Chapter 3

I really wanted to throw water at Clifford.

But I resisted.

The final payment hadn't arrived. I didn't hold a grudge against the money.

I washed my face with cold water in the restroom and wiped off the sweat.

Just back in the classroom, I saw several girls sitting around my seat, looking at their phones.

"The book signing is next Saturday. Are you going?"

"I just got the book, so I definitely will. Also, I heard Clifford is a big fan of Foxy, so getting the author's autograph would be a great reason to approach him."

The girl who said this was the class beauty, Chloe Lane.

Chloe had business dealings with Clifford's family and was one of the few girls who could speak with him.

I interrupted them and pushed through the crowd, saying, "Please move aside."

Chloe's foot in small leather shoes was stepping on my bench.

When she saw me, she snorted coldly, "Clifford's simp? You still dare to come back? I thought you'd die in Class Three."

I had explained to them countless times that I didn't like Clifford.

But they insisted I was just being stubborn and occasionally embarrassed me in class.

Just like now, Chloe stepped forward and grabbed my chin, her eyes full of resentment. "Emily, don't you like Clifford, too? But do you think that acting like a slave, always hovering around him and bringing him food and drinks, will make him like you?"

I was forced to lift my head, my chin bearing deep red marks from her nails.

Seeing this, Chloe smiled slightly, "Clifford is going to the signing event for the author of Sunlight next Saturday. You must really want to go, right?"

"But you're so poor. How could you afford this book? The whole set costs more than 60 dollars."

I stared at her expressionlessly. "What are you trying to say?"

Chloe sneered coldly, stepping on my knee with her small leather shoe and pointing to the ground. "If you crawl under from below, I'll give you this set of books and let you go to the signing event with Clifford. How about it?"

My eyes fell on the book in her hand.

The black cover had the title Sunlight written in gold calligraphy.

Before this book was published, the publisher gave me many copies in various editions. I didn't dare to keep them at home, so I stuffed them all in my desk.

I looked up at Chloe in confusion. "Isn't it just a book?"

Did she really have to act like she was holding my lifeline?

Chloe laughed as if she'd heard the funniest joke.

She laughed and cursed with her friends beside her. "You say that so lightly. This book is limited to 30,000 copies. Do you have one?"

"I do." I slowly nodded under her stunned gaze.

Then, I reached into the desk and casually pulled out a copy of Sunlight.

Below the gilded title, a line of small red characters was engraved, Sunlight Collector's Edition, not for public sale.

Chloe's arrogant expression froze, her eyes widening instantly.

Before she could say anything, the classroom door suddenly swung open.

Clifford strode in, snatched the book from my hand, and for the first time, a spark of excitement appeared on his usually cold face.

He flipped through the book lovingly.

Thoughtful, he clenched the book tightly, then looked up with a cold expression and asked me, "Where did you get this book?"

As a devoted fan of Foxy, Clifford naturally knew about the collector's edition.

But he put in a lot of effort and spent a lot of money at the time, yet he couldn't get it.

But I, the one he always looked down on, had it.

I rolled my eyes inwardly at his accusing look.

I had already seen Clifford appearing in the corridor outside our classroom.

He wasn't there when Chloe bullied me.

But thinking about the contract, I controlled my temper and said, "It's mine."

"With your conditions, it's impossible for you to have this book. Did you steal it from somewhere?" Chloe took over the conversation and looked at me suspiciously.

I really wanted to say that I wrote it myself.

But seeing Chloe's hateful expression, I stopped myself before I could speak.

The author strictly avoided exposing their alternate identity, let alone to an enemy.

So I said, "I know the author; she gave this to me."

Chloe and Clifford looked at me with suspicion.

But since they didn't know Foxy, they had no way to verify it.

Clifford had no intention of wasting any more time here.

He held the book like a treasure and said commandingly, "Give me this book. Name your terms."

I frowned slightly.

The so-called collector's edition was just a flawed batch produced by the publisher, not sold on the market.

But seeing how much Clifford valued it, I said, "What's the market price for these?"

Clifford looked at me contemptuously upon hearing this.

He then took out his phone and transferred 15 thousand dollars to me.