Ch. 1..10

Chapter 1

It was the middle of summer.

Inside the Shepard Villa, a young woman sat on an expensive leather sofa, lazily enjoying her bubblegum. Her flawless skin seemed to glisten under the sunlight.

She was as beautiful as a work of art.

She puffed and blew a bubble even larger than her face.

“Bonnie’s just not good enough for me, okay? I’m canceling the wedding!”

The man standing in the doorway threw the young woman a disgusted look.

Bonnie’s mother, Vera Shepard, was alarmed.

“Hadwin, I know I can’t really blame you for this because Bonnie is always fooling around.

“But her grandpa and your grandpa wanted you to marry her. How could you cancel the wedding just like that?”

Vera shot Bonnie a glare.

“Apologize to Hadwin now, and promise that you’ll never fool around again!”

Bonnie popped her bubblegum and looked up defiantly.

“Apologize? He should be the one apologizing to me! He broke his promise to marry me and insulted

me!”

Vera was infuriated.

Before she could say a word, Bonnie continued, “Besides, I’ve never fooled around, okay? He’s the one who’s been cheating on me! So I don’t care if the wedding is canceled anyway.”

“Bonnie! Why, you—”

Vera spoke through clenched teeth.

“Enough, Vera.”

Holding up his hand, Hadwin interrupted and said, “Bonnie’s beauty is only skin deep. I appreciate inner beauty more.

“I’ll never marry someone like her, even if she begs me to. There’s only one girl I’ll ever marry-

He looked upstairs lovingly.

“And that’s Trina.”

“Hadwin!” Moved, Trina Shepard rushed downstairs.

“Trina!” Hadwin strode over to the stairwell and opened his arms.

Trina threw herself into his embrace.

Tears welled up in Trina’s eyes. “I can finally marry you now!”

“I’m sorry, Trina, I should have canceled the wedding sooner.”

“It’s all right. I know you had your reasons…”

As the couple made eyes at each other, Bonnie received a text:

“Ms. Bonita, the research is at its final stage. Elite soldiers have been sent to escort you for your safety. We’re arriving now.”

Bonnie wrote a reply: “Be right out.”

She spat out her bubblegum, got up, and headed toward the door.

Trina, who was secretly watching her, thought Bonnie was leaving because she felt ashamed.

But she didn’t think Bonnie had been humiliated enough.

“Don’t go, Bonnie! I’m sorry for what happened. Hadwin and I love each other. You can just blame me for this, okay? It’s not his fault.”

Bonnie calmly looked over her shoulder.

“Fuck off, bitch,” Bonnie said impassively.

“Won’t you forgive me? Why don’t you hit me so you can feel better?”

Trina took Bonnie’s hand and used it to slap her own face.

“What the hell are you doing, Bonnie? How dare you assault your sister!”

Vera charged over and smacked Bonnie’s hand away.

Bonnie looked down and saw the red mark on her hand.

After a few seconds, she gazed up at Vera.

Vera was her biological mother, but she had always been partial to Trina, who was adopted.

A teary–eyed Trina started to choke up. “It’s not her fault, mom. It’s all on me. I shouldn’t have stolen her fiancé. I-”

Before she could finish, Bonnie interrupted.

“Why would I blame you? You’re a born slut. You can’t help yourself, can you?”

Trina was infuriated, but she couldn’t ruin her nice girl image.

“Trina’s your younger sister, Bonnie! How could you say such a thing?”

Vera looked at Bonnie in disappointment.

Bonnie, however, was impassive.

“She is not my sister.”

20 years ago, Bonnie and Trina were accidentally switched at birth by a nurse.

It wasn’t until five years ago that the truth came to light, and she was brought back to the Shepard family from the countryside.

Vera continued to raise Trina as she didn’t want her to live in poverty.

Instead of making it up to Bonnie, Vera became biased against her due to her rural upbringing.

“How could you say something so hurtful? I might not have given birth to her, but she’s still my daughter. Don’t ever say that again!”

Vera often wished that she had given birth to Trina instead.

Bonnie had heard that many times.

“I need to go. I’m not coming back tonight.”

Bonnie headed to the door.

“What? You’re going out to fool around again?” Vera was angry.

“It’s not like that,” Bonnie replied.

“Then what have you been doing? Spill it!” Vera shouted.

Bonnie pursed her lips with a frown. “It’s classified. I can’t tell you.”

She left the villa before Vera could say another word.

“What did I do to deserve such a daughter?”

Outside, Bonnie reached the gate.

She saw more than a hundred green armored vehicles come roaring over.

Suddenly, a deafening ‘whoop–whoop–whoop‘ was heard, accompanied by gusts

Bonnie looked up and saw a dozen helicopters hovering in the sky, ready for action. of strong wind.

Soldiers dressed in matching camouflage uniforms swiftly descended from the vehicles and surrounded Bonnie in an orderly fashion.

 

Chapter 2

Their leader saluted Bonnie. "Please get in the car, Ms. Bonita."

"Why did you bring so many people here?"

Bonnie scanned her surroundings, noting not only the large number of people but also the heavy weaponry they held.

"You're a national treasure of Arvandor, Ms. Bonita. We can’t let anything happen to you. I would have brought at least ten times more soldiers if you hadn’t said something.”

The man who said that was Brigham Hartley. He wore navy blue epaulets on his shoulders adorned with yellow trim.

He stood tall and had an imposing presence.

"Come on, I'm just going to the research institute. Besides, I can take care of myself, okay?" Bonnie said nonchalantly.

"The whole world is waiting for the results of your research. If you succeed, it’ll be a game-changer for human civilization. We’ll do anything to ensure your safety and keep anyone else from finding out your true identity!" Brigham said, excitedly. He was a huge fan of Bonnie.

Bonnie raised her brow and tried to change the subject.

"Oh, where's Jim?"

"He's gone overseas to join the International Fighting Championship. I'll be in charge of your safety for now."

"Okay, let's go." Bonnie got into the vehicle.

The Shepard family butler heard the commotion and went out to the gate to find out what was going on. He was shocked to see Bonnie being escorted away by soldiers in camouflage.

"Oh, no, ma'am! Ms. Bonnie’s been taken away by the police."

