Meanwhile, Maureen was entering the international class through the back door.
It was still noon break, the air conditioner was blowing cool air, and not a single person in the entire classroom was sleeping; they were all watching her attentively.
This class was divided into two types of people: Liam's gang, and Liam's followers.
The classmates standing on the podium quickly stepped down, while those hunched over their desks straightened their backs.
And Liam—the school tyrant himself, wearing his drowsy, explosively red hair, his neck adorned with silver noise-cancelling headphones, a skull necklace across his chest that was both arrogant and sophomoric, swept his gaze over to her.
He sat on the desk, one foot resting on the chair, a leg raised, his eyes coldly fixed on her as she walked in.
Over forty pairs of eyes in the classroom.
The pressure on Maureen was enormous. She saw her books still piled on the desk next to Liam.
No one had thrown her books into the stinky ditch, allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief.
She braved the pressure and walked over. Once she passed by, Maureen couldn't help but take a deep breath.
I'm sorry, the dry pine smell was too good, and she couldn't control herself, taking a breath.
Her acupuncture point instantly became clear.
Huh? Liam's gaze—three parts haughty, three parts cold, four parts ruthless—nearly faltered.
His followers claimed that this girl had charged over to smell him the first time they met, but he didn't believe them.
However, now that she was walking up to him and sniffing deeply, was she not inhaling his scent?
What else could she be doing?!
Before Liam had a chance to regain his cool, his ears turned angrily red,
"What the hell do you want? Given that you ran thirty rounds for me, I can overlook your random seating by my side this morning.
But that doesn't mean I can tolerate you sitting next to me anymore!"
"But there is no other place to sit in the classroom," Maureen pleaded gently,
"There's an empty spot next to you.
If I don't sit here, I'll have to move my desk to the back and sit in a row by myself."
With her mask on and her black medium-length hair tucked behind her ears, Maureen's voice sounded a bit hollow.
Liam's gaze moved away from her slender eyelashes, subconsciously glanced around the classroom, and all his minions immediately sat upright.
As expected, apart from the seat next to him, there was no way to squeeze another person in the classroom.
Hold on— "Why should I solve your problem?" Liam suddenly recognized, irritably saying, "It's none of my business."
Niel couldn't help but tease Maureen:
"Transfer student, you don't necessarily have to sit next to Liam.
Alas, you have already followed the same class, there will be plenty of time in the future."
Saying this, two of the minions came to move Maureen's desk away.
Sitting elsewhere wouldn't bring her close enough to the aura around Liam.
There are some in the international class with a faint glow, but that is too weak, almost nil.
And the second rank, Drake was said to have caught a cold and didn't come.
She couldn't possibly resort to approaching Richard from the neighbouring class.
Moreover, in her past life, she was the antagonist who liked Richard, so being in touch with the villain meant less prosperous fortune than Liam.
In short, Liam was like a chilled watermelon on a summer day!
"No, I'm sitting here!"
Maureen quickly pressed her hand on the desk with much haste.
Seeing the two boys were still trying to move it, she simply leaned over the desk, gripping it firmly.
Everyone was taken aback by her initiative.
When Maureen leaned over, her loose school uniform fell on her back, outlining her delicate figure.
Liam felt himself breathe in a faint sweet scent.
His ears immediately reddened, he jumped down from the table with a look of anger on his face, angrily cursing under his breath.
He was being pestered by a girl shorter than him!
Seeing Liam still glaring at her menacingly, Maureen hastily straightened up, handing over the dessert she was holding.
"Well then, let's make a deal, I'll exchange these two pieces of dessert for the privilege to sit here, ok?"
"If you still want to eat more, I can make it."
"What's in the plastic bag?" Liam disdainfully took it over and gave it a glance, only to have the soft, sweet aroma of the cake immediately reach his nose.
Just smelling it told him it was delicious.
And surprisingly, she even knew he liked sweets, making her seem more considerate than any other fishermen who cast their nets to pursue him.
The fluffy golden tail behind Liam began to wag proudly.
Niel, who was standing beside them, couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
"For an afternoon." Liam pushed away Niel's head, held the dessert, raised his smooth chin, looking very smug and offending;
like 'looking at you is me respecting you'.
"I'll take this, allowing you to have an afternoon class alongside me.
But if you are sensible, you'll actively swap seats with the class monitor because I don't want to see you beside me tomorrow."
Maureen inwardly wanted to kick his handsome red hair:
"Trading two sweet treats for an afternoon, why don't you commit extortion?"
Liam chuckled and lazily took a sip of water,
"What do you think?"
The system reminded me,
"If you send him a message unilaterally, regardless whether he replies or not, it will be classified in the text as 'making connections with this trendy person', which could influence your luck."
Immediately, Maureen said,
"Two pieces of dessert for an afternoon, plus your Whatsapp contact."
