Chapter 3

He smiled brightly, but his words were utterly vicious: "So, the final list the university submitted only had my name, Jaxon Hayes, from beginning to end. What good is all his preparation if it was never even seen?"

With that, right in front of my face, he tore that stack of papers—the culmination of my brother's countless nights of blood, sweat, and tears—into two!

"Alex!" Leo cried out, his eyes instantly turning red.

I watched those paper fragments flutter to the ground, and a surge of furious anger shot to my head.

I'd seen shameless people, but never anyone so brazenly shameless!

"You!" I was so angry my blood boiled, and a vein throbbed in my temple.

"Me what, me what?"

Jaxon Hayes casually threw the shredded papers onto the floor, grinding them with the tip of his shoe, a look of vindictive pleasure on his face.

"Annoyed? If you're annoyed, go tell your mom to donate a building to the school! Oh, I forgot, you paupers wouldn't have that kind of money!"

My temples pulsed with rage, and I clenched my fists.

Professor Davis, who stood beside him, immediately sided with him: "Sir, the matter is quite clear. Jaxon Hayes's mother has donated an entire lab building to our university, making a tremendous contribution to the school's research development."

"After careful consideration, the university has decided to award the exchange student spot to the more suitable candidate, Jaxon Hayes."

That sycophantic grin on his face made my stomach churn.

"Professor Davis, is it?" I turned to him, my gaze piercing.

"My brother, Leo Montgomery, achieved the top GPA in his entire year for this exchange spot, participated in a research project that won a national gold medal, and has a near-perfect IELTS score."

"Please tell me, what does this 'more suitable' Jaxon Hayes have?"

Professor Davis stumbled over his words, his face flushing crimson.

Jaxon Hayes suddenly let out an exaggerated laugh: "What do I have? I have my mom! My mom is the matriarch of the Vance family, the CEO of Starlink Technologies! Having money is enough! Understand?"

Starlink Technologies? Matriarch of the Vance family?

I listened to every word that tumbled from his mouth, a cold scoff almost escaping my lips.

The true power behind Starlink Technologies now wasn't Eleanor Montgomery.

"The Vance family of Starlink Technologies?"

I feigned surprise, raising an eyebrow, my tone laced with confusion.

"I think I've heard of them. A very powerful family, indeed. But how come I didn't know the Vance family had a son named Jaxon Hayes?"

My calm demeanor and skepticism clearly caught Jaxon Hayes off guard.

In his mind, an ordinary person hearing the names "Starlink Technologies" and "Vance family" would either show reverence or obsequiousness.

They certainly wouldn't react with my probing curiosity.

He paused, then bristled with indignation: "Who do you think you are, an outsider who needs to know about our Vance family affairs?"

Professor Davis beside him immediately put on a stern face and lectured me: "Sir, please watch your words! Jaxon Hayes's identity has been verified by the university. You are not permitted to spread baseless rumors and cause a scene here!"