Ch. 31..35: My Wife Is A Hacker Chapter 31-35

Chapter 31

Chapter 31 Samuel was stunned. “Isn’t our home cozy? I would’ve gone home if it hadn’t been because we stayed up too late revising.” “Exactly. There is no way our dorm is better than our home.” Spencer objected right away. “But my exam is just around the corner. If I stay there, I can concentrate on my studies like Stanley.” Nicole used her exam as an excuse just to stay on campus. Upon hearing Nicole’s words, Norah scoffed in her mind. ‘No wonder this country bumpkin wants to stay on campus; she’s worried about her academic performance.’ Gloria knew that Nicole was ambitious and hardworking, but she was reluctant to let Nicole go. “Nicole, you’re only in your junior year. You can stay on campus when you are in your senior year. Don’t be too hard on yourself.” Nicole had to give Gloria a reassuring smile when she noticed Gloria’s worried expression. “I know, Mom. But my teacher attaches great importance to this exam. I’m afraid that my results will be subpar, so I plan to stay there to revise with my classmates.” “Well…” Gloria frowned when she heard Nicole’s explanation. ” If you’re worried about your grades, you can still stay at home. I can get Stanley to come home and tutor you. There’s no need for you to stay on campus.” Nicole, her daughter, had just returned. They had not even really bonded with each other. Gloria would miss Nicole if Nicole lived in a dorm. Daniel could tell Gloria was feeling hard to let her go, so he nodded. “Your mom is right, Nicole. If you stay on campus, what should your mother and I do when we miss you?” Nicole started to feel bad as she realized how sincere her parents were. Her family treated her well, so she could not reject their kindness so decisively. She still had to consider their feelings when she made her decisions. Looking at his family rejecting the idea, Steve smiled, intrigued. He held his coffee mug and said, “Dad, Mom, shouldn’t you support Nicole for being hardworking? Stanley is a shy guy; how could he tutor Nicole?” Stanley blushed at Steve’s remark. “I will tutor her!”

“Do you even know how to tutor? Are you not afraid of girls anymore?” Steve looked at Stanley in a playfully teasing manner.

Stanley, who was teased, was not having it. “I’m not afraid of Nicole.” He was telling the truth. Although he disliked being around girls, he did not mind Nicole getting close to him. “Oh? Now that’s weird.” Steve did not expect Nicole to be so special to Stanley. ‘Come to think of it, everyone in this house has changed ever since Nicole’s return,’ thought Steve. He sent Nicole a teasing gaze and said defeatedly, “Sorry, Sis. I run out of ideas to help you.” Nicole could not help but sigh silently as it seemed impossible for her to live on campus now. A voice came from the door when she was just about to give in. “Nicole wants to stay on campus because of her studies. Isn’t that a good thing? Being hardworking and ambitious are the attributes someone in the Riddle family should have.” Daniel and the rest of the family stood up in shock when they saw Mr. Riddle Sr. “Dad, it’s still early, and you are here…” Daniel added in his mind, ‘…unannounced.’ Mr. Riddle Sr. waved and said, “Mr. Ellison asked me to meet him today, so I planned to send Nicole to school on my way there. I didn’t expect to hear all of you discussing whether she should stay on campus as soon as I got in.” “You want to send Nicole to school?” Daniel looked at Gloria in shock. Mr. Riddle Sr. wanted to send Nicole to school personally. It was a treatment he had given to none of his grandchildren. At that moment, the brothers exchanged looks, eyes filled with admiration. On the other hand, Norah was about to explode with jealousy. ‘The whole family treating me as invisible just now is one thing, but grandpa having eyes for Nicole when he came is quite another! He even wants to send her off to school personally!’ When Norah thought about how Mr. Riddle Sr. insisted on sending her away while being so protective of Nicole, Norah’s eyes started to burn with hatred. Then, Mr. Riddle Sr. took a seat at the other end of the long table and expressed his thoughts,” I think it’s a good idea for Nicole to stay on campus. Don’t interfere with her decisions. Get the servants to pack her stuff. I’ll talk to Mr. Ellison later. He will be very happy when he hears about Nicole staying on campus!” Gloria was still reluctant to let her daughter stay on campus, but Daniel had been shooting her looks endlessly, signaling her to not go against Mr. Riddle Sr. So, Gloria could only make herself

