Suddenly, I Am Rich

By the time Gray reached the Lancaster estate, it was already 1 in the afternoon. The maid greeted him at the door and said Chloe was already in the study. It was just the same as usual.

When Gray stepped inside the study, he found Chloe seated by the table. Her hair was tied up in a loose bun, showing her flawless skin as she flipped through her notes with an unbothered look on her face.

”You’re early, Gray,” Chloe said without looking up.

”I could say the same about you,” Gray replied, setting his bag down.

”Yeah. I wasn’t doing anything today, so I came here early instead.” Chloe grinned.

Gray pulled out a chair and sat across from her. He didn’t say anything at first. Instead, he reached into his bag and pulled out a stack of review sheets.

”How are your grades looking?” he asked after a second, casually flipping to the second page of the review sheet that he got.

Chloe shrugged her shoulders, but it was a light one. It was not like the ones she gave when she was still struggling.

”Better,” she said with a smile lacing her lips. ”Much better. The last three quizzes were all above ninety.”

Gray gave her a slight nod, clearly pleased.

”That’s what I wanted to hear.”

A small notification popped up before Gray’s eyes just then.

[Ding!]

[Mission Update]

[Mission: Get Chloe Lancaster’s Grades Up.]

[Objective: Help Chloe achieve a 20% improvement in her overall academic performance within one month.]

[Reward: +2 Influence | One Fully-Furnished Condo Unit with a City View.]

[Remaining Time: 14 Days]

[Progress: 17%]

Gray stared at the floating screen for a second, then dismissed it quickly.

He was close to accomplishing the mission. Just three percent left, and the condo was within his reach.

And that 3% would be fulfilled only if Chloe did well in her upcoming midterm exams.

That will be next week. So that meant no slacking off for him and also for Chloe.

”All right,” Gray said, tapping the desk lightly to get her attention. ”We’ll start with calculus and move on to business theories. We’ll be busy so no complaints, okay?”

”We’ll do that for three hours straight.” Chloe groaned.

”Yup.” Gray chuckled. ”You’ll survive.”

”I’m not so sure...”

”Too bad. Midterms are in a week. We’re not playing around anymore.”

Chloe rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. She opened her notebook and grabbed a pen.

As they started the session, Gray was stricter than usual. He corrected her faster, didn’t let her slide with vague answers, and made her redo every question she hesitated on.

At one point, Chloe gave him a look that said, ”Are you serious?”

Gray simply replied with, ”Dead serious.”

He knew he had to push her. If she passed with good grades next week, not only would she help him accomplish his mission, but it would also be a huge step for her.

After the session ended mid-afternoon, Gray stepped out into the estate’s garden for a little breather. Chloe invited him for a quick snack, and while it was still being prepared, he excused himself first.

Gray was alone in the garden. He was looking at the greenery all around. The wind was soft, brushing against the trees in the distance.

Gray tucked his hands into his pockets and tilted his head slightly toward the sky. His eyes narrowed against the soft light through the clouds.

The Lancaster estate was really beautiful. He had no words to describe it, other than the word, perfect.

For a second, he almost forgot where he was.

Everything was silent, when suddenly, he heard the soft click of heels behind him.

Gray turned his head just in time to see a familiar figure approaching from the side path. The girl walked with grace and ease. It was someone he hadn’t seen in quite a while now.

”Emily,” Gray said, blinking as he straightened up his back.

Emily looked just as elegant as ever. She wore a fitted white blouse tucked into high-waisted beige slacks, her long dark hair falling smoothly over her shoulder. She paused when she saw him, and for a moment, she looked surprised to see Gray.

Slowly, a small smile appeared on Emily’s face.

”Well,” she said. ”I didn’t expect to run into you here.”

”Me too,” Gray offered her a polite nod.

”I was just taking a short break after the session.”

Emily stepped closer, her eyes subtly scanning him.

”It’s been a while,” she said.

”It has,” Gray admitted, and then let out a small breath. ”You look well.”

”So do you.” Her gaze flicked to the garden behind him. ”You like our garden?”

”Yup.” Gray chuckled under his breath. ”It’s nice here.”

Emily smiled softly this time.

”Chloe said you’ve been helping her a lot,” Emily said, her voice lighter now. ”She’s doing better in school. That’s good.”

”Yeah,” Gray nodded. ”She’s been putting in the effort. It’s easy to teach someone who actually wants to learn.”

”Still,” Emily added, tilting her head. ”It’s been... what, a week? Since the last time we really talked?”

”Yeah. Something like that.” Gray looked at her and nodded once.

Emily folded her arms loosely over her chest, her expression unreadable for a moment.

Then she glanced back toward the house.

”Well,” she said, eyes meeting his again, ”I’m glad to see you, Gray.”

He gave her a small smile. ”Me too.”

Emily didn’t say anything for a moment. She just stood there, her gaze softening as she looked at him a little longer.

”I heard about the Riverside Branch,” she said after a quiet beat.

”Oh?”

Emily nodded and chuckled.

”Congratulations, Gray. That’s not a small thing.”

Gray blinked, caught off guard for a second. ”Thanks,” he said. ”It still feels kind of surreal, to be honest.”

”I imagine it would,” Emily replied. ”Owning a business at your age isn’t exactly normal. Especially not with that kind of backing.”

”Yeah,” Gray said with a chuckle. ”Right now, it’s just reading files and making sure I don’t mess anything up.”

”Marcus said you’ll be officially starting next Monday, but you’ll be handling prep work this week.” Emily nodded once

”Yup,” Gray sighed. ”He said I need to learn everything on my own.”

Emily laughed under her breath.

Gray shook his head.

”He’s giving me a bunch of files this week. There were recent reports, vendor lists, floor layouts, operations manuals—basically everything that he didn’t give me last time.”

”Goodluck,” Emily chuckled even more. ”Don’t die.”

Gray laughed even more at what she said.

”Don’t worry. I won’t.”