PAMPERED

139 Rival in the future?

Penny decided not to talk to Ray and completely treated him as non–existent. A person who wouldn’t mind risking his reputation for a petty reason was not worth the death of her brain cells.

“Penny, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Ray apologized half–heartedly, but she chose to enjoy

her last snacks and ignored him. “You said you only have five of those, but that’s the fifth one. If I count the one you gave me, that’s six. I’m still hungry.”

Still no answer.

Ray eventually gave up. He didn’t know what came to him and spouted such lines. But he knew he didn’t want to offend her that way.

For a good five minutes, silence enveloped the old and dusty classroom. Penny didn’t even give him a glance throughout while Ray ended up staring at her.

“Hey,” he called, this time, his tone was a little solemn. “I’m sorry about the fans and what they did to you. I’m not bragging about their dismissal, but I want you to know that I didn’t want that to happen. It’s a lesson learned.”

Strange for him to say this, but Ray always thought he was even smarter than most adults. It was. why he liked playing because he often thought there was nothing to learn anymore.

“I’m really sorry,” he repeated sincerely. “I already talked to the other members of the fan club,” “It’s not them.

“Hmm?”

Penny slowly set her eyes on him. “The students who were kicked out weren’t the people behind the flowerpot. They were just victims as well.”

“What do you mean by that? I got their confession on record.” He frowned. “You might’ve moved on from it, but I can’t just do that.”

“They talked to me last week.”

“What?” this immediately didn’t sit well with him. Before he could jump to a conclusion, she continued.

“They didn’t ambush me to intimidate me, but they explained their side of the story. Because of that, we found out that someone pretended to be a part of the club,” she explained, jumping from the chair and standing in front of her bag.

Penny took out a small box before she advanced to the desk he was sitting on. “Your fan club has a sophisticated and organized system. If you’re going to apologize to someone, you should apologize to them.”

She stopped in front of him and handed the box to him. Confused, Ray still accepted the plain small box.

139 Rival in the future?

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Evidence.” She smacked her lips and held the straps of her bag. “That broken piece of the keychain fell at the same time the flowerpot fell on Lily. Fortunately, keychains from your club have serial numbers. I already told the people involved about the serial number and they’re probably checking who owns it as we speak.”

“I’m not sure about the next course of action, but I hope the school will deal with this justly, she continued. “You also owe them an apology for not investigating further. Though I appreciate that you wanted to settle things quickly.”

After saying her piece, Penny took a step back and turned on her heel.

Ray, on the other hand, opened the box. The broken piece had his face on it and on the back. were the engraved numbers.

“Penny” he called without looking at her. “Do you know the person who did it?”

Penny glanced over her shoulder, a little taken aback. How did he know?

Ray slowly turned his head to her and smiled subtly. “I just know someone who always falls into such terrible tricks, but still ends up doing the right thing without any lingering vengeance. And that person is always sad because those who scheme behind him were the people who should be the closest to him.”

Hearing him say those words somehow struck her in a way she didn’t expect. It wasn’t like she knew the person he was talking about, but from experience, there was this sense of familiarity. “What should I do?” he asked, smiling wryly. “Do I have to be lenient?*

Penny pursed her lips before she said, “Do what you think is right.” This time, she offered him a short, albeit genuine smile.

No words were said between them anymore as she strode off without looking back. Ray remained in the same spot, staring at the door even when she was out of his line of sight.

Slowly, he gazed down at the piece of evidence in between his fingers and smiled. “She reminds me of Renren

Ray idled in the old classroom before he jumped out of the desk. After dusting himself off, he walked out of the classroom. He thought since the bell rang minutes ago, Penny’s brothers were already back in their classroom.

He would just hide again during lunch, was what he told himself.

Instead of heading to the star section classroom, Ray decided to go to the headmaster. It might be a little embarrassing, but they had to make things right. He might not know who was behind the flowerpot, but he would surely know since Penny said she already told his fans about the serial number.

He sauntered through the hallway leisurely, not expecting any more big events. His brows rose when he saw a figure walking in his direction.

139 Rival in the future?

‘Isn’t that Atlas’s little brother?‘he thought and quickly recognized Hugo. Heh. I heard he and Max don’t get along well.

Ray smiled from car to ear until his eyes were squinting again. “Hello there, Second Brother

Bennet –”

Much to Ray’s surprise, before he could even finish his greeting, a pair of hands grabbed him by the collar and pinned him against the wall. His eyes popped out of their sockets. For a moment, he was mind–boggled at the unexpected anger from Hugo. 2

“Woah, woah!” Ray raised his hands, surprised. “May I know what did I do to deserve this anger?” Hugo’s eyes were sharp and glinting. “I’ll say this once. You and the star section can act as if you’re the only one that matters in this school. However, toy with my sister again, and I’m going to make sure that the golden seat you love will be replaced by a wheelchair.” 2

“Haha. Hugo Bennet, I’m not toying with anyone.” Ray chuckled, unfazed by Hugo’s warning. “If your sister is part of my fan club, then you should know I don’t

“Penelope Bennet, Hugo breathed out. “You don’t know her?” 2

If Ray didn’t even know Penny’s name, then Hugo might end up straggling this guy. After all, Ray stirred trouble for Penny, and he didn’t even have the decency to know her name.

Once that name was mentioned, Ray’s expression slowly changed. His relaxed smile faded, replaced by a cunning smirk.

“Penny is your sister? Wow! That’s weird. I thought her family name was Reed.” Ray slowly clasped Hugo’s wrist and leaned his face closer, smirking. “Call her sister now, but have other plans later? Oh, Hugo Bennet. I see I got a rival in a few years. 7

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