Chapter 114: How to Pass a Quiz Without Studying
Chapter 114: How to Pass a Quiz Without Studying
The two had clearly arrived together.
Mia’s expression immediately became complicated.
She wasn’t angry.
At least, not yet.
But the sight of another girl stepping out of Lucas’s passenger seat first thing in the morning left an uncomfortable feeling in her chest.
Meanwhile, Naomi had no idea who Mia was.
She simply thanked Lucas one last time before heading toward the dormitory entrance.
As she passed by Mia, she couldn’t help but glance at her.
The girl was beautiful.
Very beautiful.
But what caught Naomi’s attention wasn’t her appearance.
It was the way she was looking at Lucas.
Almost instinctively, Naomi understood.
Women were often sensitive to these things.
Especially when another woman liked a man.
The look in Mia’s eyes wasn’t curiosity.
This girl liked Lucas.
The realization flashed through Naomi’s mind.
Before she could think any further, she entered the dormitory building.
Outside, Mia slowly walked toward the Bugatti.
Her eyes never left Lucas.
For some reason, the image of Naomi stepping out of the passenger seat kept replaying inside her head.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Just as Lucas was about to drive away, he noticed Mia standing there with a strange expression.
The look on her face practically screamed:
Explain yourself.
Lucas immediately felt a headache coming.
He had been running around since last night.
Fighting drunk thugs.
Going to the police station.
Taking Naomi home.
Waking up early.
Rushing to school.
And now this.
Honestly, he didn’t even know where to begin.
Most importantly~
He was already running late.
Lucas lowered the window and forced a smile.
"Morning."
Mia crossed her arms.
"Morning?"
"That’s all?"
Lucas rubbed his forehead helplessly.
"It isn’t what you’re thinking."
Mia narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Oh?"
"Then what am I thinking?"
Lucas suddenly felt like every answer would be the wrong answer.
Before he could continue, Mia opened the passenger door and sat down directly.
Lucas blinked.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting a ride."
Mia fastened her seatbelt naturally.
Then she patted the dashboard.
"I like this car."
"When did you get it?"
Lucas started the engine.
"Last week."
The powerful engine rumbled softly.
Mia nodded.
Then she got straight to the point.
"So."
"Who’s the girl?"
Lucas already knew this question was coming.
As the Bugatti slowly pulled away from the dormitory area, he explained.
"Naomi."
"The Combat Club president."
Mia paused.
She knew who Naomi was.
A pretty girl.
Good figure.
Popular.
Not someone easy to ignore.
Lucas continued.
"She got stranded last night."
"Some drunk idiots tried to mess with her."
"I happened to run into it."
"So I helped."
Mia listened quietly.
Lucas then briefly explained the fight, the police station, and how Naomi couldn’t get back into the dormitory because it was already closed.
"So I let her stay at my place for one night."
"And dropped her off this morning."
The car became quiet.
Lucas glanced sideways.
"That’s the whole story."
Mia stared out the window.
After a few seconds, she suddenly laughed.
"You know."
"What?"
"I actually believe you."
Lucas looked surprised.
"That easy?"
Mia rolled her eyes.
"You think I’m stupid?"
"If you were really trying to hide something, you wouldn’t be explaining it like this."
Then her voice softened.
"Besides..."
"It wasn’t really because of her."
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
Mia looked away awkwardly.
"I just missed you."
The words came out much softer than she intended.
Even Mia felt embarrassed after saying them.
Her ears immediately turned red.
Lucas couldn’t help laughing.
"So that’s what this is about?"
"Shut up."
Mia lightly punched his shoulder.
The tension inside the car disappeared instantly.
A few minutes later, they arrived at Mia’s faculty building.
Lucas parked near the entrance.
Before getting out, Mia suddenly became quiet.
Then she turned toward him.
Lucas was confused.
"What?"
Without saying anything, Mia leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him.
Lucas froze.
The soft fragrance from her hair immediately filled the car.
Mia rested her head against his chest.
Neither of them spoke.
For a few seconds, only their breathing could be heard.
Lucas could even feel her heartbeat.
Fast.
Very fast.
Then Mia whispered softly.
"You still owe me a night."
Before Lucas could respond, she immediately opened the door.
Her face was completely red.
She practically fled from the car.
Watching her run away, Lucas sat there for a moment.