"What on earth happened?" Vera was astounded.

"I have no idea, ma'am! An army of police officers cornered her and took her away."

Vera quickly rushed out of the villa, followed by Trina and Hadwin.

When they reached the gate, the helicopters were long gone, and Vera only saw the SUVs moving away.

"What the hell?" Vera grew pale and held a hand to her heart.

"Has Bonnie broken the law?" Trina asked.

"So many people came to get her! What could she possibly have done?" Hadwin frowned.

Murder?

Multiple homicides?

Or something even crazier?

They had no way of knowing for now.

***

Two days later, a round of applause erupted in the top laboratory of the city of Pyralis.

"Woohoo! We've finally succeeded after working on the research for a whole year."

"We owe it to Ms. Bonita. We couldn't have developed the new carbon nanomaterial so soon without her guidance!"

"That's right, she's the reason why we succeeded! We’ll be able to make advancements in every industry in the country once this nanomaterial is widely adopted. This is great news for Arvandor!"

"We're going to wow the whole world!"

Thrilled, the highly respected and elderly professors cheered like children.

Bonnie, however, continued to drink her coffee calmly.

One of the elderly professors approached her.

"I’ve just received a call from the National Research Institute, Ms. Bonita. They’d like to know when you’ll be available to hold the press conference."

"Well, that's up to them."

The old professor asked tentatively, “Do you mind if I take care of it?”

"Go ahead," Bonnie said.

"Oh, and even the International Collaborative Research Organization has called to ask about this now that we've garnered nationwide attention. You need to come to the press conference, okay?"

He was worried because Bonnie was usually low-key and almost never showed up at events like this.

Bonnie hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay."

'Woohoo!'

The professor whooped inwardly in relief. He really thought she would say no.

If she had, he would have been placed in a difficult position because the higher-ups would insist he make her go.

"I'll deal with it then."

"Sure." Bonnie waved him off and continued to drink her coffee.

Her phone vibrated.

The caller ID showed that it was Sigmund Knight.

Bonnie answered it, and the old man's excited voice came through.

"I heard your wedding’s been canceled, Bonnie. Congratulations!" He laughed heartily.

She had expected him to say this, so Bonnie waited for him to finish.

"Now, according to our agreement, you would think about marrying my grandson if you were no longer engaged. It’s time to fulfill your promise."

Bonnie raised her brow. "Okay, but will your grandson agree to this? He's the hottest bachelor in Pyralis. He could have any girl he wants."

"He has to. Oh, I asked him to pick you up at a supermarket near the research institute so he wouldn't find out your true identity. I've given him your number. He’ll text you when he arrives."

Her phone dinged as she received a message that read "I'm here."

Sigmund heard it and quickly said, "My grandson must have texted you. Go meet him now."

"Okay," Bonnie answered indifferently. She left the institute after bidding the professors goodbye.

As she stepped out of the building, she saw an eye-catching black Maybach.

"That looks familiar…"

Three years ago, she successfully treated the father of a rich tycoon from overseas.

She had been given a limited-edition Maybach as a gift—there were only ten in the world.

She didn't like driving, so she gave it to Sigmund for his birthday.

Just as Bonnie remembered what happened, the driver's window lowered, revealing a handsome face.

"Hi, you're Bonnie Shepard, right?"

"Yup." Bonnie nodded, She sized up the man in front of her.

He was wearing an open-collared floral shirt with a peculiar-looking necklace around his neck, and seemed incredibly frivolous.

Was this Sigmund's grandson? What the hell?

"Woah, I didn't expect you to be so pretty!" he praised, then turned to someone in the back seat. "Ivor, you lucky son-of-a-bitch! Sigmund has good taste."

When Bonnie heard him say that, she knew she had been mistaken.

As she was about to open the car door, a cold voice from the back seat said, "I don't give a shit, okay? I want nothing to do with her."

Bonnie impassively opened the door and got into the car.

She was amazed when she saw Sigmund's actual grandson.

Although she was only 20, she had been to many countries and seen many good-looking men, but very few had impressed her like this.

However, she quickly looked away because she wanted nothing to do with him as well.

Besides, she noticed that the man kept working on his laptop and didn't even bother to look at her.

She could tell he didn't want to be there either.

"Ms. Bonnie, I'm Ged Franklin, Ivor's best friend," Ged spoke as he drove.

"Oh, hi," Bonnie answered politely.

"I hope you don't mind me asking this. Is it true that you haven’t graduated from high school yet even though you're 20 already?"

"Uh-huh."

"You're going to take the college entrance test soon, huh? Do you need any help getting into university? My grandfather teaches at Pyralis University…"

Ged kept talking, but Bonnie merely responded with "uh-huh".

He thought that she and Ivor were similar.

Ged got bored with Bonnie’s monosyllabic answers and stopped asking her questions.

But at that moment, Bonnie spoke.

"The car used to be Sigmund's, right?"

"Yeah, how do you know that?" Ged asked curiously.

Bonnie said truthfully, "Well, I gave it to him as a gift."

As he heard that, Ivor looked up at her—

 

Chapter 3

When Ivor saw Bonnie's beautiful face, his eyes lit up, which rarely happened.

It wasn’t just because of her looks. It was also because of what she had just said.

Ged burst out laughing. "That's a good one! You're funny, I'll give you that."

"You don't believe me?"

Bonnie didn't care if they believed her, but she wanted to tell the truth.

She looked serious, but Ged started to doubt her.

"Do you know what car this is? Do you really expect us to believe that you gave it to Sigmund?"

It was clear that he didn't think she could afford it.

Bonnie nodded, "This model was launched three years ago by Mercedez, with a global limited edition of ten units, I think."

She remembered that was what the tycoon had told her.

Ged's eyes went wide. 'She knows?

'She knows, but she still has the nerve to claim that she gave this to Sigmund? She's f*cking unbelievable!

'How could Sigmund want Ivor to marry her? She's so full of sh*t!'

Ged decided not to pursue the matter out of respect for the Knight family.

Soon, the car reached the Knight Residence.

"We're here," Ivor told Bonnie impassively.

She opened the door and got out.