feel better by thinking, ‘My sons excel in their academic performance, so Nicole should not be left behind.’ Seeing that Nicole would stay on campus, Samuel and Spencer looked at each other as they spoke in unison. “Dad, Mom, don’t worry. We’ll take care of Nicole.” “Dad, Mom, I will often check up on Nicole.” Stanley volunteered himself too, which was rare. For these reasons, Gloria was finally at ease. She felt less worried since Nicole would be staying on campus in the company of her three brothers. “Deal. You have to take care of Nicole in school. If I ever hear about Nicole being bullied, just watch how I’ll deal with you lads when you are home,” said Daniel. Stanley smiled. “Don’t worry, Dad. No one could get close to Nicole now that the three of us are there.” Samuel and Spencer nodded with an affirmative look. Mr. Riddle Sr. nodded with satisfaction while watching them reassure their parents. Since the issue was almost settled, he looked at Nicole. “Have you had your breakfast, Nicole? Do you want to leave with me?” Nicole found Mr. Riddle Sr. pleasant today. “I had my breakfast already.” She did not even want to take her breakfast anymore. “You’ve only had a glass of milk, Nicole. Bring something else to eat.” Gloria gave in to Nicole as she knew Nicole was happy. “Sure.” Nicole took a sandwich from the servant gleefully and was about to leave with Mr. Riddle Sr. Norah watched her and said with frustration, “Wait for me, Grandpa. I want to go to school too.” However, Mr. Riddle Sr. glanced over the plate of food in front of her and said, “You haven’t finished your breakfast, so you should follow your brother to school when you’re done eating. Needless to say, Mr. Riddle Sr. only wanted to bring Nicole alone. Norah’s expression immediately changed. Being rejected in front of her parents and brothers was just as painful as getting slapped on her face.

Chapter 32

After he was done speaking, Mr. Riddle Sr. did not bother about Norah anymore and left with Nicole instantly When Nicole turned around, she swept her cold gaze across Norah, mocking her for not knowing her place. Norah was so angry that her eyes turned red that even Samuel thought she was going to cry with disappointment. “Norah… We will leave with you in a while. Don’t cry…” Samuel tried to console her as he sensed that she was upset.

Norah immediately bawled in response, “It’s okay… You already have Nicole. Everyone can just pay attention to her. I’ll be fine; I can go to school by myself.”

She then took her bag and left with tears of disappointment in her eyes.

“Norah…” Gloria saw that Norah had not even taken her breakfast, so she wanted to run after Norah. But Daniel pulled her back. “Just let her be. She has to accept reality sooner or later.” Though Daniel, too, could not bear to do so, it was only a matter of time. Norah would not feel as bad if she acknowledged the truth sooner.

“I’ve neglected Norah.” Gloria was a little guilty.

Samuel looked regretful as well. “Let’s treat Norah better from now on… After all, she has to leave soon, right?”

His remark had shaken everyone at the table.

All of them had lost their appetite, except for Steve, who looked unbothered as he said rationally, “We know she has to leave. That’s exactly why we shouldn’t give her so much to reminisce about. After all, the Riddle family doesn’t owe her anything.”

Throughout the years, the Riddle family had provided her with the best life imaginable, so she was not mistreated in the slightest. Steve’s words made everyone fall into their deep thoughts.

‘His words do make sense.’

With Mr. Riddle Sr.’s support, Nicole was finally getting to stay on campus the next day, just as she wished.

She got up early to pack her luggage. In fact, it was only a medium-sized duffel bag. She filled it with her clothes and daily necessities. Once she had packed everything carefully, she zipped up her bag and brought it downstairs.

