bRoy /bscoffed, “Did Shermaine put some kind of spell on you?”

With a thud, the filended heavily on the desk. Joshua pulled out a cigarette from the drawer, flicked his lighter with practiced ease, and soonb, /bwhite smoke swirled around him. “You’re blind, but I’m not,” he said.

‘Why can’t he just talk straight? Always has to take a jab at me,‘ Roy thought.

Roy was the type of guy who couldn’t be easily swayed once he made up his mind about something. Stubborn as a mule, he wouldn’t back off until he hit ba /bdead end.

He didn’t like Shermaine to begin with, and after seeing that post where she was being ridiculed by the female students of Basterel University, his opinion of her only worsened.

His negative first impression wasn’t without reason. Not long after Shermaine returned to the Jean family, Roy had run into her while she was out bwith /bWendelyn and a few other women for afternoon tea. Wendelyn had been sweet and attentive to Shermaine the entire time.

But then, out of nowhere, Shermaine grabbed one of the women by the hairb, /bmmed her face into the cake on the tableb, /band poured a cup of cappino down her throat. Grinning like a little devil, she asked, “How does bit /btasteb?” /b

The woman had been all friendly and warm, and yet Shermaine just went off on her for no reason. Afterward, Wendelyn kept apologizing to the woman, clearly cleaning up Shermaine’s mess.

Roy only saw a small part of the story. What he didn’t know was that the cappino had been spiked with chili water and mustard by the woman.

Shermaine had already sensed the trap and wasn’t about to fall for it. Since the gathering was meant to hurt her, of course, she wouldn’t go easy on them.

Roy raised an eyebrow. “What if she loses?b” /b

Joshua exhaled another puff of smoke. “She won’t.”

“They made a bet. The loser has to grant the winner a request. If Wendelyn didn’t think she could win, why would she even make such a bet?” Roy even seemed a little touched as he added, “Joshua, she’s really going all in for you.”

Joshua’s patience snapped. “Get out,” he ordered. If it were anyone else saying that, bhe /bwould’ve probably kicked them out by now to avoid the

headache.

Realizing that Joshua was angry, Roy swallowed nervously and muttered, “I mean, I know Shermaine’s prettier than Wendelyn, but she’s really not as impressive in other ways. Joshua, you’re not losing your mind and falling for her, are you?”

‘That can’t be true,‘ he thought. ‘Joshua not only distances himself from women; he just doesn’t care about love or romance. If he were to marry, he should pick someone who truly suits him.

‘Wendelyn is the perfect match for him–she adores him and is exceptional in every way. Shermaine doesn’t evene bcl /b

to her.”

Joshua flicked the ash off his cigarette. “It’s just a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

“Then why are you treating her so well?” Roy, ba /bcar enthusiast, couldn’t help but sound a little jealousb. /bb“/bI know you’re nning to give her the Phantom, of which there are only ten in the world, And Bradley is on his way to deliver it to the Jean residence.”

Joshua remained indifferent. “It’s ba /bsmall token to celebrate her return.”

Roy thought. ‘Seriously? That’s ba /b150–million dor car we’re talking about? Why

on’t you just buy her a while you’re bat /bbit/bb?/bb‘ /b

Roy pushed further. “Hey, my birthday’sing up. How about a Ghost instead? It’s not that pricey–just b120 /bmillion dorsb, /ba little bcheaper /bbthan /bbthe /b

Phantom.”

bJoshua /bbdidn’t /beven look bup/bb. /bb“/bGet lost.”

*****

A match between experts canst for hours.

However, Wendelyn’s little cheating device was clearly no match for Shermaine.

It was true that some machines were more urate than the human brain, but this one was up against Shermaine–someone with one of the sharpest minds around.

By the mid–game, despite the crisp autumn air, Wendelyn’s palms were slick with sweat. Her cheating tool made every move effortlessb–/bshe didn’t even need to think, just followed its instructions blindly.

And yet, she felt like she couldn’t breathe, overwhelmed by a heavy sense of pressure. ‘No way. Shermaine can’t possibly beat aputer, she bthought/b.

Maybe that was true for others, but when it came to Shermaine, there was always ba /bchance.

At this point, it wasn’t just Wendelyn feeling the pressure. Even the viewers watching the live stream could sense the calm yet predatory baura /bsurrounding Shermaine–one wrong move from Wendelyn, and it would be game overb, /bwhich was utterly terrifying.

They had once believed the rumors that Shermaine was useless and cluelessb, /bbut now bthey /brealized just how amazing she truly was.

Just then, a shiny VIP badge appeared in the chat, and everyone froze when they saw it was Trevor Sandersb, /ba Grandmaster.

Last year, Trevor represented the Republic of Wallington and took home the championship, bing the youngest professional yer to ever im bthe /btitle. And he was only 21 years old. Plus, he had 8 million followers on YouTube, where he streamed puzzle games.

The moment Trevor entered the chat, the viewership skyrocketed to over a million and kept climbing. Within just a few minutes, it hit more than six

million.

In the chat, someone couldn’t help but ask: [Trevor, who do you think is going to win?]

[Yeah, I’m curious too.]

i[/iording to the board, they’re evenly matched, but I think Wendy has a better chance of winning. Look at Shermaine–her moves are getting bslower/b. She doesn’t know what to do next.]

[There’s no way Wendy will lose. Shermaine’s nothing.]

Trevor responded: [She’s nothing? Then you are a joke. You don’t know a thing about chess, bso /bzip it. It’ll just make you look ignorant.]

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