Ged looked over his shoulder at Ivor. "Bro, I know it's none of my business, but Sigmund’s made a bad choice."

Ivor said, "I told you, I wanted to have nothing to do with her."

Ged was relieved he was not interested in her.

Sigmund was waiting at the door. When he spotted Bonnie, his cloudy eyes lit up.

"You're finally here, Bonnie! What do you think of my villa?"

Bonnie looked inside the luxurious living hall. It had crystal chandeliers, genuine leather sofas, and exquisite tiles.

"It's not bad."

"Marry my grandson then, and you can raise your children here. Will three kids be enough? Hmm, make it seven!"

Ged laughed. "Come on, Sigmund, get off their backs! They’re grown adults, after all."

Sigmund ignored him. He took Bonnie's hand and put it on Ivor's.

They quickly pulled their hands apart.

"Grandpa, I brought her here like you wanted, and that's as far as I'm willing to go. I'm in no mood for romance, so please stop trying to play cupid, okay?" Ivor said grimly.

"No mood for romance? You're into girls, aren't you? Or are the rumors true? That you always hang out with Ged because you're gay?"

Ged spat out his water.

"I'd be proud to be gay, but I'm straight, all right?"

"Yeah, right!"

Ged was speechless.

Ivor knew that Sigmund was keen to set him up with Bonnie, so he tried to dissuade him. "She and I aren't right for each other."

"How so?"

Ivor glanced at Bonnie and said solemnly, "Grandpa, you're right that I've always been a bit of a snob, but there's a reason for that. I skipped grades and was admitted directly into Pyralis University.

"Ever since I became CEO of the company, I've led it to great success, and we've become the leader in many fields!"

Sigmund frowned. "What are you trying to say?"

Ivor narrowed his eyes and glanced at Bonnie. He said coldly, "She's not good enough for me."

"She's not good enough for you? Don’t you know that she's—"

 

Chapter 4

Before Sigmund could finish, Bonnie stopped him by stepping on his foot.

"She's what?" Ivor asked, puzzled.

Ged was curious too.

Sigmund wanted to tell them who Bonnie really was, but she glared at him and wouldn't let him.

The old man cleared his throat. "She's… the girl I want you to marry! Besides, how could you say she's not good enough for you? You're 27. You should be grateful that she doesn't care how much older you are. And you should apologize to her for being so rude."

Ivor pursed his lips, got up, and looked at Bonnie.

"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, but I'm just telling the truth."

Bonnie swallowed a piece of orange and said casually, "You don't have to apologize. I was going to say the same thing to you. You're good, but you're not good enough."

Silence fell in the living room.

Ivor's impassive eyes betrayed a hint of emotion as he looked at Bonnie appraisingly.

Ged was surprised that she had the nerve to say such a thing.

"What's the matter with you two? Don't you care for me at all?"

Sigmund was exasperated.

"Bonnie, don't forget that you said you'd do anything I asked after I saved you and your family."

Bonnie frowned.

"And you, Ivor. When you were still a student, your parents didn’t want you to waste your time on anything unproductive. If it weren't for my support, would you have been able to play chess and join those competitions?

"You said that as long as I helped persuade your parents to let you play chess, you'd do what I said in the future. Why are you going back on your word?"

Ivor was stumped.

All of a sudden, the living room became quiet again.

A moment later, Sigmund spoke.

"I know I can’t force love, so how about this? You get engaged and we’ll see how things go."

Bonnie thought about it and said, "Okay, but I want to set a time limit."

"All right, 10 years then. If you think you're not right for each other after that, I'll call it off," Sigmund said.

Bonnie shot him a look of disbelief.

"You might as well have said 50 years."

Sigmund slapped his thigh excitedly. "50 years it is!"

Bonnie was at a loss for words. She knew he was doing this on purpose.

"One month. After one month, I'll have nothing to do with him," Bonnie said coldly.

"One month? That's too short, isn't it? Talk to her, Ivor," Sigmund said anxiously.

Ivor said impassively, "Okay, one month it is."

"Deal!"

"Great, it's a deal then."

Bonnie and Ivor had finally agreed on something.

Exasperated, Sigmund let out a long sigh.

"Since you've made up your mind, I'll pick a date for your engagement."

"Okay." Bonnie checked the time and got up. "It's late. I should get going."

"Why don't you stay for dinner?" Sigmund tried to persuade her to stay.

"I haven’t been home in days. My parents will be worried."

Sigmund acquiesced after he heard her say that.

As he watched Bonnie leave, Ged said, "She hasn't gone home in days? Isn't she a student? She doesn't seem to be sick. Why would she take so many days off?

"She must have skipped class, huh? Sigmund, what were you thinking? How could you choose a girl like that to be Ivor's wife?"

"You don’t know anything about her, okay?" Sigmund was exasperated.

Ged decided to drop the subject for now.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Ged looked toward Ivor. "I've managed to get in touch with the Shepherd!"

"For real?" Ivor grew excited.

Even his eyes lit up.

Ged tsked. "You only come alive when we talk about chess, don't you?"

"Cut the crap! When did you contact the Shepherd? Did he agree to play a game with me?"

That was all Ivor cared about.

"I only managed to get in touch with his friend. He said the Shepherd’s been busy lately, so he'll tell him when he's free."

"Great, I'll wait then." Ivor squeezed his fists to contain his excitement.

***

The butler rushed into the Shepard villa.

"Ma'am! Ms. Bonnie is back!"

"What? How is she back?"

Vera and her husband, Gresham Shepard, were in the middle of dinner. They exchanged a look.

At that moment, Bonnie entered the house in her sneakers.

Vera put down her fork and quickly walked up to her.

"Didn’t you get taken away by the police? Did you manage to… escape?"

Vera was troubled, and Gresham gave his daughter a stern look.

"I might not be your dad, but I suggest you surrender. If you don’t, I'll have to call the cops for your own good."

Bonnie frowned and said placidly, "I didn't break the law or escape from anywhere, all right?"

Gresham's face stiffened. "You really won’t turn yourself in?"

Bonnie didn't bother to explain.

Gresham took out his phone and called the police station.

"Hello, I'd like to make a police report.