The entire international class gasped in astonishment.
Bravo! The only warrior that Liam has really encountered in the last seventeen years! In front of so many people, she dared to ask for his contact directly! This girl is too bold!
Liam nearly choked on his water.
The redness spreading from his ears to his face was uncontrollable, saying,
"I warn you not to harass me!"
Maureen, who was indifferent, replied,
"How about this, give me half of your Whatsapp QR code first, and we can swap the other half later?" Liam: "..."
"Still no?" Maureen frowned,
"Then one-fourth? Come on, you're Williams of one meter eighty something.
How can you be so stingy?"
Liam: " Somehow, Liam was successfully persuaded by Maureen, and he let her scan his WhatsApp.
Stupid beauty, Maureen got his WhatsApp and was satisfied.
Liam's face looked a bit sullen as he took out a bank card from his pocket and threw it in front of Maureen:
"And this is your payment for running thirty laps."
Running thirty laps was indeed exhausting.
Since she couldn't get someone to replace her, Liam didn't let her run in vain.
Maureen didn't hesitate and accepted the money, why refuse the freebies?
Plus, accepting this money adds a little more luck, right?
However, she had no plans on spending this money.
Even if she were to use it, she would use it on the guy next to her.
Maureen stole a glance at Liam. He was tall and long-legged which seems to make sleeping on the table quite uncomfortable.
She could very well use this money to buy him something.
In this back and forth, isn't it like garnering some 'fortune from mutual gift exchanges with fashionable people'?
After collecting the money and scanning the WhatsApp QR code, Maureen cleaned up the table, sat down and got prepared for her nap.
As an afterthought, she glanced at the potted plants.
The harvest, as expected, was plentiful.
The one that was previously missing had grown back, and there were now exactly four tender sprouts.
This instantly brought an anticipatory and excited smile to Maureen's face.
From others' point of view, she was finally able to naturally sit beside Liam after haggling, and her joyful eyes curved into crescent moons.
"What a lovesick fool," people in the classroom sighed.
Liam idly propped his chin on one hand, an arrogant smirk on his face.
What could he do? It wasn't his fault for being good-natured, handsome and wealthy.
A phone beeped in his pocket.
Liam put on his silver earphones to check.
It was a message from Drake,
"What does the transfer student really look like? Niel said she has been wearing a mask, like she's hurt her face."
Liam replied disinterestedly,
"What could she possibly look like?
If she can cover it with a mask, it can't be anything remarkable, right?
But do you think I care about appearance?"
"Did you give her the money as you said you would?"
"I did," Liam typed back with one hand,
"I gave her1000 dollars cash. Unable to resist showing off, Liam sent another message,
"She likes me so much, the joy on her face is completely uncontainable, tsk, I think she's not here for my money."
After sending this message, Liam glanced at Maureen.
Maureen had taken off her school uniform jacket, revealing her graceful swan-like neck under her jet black medium length hair.
She was wearing a thin knitted blouse, not a particularly eye-catching brand.
While Liam was not entirely sure, he still boasted to his friend,
"The transfer student is dressed modestly, definitely not someone who's superficial about wealth."
Drake's message came promptly in response,
"Well, we'll only know for sure when autumn ends.
From childhood to adulthood, I haven't seen anyone who chased after you because of you alone."
Feeling like a thousand arrows piercing his heart. Liam's face immediately darkened:
"Get lost. You're just jealous."
That afternoon was undisturbed.
During class, Liam was almost always sleeping, allowing Maureen to audaciously drain his energy.
He looked as if his entire body was boneless, his complexion possessing a sickly white appearance.
A faint red imprint was pressed out at the corner of his right eye.
Upon waking, he would dazedly crawl up, pour out a few pills from a bottle of vitamins, then continue to lean on the desk.
His hedgehog-like short red hair became considerably obedient while he was asleep.
It seemed he detested noise as he never took off his noise-cancelling headphones.
The entire class had long gotten used to this routine, all stepping lighter when passing by him.
By the time Liam yawned awake, the elongated limousine from his home had arrived to pick him up; school was already over.
Subconsciously, Liam glanced at the seat next to him.
Seeing the seat empty, he frowned. The transfer student had left without a word at some point.
Can't he properly pursue someone anymore? Just then, Liam's cell phone suddenly vibrated. He casually pulled it out to check.
"[Your bank card ending with xxxx has just made a payment of 12000.00.]
[Your bank card ending with xxxx has just made a payment of…] Like an avalanche, an overwhelming number of payment notifications popped up.
The very same transfer student who had solemnly assured him in the afternoon that he was not materialistic, not in it for his money, in just such a short time, had already spent fifty-six thousand.
"Liam's expression soured instantly, feeling a sense of betrayal.
He claimed not to care about his wealth, but this is clearly all about his money!