The Riddle family’s car was already waiting for her outside the house. When Nicole opened the door, she realized that Stanley was already in the car.

He greeted her with a smile as soon as he saw her. “I’ll bring you to school today since Spencer and Samuel stayed on campus yesterday.” “Alright.” Nicole nodded. It was best to be dropped off at school by one person as she did not want to create a scene. At that moment, Nicole’s bag attracted Stanley’s eyes. They had all stayed on campus before, but no matter how minimal they packed, they always needed a few pieces of luggage. As the heiress of the Riddle family, Nicole just brought a piece of small luggage and a backpack with her, which caused Stanley to frown.

“Is that all you’re bringing over, Sis?” “It’s a hassle if I bring too many things.”

After speaking, Nicole threw her backpack on the car seat and sat down before taking a rest.

Stanley saw that she did not talk much, so he swallowed his question.

He just secretly took note that his sister was different from the other girls. She did not like having too many decorations and girly things. This type of little sister was a little cool, for whatever reason.

The car drove steadily into Royal Creek Institute. When it reached the office building, Nicole alighted from the car and bid Stanley goodbye before heading to Ms. Emerson’s office for some procedures.

She strolled to Ms. Emerson’s office. The moment she was about to knock on the door with her hand lifted, she heard someone talking in a sarcastic and unpleasant tone.

“Ms. Emerson, I didn’t expect someone your age to be this sly. You’ve been giving the director gifts, huh? I saw everything just now. That box of tea leaves is far from cheap. It’s probably half of your monthly wage. Even if you want the title of ‘good’ teacher, you shouldn’t have made it so obvious.”

Nicole could tell that the voice belonged to Mr. Kennedy.

Ms. Emerson pursed her lips in the office, feeling embarrassed. Mr. Kennedy had a backer; he was the school chairman’s relative. With a backer and his seniority, he would always bully the new teachers.

Mr. Ellison was strict about gifting in school, but Mr. Kennedy ignored it and sent the director plenty of expensive gifts to keep Ms. Emerson down, making the director displeased with her. Ms. Emerson was so resigned that she had to give the director gifts, but she did not expect to be seen by Mr. Kennedy.

While listening to Mr. Kennedy’s insults, Ms. Emerson parted her lips. But in the end, she said nothing, and her eyes started to tear up.

Nicole pushed the door open right that instant. Ms. Emerson saw her and immediately lowered her head to fight back her tears as she said in a hurry, “Nicole, you’re here to complete the procedure, right? I’ve already printed out the form; you just have to sign a few pages, that’s all.

Upon speaking, Ms. Emerson stood up and passed Nicole the documents. Nicole arched her brows as she heard Ms. Emerson’s slightly hoarse voice. However, she remained silent and signed the papers.

Ms. Emerson forced out a smile to Nicole and said, “There, put your things in your dormitory today. Mr. Ellison said that you can choose any dormitory you like.”

Nicole nodded indifferently and turned to the door. At that moment, Mr. Kennedy had made himself some tea as he walked out with a mug filled with hot water. The doorway was narrow, and Mr. Kennedy expected Nicole to make way for him. Unexpectedly, Nicole did not see him and barged out the door.

Mr. Kennedy’s hot tea spilled onto his body within seconds, including his bare arms and face. “Argh!!” His cry echoed in the office!