"My daughter was arrested two days ago, but she escaped and returned home. I told her to give herself up, but she refused. Please come arrest her now!"

 

Chapter 5

"Her name? Bonnie Shepard. B-O-N-N-I-E, S-H-E-P-A-R-D."

"Please hold, sir. Let me check the records."

A minute later, the voice came through, stammering this time.

"Y—you’ve made a mistake. Bon—" she coughed, "Bonnie Shepard hasn’t broken any law or escaped from the police.

"If you make a false report again, we'll charge you!"

With that, she hung up.

Gresham was stupefied. Vera was beside him and had heard everything the police officer said.

"Are you done? I'll go upstairs then." Bonnie left.

Vera felt a sense of pity as she watched her walk away.

After all, Bonnie might be a loser, but she was still her daughter.

"I’m sorry, Bonnie. We were wrong about you."

Saddened, Bonnie stopped and looked over her shoulder at Vera. That woman hardly ever apologized to her and was never so gentle to her.

Gresham sighed.

"I was just worried about you. Anyway, I apologize."

Bonnie frowned. "It's okay."

The living room fell silent, and Bonnie spoke first.

"I'm hitting the sack."

"Wait!"

Vera stopped Bonnie. "What on earth happened the other day? Why did you get taken away?"

"I told you, it's classified. I'll tell you when the time is right."

Bonnie told her the truth.

Vera was losing her patience and felt disappointed and angry.

She didn’t want to hear any more lies, so she changed the subject.

"The school called. They said they might kick you out if you skip classes again."

"I'll handle it."

Bonnie wasn't worried about getting kicked out of school because she could easily get someone to take care of that.

But Vera exploded.

"You'll handle it? How? Do you think you're the principal or something? You're 20 years old, Bonnie! You could have graduated long ago if you hadn't skipped school so often. Hell, you even took one whole year off before!

"Trina was born on the same day as you, but she's already a sophomore at Pyralis University!

“If you keep fooling around like this, you’ll never get into college!

“And even if you do, it'll probably be some third-rate college!"

Bonnie had told Vera why she had to take a break from school back then.

But her parents didn't believe her and had scolded her for lying.

Bonnie didn't bother trying to explain herself again.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to some third-rate college. I'll be going to Pyralis University."

"Pyralis University?"

Vera could hardly believe her ears.

"Yup." Bonnie nodded.

"That's the best university in Pyralis! Only the cream of the crop gets in there!

“Trina got in because she studied hard day and night.

“You’ve repeated grades for two years. What makes you think you can get in?"

"I'll have no problem getting in if I become the top scorer in the entrance test."

Bonnie was confident.

Vera was truly exasperated. By the time she regained her composure, Bonnie had returned to her bedroom.

She had worked on her research for two days straight, and she was exhausted.

Just as she was getting ready to shower, she received a video call from one of her best friends.

She answered it, and a handsome man showed up on screen.

"Hey, the Knight wants to have a game with you."

Bonnie was intrigued. "Are you sure it's him?"

"100%!"

"Okay, I'm in."

"That's terrific!" Heath Rice sounded excited. "The Shepherd and the Knight are the titans of the chess world. This will be the game of the century! I'm really looking forward to it. I'll reply to him right away!"

"Sure."

After hanging up, Bonnie took a hot shower and lay down in bed to sleep.

***

At 6:00 a.m. the next day, Bonnie left her house in a tank top and a pair of leggings.

She hadn’t done any kickboxing training in a long time, so she decided to work out in the park.

Bonnie saw an old man shadow boxing while his peers looked on.

"Way to go, Orson!"

"No one can take a punch like that!"

The elderly onlookers showered the man with their compliments.

Bonnie frowned and muttered to herself, "Your footwork is poor, and your strikes are sloppy."

She had learned kickboxing from a young age, so she couldn't help pointing out his mistakes.

The elderly men heard her and looked over.

They looked at the young woman skeptically.

"Hey, young lady, what do you know about kickboxing?"

"Don't talk about what you don't know, okay?"

"Yeah, Orson has studied kickboxing for over a decade. I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

But Bonnie was undaunted.

"I was just telling the truth. He wasn’t doing it right."

"Watch your mouth, young lady!"

Scott had a bad temper. He was a huge fan of Orson Steele, and couldn't accept anyone criticizing him.

"Get lost, or I'm going to—"

"Leave her alone, Scott. She's just a kid."

Smiling amicably, Orson walked up to Bonnie.

"So you know some kickboxing, huh?"

"Yup." Bonnie nodded.

Orson studied her face and was surprised to find that she didn't look like she was lying.

"How long have you been doing it?"

Bonnie tried to remember. "Since I was three."

"You guys hear that? Kickboxing at three years old?

"I've lived many years, but I've never met anyone so full of shit!'

Scott and others laughed so hard that they doubled over.

Bonnie remained impassive.

Touching his beard, Orson narrowed his eyes and said, "You said I didn't do it right. Why don't you show me the right way?"

Bonnie checked the time. As she only needed to get to school at 7:30 a.m., she had time.

"I'll have to go to school later, so I'll only show this once. Pay close attention, okay?"

"What a show-off! If she can pull this off, I'll shave my head and do a headstand—"

Before Scott could finish, his jaw dropped.

 

Chapter 6

Bonnie began to shadowbox with awe-inspiring precision and fluidity.

She ended by punching a tree branch, managing to break it without disturbing the leaves.

Everyone was shocked.

Scott’s jaw dropped open.

They looked at Bonnie as if they had seen a monster.

"Did you get a good look?"

Bonnie stopped and looked at Orson.

The old man was impressed.

"Your moves were perfect! You must be a kickboxing expert."

Scott cleared his throat and approached her, blushing.

"Young lady—uh, ma'am, I'm sorry if I offended you."

Bonnie chuckled. "I'm not an expert. I just learned kickboxing to stay healthy."

"Can you teach me some of your moves?"

"I'd like to learn too!"

Bonnie was soon surrounded by the old men, all eager to learn from her.

At that moment, a voice said, "She's just a phony."

Bonnie looked toward the source.

A young woman who looked to be around 18 or 19 walked over. She was of average height, and a burly man almost two meters tall followed behind her.

