Chapter 4 · Beg Me For My Scholarship? Watch Me Ruin You Instead

Chapter 4

The comments section was already blowing up. [What's happening right now?]

[How did that little skank Lily get to him first?]

[This is not how the story was supposed to go.]

[That bitch Lily is doing this on purpose just to mess with Mia.]

[What now? If Mia can't get the money, how's she gonna dress up and catch his eye?]

[Have some faith in Mia. Mia's a real villain. She'll do whatever it takes to get close to him.]

[All I'm saying is, Lily better watch herself.]

[That little skank is dead when Mia gets her hands on her!]

I read through the comments as I headed downstairs.

Seeing them trash-talk me didn't bother me one bit. It was nothing but impotent rage.

They couldn't do a thing to me, and I was going to enjoy every second of pissing them off.

I turned the corner and spotted Mia right away.

She saw me coming down from upstairs and marched straight over with her eyes wide. She snapped, "Why are you coming from up there? Were you on the rooftop?"

I had planned to keep it from her, but it didn't really matter if she knew.

Jealousy flickered across Mia's face, but then something clicked, and she let out a smug little laugh.

"Did Jack kick you out? Everyone knows he naps up there during lunch and doesn't let anyone disturb him. You've got some nerve going up there. You're lucky he didn't tear you apart."

I shot back without stopping, "Then why don't you go up and see if he tears you apart?"

I brushed past her and kept walking.

What a coward. She didn't even have the guts to go up there herself, so who was she to laugh at me?

Mia stamped her foot behind me and yelled, "Lily, are you trying to seduce Jack? He would never look twice at you.

"He likes girls who are pretty and classy. You're just some country bumpkin, and you actually think you have a shot with him? Know your place."

I stopped mid-step and turned to face her. "Funny. That's not the attitude you had when you were on your knees begging me for money."

Mia bit her lower lip and stammered, "I—" She had nothing left to say. She spun around and quietly crept up the stairs.

But she only made it as far as the rooftop door. She stood there, frozen, and didn't dare open it.

The comments were blowing up, all cheering Mia on.

[Open the door, Mia! Go in!]

[Even Lily got a whole month up there, and she's a nobody. What are you so scared of?]

[But Mia's grades are terrible, and she has no money to fix herself up. There's no way she can get Jack's attention.]

[Damn Lily! Why won't she give Mia any money? I'm so pissed!]

I was genuinely confused.

Why did Mia need to get all dolled up to catch Jack's attention?

What kind of storyline was this?

Was this really how it worked for every villainess?

*****

The next day at noon, I officially started tutoring Jack.

I had no idea how bad it was until we actually sat down, and honestly, it scared me.

I stared at him in disbelief and said, "Wait, you haven't learned any of this? Not even a little?"

Jack smirked and fired back, "Didn't you say you'd get my grades up within a month? Getting cold feet already?"

My filter completely shut down, and I blurted out exactly what I was thinking. "Forget a month. I could raise your grades by tomorrow. Going from a zero to a one isn't exactly hard."

Jack's eyes turned dangerous, and he growled, "What did you just say? You little broke nobody, are you asking for trouble?"

I shot to my feet and snapped, "Hey, don't call me broke! People like us who don't have money hate that word the most." I crossed my arms and added, "Call me 'Little Rich Girl' instead. Go on, say it."

Jack just stared at me in silence.

Jack pressed his lips together, completely speechless. He finally said, "You love money that much? I think Money Bag suits you better."

I shrugged. That one I could live with.

The comments exploded with laughter.

[Oh my God, these two are killing me with this conversation.]

[Lily is literally speaking my truth. From now on, everyone better call me Little Rich Girl, too.]

[The people above, you're all betraying Mia!]

I ignored the comments and pulled up the freshman textbook on my phone.

I looked at Jack and said, "Let's just start from the very beginning."

Jack fell silent again.

As I said, going from zero to one was really easy. Within a few days, Jack got every single problem I assigned him right.

I narrowed my eyes at him and asked, "You didn't Google the answers, did you?"

Jack scoffed with the cockiest attitude imaginable and said, "Google the answers? Do I look like I need to?"

He leaned back and added, "I'm telling you, I just never bothered to study before. If I had, you really think you'd still be ranked first in our grade?"

I nodded along.

If bragging were a subject, he'd definitely be number one.

