Top the exams in 7 days? She might as well ascend as the knowledge deity and float in the heavenly river.
Karma hit back—Kade wasn’t the miserable one anymore. She was.
He still had to make it to the top 50 in the finals after 4 months. What about her—
The shrill ringing of the phone snapped Ella out of her self-pity session.
She rolled over, picked her phone and immediately sat up when she saw the caller ID.
"Second Master, the President is waiting for you in the private room along with a few ministers. We need to go there as...’’ Ji Yan trailed off when he looked at the man.
Adrian sat in the backseat of the car, holding the phone in his hand as he watched it with keen attention.
Just as Ji Yan was about to urge the man again, the man casually dropped his verdict.
"This phone’s broken," Adrian said coldly.
"A new phone? Second Master, we got this one recently..." Ji Yan leaned backward on the driver’s seat and peeked at the man’s phone, ’’It shouldn’t be like that. This is their latest model. Which function do you think is lacking...?"
"Second Master, is there any reason you think...?"
"She hasn’t messaged me in hours. Clearly, it’s malfunctioning."
Ji Yan froze in disbelief.
Second Master, ah, Second Master, that’s because Miss Yu is not texting you. It doesn’t mean your phone is not lacking.
"Second Master, how about we go to the meeting first? Then, maybe you can call Miss Yu and ask her if...’’
Ji Yan’s words were yet to finish when Adrian’s fingers moved.
The phone’s screen lit up and Ella’s voice rang inside the car.
The moment Ella spoke up, Riri who was in a deep sleep in the passenger seat stirred awake.
Ella muttered a few sweet nothings to the pup who sat in his basket, swishing his tail.
And Ji Yan noticed that the aura in the car was getting gloomier by every passing second.
"Baby, have you been eating well?" Ella seemed to finally remember that Adrian was there as well.
Adrian leaned back on the seat, looking at Ella from half lidded eyes, ’’Mm.’’
"Have you been working a lot? You look a little tired...’’ Ella’s voice rang from the background, ’’Is Secretary Ji there as well?"
"Ye-Yes, Miss Yu. Right here?"
’’Has he been sleeping and eating fine? Or is he lying to me?"
Ji Yan looked at Adrian, hoping for a sign on how to answer.
But Adrian remained motionless.
Wiping his sweat and putting his embroidered handkerchief away, Ji Yan braced himself, ’’The Second Master had his meals today, although he had a poor appetite. As for sleep... Second Master did not have a nap or anything.’’
They arrived here today. Miss Yu was certainly expecting a lot if she thought that the Second Master was going to take a nap.
"Baby, no matter what, you should sleep when you get some time, okay?"
Adrian watched as the girl laid her head on the pillow, dressed in a duck-printed night suit as she nagged him with a subtle frown on her face.
His eyes glimmered—until they landed on the blanket’s edge.
It was crumpled. His gaze trailed to her hand that had been occasionally, anxiously fisting it, and his face darkened.
’’Huh? Uh... My day was not the most ideal one, baby,’’ Ella was slightly taken aback by his abrupt question, ’’I scored poorly in History paper. And then...’’
Ella briefly narrated the ’you have to top all papers if you want to stay in the university’ lore to Adrian, promptly skipping the other details.
"Baby, I get it my past records are poor and to make amends, I can make improvements. But how can I top the exams?"
Ji Yan who was also there in the car felt like Ella made a lot of sense. She was not that much into studying if her past actions were anything to go by.
Now that she is studying, it would be good to have her improve.
How could she be the topper?
Two words from Adrian and the car sunk in silence. Even Riri’s fluffy tail swishing seemed to have stopped.
This silence seemed to have stretched up to Ella as well.
"Baby, I cannot...’’ Ella laughed lightly, ’’I can try but I have a few subjects I am terrible at..."
Ella froze and then blinked, letting his question register, ’’History? And Mathematics... as well."
Ji Yan: "_" Second Master just signed up to tutor her. The world might as well be ending!
It took Ji Yan a moment to recover his senses when his phone buzzed, ’’Second Master, they are waiting..." he leaned to whisper.
"Baby, you seem to be busy. Don’t worry about me. I will manage~ Bye bye~ Take care~"
The call was hung up.
Adrian’s dark gaze snapped to Ji Yan who wanted to burst into tears.
On the other side, in Vermilion City, Ella laid on the bed as she looked at the ceiling.
Her heart thumped, but now for a completely different reason than her worries from before.
What did he mean by he would teach her?
Who wanted to be taught by him...?
Ella blinked. What kind of a teacher would he make?
She could already see it—Adrian in a suit, holding a math book like a murder weapon.
"You scored 9 out of 100?" With his temper, he’d probably make her do sit-ups as punishment.
Ella speechless rolled to her side.
Suddenly, she remembered something.
He abruptly asked her about her day as if he knew something was wrong.
Ella glanced at her crumpled blankets and she seemed to have caught him staring at them.
That night, Ella fell into a nightmare again.
But this time, the view was something that was the beginning of her doom in her previous life.
It was the day she got kidnapped.
The same day her life spiraled beyond her control—