"Mind your manners, Kay!" Orson chided.

"She's just a scammer, grandpa. She’s trying to impress you guys so she can swindle you!"

Kay stood between Bonnie and Orson and glared at her.

"She's not, okay? Her moves were perfect!" Orson said earnestly.

"You're too gullible, grandpa. She must have done this many times. I bet she only knows those moves.

“She’s just pretending to be an expert so you’ll pay to learn from her!"

"Are you sure?" Orson frowned.

Scott smacked his thigh and said angrily, "Kay is right! How could someone so young be so good at kickboxing? She has to be a phony!"

The others whispered among themselves while glancing at Bonnie.

"Fuck off, or I'll call the cops!" Kay Steele shouted as she shoved Bonnie away.

Bonnie didn't want to argue with them, but she was upset that they had called her a phony.

And that the young woman had told her to fuck off, too.

"Do you have proof that I'm a scammer? Have I taken their money?"

"Well, if I weren't here, you would have done it, wouldn't you?"

Bonnie quirked her brow. "So you have no proof. Do you think the cops will believe you?"

"I—"

Kay was stumped.

Bonnie continued, "And I can sue you for defamation, you know."

"Sue me?" Kay was in disbelief.

She had never seen such a shameless swindler before!

"So you're saying you're not a phony? How about you spar with my bodyguard? I'll believe you if you can beat him."

"Sure, but if he loses, you have to apologize to me."

Bonnie wasn't a petty person, but she didn't like to be pushed around.

"Alright, it's a deal! But if you lose, you have to apologize to me, my grandpa, and his friends.

“You’ll also have to do it live online, so everyone will know you're a goddamn phony!"

Kay was convinced that Bonnie was an evil scammer who targeted the elderly.

Orson stepped closer. "Just let her go, Kay."

"We can't, grandpa! She might have targeted you because you're a famous painter."

A famous painter? Orson?

Bonnie realized the old man was a well-known painter.

Her grandmother liked him a lot, and her grandfather was a hardcore fan.

"Just leave her alone, all right?"

Orson didn't want to make a scene.

"But grandpa, she—"

"I need to go to school soon. Are we doing this or not?" Bonnie interrupted them impatiently.

Kay couldn’t believe Bonnie was still trying to act tough.

"Spar with her, Milo. Don’t hold back, okay?"

She had been going to tell him to go easy on Bonnie since she was a girl, but not anymore.

'You asked for this!' Kay thought.

"Yes, ma'am."

Milo cracked his neck, then his wrists, then his knuckles.

He was huge and fierce, and looked so scary that anyone would have run away in fear.

But Bonnie just frowned and said impatiently, "I'm in a hurry, okay? Just get on with it."

"Don't you want to warm up first?" Milo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not if you're my opponent."

She was just stating a fact. She didn't mean it as an insult.

"How dare you!"

Upset, Milo threw his huge fist at Bonnie's face—

Chapter 7

Bonnie dodged swiftly and punched his chest.

Milo stumbled backwards and stared at her in shock.

The park was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"What a punch!" Orson shouted excitedly.

Scott gaped stupidly at her.

The other elderly men were stupefied as well.

They had sparred among themselves before, but Bonnie had applied her techniques in a real fight!

"That's impossible! She must have just hit him by accident!"

Kay couldn't believe that a young girl like Bonnie could get the best of Milo.

After all, her grandfather had hand picked him from among the best fighters!

"Milo, what are you waiting for? Attack!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Pulling himself together, Milo took a quick step and delivered a jab at his opponent.

Bonnie blocked it and landed a strike on his ribcage with her left knee.

Milo groaned loudly in pain.

The old men gasped.

"That knee strike must have hurt like hell!"

Milo growled through clenched teeth and charged at Bonnie.

But no matter how he tried, he couldn’t land any hits on her.

In the end, Bonnie threw a roundhouse kick, knocking Milo to the ground.

Every muscle in his body ached, and he could not get back up.

Everyone else was dumbstruck.

Orson approached Bonnie. "May I know your name?"

"I'm Bonnie Shepard."

She added, "I'm not a kickboxing expert. I just do this for fun."

What the hell?

Astonished, Orson caught himself and looked at Kay.

"Apologize to Ms. Bonnie."

Kay was silent.

Orson frowned. He thought Kay was being stubborn.

Suddenly, Kay walked up to Bonnie and earnestly held out her hands.

"Please teach me how to fight like you, ma'am!"

Orson was taken aback. ‘Huh?’

Bonnie was surprised as she saw Kay's eyes shining with admiration for her.

"I want to be just like you!"

She was now Bonnie's number one fan.

She liked watching superhero movies and longed to be like Wonder Woman or Black Widow.

So she was awed when she saw Bonnie beat Milo down like it was nothing.

Bonnie checked the time and saw it was already 8:00 a.m.

She was late for school.

"If you're interested in learning kickboxing, you can get anyone to teach you. I need to go now."

She turned and left.

Kay stared after her and told Milo, "Get someone to look into her, but don't let her find out about it or cause her any trouble. And you need to treat her respectfully the next time you see her, okay?"

***

Bonnie didn’t realize that Kay would start to investigate her. When she reached school, it was already 8:15 a.m.

Mr. Rios, the math teacher, was livid. He glared at Bonnie as she stood in the doorway.

"You're late for my class again! Is my class not good enough for you?"

A student raised her hand. "I don’t think she did it to upset you, Mr. Rios. She's always late to other classes too. Sometimes, she doesn’t even show up for days!"

But that information did not make him feel any better.

"You're old enough to know that you should take school seriously, Bonnie.

"How will you graduate from high school if you keep acting like this? If I were your dad—"

"Can I go in now, Mr. Rios? I've been standing here for two minutes."

Bonnie glanced at her seat.

Mr. Rios was furious, but he couldn't resort to corporal punishment.

So he tried another method.

"Don't sit down yet, Bonnie. Solve the question on the blackboard."

The system of equations with two variables wasn't too difficult, but it also wasn’t easy. He thought a bad student like Bonnie would never be able to solve it.

"Okay." Bonnie picked up the chalk and wrote down the answer without hesitation.

"Done."