 

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Nicole watched as Mr. Kennedy shrieked like a butchered animal and said coldly, “Sorry, I didn’t see you walking here.” “You didn’t see me? Where are your eyes?” Mr. Kennedy yelled out of embarrassment, looking like he wanted to eat her alive. Nicole smiled instantly. Though it was just a faint smile, it was radiant. “What else could it be? Do I have to give you presents, Mr. Kennedy?” “What?” Mr. Kennedy was stunned as he had no idea what Nicole was talking about. “Mr. Kennedy, you were so angry just now. Shouldn’t I give you presents as a token of apology?” Nicole’s words made the people around them think of Ms. Emerson, whom Mr. Kennedy had just scolded. Everyone knew how the Director of the Department always had Ms. Emerson’s back against the wall, so she probably had no choice but to give the director presents. Then, all of them started to look at Ms. Emerson with sympathy. Mr. Kennedy sensed what Nicole had implied and got livid. But he could not do anything to Nicole, so he just turned around and yelled at Ms. Emerson, “Look at the attitude of the student you teach!” At that moment, Mr. Kennedy was not in the mood to mock Ms. Emerson anymore. He was so in pain that he had to look for some ointments back in the office. It was Ms. Emerson’s first time seeing Mr. Kennedy getting so enraged by a student. She let out a laugh as she watched his disheveled self running away with tea leaves all over him. The sadness and grievance she got from his yelling had disappeared without a trace. It seemed like Nicole had helped her just now. Ms. Emerson felt a little guilty as she thought about how she did not like Nicole and was reluctant to have Nicole in her class last time.

However, Nicole had already turned around and left the office, ignoring everyone’s reaction. Ms. Emerson watched Nicole leave as she felt warm inside. After the morning class ended, Nicole got up and walked to the cafeteria as it was now lunchtime.

She did not wait for Bradley and Lulu today. Though she was early, she could not help but knit her brows at the sight of the crowded cafeteria. Unbeknownst to her, a frown on her delicate face made her extra charming, awing many boys around her. Norah was sitting with her classmates as Celia shot her a look. “Your sister from the countryside is here.” Norah turned around and saw how much of an eyesore Nicole was. She could not help but feel a little jealous. In order to draw the attention to herself, she fought back the upset feeling she had yesterday and waved to Nicole with a smile on her face. “Here, Sis!” The word “sis” stunned numerous people in an instant. “Is Norah calling Nicole sis?” “No way; I heard that transfer student is from the countryside, no?” “Is she from the Riddle family as well?”. When Norah heard the discussions about Nicole, she could not help but put her nose in the air while looking at Nicole arrogantly. No matter how beautiful Nicole was, everyone would remember that she was from the countryside as long as they compared her to Norah. Subsequently, when everyone thought they knew the relationship between Norah and Nicole, Nicole looked away as if she did not see Norah. She then sat on an empty seat. Norah froze. ‘Did this country bumpkin just ignore me?!’ The people around them immediately said, “Nicole doesn’t seem to know Norah…” “True. Nicole is so pretty, while Norah just looks average. How could they be sisters?” These remarks drifted into Nicole’s ears, and her face started to burn with embarrassment. ‘I’m indeed not as pretty as Nicole. But how can they just ignore the fact that Nicole is a country bumpkin just because she’s pretty?’ Celia could not stand it anymore as well. “Don’t waste your energy calling her here. She’s just a country bumpkin. What right does she have to sit with us?”

That was when Norah started to feel better. She said pretentiously, “I’m just worried about her. Nobody wants to approach her after knowing she’s from the countryside.” While Norah spoke, the cafeteria door opened, and someone yelled, “Austin Woods is here!” Everyone threw their graze in Nicole’s direction as soon as they heard Austin was here. They all knew how Nicole had embarrassed Austin in the cafeteria last time, so they thought he wanted to make her pay today. Hence, they started to walk away, keeping a distance from Nicole. The boys wanting to hit on her were also terrified. Like the crowd, they ran away from her when they heard Austin’s name. It did not take long before the space around Nicole was emptied, which made her stand out even more in the cafeteria. Norah was delighted when she saw that and thought, ‘This is how a country bumpkin should be treated! ‘Everyone should just treat her like a virus! ‘Nicole even bluffed about Austin asking her to be his boss back then. I would like to see if she was telling the truth!’ Austin strutted into the cafeteria with his followers under hundreds of eyes. His gaze swept across the cafeteria sharply as if he was looking for someone. Suddenly, he caught sight of Nicole, and his eyes sparkled. He then strode toward her. The people all thought that Austin was going to show Nicole who was the boss, so they got their popcorn ready. Norah was also waiting for Austin to slap Nicole’s face brutally. However, Austin stopped next to Nicole and greeted her; “Hey, Boss!” Everyone was stunned as they thought he had misheard him! Eventually, Austin’s followers greeted her as well, “Hey Boss! We heard you were in the cafeteria, so we’re here to make way for you!” At that moment, everyone was in shock. All they could do was stare at Nicole in a daze. ‘Did we hear it wrong? Did Austin address Nicole as his boss?!’