A strange smile slowly appeared on his face.
He genuinely didn’t understand girls sometimes.
She had just seen another woman getting out of his car.
Yet instead of getting angry~
She seemed even more interested.
Women really were impossible to understand.
Lucas shook his head with amusement.
Then he checked the time.
His expression instantly changed.
"Damn."
"The quiz."
The Bugatti roared to life again.
A few minutes later, Lucas arrived at his faculty building.
After parking the car, he grabbed his bag and sprinted toward the classroom.
Hopefully he wasn’t too late.
By the time Lucas reached the classroom, the quiz had already started.
The moment he stepped into the hallway and saw everyone bent over their papers, he felt his heart sink.
"Damn."
He was late.
Very late.
While walking toward the classroom door, Lucas was already preparing excuses in his head.
Traffic.
Car trouble.
Overslept.
Helping an old lady cross the road.
He was mentally sorting through every possible lie that sounded believable.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the classroom door.
Immediately, dozens of students looked up.
The room fell silent for a moment.
Dr. Hannah was standing near the front, monitoring the quiz.
Lucas braced himself.
"Sorry, Professor, I~"
Before he could finish, Dr. Hannah simply glanced at him.
"Take your seat."
"...Huh?"
Lucas blinked.
That was it?
No lecture?
No deduction of marks?
No public embarrassment?
Just... take your seat?
For a moment, he wondered if he was dreaming.
The other students were equally surprised.
Everyone knew Dr. Hannah was usually strict about attendance and punctuality.
Yet somehow Lucas had walked in halfway through a quiz and gotten away with it.
What Lucas didn’t know was that news traveled surprisingly fast around campus.
Especially among faculty members.
The story about him getting Director Felix fired had already spread through several departments.
Nobody knew exactly how much influence Lucas possessed.
Nobody knew who he was connected to.
What they did know was that a department director had lost his job shortly after offending him.
That was enough.
Most lecturers genuinely cared about their careers.
No one was eager to become the next cautionary tale.
Dr. Hannah wasn’t afraid of Lucas.
But she also saw no reason to create unnecessary trouble.
So she simply let him sit down.
Lucas walked toward the back row under the curious gazes of his classmates.
Max immediately moved his paper slightly.
Ben did the same.
Luke gave him a thumbs up.
The brotherhood was alive and well.
Lucas sat down and looked at the quiz.
His expression instantly froze.
"What the hell is this?"
He recognized maybe three questions.
And even those three looked suspicious.
This wasn’t a quiz anymore.
This was an assassination attempt.
Without hesitation, Lucas activated the ancient survival technique known to all college students.
Strategic observation.
In other words~
Copying.
Very carefully.
Very professionally.
Max’s paper covered half the answers.
Ben covered the other half.
Lucas became a human scanner.
His eyes moved back and forth between their papers with frightening efficiency.
Whenever Max coughed, Lucas knew to look left.
Whenever Ben tapped his pen twice, Lucas knew to look right.
The teamwork was so smooth it almost looked rehearsed.
At some point, the quiz stopped feeling like an individual assessment.
It felt like a group project.
A highly illegal group project.
Even Luke occasionally whispered a formula under his breath.
Lucas almost laughed.
If the professor ever discovered what was happening in the back row, all four of them would probably be expelled together.
Still.
By the end of the quiz, Lucas had somehow managed to fill every answer sheet.
Whether the answers were correct was another matter entirely.
But at least the paper wasn’t blank.
That was already a victory.
When the bell finally rang, everyone released a collective sigh of relief.
The papers were collected.
The students immediately began discussing answers.
Lucas wisely chose not to participate.
The less he knew, the better.
Max stretched lazily.
"Easy."
Ben nodded seriously.
"Definitely passing."
Lucas looked at them.
"You two copied from each other too, didn’t you?"
The three of them stared at each other.
Then burst out laughing.
Just as Lucas stood up from his chair, a familiar voice called out from outside the classroom.
"Lucas."
The laughter stopped.
The boys immediately turned toward the door.
Standing there was Maya.
Her appearance instantly attracted attention.
Students walking through the hallway slowed down.
Several people even stopped completely.
The student council president.
The campus beauty.
And one of the most famous girls at Ashford University.
Yet she was standing outside their classroom looking specifically for Lucas.