Just as Dillon parted his lips to say who he was, a familiar voice yelled out, "Chancellor!"
Immediately, everyone in the room glanced towards the direction it came from. This person was a man in his late thirties, and he didn't look very familiar to Dillon.
But while Dillon didn't recognize him, numerous students recognized him to be the Vice Chancellor.
He hurried to the Chancellor's side and handed over the tablet, he clutched tightly, to him.
The Chancellor took it, and his pupils dilated in surprise when he read the second email sent by the disciplinary committee.
Apparently, their decision for expulsion was right, but they had put the wrong name.
"The disciplinary committee sent a follow-up email stating there was a mix-up with the names." The Chancellor began, his eyes going to Zion and Jethro.
Then with a firm voice, he said, "From today henceforth, Zion Edward has been expelled from Yale University and is expected to vacate the premises in an hour. Failure to do so, the school security will take care of it."
Wait, what?
"Is this a joke, Chancellor? Didn't we establish that my foot was broken by the scoundrel, Dillon Grendel?" Zion scoffed, his tone still sounded haughty as he refused to believe he was really being expelled since his father was still an assemblyman.
However, unlike before, the Chancellor took his eyes off him and strode towards Dillon. He stared right at Dillon for a long time before he bowed briefly.
"The committee has ordered that the school apologizes to you for such humiliation, and we hope you don't take offense because of the lack of hindsight displayed." The Chancellor apologized.
Something in Dillon's eyes shifted when he realized the Chancellor had caught on to something.
He sighed within him when he realized Brayden must've caught wind of the news and pulled a few strings.
Nevertheless, Dillon got up as well and bowed in return to the Chancellor. He stayed down for more than ten seconds, showing his gratitude.
When he straightened up, he had an amiable smile on his face, "I'm thankful to the disciplinary committee for digging deep into this matter and happy I was able to maintain my dignity and scholarship."
Hearing his apology, Zion hissed and took a step towards the Chancellor, "Why would the disciplinary committee members reconsider and choose to expel me instead of a wretched student on scholarship who's of no use to this school?!"
As soon as he said that, Merlin, who had been trying to fall asleep, but couldn't, suddenly opened his eyes and glared hard at Zion.
This glare sent a frightening chill down Zion's spine as he unconsciously took a step backward.
"Stop being whiny, or do you have a way to defend yourself just like Dillon here?" Merlin huffed, getting up, his eyes still pinned on Zion.
Jethro, who had been standing aside weighing the pros and cons of trying to show-off who he was, saw red when he saw and recognized Merlin.
Although his son's expulsion from school was bound to bring backlash, if the Edward family got into a scuffle with the Wright family. It was best if he quietly left with his son.
"I apologize for getting you worked up over the issue, Chancellor. I promise to take Zion back home and have him reflect on what he has done." Jethro walked up to the Chancellor and apologized.
Then he also turned to Merlin and Dillon, "I'm also sorry that my son accused you of hitting me. I made a terrible mistake raising him. I also apologize for the disrespect he has caused you."
Being the son of a cunning man who was extremely cautious and knew when to retreat when confronted with an obviously lost battle, Zion hurried forward and bowed to the Chancellor, Merlin and hesitatingly at Dillon.
"I'm sorry for lying against you, Dillon. Please forgive me." He apologized with his head lowered to the floor.
Dillon didn't say anything, and neither did Merlin. The duo stared at the father and son for a long time that the two hypocrites couldn't help feeling embarrassed.
"That being said, Zion and I will leave now." Jethro added, grabbed onto Zion and pulled him closer.
"The Edward family means nothing to me, and so does your cousin's family, Zion. If you ever think of retaliating against me or Merlin, I'll first cut off your father as an assemblyman before I overthrow your cousin's father's company." Dillon whispered to Zion.
Other than Merlin, who stood beside Dillon, Zion was the next closest person to him. Hence, both Zion and Merlin could hear his words.
Zion gritted his teeth in rage as he glanced up at Dillon, his hands subconsciously balling into a fist.
Simply because the disciplinary committee members reconsidered doesn't make you any better than me.
You'll forever be the wretched orphan who's merely on scholarship in a school meant for the sons and daughters of the wealthy. You're still a goddamn pauper I can step on any other day.
Zion and Jethro walked out of the door the next second, and the class was dismissed for the day.
"First he got a scholarship to study in a school that is clearly not meant for the likes of him. Now, he's getting preferential treatment from the disciplinary committee members because he's a poor orphan? Oh, please!"
"Just when I thought we were finally going to get rid of the bloodsucking tick in our midst. What a shame."
Those were two of the many things other students said as Dillon and Merlin briskly walked past them.
"I'm hungry. We should go eat in the school's cafeteria." Dillon muttered when he heard his stomach grumble.
"You're a billionaire now. Why should we eat in the school's cafeteria?" Merlin hissed and walked right outside.