Mr. Rios' eyes went wide.

The answer was correct.

She must have gotten it right by chance!

"Solve all the other questions."

He was convinced that Bonnie wouldn't be able to solve these math questions.

Bonnie glanced at them and frowned.

Mr. Rios sneered.

"What is it? You can't solve them, huh? This is why you shouldn't be late to school or skip class!"

"It's not that." Bonnie picked up the chalk again and solved the equations without thinking.

She answered five questions correctly.

Mr. Rios was exasperated. "If you knew how to do it, why did you hesitate?"

"Because they’re too easy. Answering them would just be a waste of time," Bonnie replied truthfully.

Mr. Rios felt his blood pressure rise. "Okay, since you think my questions are too easy, why don't you try to solve this one? If you can't, I’m sending you to detention!"

He then wrote a difficult question on the blackboard.

Some students recognized it.

"That looks like an Olympiad math problem. We studied it in math club, but no one could solve it."

"How’s Bonnie supposed to solve that?"

"Didn't you hear what she said? If I were Mr. Rios, I’d be upset too."

"Bonnie had it coming!"

As the students murmured among themselves, Mr. Ross suddenly gaped at the blackboard in disbelief.

 

Chapter 8

Bonnie had written down the answer on the blackboard while they were talking.

The students were astonished.

"That’s incredible! How does an underachiever like Bonnie know how to answer that?"

"I don't even understand the question, but she did it without even having to think!"

"Could Bonnie be some kind of genius?"

Mr. Rios flushed in embarrassment as he heard the students talk.

He had tried to get Bonnie to answer these questions to warn her against skipping classes.

If he couldn't stump Bonnie today, he would lose the students' respect.

Suddenly, he thought of one of the seven famous unsolved math problems.

The P versus NP problem had baffled countless mathematicians.

It had been solved only a month ago by a mysterious math genius, to the shock of the world.

'There’s no way she’ll be able to solve this one!' he thought.

"Those questions were easy. Try this one instead."

Mr. Rios looked smug after he had written down the question on the blackboard.

Bonnie glanced at it, then threw him an odd look.

"What are you looking at me for? Do I have the answer on my face?"

Mr. Rios was pleased that he had finally stumped her.

The students stared at the question, completely baffled.

"What the hell is that?"

"Is that a math question? Did Mr. Rios come up with this just to challenge Bonnie?"

Mr. Rios sneered as he saw Bonnie just standing there.

"If you don't know how to do this, you should come to my class on time and pay—"

Before he could finish, Bonnie began to write down the solution.

As she filled the entire blackboard, Mr. Rios' jaw dropped.

She was running out of space, so she went to the board at the back and continued writing.

As time passed, the class grew increasingly quiet.

When the school bell rang, Bonnie said, "I'm done." She put down the chalk and walked out of the classroom.

Mr. Rios and other students were left awestruck.

The teacher, especially, couldn't believe what he just saw.

***

When school ended in the afternoon, a thunderstorm broke out.

No one expected it as the weather forecast hadn’t mentioned rain.

As the rain grew heavier, Bonnie waited at the school entrance with most of the students.

A few girls were engaged in lively conversation.

"Is your boyfriend coming to pick you up, Sacha?"

"He says he's on the way," Sacha Hutchinson said, shooting Bonnie a taunting look.

She hated Bonnie because she was more beautiful than her.

"I'm so jealous of you, Sacha. I heard your boyfriend's dad owns the Caesar Hotel!"

"Oh my God, the Caesar Hotel is a four-star hotel in Pyralis, isn't it?"

Sacha grinned. "Well, I heard from Dwayne that his dad just applied for a five-star rating. The approval should come through soon."

"Woah, Sacha, your boyfriend is really something!"

Sacha looked at Bonnie again. "Well, Bonnie's fiancé’s family owns Sunrise Properties. I don’t think Dwayne can hold a candle to him."

Everyone looked at Bonnie.

"Sacha, haven’t you heard? Bonnie's wedding has been called off."

"Oh my God, for real?"

Sacha acted as though she had just heard about it and clapped her hand over her mouth.

She looked at Bonnie apologetically.

"Sorry, Bonnie, I didn't know he dumped you. I wouldn’t have brought it up if I’d known.”

Bonnie eyed her. "You're just like my sister, you know. She's a real bitch."

Sacha stiffened. The other students started to get upset.

"Hey, she apologized, didn't she?"

"Yeah, you shouldn't have said that!"

"Say sorry to her!"

Bonnie chuckled.

"What are you laughing at? Is it funny that we're asking you to say sorry?"

"I'm laughing at your low IQ," Bonnie said truthfully.

These girls seemed really dumb to someone with an IQ of 300.

"Hey, are you calling us stupid?"

Bonnie raised her brow. "Well, she's being a bitch, but you're taking her side. Aren't you being stupid?"

"So what if you solved those math questions? You must have just memorized the answers!"

"Tilda’s right! Who the hell do you think you are to call us stupid?"

Bonnie's phone dinged. She didn’t bother arguing with them and checked her phone.

A message from Ivor read, "Grandpa asked me to pick you up. Arriving soon."

After she replied to the message, a bright red sports car pulled up at the entrance and drew everyone’s attention.

A man in a striped suit stepped out from the car and headed over.

"It's Dwayne Moss! He's so damn hot, just like his car. If only he were my boyfriend."

"You can forget about that. He's Sacha's boyfriend."

"That's her boyfriend? His car must be really expensive!"

Sacha lifted her chin proudly. She walked up to Bonnie and put on a sad face.

"I didn't mean what I said, okay, Bonnie?

"It's pouring right now. Why don't Dwayne and I give you a ride home? We can call it quits."

Bonnie glanced at her and didn’t answer.

Sacha's eyes started to fill with tears. "Come on, Bonnie, I didn't do it on purpose.

“We're classmates. Why would I want to embarrass you?

“Anyway, I'm throwing a birthday party this weekend at Regal Karaoke. You should come, okay?"

As she spoke, Sacha tried to hold Bonnie's hand.

Bonnie took a step back in disgust.

"Do you really hate me that much, Bonnie?"

Sacha's crying gained the sympathy of other students, who began to criticize Bonnie again.

