Chapter 403

Claire didn’t even have to turn around to know it was Lance calling her.

“What’s up?” she said, glancing at him and then at Cindy standing by his side.

“We’re making lunch at home,” Lance said. “You should come eat with us. No more takeout today p>

He looked proud, like he was doing her a big favor.

Cindy jumped in right away. “Yeah, Claire, come eat with us p>

Claire raised an eyebrow. “Wait, Lance, can you even cook p>

Lance looked a bit annoyed. “Well, I can’t, but Cindy can.” He hated it when Claire acted like he was useless. “I can help out, you know, be her assistant p>

Cindy nodded, a little shy but also pleased. “It’s true. Back when we lived in the countryside, my grandma couldn’t cook, so I did it. I started teaching myself when I was eight p>

Claire remembered hearing from Pandora and Patti that Cindy learned how to cook really young, but it’s not like she was in the kitchen every single day. Pandora always worried Cindy would hurt herself and usually had Patti do most of the cooking. When things got really busy in the fields, they’d just have Cindy heat up whatever food was already prepared.

Lance, though, seemed to hear something completely different. To him, it sounded almost tragic. He felt a stab of guilt and sympathy for Cindy-she grew up in the country, and by eight, she was already making her own meals. Meanwhile, Claire at eight had tutors and pretty dresses and spent her days learning piano, painting, and ballet, living like a little princess.

The idea of letting Cindy cook for Claire, who’d never struggled the same way, suddenly made Lance really uncomfortable.

He changed his mind so fast, it surprised everyone. “Never mind. Come on, Cindy, let’s go home p>

He didn’t even look at Claire as he turned away, and Cindy and Claire just stared at him, completely baffled.

Claire honestly couldn’t care less, but Cindy was genuinely confused.

After that day, Lance seemed like a different person. Whenever he had free time he would show up to

make lunch for Cindy. He actuallet

tried his best to learn how to cook, and even if nothing turned out the way he planned Cindy always praised him like he was a hulike

professional chef. If he couldn’t

make it in person, he’d send lunch to

Cindy at school with their driver.

Naturally, everyone noticed. It became a hot topic, and other students were straight- up jealous.

Rose took every chance she got to talk to Cindy about it. “Wow, Cindy, Lance is so sweet to you. He was always arguing with Claire-—he never treated her this well. You’re both his sisters, but it’s obvious you’re the real one. Blood ties just can’t be replaced p>

Her friends all agreed, crowding around Cindy and nodding enthusiastically. They could all see it: Lance absolutely doted on his real sister They figured this made Cindy someone worth getting close to. With a brother like Lance backing her, Cindy’s future looked bright Some of them joked that maybe she’d have a say in the family business one day.

All the attention went straight to Cindy’s head. “Maybe Lance just worries I’m not eating right at the to

cafeteria,” she said, pretende

sound modest but clearly enjoying the praise. And he probably thinks it’ll be too much if I have to cook for myself after a long day of classes p>

Honestly, Cindy herself couldn’t believe how nice Lance was being lately. She’d been in such a good mood-not even her lower grades seemed to bother her anymore, and she wasn’t even thinking about competing with Claire.

That good mood lasted until the last selection for the International Math Olympiad’s winter camp.

Because everyone knew how sensitive Cindy could be, no one even whispered about the selection in front of her before Claire left for Cabinda. The teachers were especially careful. They were still scarred from the last time Cindy caused a scene and said nothing would risk Claire’s chance to go.

This was the big one. If Claire passed, she’d make it to the international competition, and no one wanted Cindy to mess things up. They all shared the same private worry about what The James Family might try if things didn’t go their way.