Thanks to the drama with Zion Edward, the school moved the other two lessons for the day to saturday. So they were free to go eat out and spend the rest of the day like they wanted.
Surprisingly, Dillon didn't argue with him. He had thought about it and realized there was no need for him to worry about the money he spent.
The store where Merlin had purchased the two expensive phones was a subsidiary under Titanium Technology, a company owned by Titanium Corporation.
In that case, the money went right back to Dillon's pocket. And that was probably the same for whatever place they were going to eat.
"My dad took my car after he found out I'm still friends with you. But no worries, I'm saving up to get another one." Merlin mumbled as he flagged down a taxi.
Dillon merely smiled. A taxi soon pulled and transported them to whatever place Merlin had in mind.
Once they alighted, Dillon couldn't help noticing the rows of luxurious cars filled in the parking lot.
Just a few days ago, he'd have been intimidated by the thought of being in the midst of wealthy folks.
"This is a popular spot?"
"It opened two months ago. People say their food is good, so we'll be trying it today." Merlin chuckled, rubbing both hands together.
He had long been excited to try out their foods. Ever since his father heard about his relationship with someone like Dillon, he had ducked Merlin's pay.
So presently, Merlin couldn't even afford to get three servings from this restaurant who sold extremely delicious food without going broke.
But that was about to change since he now had a wealthy best friend. With that exciting thought in mind, Merlin stepped into the restaurant with Dillon following behind him.
Before it got to their turn, Merlin suddenly felt pressed and left to ease himself, giving Dillon an incredibly long list of things to buy.
It was soon Dillon's turn, but as he proceeded forward, a couple took his place and the server didn't bother asking them to return to their place in the line when he saw they looked significant.
"What can I serve you?"
"Excuse me, you jumped the line. I should be the one being served." Dillon, who wouldn't keep quiet about this act, voiced out.
The area suddenly stilled when the couple in front of him turned around, revealing their familiar faces. James Roderick and Rachel Philip.
Even if most of the people didn't recognize Rachel because her family was a third tier family, they did recognize the heir of the Roderick family.
Rachel narrowed her eyes angrily at him. After Tracy told her all about Merlin, she did a full background check on Merlin and James. After she was done, she naturally followed the one who she saw was richer and more connected, James.
Nevertheless, she knew Dillon loved her very much. His reaction after he caught her with James affirmed his strong feelings for her.
So when she saw him, she naturally assumed she had followed them and joined the line to act like he had money to impress her.
James, who stood beside her first, had a surprised look on his face when he saw Dillon looking healthy.
He just concluded either Moses took it easy on Dillon or Dillon escaped when he heard Moses was coming with his men. Either way, it was no longer any of his business.
"Do you have nothing to do other than stalk me?" Rachel hissed loudly, fully attracting the attention she wanted. Then she clung tightly to James' arms.
James stared at the arm interlocked with his with a slight frown. While Rachel had the illusion, she'd be the one he finally settled down with, he had only brought her here to break up with her.
With so many eyes watching, the news would spread throughout New York and numerous people would hear about it.
His status in school would also be elevated because he dated and dumped one of the most beautiful girls on campus.
Rachel stared at Dillon in sheer disgust before turning her attention to the server who stood behind the counter and huffed in disdain, "I understand that this is a new hostel, but getting a security team and filtering out some suspicious people is really vital."
She stressed the word 'suspicious', her eyes also going towards Dillon.
The server instantly understood where she was going. Narrowing her eyes at Dillon, she realized why Rachel had said so.
The restaurant had numerous visitors, but among the visitors, only Dillon seemed to be putting on the cheapest clothes.
The server only assumed that because she looked Dillon over and saw no branded products on him.
If only she knew the reason she saw none was because Dillon had busied himself with ripping out the brand tags and logos to avoid attention.
"Don't be so rude, Rachel. He came to get food. Why talk down to him? I'm sure he has money to pay for whatever he came to buy. I mean, he has to, right?" James butted in with a lewd smile, seeming to enjoy the confrontation.
In his mind, he knew someone who couldn't afford a meal of $5 had no place in a place which sold a serving for more than $500. Since it had already come to this, he figured he'd just entertain himself a little.
"Oh, yeah, that's true. I apologize for obstructing you, Dillon. Come on, go get whatever you came for." Rachel mocked, moving out of the way for him.
Dillon ignored the mocking in her voice as he walked to the country and gave the server the list Merlin gave him.
Everything he ordered was soon packed and ready for him to go home with.
"$5780. Cash or card?" The cashier said after calculating everything.
James and Rachel sucked in a deep breath when they heard the cashier. $5780! It was a lot even for them. Talk more of a pauper like Dillon.
"$5780. That shouldn't be a lot for you, or is it, Dillon?" Rachel chuckled.
Dillon didn't turn to her as he replied to the cashier, "Card."
He reached into his pocket for the less important card Brayden had given him. However after seconds of feeling his pockets for it, he realized it was nowhere to be found.