"She's too much!"

"Bonnie is such a bitch!"

"She sure is!"

Dwayne came over and pulled Sacha into his arms.

"Don't cry, Sacha. I've got your back."

Dwayne angrily turned to Bonnie.

He wanted to yell at her, but he was struck by her beauty.

She was way prettier than his girlfriend!

Sacha sensed something was off. She looked up and started to feel anxious as she saw Dwayne's mesmerized look.

"She's my classmate, Dwayne. Just leave her alone.

“I feel sorry for her, you know? She skips school a lot and has had to repeat a grade for two years.

“I think she's going to fail the college entrance test, and her family doesn't like her.

“Her sister even stole her fiancé. Oh, you know him. It's Hadwin Rhodes."

Sacha said all that so Dwayne would know that Bonnie wasn't a popular girl despite her beauty.

"So you're the girl Hadwin dumped."

It was just as Sacha had expected. Dwayne now only had contempt for Bonnie.

Sacha was secretly relieved when she heard that.

Bonnie paid no attention to Dwayne.

"Hey, I'm talking to you! Are you deaf?" Dwayne shouted impatiently.

Bonnie glanced at him. "I don't talk to idiots."

"Are you calling me an idiot? I dare you to say that again!"

Bonnie looked away, pursed her lips, and stopped talking.

As she said, she didn't want to talk to idiots.

Dwayne was infuriated.

"How dare you, bitch? I'm going to—"

Before he could finish, a deep, cold voice came from behind him.

"Move. You're in my way."

What the hell?

Dwayne angrily turned around and immediately felt small when he saw who was behind him.

It was an exceptionally handsome man who had an imposing kinglike presence.

Sacha and the other girls stared longingly at the man holding the umbrella.

No one could blame them because he was ridiculously dashing.

"Oh my God! He's so freaking hot. Who is he? A movie star?"

"I doubt it. With a face like that, he should be so famous that we would have instantly known who he was."

"Do you think he's here to pick someone up?"

"Who’s the lucky girl?"

The students looked among themselves.

Dwyane studied Ivor. He could tell that Ivor was no ordinary man.

But he had never met him among elite circles before.

"Don't make me repeat myself," Ivor narrowed his eyes as he spoke coldly.

Daunted, Dwayne instinctively stepped aside.

He was also curious about who Ivor was going to pick up.

To everyone's disbelief, Ivor walked toward Bonnie!

 

 

Chapter 9

Everyone was dumbstruck as Ivor walked up to Bonnie and held his umbrella over her.

“Ready to go?”

Bonnie nodded.

What the hell?

The students couldn’t believe their eyes.

A gorgeous man had come to pick Bonnie up!

They were shocked beyond belief.

When they saw Bonnie and Ivor get into a Maybach parked by the curb, their jaws dropped even further.

One of the students recognized the car. “That’s a limited–edition Maybach! It costs a bomb! You might not be able to get your hands on it even if you could afford it.”

Everyone including Sacha looked at Dwayne’s sports car when they heard that.

The car was eye–catching, but it was nothing compared to the Maybach.

Inside the Maybach, Bonnie thanked Ivor politely.

“Don’t thank me. It was my grandpa’s idea to pick you up,” Ivor replied impassively.

“But Sigmund didn’t ask you to get out of the car and hold an umbrella for me, didn’t he?”

“He’d be upset if I hadn’t done that. We’ll be engaged soon, so you’ll be part of the Knight family. We can’t let anyone disrespect you.

“Well, I still need to thank you.” She didn’t like owing anyone any favors, so Bonnie decided to repay him for what he did one day.

Ivor looked over his shoulder at her. “If you want to thank me, just promise me one thing.”

“What?”

“Don’t get any funny ideas after we get engaged.”

Bonnie chuckled. “I told you, you’re not my type. I wouldn’t even look at you if you slept naked on my bed.”

Ivor suddenly felt

upset.

Why did he feel that way?

A short while later, the car pulled up at the main entrance of the villa.

“Grandpa’s still asleep.”

“I’ll wait for him in the living room.”

Bonnie entered the living room and saw Ged lounging on the sofa, watching TV as if he lived there.

“Hey,” Ged said, not looking away from his show.

At that moment, an object flew straight toward the back of Bonnie’s head.

“Watch out!” Ivor shouted. He dashed over to her, trying to catch it.

But it had taken him by surprise and he wasn’t close enough to Bonnie, so he couldn’t reach her in

time.

Bonnie shot out her hand behind her and caught the flying object easily.

She was fast!

Ged shot to his feet in disbelief.

Ivor was surprised as well because Bonnie hadn’t even blinked or seemed startled.

“Cleano II!” A boy around the age of eight or nine hurried over to Bonnie anxiously.

Bonnie looked at what she had caught–a vibrating disc–shaped robot.

“Hey, be careful! That took me a month to assemble. I’ll make you pay if you break it!” The boy flushed.

Ged chimed in, “You better do what he tells you, okay? No one messes with Ivor’s brother. He’s only interested in making robots. If you break his stuff, he’ll go nuts, and even Sigmund might not be able to save you.”

Ivor came over and looked solemnly at Neville Knight. “That thing nearly hit her. You should apologize.”

Neville shrank when he saw Ivor’s stern face. He turned to Bonnie and muttered, “Sorry.”

Ged tsked. “That little devil is scared of no one but you.”

“Why do you care?” Neville rolled his eyes at Ged, then snatched the robot from Bonnie’s hand.

“What’s the problem? The interface and chip are fine. Why would it lose control?”

Neville checked the robot, mumbled to himself, and scratched his head.

Bonnie approached him. “Is that a cleaning robot?”

“You can tell?” Neville looked up in surprise.

“Yup,” said Bonnie.

She could tell what robot it was by just looking at it?

Even Ged and Ivor were amazed.

“But how?” Neville asked despite himself.

“Well, it’s not that hard really. It’s not an ordinary cleaning robot, but one that’s designed specifically to clean ceilings and chandeliers, right?” Bonnie asked.

Neville’s eyes went wide. How the hell did she figure that out?

Bonnie held out her hand. “Give it to me. I’ll help you fix it.”

