotel lobby and saw Noah blocking Rose. Anger surged within him as he approached with a grim expression.
Seeing Alex enter, Rose's heart filled with sweetness. She pushed past Noah, ran to Alex, and threw herself into his arms. Wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, she said coquettishly, "Alex, you're here! I thought you didn't care about me."
Alex felt extremely awkward, not knowing where to put his arms. Blushing slightly under the curious gazes of the surrounding crowd, he forced a smile and said, "Rose, I-I'm here, aren't I? Please let go; there are so many people watching."
"I won't let go. I'm not afraid of others seeing us. I want everyone in the world to see," Rose said coyly, holding Alex even tighter, thinking to herself, "You came so late; I won't let you go."