Sarah forced a smile, but it was clearly tight and uncomfortable. She hated people seeing her like this. Still, she forced a laugh. “That wasn’t about me. Madam Grace was talking about someone else.”
Scarlett raised a brow. “Then why were you crying? I heard Zayden’s actually engaged to Elena.”
“What?” a few students gasped.
“Zayden and Elena are engaged?”
“When did that happen? How did we not know?”
“No way. Scarlett’s just trying to start drama again. Zayden and Elena don’t even talk. Everyone knows she’s the one always trying to get his attention.”
“Sounds like some dumb rumor. I don’t buy it.”
None of the girls believed what Scarlett had said.
But Scarlett insisted, “I’m telling the truth. That day, I heard Zayden say in Class Six, loud and clear, that he’s Elena’s fiancé! A bunch of people heard it! If you don’t believe me, go ask around-Sarah definitely knows too, right?”
She was clearly trying to put Sarah in a difficult spot.
“I always thought Zayden was engaged to Sarah. If Elena is his fiancée, then why is Sarah so close to him?”
“Yeah, that’s really weird.”
No one could make sense of it.
If Zayden really was engaged to Elena, then technically, he’d be Sarah’s brother-in-law.
Why would Sarah be so close to her own future brother-in-law?
“Sarah, just tell us-are Zayden and your sister really engaged?”
“Yeah, come on, tell us! We’ll believe whatever you say!”
All eyes turned to Sarah.
She could hardly sit still.
If she said yes, then she’d basically be admitting she had been clinging to her future brother-in-law all this time. What would people think of her?
If she said no, then she’d be lying. Zayden had admitted it himself that Elena was his fiancée-her lie would be exposed in no time.
After much inner turmoil, Sarah finally spoke in a low voice.
“My sister and Zayden are engaged, but… I gave him up to her. I knew my sister liked him, so I backed off… I just didn’t expect Grace to show up at school. She must be upset that I did that, and that’s why she’s been ignoring me-and saying all that stuff, making it seem like my sister is the one clinging to Zayden.”
Suddenly, everything made sense to the others.
No wonder!
No wonder Grace ignored Sarah earlier and said what she did. It all added up now.
Just then, Zayden walked into the classroom.
The moment Sarah saw him, she rushed over to him.
“Zayden, did the teacher say anything to you?”
She looked up at him nervously, terrified that someone in class had mentioned what she just said.
“It’s fine, don’t worry,” Zayden said, his voice softening. “What my mom said today wasn’t directed at you. Don’t take it too personally.”
Because of what he said, the other students exchanged looks.
So Sarah had been telling the truth.
This Elena girl, just because she liked Zayden, had no shame at all!
She even tried to steal her own sister’s fiancé? No wonder Zayden always seemed cold toward her.
So this was why.
Meanwhile, in Class Six…
Elena suddenly sneezed out of nowhere.
Henry blinked in surprise. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Maybe… I’m coming down with something.”
Elena couldn’t shake the feeling someone was talking about her behind her back.
And not just one person either.
“Catching a cold this time of year is no joke. The season’s changing. If you get sick before the math competition, you’ll fall way behind.”
As he spoke, Henry reached out to feel her forehead. When he confirmed she wasn’t running a fever, he let out a breath of relief.
“Good, you’re not feverish. I have some medicine that prevents colds-take it, better safe than sorry.”
“No need…”
Before Elena could finish, Henry had already placed the pills in front of her.
“One pill each time, three times a day. I guarantee it’ll work.”
“This some kind of miracle drug?”
Elena glanced down at the pill in her hand.
Suddenly, she remembered: in her past life, there was a massive global flu outbreak the following year. It was a viral infection that claimed many lives and lasted for about a year.
That outbreak caused many businesses to go bankrupt. The Holt family, in particular, collapsed completely-their entire production line ground to a halt, and several projects were forced to shut down. They had already been on shaky ground, and the flu just finished them off.
If she could stockpile a decent amount of masks and acquire these miracle pills before next year, she’d make a killing.
Henry had no idea what she was thinking. He just said, “These are totally safe, don’t worry. They’re made by my family’s company. They really work.”
Elena held the medicine in her hand.
“How’s this miracle drug selling?”
“Hmm… Not great. Not that many people are catching colds or fevers these days. And even when they do, no one really needs this kind of medicine. So sales have been pretty low.”
“How much does it cost?”
“About twenty per pack. But with the current market, you could probably get it for fifteen or sixteen.”
Elena fell into deep thought.
Henry asked, “Why are you so curious? It’s not like the Delaney family is in the medical business.”
“No reason. Just asking.”
Elena tucked the pills away. The flu outbreak was less than six months away.
In three months, it would be the New Year-and that’s when vendors would start rushing to unload their inventory.
How could she gather enough money to buy masks and the miracle cold medicine in the shortest time possible?
Elena was completely distracted during class.
She had calculated it carefully: renting a warehouse on the outskirts would take a chunk of money. Acquiring masks and medicine would cost even more. She’d also have to coordinate with delivery services, set up an online storefront…
To pull all that off, she’d need at least fifty million.
In her previous life, she’d been married to Zayden for years and had learned a lot about business just for his sake. She was no stranger to how things worked.
But right now, she was a minor. She couldn’t apply for a bank loan.
Go through a loan agency?
Too risky. The moment they found out she was underage, they’d eat her alive.
The thought gave her a headache.
As she mulled over her options, her eyes drifted to the boys horsing around nearby.
Wait a second…
Henry’s family ran a pharmaceutical empire. Colton’s family was in finance, if she remembered correctly.
Lewis’s family owned the biggest logistics company in the world.
And Nolan… the Hayes family dabbled in everything, but they were especially known for real estate.
These four were practically walking financial networks.
With that thought, Elena’s mind started racing.
During class, she kept glancing at Colton.
Colton, meanwhile, was folding his test paper into a paper airplane and lazily chucking it at the blackboard.
The teacher was long used to this and didn’t bother saying anything.
Eventually, Colton seemed to notice her gaze. He frowned and turned to look at her.
But Elena quickly lowered her head, pretending she hadn’t been looking at him at all.
After class, Colton caught her looking again and went straight to the point. “You’ve been staring at me all period. What do you want?”
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