 

Chapter 34

Celia was also stunned as she looked at Norah, dumbfounded. “Hey, what’s going on here? Why did Austin address that country bumpkin as his boss?” “I-I have no idea too.” Nicole thought, ‘Nicole was telling the truth! Everything she said was real?!’

The Woods family was a powerful and rich family in Northon, so Austin had been at the top of the pyramid in school for the past few years. He did not even back down when fighting the Finley brothers. But now he bowed to a country bumpkin?!

Norah could not help to be suspicious of Nicole’s real identity. Everyone was in shock as well, but Nicole remained expressionless. She casually glanced at Austin and returned her gaze to the long queue at the window. Austin beamed the moment he saw her looking at him. “You must be hungry, Boss! i’ll get someone to bring you food!” Austin volunteered himself. That was when Nicole finally looked at him directly. “It’s okay.” She sounded indifferent. But Austin was already calling over his subordinate to get the best ribs in the cafeteria. He then happily went over and lined up to get Nicole some soup. Nicole did not reject him as she saw how determined he was. She then turned to find herself a seat and sat down. After all, she really did not like queueing up. Everyone looked as if they had seen a ghost when Nicole sat down, walking away with their plates hurriedly. ‘Oh man, even Austin is calling her boss. How powerful is she?!’

They dared not to offend her.

When Nicole saw Austin lining up without bullying anyone, her gaze was not as cold anymore.

Austin was a tyrant in school. When had he ever lined up for food?

At that moment, Austin was squeezing between the crowd for Nicole. It was so hot he was sweating like a pig

When he turned back and saw Nicole’s gaze turn slightly warm, he was elated. He did not bother how sweaty he was and continued to line up to get Nicole some food.

Everyone saw this bizarre scene. They were stupefied upon seeing Austin working himself to the bones to impress Nicole. Coincidentally, Gary and Raine went to the cafeteria for lunch as well.

When they walked into the cafeteria and saw how Austin was treating Nicole, they were

dumbfounded too.

After Nicole rejected Austin, Raine thought Austin would harm Nicole out of anger and embarrassment. Raine did not expect Austin would ignore her, the beauty queen in school, and beg to be Nicole’s follower instead. He had even made a big scene. How embarrassing!

Jealousy flashed in Raine’s eyes as she said sarcastically, “Nicole is from your class, right? She has only been here for a few days, and she’s already acting like she’s all that. Who knows what she’d become in the future?!”

Little did she know that Nicole had rejected Gary’s offer to protect Nicole. Otherwise, she would be infuriated.

Raine’s remark did not get a response, so she wondered why and turned around. She noticed Gary staring at Nicole, who was not far from them. His eyes were intrigued. Gary felt that things had become more interesting since Nicole transferred to Royal Creek Institute.

He initially thought that Nicole was a country girl who did not know her place, but he gradually realized that she was nothing like how he had pictured her. Nicole was incredibly skilled that she had even

made Austin submit to her. Even her background was mysterious as there was completely no trace of her information on the internet.

Excluding the fact that Gary did not perform very well in his academics as he rarely paid attention in class, he was, in fact, a well-known computer genius. He had personally searched for Nicole’s information, but his efforts were vain.

Gary could tell that Nicole was someone not ordinary.

Standing next to him was Raine, who watched him staring at Nicole with desire in his eyes. She started to feel anxious.

