Chapter 2

I gave a cold laugh.

“Like you?”

“Then I must be blind.”

Ethan flashed a charming smile.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed.”

“Work hard, and maybe we’ll have a chance someday.”

I swallowed the bread in my mouth with difficulty and nearly kicked him.

I’d been forced to start my morning with a mouthful of greasy nonsense!

Then I spotted the pretty boy.

I hurried over, grabbed his arm, and whispered,

“Good Samaritan, I know you’re kind. Help me out.”

The boy gave me a complicated look and stood there without moving.

Ethan let out a sharp, strangled gasp.

He waved his index finger back and forth, his face turning pale.

“What are you doing?”

“Ava, let go right now, and I might forgive you!”

I looked Ethan up and down with deliberate sarcasm.

“What school heartthrob? He’s not even half as handsome as this guy.”

“Stop dreaming. I wouldn’t choose you if you were the last guy alive.”

Ethan trembled with rage.

He forced a miserable smile.

“You’re trying to make me jealous, right? Fine. I admit it. I’m jealous.”

A black line appeared across my forehead.

What kind of delusional narcissist was he?

Couldn’t someone keep him locked inside his house instead of letting him out to bite people?

I hooked my arm through the boy’s and said coldly,

“Get lost.”

Ethan’s eyes filled with disbelief.

He stomped his right foot.

“You played with my feelings! I won’t let this go!”

“Ava Carter, I’ll be back. You’ll regret this!”

The boy sighed helplessly.

“Can you let go now?”

I rubbed my fingers against his arm twice before reluctantly releasing him.

“You’re such a good person.”

“You’ve saved me twice in one day.”

“What’s your name?”

“I have to thank you properly.”

The boy gave two dry laughs and asked,

“Do you?”

I smiled brightly.

“Of course. I’ll buy you a plaque and have the school praise you at the next assembly.”

“Mason Reed.”

After saying that, he hurried away.

When I stood at the front of the classroom, I spotted Mason immediately.

I raised my brows slightly and walked straight toward the empty seat beside him.

“What a coincidence. We meet again.”

Mason’s pupils widened, and his mouth fell slightly open.

Then his expression turned fierce.

“You want to sit beside me?”

“Pay the protection fee first.”

The sweet-looking girl beside him tugged on my sleeve and quietly tried to warn me.

“Hey, Mason’s actually a good person.”

“As long as you pay the protection fee, no one at Westbrook High will dare bully you.”

“He may be the school’s biggest troublemaker, but he has principles.”

I asked, amused,

“How much is the protection fee?”

Mason stared at me, his meaning unclear.

“Whatever you think is fair.”

I studied him without making it obvious.

His T-shirt had been washed until it was almost white. His jacket and pants were torn in several places, likely from fights.

His sneakers were ordinary canvas shoes, and there wasn’t a single logo on his backpack.

Even the one pen he had left was cheap.

Was Mason short on money?

He did look delicate and almost painfully pretty. His wrists were so thin they might have been thinner than mine.

I pulled five hundred dollars from my wallet and smiled brightly.

“A little money isn’t enough to show my gratitude.”

“How about this? Mason, do me a favor. For the next week, I’ll cover all your meals, snacks, and drinks.”