Chapter 2

Alex said he wouldn't fall for my nonsense, but his body obviously cared a lot.

Ever since I said that, he stopped napping at his desk. Instead, he sat up straight and kept stealing glances at me from the corner of his eye, just like a cautious cat.

During math class, the teacher wrote a complex geometry problem on the board and asked, "Anyone want to give it a shot?"

The whole class went silent.

I raised my hand and said, "I'll do it."

Under Alex's shocked stare, I walked up to the board and solved the problem three different ways. One of them was even way beyond what we were supposed to know, leaving the teacher totally stunned.

"Lily, that was really impressive... Where did you transfer from?" the teacher asked.

"Westfield Academy," I lied without batting an eye.

Truth is, I only picked up those tricks because the future Alex made me sit through MBA classes with him.

He was totally lazy about studying, but kept insisting I join him, saying, "Partners should make progress together."

In the end, I leveled up while he made zero progress.

When I got back to my seat, Alex had a complicated look on his face.

"You're really something," he said, sounding awkward.

"Thanks. After all, when your company goes public, I'll be the one handling all your financial statements." I replied.

He seemed confused.

"Forget it," I said.

He frowned, obviously trying to figure out what "going public" even meant.

The eighteen-year-old Alex had no clue that his family's tiny factory, barely hanging on, would be at the top of the industry in ten years, and that he'd become one of the youngest business moguls around.

But for now, he was just a troublemaker with dyed hair at the bottom of the class.

"Hey," he suddenly leaned in, his voice barely above a whisper. "You said we're gonna get married in the future?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, and we'll be crazy in love."

He still looked skeptical. "Do you have any proof? Like a marriage certificate, or at least some photos?"

I just transmigrated here. How would I have any photos?

I thought for a second, and then said, "You've got a tiny mole on the inside of your thigh."

He immediately flushed with embarrassment, "How do you know that?!"

"Because I've seen it," I replied, totally unfazed. "Not just seen it—I've kissed it, too."

Alex froze on the spot, lost for words for quite a while before he found his voice, "You... you... you..."

"What?" I asked.

"You creep!" He blurted out.

I blinked at him, totally confused.

Was I hearing things right? My future husband, Alex Carter, who would whisper flirty lines in my ear every night, just called me a creep?

"Babe," I sighed, "one day you'll be begging for my naughty side."

"No way." Alex snapped, gritting his teeth. "I'd rather jump out the window than let that ever happen."

"Let what happen?" I teased.

"Nothing," he muttered.

Then he turned his head away, his bright red ears set off by his platinum blond hair.

I smiled, lowered my head, and went back to my book.

This class was French reading comprehension and the passage was about the future of technology.

"Can anyone translate the third paragraph?" the teacher asked.

Without even thinking, I shot my hand up and rattled off a flawless translation, not missing a single word.

The class fell silent once more.

Numb with shock, Alex stared at me, as if wondering what I was made of.

"You..." He started, but couldn't finish.

"Well, I studied abroad," I lied smoothly, not missing a beat. "Did a super easy one-year master's in France."

He was speechless for a long time before asking, so quietly I almost didn't catch it, "So I really end up marrying you in the future?"

I turned to face him, meeting those nervous, hopeful eyes.

"Yeah," I said. "You chased me for two years, proposed five times, and cried your heart out every single time."

"I don't buy it," Alex grumbled.

"Whatever," I replied with a shrug.

"Unless..." he paused, his voice barely a whisper, "Unless you spill a bit more."