Just then, a bright red Ferrari purred to a stop in front of the school gate.
"Whoa, is that a Ferrari? That thing's worth over four million!"
"Look at the guy behind the wheel, damn, even the way he drives one-handed looks cool!"
When the car rolled to a stop, a tall young man, about twenty-five or twenty-six, with a confident grin, stepped out and walked straight toward Zoe Quinn.
"Zoe, where are you headed? Need a ride?" he asked casually, spinning his car keys on one finger.
Zoe smiled politely. "Thanks, Senior Cole, but I already have plans tonight."
"Plans? With who? Come on, let's go together. I know a private restaurant, amazing food."
She shook her head lightly. "That's… a little inconvenient."
Her tone was calm but firm. She wasn't swayed in the slightest by the Ferrari's gleam or the admiring whispers from nearby students.
To her, four million for a car was nothing impressive.
Aiden James could probably buy two of them just from the money he'd spent tipping streamers.
Cole's confident smile froze.
He hadn't expected her to turn him down, again.
Ever since her birthday party last week, he'd been obsessed. He even made a bet with his friends: he'd win her over within two weeks.
But more than a week had already passed, and he hadn't made the slightest progress.
And now, standing here beside his Ferrari, he was being ignored.
Before he could recover, a bicycle slowly rolled up to the gate.
The boy riding it wore a simple T-shirt and jeans, but the look in his eyes was calm and assured.
He stopped next to Zoe and smiled.
"Hey, Zoe! Am I late? Looks like you got here early," Aiden said, a little breathless.
He glanced at his phone.
6:30 p.m. sharp. Not a minute more, not a minute less.
In the past, when he'd gone out with Emily, she was always late, sometimes by half an hour.
And he, trying not to seem desperate, would purposely show up half an hour later too.
Their dates always started an hour behind schedule.
After countless anxious waits, Aiden had learned his lesson:
Show up exactly on time.
But even so, he hadn't expected the campus goddess herself to arrive ten minutes early.
As for the guy in the Ferrari? He could already guess his intentions.
"Senior Cole, we'll get going first," Zoe said politely.
Then, to the shock of everyone watching, she sat gracefully on the back of Aiden's bicycle.
For a moment, the whole world seemed to freeze.
"Holy crap, did you see that?" a student gasped.
"Zoe Quinn, the campus goddess, just chose a bicycle over a Ferrari!"
"I think… I believe in love again!"
"She's amazing! A real queen, totally different from those gold diggers!"
"Wait, isn't that guy Aiden James? The licker everyone talks about?!"
Even the girls watching couldn't hide their surprise.
Meanwhile, Cole stood rooted to the spot, watching the bicycle slowly disappear down the road.
His hands clenched at his sides.
If he'd lost to another rich heir, he might have swallowed his pride.
But losing to a poor student on a bicycle? That was humiliation.
He gritted his teeth, face darkening.
"Hmph. A loser who doesn't know his place… You're asking for trouble."
The Ferrari's engine roared to life as he sped off, a storm brewing behind his smile.
On the quiet street, Aiden's voice carried back to Zoe.
"So, Classmate Zoe, where are we eating tonight? Since it's your treat, I'll let you decide."
Zoe laughed, the breeze tugging playfully at her ponytail.
"Anywhere's fine. But I have to say, Aiden, your bike ride might be the most refreshing thing I've done all week."
Aiden grinned, pedaling faster.
In that moment, with the goddess sitting behind him and the evening sun slanting across the road, he felt like the whole world was on his side.
Who says girls would rather cry in a BMW than laugh on a bicycle?
Wasn't Zoe Quinn sitting on his bicycle right now?
She was the campus goddess!
"Isn't there a place called Yidan Lobster near school?" Zoe said, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Their shrimp's pretty good. Let's go there."
"Sure," Aiden James replied with a grin.
The two arrived at the lobster restaurant a few minutes later. The place was lively, the décor cozy, and the prices fair, 50 to 100 dollars for a full table. Split among a few friends, it was barely a hundred per person.
No wonder it was packed every night.
Zoe seemed to love lobster, especially the extra spicy kind.
Watching her eat with such appetite made Aiden smile.
So even goddesses eat spicy food.
So even fairies… well, have to visit the bathroom after.
He almost laughed at the thought.
They were chatting and laughing as they peeled shrimp, when suddenly the door opened.
A handsome man in a Versace shirt and a beautiful girl walked in.
The girl was pretty, graceful even but compared to Zoe, she lacked that effortless charm and confidence.
Aiden froze.
Emily Rose.
Of all people, it had to be her.
What kind of cursed coincidence was this?
He kept bumping into that pair everywhere.
Last time it was the Gucci store; now it was a lobster restaurant.
Like ghosts that wouldn't stop haunting him.
Emily froze, too.
Her eyes widened when she saw Aidenbut when she noticed Zoe Quinn sitting across from him, her jaw nearly dropped.
Aiden? On a date? With Zoe Quinn?
That was… impossible.
This didn't make sense at all.
Even though Emily's impression of Aiden had softened recently, in her mind, he was still the same old bootlicker.
The guy who brought her breakfast, left notes, and embarrassed himself confessing every month.
And now this same guy was out having lobster with the most beautiful girl in the College of Arts?
The second-ranked beauty of the entire university?
Was she the one who had misjudged him?
Not just her, even Justin Reed, standing beside her, was stunned.
He'd tried flirting with Zoe before and had been politely rejected.
Yet now, she was sitting here smiling, talking, and eating with Aiden James, the campus loser?
Emily tugged Justin's sleeve.
"Justin, maybe we should go somewhere else?" she whispered, uncomfortable.
"No need," Justin said coldly, wrapping an arm possessively around her waist. "The food here looks fine. And hey, we even ran into some friends."
He smirked and led her toward the empty table right next to Aiden's.
His arm lingered around her waist, his hand sliding just enough to make his point.
Aiden caught the motion and smiled faintly.
Classic Justin, still insecure, still showing off.
But Justin's eyes weren't even on Emily anymore.
They kept flicking toward Zoe Quinn.
He was eating from his own bowl while drooling over someone else's dish.
Just then, an angry voice exploded across the restaurant.
"Reed! You bastard!"
Everyone turned.
A heavyset girl with a fierce glare had just stood up from the corner table.
"Cici baby?!" Justin blanched.
"Don't Cici baby me!" she roared, stomping toward him. "Who's this bitch next to you?"
Then she pointed straight at Emily Rose.
"And you, you homewrecker! Don't you know this scumbag already has a girlfriend?"
Gasps rippled across the room.
"W-wait, what? You've got the wrong idea..." Justin stammered, backing up.
"Wrong idea my ass!" Cici snapped. "I bought you clothes, shoes, watches, hell, I even lent you my car! And this is how you repay me?"
Before anyone could react, she swung her leg...
Thud!
She kicked Justin hard enough to make him stumble into a chair.
Then, before Emily could even speak...
Smack!
She slapped her square across the face.
The sound echoed through the restaurant like a gunshot.
Emily froze in shock, her hand slowly rising to her burning cheek.
The entire place went dead silent.
Even Zoe dropped her chopsticks.
And Aiden?
He leaned back in his chair, an almost imperceptible smile tugging at his lips.
Karma really is punctual.