Time passed quickly. Before he knew it, today was the monthly exam day. Unlike other schools, this exam only covered subjects relevant for university entrance preparation and was held at the end of every month, specifically on Friday.
Since Karel was in the science class, the subjects tested were limited to Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics.
It was rather odd, considering Karel's position as the heir to a major corporation. One would expect him to be in the social sciences track, preparing to enter the Faculty of Economics and Business.
However, his family had a different perspective. They believed that science subjects were more challenging. Thus, they wanted to showcase their capabilities by proving that their lineage was naturally gifted.
Karel stared nervously at the test papers in front of him. It had been a long time since he had dealt with these types of questions. He decided to start with Biology and Chemistry first.
Most of the questions were basic for him, given his background as a doctor. Only the botany section required him to exert a bit more effort.
After six hours of wrestling with the test, Karel stretched slightly to relax his body. He let out a relieved sigh before finally handing in his answer sheet to the proctor.
Now, standing in front of the vending machine, he was about to get a cola. His eyes wandered across the unusually empty cafeteria, something that rarely happened.
"Karel!" an impatient voice called out his name.
Standing before him was the female lead, Alison, her expression both angry and distressed.
"Karel, you know my dad's company is struggling, right? So why the hell is your family suddenly interfering with my dad's company management?" Alison seethed.
Her father had just been fired from the company he had built from scratch, and it was obvious that Alison was furious.
"How should I know? That's none of my business" Karel replied lazily, shrugging indifferently.
He recalled that, as a reward for consistently ranking first in school, he had once asked his family to support Alison's company by purchasing a significant number of shares without interfering in the management.
However, after his grades had dropped last month, his father had decided to send a warning by firing Alison's father as CEO.
And Karel couldn't care less. Whether the female lead or anyone else went bankrupt was of no concern to him.
"Tell your dad to take back his decision!" Alison's voice rose, her face turning red from suppressing her anger.
Students who had just finished their exams started entering the cafeteria, unable to avoid glancing in their direction. Alison, who was usually known for her gentle demeanor and refined speech, was now shouting without a shred of etiquette.
"Who do you think you are, ordering me around?"
If this had been the original Karel, he might have fought his father for Alison's sake. But this wasn't the old Karel. This was him now, and he had no interest in stirring up trouble for the sake of some girl.
"I—I..."
Karel simply clicked his tongue before turning away without another word, leaving the female lead standing there, speechless.
Thinking about it, so many things had changed in this novel.
At this point in the story, the male and female leads were supposed to have already grown close. But now? Everything was different.
Ever since he paid for Daniel's mother's surgery and sped up her recovery, there was no room left for Alison to comfort Daniel. As a result, their relationship barely formed at all.
Even though, in this novel, Alison and Daniel were supposed to be the main characters, Karel had a different perspective. To him, he was the protagonist of the story he was writing himself.
o0o
Sunday arrived, and it was finally time to relax before the exam results were announced.
Karel was lounging on the beach enjoying the soft sea breeze, while his friends played tag by the water.
Truly childish, he thought, letting out a sigh.
Not all of them, of course only Kevan and Raka were splashing water at each other like kids. Luckily, this was a private island, so there weren't any onlookers.
In another corner, Jake was busy taking pictures of his girlfriend, Fairy, with his camera. The two of them even started dancing in front of his phone, moving in ridiculous ways.
Seeing their sweet interaction, Karel briefly considered inviting Arthur here. But unfortunately, they were in the middle of a cold war, so he quickly discarded the thought.
His gaze then shifted to someone sitting beside him, Daniel completely motionless, as if he had been turned to stone.
Karel had deliberately brought Daniel here as a reward for helping him. At first, his friends weren't on board with the idea, but who dared to challenge his decisions?
With a lazy gaze, Karel looked at Daniel, intending to ignore him. But suddenly, Daniel took off his shirt, making Karel's eyes widen.
He froze, staring at Daniel's well-built frame, his defined abs standing out clearly. "Damn, main characters really have it all, huh? Even their bodies are perfect," Karel muttered internally, feeling a twinge of envy.
Then, he glanced at his own lean frame and let out a wry smile. It had been a while since he last went to the gym, ever since he injured his back.
Sensing Karel's intense gaze, Daniel quickly crossed his arms over his chest.
"Uh… my shirt got wet" Daniel mumbled awkwardly.
For some reason, he suddenly got up and ran off.
However, not long after, Daniel tripped on the sand. His body stumbled forward, but awkwardly he quickly got back up and ran even faster.
Karel just stared blankly. "What wrong with him?" he thought, before putting his sunglasses back on and reclining comfortably once again.
o0o
Karel stood in front of the information board, a faint smirk playing on his lips. As expected, his name was at the top of the list.
Just below him, in second place, was Daniel only two points behind. That made Karel feel a little guilty. After all, Daniel had been the one tutoring him, yet he still scored lower. Karel figured he should offer some kind of compensation.
Just then, his phone buzzed. A notification popped up.
His brows furrowed slightly as he read the sender's name, someone he had been waiting to hear from for a long time.
Without hesitation, he opened the message. And as he read it, a grin spread across his face.
The thing he had been anticipating had finally arrived.
Unbeknownst to Karel, Daniel stood beside him, silently watching.
Daniel's eyes were fixed on Karel's rare, genuine smile. It was natural, unguarded—so unlike the smirks and sneers he usually wore. Without realizing it, a small smile crept onto Daniel's lips as well.
o0o
Karel pushed open the teachers' lounge door without knocking, as if the room belonged to him. Without a word, he dropped himself onto the sofa, his posture relaxed and exuding arrogance.
Arthur, who had been focused on his laptop, now turned his full attention to Karel.
"You got a perfect score?" he asked, standing up and approaching him.
"Mm" Karel gave a faint smirk, shrugging nonchalantly. After a few seconds, he stood up as well, locking eyes with Arthur with a cocky gaze.
"There are plenty of ways to get the answer key" he said lazily, his tone carrying a hint of mockery.
"Why would you do that? If you keep this up, you're going to struggle in the future" Arthur's voice held a trace of frustration.
Karel didn't respond immediately. He simply stared at Arthur's face for a long moment before finally muttering, "Whatever. The important thing is, I got the answers from someone else. I don't care."
His eyes suddenly turned red, as if tears might spill at any second. Before Arthur could notice, Karel swiftly turned his back to him.
Arthur clenched his fists. No one in this school was supposed to have access to the answer key, so where did Karel get it?
His thoughts wandered back to the past month. It seemed like Karel's relationship with Daniel had grown closer. Could he have gotten it from him?
Just thinking about their closeness made his chest tighten, a foreign sense of irritation washing over him. The urge to pull Karel into his arms gnawed at him. There was no way someone like Daniel could give Karel more than he could.
Silence fell for a moment.
"I'll give it to you"
o0o