Chapter 3

The next morning, as soon as I walked into the classroom, Lily came strutting over in her high heels.

She looked down at me haughtily, wearing her usual arrogant expression.

"Connor, I'm not feeling well and need to go to the hospital for a check-up. Can you lend me a few thousand dollars?"

The eyes of our classmates were drawn to us, but no one seemed surprised.

Who in school didn't know about my infatuation with the campus queen?

Lily came from an ordinary family. Her father was a construction worker, and her mother worked as a sales clerk in a department store. She had even been receiving financial aid for low-income students.

Ever since I publicly declared my intention to pursue Lily, this woman had been treating me like an ATM.

Designer bags, cosmetics, luxury items – she never asked for them directly, always under the guise of "borrowing."

In our freshman year, she would at least write IOUs.

But after "borrowing" five thousand dollars from me at once to buy luxury goods, she became completely shameless.

In just three short years, she had swindled nearly thirty thousand dollars from me, with only about seven thousand covered by IOUs.

Looking at her smug face now, I felt nothing but disgust.

In my previous life, I must have been blind to fawn over a woman like this.

I had kept those IOUs, foolishly thinking I was preserving her handwriting.

"No," I said coldly. "And it's time you paid back what you've already borrowed."

Lily froze, her fake eyelashes fluttering dramatically. "What did you say?"

A wave of gasps echoed through the classroom.

Someone whispered, "Did Connor take the wrong meds? Is he done being a doormat?"

I pulled out a stack of IOUs from my drawer and leisurely flipped through them.

"Just pay back the principal. I'll waive all the interest you added."

Lily loved to add phrases like "2% monthly interest" to the IOUs, as if it made her look more responsible.

Her face clouded over, and she suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"Hah, Connor, who do you think you are? It's your privilege that I even borrowed money from you. Don't take yourself so seriously!"

"There are plenty of rich guys who'd love to give me money. You think I need anything from a nouveau riche like you?"

Lily stepped closer in her high heels, pointing a red-nailed finger at my chest.

I stared back at this bitter and sarcastic campus queen with a blank expression.

I couldn't believe how blind I had been before.

"So many people are giving you money? That's great. So, when are you planning to pay back the first IOU for $3,200?" I waved the piece of paper in my hand. "There's still over ten thousand more waiting for you to deal with."

Seeing that I kept mocking her, Lily became furious.

"It's just some dirty money. What are you so smug about? You think I'd ever agree to be with you just because you give me money?"

"In my eyes, you're nothing but a doormat, a dog who's been licking my boots for three years!"

Lily glared at me, her eyes venomous.

"Someone like you? I wouldn't even look at the campus security guard over you! Even if you got down on your knees and begged, I wouldn't give you a second glance!"

With that vicious remark, she stormed out of the room.

The other students in the classroom looked at each other in disbelief.

Some whispered, "The campus queen went too far with those words."

"Bro, what's going on? Did you finally wake up? Didn't you just say yesterday that you'd chase after the queen for life?" My roommate Henry looked shocked.

I calmly replied, "I just suddenly saw things clearly. Now I just want to settle the accounts. Nothing else matters."

"Good for you, man! You've finally come to your senses!" Henry gave me a thumbs up. "But you'd better be careful. That girl is bad news."

I knew Lily wouldn't let this go.

Sure enough, before noon, she had already hooked up with Brandon, ready to cause trouble for me.