“Huh? You will?” Neville held the robot behind his back, worried that she would break it.

Ged had been impressed by Bonnie, but he thought she was just trying to show off again.

“Don’t underestimate that little devil, Bonnie. He might only be eight, but he’s won the technology and science competition for children at the age of five, thanks to a robot he developed. His robots are all really advanced. They’re not just something you can fix, okay?”

Bonnie looked from Ged to Neville.

“Does the robot make loud noises when you turn it on?”

“How did you know?”

“And when it flies, does it always slightly deviate from its path?”

“You know that too?”

“When it runs for a long time, it heats up, and overheating leads to a loss of control, just like what happened here.”

“How on earth did you…”

Neville was so shocked that he couldn’t finish his sentence.

Bonnie continued, “Your robot seems to have an issue with pulse output, as well as encoder cables and position feedback loops… The servo gain settings are also a bit off… I only took a quick look earlier, so that’s all I can say for now. There might be other issues, but I’ll need to do further testing.”

Everyone stared at Bonnie, stupefied.

Ivor looked at her thoughtfully.

Neville’s eyes went wide in astonishment. She could tell all that after just one look?

“Will you let me try to fix it?” Bonnie broke the silence.

 

Chapter 10

“Oh, okay. Here you go.” Neville stared at Bonnie, eager to know if she could do it.

“I need tools.”

“They’re in my rooms. I’ll get them for you.”

“Okay.”

Soon, Neville brought the tools back, and Bonnie started to fix the robot.

She quickly took it apart, then deftly put it back together after making some adjustments.

“She did it!” Ged exclaimed in awe.

As he fixed his gaze on Bonnie, Ivor suddenly realized she was pretty impressive.

After all, his brother was basically a professional, but Bonnie could tell what the problems were at a glance.

“I’ve fixed it,” Bonnie said

So soon?

Neville gaped at the robot in her hand. She was incredibly fast!

“Oh, the chip in the robot can be optimized too. Do you have a computer?” Bonnie asked.

Neville’s eyes widened further. She could even optimize the chip? She must be an expert.

“Be right back.” Neville hurried upstairs and returned quickly. He handed his laptop to Bonnie and stood beside her to watch.

He wanted to know how good she was.

Ged leaned over and saw Ivor had joined him too.

Bonnie connected the robot to the laptop and started typing so fast that her fingers looked like a blur.

‘I’ll be damned!‘ Ged thought.

Ivor watched her fingers moving quickly and narrowed his eyes.

A few minutes later, Bonnie turned off the laptop and handed the robot back to Neville.

“Try it. There should be no problem now.”

“Thanks!”

Neville started the robot eagerly. It didn’t make any loud noises, and he could control its flight path

precisely.

It had also become much more efficient at cleaning.

“This is so cool! You’re amazing.”

Neville looked at Bonnie, wide–eyed in admiration

“It’s nothing really. It’s just a simple robot, so it was easy to fix ” Hommie sat down on the sofa and poured herself a cup of tea.

Simple? For the first time in his life, the child prodigy fell inferior.

“You’re so skilled. Did you start tinkering when you were a lad ton?”

Bonnie put down her cup. “I took apart the TV at home as soon as I could walk,”

“And then?”

“I put it back together,”

“Woah, that’s insane!” Neville was awed.

Ged burst out laughing.

This was the second time he had laughed out loud at something she said.

“Dude, your IQ is 200. How could you believe that horseshit? She’s just kidding!”

Neville looked at Ged as if he was an idiot. “Do you think I can’t tell if she is?”

Neville ignored him and held Bonnie’s arm earnestly,

“Please be my mentor! I want to be an expert in robotics too.”

“Dude, what the hell are you doing?”

Ged was so astounded that he nearly choked. “I- Ivor, your brother isn’t acting like himself!”

Ivor looked from Neville to Bonnie.

He knew that Neville’s abilities far surpassed that of his peers and many intelligent adults.

And the boy was particularly good at robotics.

Ivor didn’t know much about robotics, but he could tell from his brother’s behavior that Bonnie was an expert in the field.

Suddenly, Ivor remembered that Bonnie had once told him he wasn’t good enough for her.

It seemed like she wasn’t just showing off after all.

But Ivor still thought that she wasn’t his match, even though she knew how to fix robots.

As she saw Neville asking her to mentor him, Bonnie thought about Kay Steele, who wanted her to teach her something as well.

Why was everyone so eager to learn from her today?

“Please say yes. I promise you won’t regret it!” Neville tried to persuade her.

Bonnie rubbed her temple. “I have no time to teach you anything, okay? I have all kinds of important things to do.”

Ged shook his head. “You’re always skipping class.”

“Well, she might not be doing great in school, but she’s good at robotics all right.”

This was the first time Ivor had ever complimented Bonnie.

Neville grew desperate as he saw that Bonnie was adamant.

“If you agree to be my mentor, I’ll get Ivor to kiss

Bonnie was exasperated.

you now.”

Ged burst out laughing and wrapped his arm around Ivor. “Your brother totally sold you out, bro!”

“He’s not my type, okay?” Bonnie said.

Neville threw Ivor a sympathetic look over his shoulder.

He had already been upset by what Bonnie had said, so Ivor, who was usually calm, felt annoyed at his brother.

“If he’s not your type, what about me? I might be young, but I promise I’ll take good care of you.” Neville said, patting his chest.

Bonnie grew even more exasperated.

“Oh my God! Now he’s trying to steal your future wife, Ivor!” Ged laughed.

Ivor stiffened and walked up to Neville.

“Have you done your homework?”

“Not yet. I’ll do it later.”

“Go back to your room, and don’t come out until you’re done.”

“No! She hasn’t agreed to mentor me yet. I-”

Before Neville could finish, Ivor carried him upstairs back to his room.

Ged wanted to keep laughing, but thought the better of it when he saw Ivor’s cold face.

Ged cleared his throat and said, “I heard about that new nanomaterial they’ve just developed, Ivor. They should be holding a press conference soon. Do you have an inside scoop on when it’s going to be?

Ivor sat down. “They haven’t announced it yet.”

Bonnie chimed in, “It’s set for the 28th of this month.”