Now, the plan was only for her to go out on the weekend, meet her 'friends', and give Meier a chance for his entrance.
Occasionally giving a bad look to the female lead, but doing nothing more till the weekend was manageable for her.
School....was not.
She could not recognize any foreign language, and was too behind to follow up regarding every subject.
[Is there a way to cheat in the exams?] She asked the system, hopefully.
[Yes. The system can provide the answers.] Surprisingly, the system was helpful.
[Really? Thank you so much!] Paige was overwhelmed with this favor.
[If....you let Meier's bodyguards beat you this weekend.]
[Hmm.. then you swear to provide the test answers of all the subjects, inclusive college entrance examination, for the next three years?]
[....] The system was somewhat unwilling.
[....Yes. The system swears an oath.] But for the sake of Paige being beaten, it had no choice.
[Deal!] Paige was immediately willing. She favored being beaten once over beaten every day for three years with knowledge she could not meorize anyway.
Happily she lay on her desk, wanting nothing more than sleep, when a pen, again, striked the back of her head.
She held her hurting head and narrowed her eyes at Lance, who himself, was looking at her threateningly already.
After a short standoff across the classroom, she sighed.
[Tell Lance about our cheatdeal, without the beating part.]
The system did as told and Lance had to applaud Paige's ways of handling things.
[Are we...the worst transmigration team ever?] He asked hesitantly.
With him reading every transmigration book possible, he only remembered how the villainess was suddenly sweet after transmigrating, how the transmigrated cannon fodder suddenly gaining a brain stunning everyone into their knees- with coming first in everything and founding research institutes to heal cancer and what not.
Not once was there a transmigrator who had pimples and was not good at anything, cheating her way through high school.
Then there was him, the -narrowly escaping rape, drug abuse, killing people and sentenced house arrest- male lead, who not only lived off the transmigrator but even got himself hushmoney from the 'false son', planning to bet it on everything available.
He suddenly felt thoughtful.
[....]
[....]
[....]
[....Yes.] The system replied meekly, this time having much more difficulty to just brush the question off, as it wanted to let them know how much it suffered.
But in all honesty...he was just sixteen.
How the hell was he to rule the economic circle under an alias like the teens in those books? He cant even sign a document for it being not valid, even if he did.
After an uneventful lunch with Paige napping on her desk and Lance finding a place alone for eating without the female lead, Jace finally came to school.
None of the two even registered that he was not in class.
When Jace went to the rooftop, as expected, he met Lance sitting there eating some bread he purchased.
"Ah! Thanks for arranging the sick leave for me." Lance said dryly when he saw him, then concentrated on his bread again.
"You! Where were you? I haven't heard from you in two months!" Jace sat beside him.
"I was working at the Monday club, like you suggested."
"Did you kill them?" Jace did not know which answer he wanted to hear, on one hand he could Lance get imprisoned if he had. But on the other hand he too, did not want that much dog blood after his last life. And Lance had already given into him at least.
"No. By the way, I plan on going back to my family after High school."
Jace looked at him as if he was just slapped. "WHAT?"
"Yes." He thought about it, and it seemed after the system mentioned the storyline of part two, that his parents really loved him, for them standing by his side even while he was addicted to drugs and a murderer.
The system did not specify about the possibility of not ever going back, but if at least his mother was a nice person, why not.
"But, I will make enough money for myself, not inheriting anything from them. You can have it. And you get your hushmoney back after three years with interest"
That would be more befitting for a male lead.
Maybe he could also make money without gambling?
'Na, let's just place bets.'
Jace felt his mind spinning.
He had not believed him for not coming back to his parents anyway, but directly changing his mind after getting his money?
Jace initially wanted to buy himself some time being the only son, but nobody said that his father would not find Lance by himself. Because Lance was, after all, in the same class with him under his real name.
It was just a matter of time.
On the other hand, Jace wanted to get himself some time to think about his future. He came to the conclusion that if he could not win Natasha over in the next three years, he would begin a new life abroad.
After being reborn he was still full of hatred, but that had faded a bit.
Given that even Lance himself was changing his way of living, maybe they were too old for all the fighting after living through a whole life already.
Jace said "Remember your promise. I want three years and the money back with interest, as you said. And no violence against Natasha, let's fight fair and square while respecting her decision."
He stood up and left after seeing Lance making an 'Ok' sign.
Jace was really unaccustomed to talking this easily with his lifelong enemy.
But having reached a truce with his lifelong enemy, it didn't feel that bad.