Chapter 401

“Raise hell and create a universe?”
Anthony came back after his call, catching the tail end of Adonis’s bragging. He couldn’t help but smirk, his eyes glinting with mischief. “Oh yeah? Just how much chaos can you really stir up?”
Charlotte glanced sideways at Adonis, her face darkening just a bit. “You can leave now.”
Adonis winced and nodded, looking a little sheepish. “Right. On it.”
“Hold up.”
Anthony’s voice cut through just as the two were about to slip away. Charlotte looked at him, curious.
“The X Organization’s lab has been working on brain repair experiments. B20 is the key ingredient for the final phase,” Anthony said calmly.
Jackson and Adonis exchanged a look, both of them stunned. Well, that explained a lot. No wonder they’d almost torn each other apart fighting over B20. Their research was on the exact same track.
But if the two sides worked together, would that put Charlotte at risk? She didn’t seem eager for Anthony to find out too much.
“I need B20. You guys need money. How about we team up?” Anthony sat down right beside Charlotte, peeled a hard-boiled egg for her, and offered it with a coaxing smile. “How does a billion sound?”
“A billion
Adonis’s eyes sparkled like he’d just hit the jackpot. He looked like he was about to jump in and say yes for Charlotte.
Charlotte propped her chin on her palm, taking small, distracted bites of the egg. She gave Anthony a lazy smile. “Anthony, are you short on cash or something?”
Was a billion not enough for him?
Anthony just lifted his eyes, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “Five billion.”
Charlotte finished her milk, nudged the empty glass toward him, and tossed her head back with a little grin. “A hundred billion. I want more.”
“Deal.”
Anthony chuckled, topped off her glass, and as he handed it back, he leaned in so close his lips brushed her ear. His voice was a low,
you know,
magnetic whisper. “But you
that means your your
wedding present
just dropped by a hundred billion.”
Charlotte was mid-sip and almost choked. Her cheeks flushed pink, but she put on a mock-serious face. “Oh? Then you’d better work extra hard and earn it back.”
Anthony just laughed, warm and rich, and gave her waist a playful squeeze. “Just watch me.”
The sugar overload was too much for Jackson and Adonis. They both looked away, unable to handle the flirting.
“Charlotte, Anthony, we’ll head out first. I’ll keep you posted on the partnership,” Jackson said, grabbing Adonis before he could say something embarrassing.
Adonis was in high spirits. With a hundred billion on the table, he suddenly saw Anthony in a whole new right. Handsome rich, spoiling Charlotte… maybe the guy wasn’t so bad after all.
***
Vanguard High School, Class C.
As soon as Charlotte walked in, Shirley barreled toward her like a gust of wind and wrapped her in a tight hug.
“Charlotte, you’re finally back! I missed you so much!”
Charlotte held her bag in one hand and patted Shirley’s head with the other, a soft smile playing on her lips.
“Shirley, let go.”
Before Shirley could protest, Andrew shot up from his seat. He grabbed Shirley by the collar and tugged her back, his expression serious.
“What’s your deal?” Shirley blinked at him, looking indignant.
“You Andrew started, but the words got stuck in his throat when he saw Shirley’s pretty, bright face He stammered a little. “Charlotte’s Anthony’s girlfriend. If he finds out you hugged her, he’ll break your legs.”
Just the mention of Anthony was enough to make Shirley pause, wide-eyed.
Charlotte stood off to the side, watching Andrew’s over-the-top reaction. The smile
on her lips got bigger. There was definitely something weird going on between those two.