While I was helping Jack with his lessons, the comments were all worried about how Mia was going to scrape together enough money to fix herself up and get Jack's attention.

I honestly couldn't believe it. Why was she so obsessed with her looks?

Chapter 4

The comments section was already blowing up. [What's happening right now?]

[How did that little skank Lily get to him first?]

[This is not how the story was supposed to go.]

[That bitch Lily is doing this on purpose just to mess with Mia.]

[What now? If Mia can't get the money, how's she gonna dress up and catch his eye?]

[Have some faith in Mia. Mia's a real villain. She'll do whatever it takes to get close to him.]

[All I'm saying is, Lily better watch herself.]

[That little skank is dead when Mia gets her hands on her!]

I read through the comments as I headed downstairs.

Seeing them trash-talk me didn't bother me one bit. It was nothing but impotent rage.

They couldn't do a thing to me, and I was going to enjoy every second of pissing them off.

I turned the corner and spotted Mia right away.

She saw me coming down from upstairs and marched straight over with her eyes wide. She snapped, "Why are you coming from up there? Were you on the rooftop?"

I had planned to keep it from her, but it didn't really matter if she knew.

Jealousy flickered across Mia's face, but then something clicked, and she let out a smug little laugh.

"Did Jack kick you out? Everyone knows he naps up there during lunch and doesn't let anyone disturb him. You've got some nerve going up there. You're lucky he didn't tear you apart."

I shot back without stopping, "Then why don't you go up and see if he tears you apart?"

I brushed past her and kept walking.

What a coward. She didn't even have the guts to go up there herself, so who was she to laugh at me?

Mia stamped her foot behind me and yelled, "Lily, are you trying to seduce Jack? He would never look twice at you.

"He likes girls who are pretty and classy. You're just some country bumpkin, and you actually think you have a shot with him? Know your place."

I stopped mid-step and turned to face her. "Funny. That's not the attitude you had when you were on your knees begging me for money."

Mia bit her lower lip and stammered, "I—" She had nothing left to say. She spun around and quietly crept up the stairs.

But she only made it as far as the rooftop door. She stood there, frozen, and didn't dare open it.

The comments were blowing up, all cheering Mia on.

[Open the door, Mia! Go in!]

[Even Lily got a whole month up there, and she's a nobody. What are you so scared of?]

[But Mia's grades are terrible, and she has no money to fix herself up. There's no way she can get Jack's attention.]

[Damn Lily! Why won't she give Mia any money? I'm so pissed!]

I was genuinely confused.

Why did Mia need to get all dolled up to catch Jack's attention?

What kind of storyline was this?

Was this really how it worked for every villainess?

*****

The next day at noon, I officially started tutoring Jack.

I had no idea how bad it was until we actually sat down, and honestly, it scared me.

I stared at him in disbelief and said, "Wait, you haven't learned any of this? Not even a little?"

Jack smirked and fired back, "Didn't you say you'd get my grades up within a month? Getting cold feet already?"

My filter completely shut down, and I blurted out exactly what I was thinking. "Forget a month. I could raise your grades by tomorrow. Going from a zero to a one isn't exactly hard."

Jack's eyes turned dangerous, and he growled, "What did you just say? You little broke nobody, are you asking for trouble?"

Jack just stared at me in silence.

Jack pressed his lips together, completely speechless. He finally said, "You love money that much? I think Money Bag suits you better."

I shrugged. That one I could live with.

The comments exploded with laughter.

[Oh my God, these two are killing me with this conversation.]

[Lily is literally speaking my truth. From now on, everyone better call me Little Rich Girl, too.]

[The people above, you're all betraying Mia!]

I ignored the comments and pulled up the freshman textbook on my phone.

I looked at Jack and said, "Let's just start from the very beginning."

Jack fell silent again.

As I said, going from zero to one was really easy. Within a few days, Jack got every single problem I assigned him right.

I narrowed my eyes at him and asked, "You didn't Google the answers, did you?"

Jack scoffed with the cockiest attitude imaginable and said, "Google the answers? Do I look like I need to?"

He leaned back and added, "I'm telling you, I just never bothered to study before. If I had, you really think you'd still be ranked first in our grade?"

I nodded along.

If bragging were a subject, he'd definitely be number one.

While I was helping Jack with his lessons, the comments were all worried about how Mia was going to scrape together enough money to fix herself up and get Jack's attention.

I honestly couldn't believe it. Why was she so obsessed with her looks?