Love or Die: CEO’ s Daily Dose of Swoon (Cordelia)

Chapter 45

Seeing Cordelia's bewildered expression, Merry didn't hesitate. She whipped out her smartphone, opened her browser, and scrolled through photos until she found one of her heartthrob on the cover of a famous men's magazine.

There he was, draped casually in a white toga that looked ready to slip off his shoulders at any moment, a hint of mischief in his eye. A beauty spot shaped like a teardrop just below his eye added to his enigmatic allure. His gaze was intense, staring off into the distance, and his lips curved in a half-smile that seemed to reach through the screen and beckon the viewer closer.

"Hot, right? Tell me you wouldn't want a piece of that!" Merry gushed, practically swooning over the image.

Cordelia just stared at it.

The man was undeniably handsome but in a completely different way from Everard, who had this dangerous, edgy vibe...Why was she even thinking about Everard?

Shaking her head to clear the thought, Cordelia was about to return to her studies when she overheard a conversation nearby.

"Merry, I heard you moved out from your folks' place. You're not staying on campus, so where are you crashing now?"

Merry rolled her eyes. "I got an apartment."

"Wow, you got cash? Didn't your family cut you off?" the person asked, surprised.

Merry snorted. "Do you think I lived for eighteen years without saving a dime?"

The other person just uttered an "Oh" and fell silent.

But Cordelia remembered Paulina had offered Merry a bank card after the incident with the stolen class funds, which Merry had declined. Not wanting to pry into her friend's personal life, Cordelia hadn't asked any further questions. But Merry might be having money troubles.

Casually, Cordelia tapped Merry on the shoulder. "You short on cash? I can lend you some."

Merry glanced around and leaned closer, whispering, "Lia, I'm making my own money now. Don't worry about it."

Did she say she was making money?

Cordelia blinked in confusion. "What?"

Lowering her voice, Merry confessed, "I've started streaming online for cash."

After a pause, she added with anxiety, "Lia, you won't think less of me, will you?"

Once the darling heiress of the Jordan family, she was a streamer then.

Cordelia shook her head slowly. "Not at all."

Merry breathed a sigh of relief.

As the bell signaling the end of the period rang, Cordelia, with Hanley and Juliana, stood up, grabbed their books, and walked out amid envious whispers from their classmates.

The mathematics and physics competition dates were fast approaching, and the trio had stopped attending regular classes to focus full-time on their preparations.

Cordelia typically spent her mornings on physics and afternoons on math. But today, driven by a need to validate some hypothesis, she headed to the math class instead.

Trailing behind her, Juliana let out a relieved sigh. "Is she going all-in on math now? Has she given up on physics?"

The math contest would be around the 18th or 19th, with the physics competition hot on its heels. With such tight scheduling, most would choose to focus on one subject.

Hanley frowned at the thought. "Smart move on her part, if she has."

The Galaxy Math Whiz Competition had shattered Hanley's pride, but he wasn't one to hold grudges. He had grown to respect Cordelia's prowess in math.

As he entered the classroom and passed by Cordelia's desk, he saw that it was devoid of any math problems but a single sheet of blank paper on which she was furiously scribbling something.

Hanley raised an eyebrow in confusion and sat behind her.

For the rest of the morning, he watched as Cordelia wrote and sketched, occasionally crumpling draft papers and tossing them aside, sometimes pausing to ponder deeply.

During the break, she even dashed to the school library to borrow a book titled Batra's Life, which Hanley recognized as a famous mathematical challenge, but what did it have to do with her math competition?

And it wasn't just the morning. Throughout the afternoon, Cordelia continued with her mysterious project, which was incomprehensible to Hanley.

When Latham, the math teacher, stopped by and saw what she was up to, he was shocked. "Cordelia, are you trying to prove Batra's Conjecture?"

She nodded.

Latham chuckled wryly. "Scientists have been tackling that for over a hundred years without success. Many have failed at the final hurdle. It's not something you should be wasting your time on. If you're interested, you should wait until you're in college and have access to higher-level math education..."

He trailed off, remembering Cordelia had self-studied the university math curriculum.

Despite Latham's advice, Cordelia was determined to solve it. "Mr. Latham, I just want to give it a try."

Latham sighed, unable to sway the prodigy. "Just make sure you get your math competition work done."

"No problem," Cordelia assured him.

After Latham left, Hanley couldn't hold back any longer. "Cordelia," he called out. Exclusive © content by N(ô)ve/l/Drama.Org.

She didn't respond.

Taking a deep breath, Hanley continued, "You can't let one first place make you dismiss the National Math League. Your attitude is coming off as flippant and careless! The Galaxy Math Whiz Competition was off-syllabus, and I know you studied beyond that, but that doesn't make your win entirely legitimate. There are countless math prodigies out there. Take Jake from Greenmeadow High. Last year, he won first prize at the National League and almost got himself to the winter camp. He's one of the favorites to win this year! Do you have any respect for the competition at all?"

On the verge of a breakthrough, Cordelia was increasingly irritated by the interruption.

Even the most stoic folks couldn't help but snap back, her misty, cold gaze sweeping across the room. "Zip it."

Hanley froze, his mouth clamping shut instinctively.

As he came to his senses, his face flushed with irritation. He had offered a friendly warning, but she treated his goodwill as worthless.

Well, let the harsh reality teach her a lesson!

-

Cordelia was stuck on the same problem until six in the evening.

Her entire hypothesis would be nearly complete if she could prove this tiny logic!

But this point required knowledge she had never encountered before.

In Greenmeadow, she couldn’t buy such reference books, and the internet was even less likely to have such obscure materials.

She asked Latham for advice, but he was helpless, too. "That kind of stuff is for professional researchers only. Where would ordinary folks like us find it? You’d better focus on your math competition instead!"

Even the wealthiest families couldn't get access to leading researchers!

Cordelia's brow furrowed in frustration.

Finally, she turned her attention to her phone and typed a message in the Pioneers Group chat.

LearnLover sent a message. [Does anyone have a book on Batra's Conjecture?]

The group quickly buzzed with a reply.

Mr. All-Round replied, [I've got one.]

Cordelia's eyes lit up. [Could I borrow or buy it from you?]

Mr. All-Round smiled. [Not for sale, but...]

LearnLover asked, [But what?]

Mr. All-Round offered, [Call me dear, and it's yours to borrow.]

-

PS: If I call you 'darling', will you throw me some likes and leave comments?