She had pursued Gary for a long time, but he had always been indifferent toward her. It was her first time seeing Gary looking at someone with such a gaze. ‘Is Gary interested in Nicole?’ Raine thought, ‘Impossible! It took me a great deal of effort just to stand by Gary’s side. I will never let anyone take my place away!’

Nicole finished eating in a short while. Austin wanted to follow her when he saw her standing up. But Nicole stopped him with a slight frown. “Don’t cross the line.”

Austin knew that he could not step over the boundary, so he left after bidding her goodbye.

Celia was frustrated as she saw Nicole showing off like that. “She’s just a country girl, yet she has the audacity to enjoy the limelight. Is she trying to humiliate classy ladies like us?”

Norah saw that Celia was angry, so she chimed in, “Yeah, she’s just a girl. How could she be the boss of the school alpha? She’s too full of herself.”

Celia got even angrier with Norah’s remark. “People like her deserve to be punished!”

“Don’t be impulsive… What if Austin backs her?”

Celia scoffed. “The Rowe family isn’t someone to mess with! Just you wait!”

At that moment, Nicole was done with her food and was about to leave the cafeteria. However, a figure popped out with malicious intent the second she stood up and barged into her!

Nicole’s eyes were cold as she quickly swerved and avoided that person. Her movements were so fast that the people did not catch them.

“Ouch!”

A voice cried, and everyone looked in that direction. There Celia was, lying flat on the ground!

When Celia saw how much attention Nicole was getting, Celia planned to bring along her leftover food on her plate and knock Nicole over to humiliate her in front of everybody!

But Celia had never expected Nicole to be that agile to dodge her, causing her to be the one that was lying flat on the floor!

Celia’s palms were pressing onto her leftover food scattered around the ground. She looked utterly disheveled!

Chapter 35

Nicole had already seen through Celia’s evil schemes, so she was looking at Celia’s embarrassing state coldly from the side. Celia had fallen hard. She was struggling on the floor for a while before somebody helped her up. However, she glared at Nicole as soon as she got up. “How could you be so cruel?! You actually tripped me!” When the people who did not catch what really happened heard what Celia said, they looked at Nicole with disdain as they condemned her in their hearts. ‘She sure is acting differently now that she has Austin at her back. It did not take long for her to bully people, huh?’ Nicole was not bothered by their gaze and scoffed, “You don’t have to point fingers at me here. There’s a surveillance camera right in front of us. We’ll know what exactly happened when we watch the footage later.” Celia was brainless for trying to set Nicole up when there was a surveillance camera in front of them. She had even tried to twist the story because her plan failed. Nicole started to wonder if Celia was retarded. “What?” Celia was stunned as she obviously did not expect a surveillance camera to be there. She only realized that Nicole was telling the truth when she looked up.

Celia’s eyes immediately fell on Norah, who was in the crowd. Norah’s blood was boiling as she did not expect Celia to be so stupid as well. But she still acted like she was protective of Celia as she went up to help her. “How are you? Are you okay?” “Of course I’m not okay? My knees are killing me.” Celia had lost her momentum, but she still refused to let Nicole go. Norah noticed it. She looked at Nicole. “Nicole, no matter how you put it, Celia fell because of you. You should apologize to her.” “Apologize?” Nicole smirked coldly. Her smile was evilly enchanting, so evil that it sent others shivers. “Does she deserve it?” Nicole did not have the habit of apologizing to people, let alone apologizing to someone as petty and despicable as Celia. “What did you say?” Celia was so angered that she almost charged at Nicole.

“We’ll know who should apologize after we check the surveillance camera. Go to the central control room with me if you have the guts.” Nicole looked at Celia and Norah with disdain, her eyes filled with disgust. The people saw how firm Nicole was, so they started to look at Celia with doubt. Celia was growing more diffident under the eyes of the crowd. How would she even go to the central control room? She obviously had ulterior motives, so the surveillance camera would definitely catch her act in high definition. She had no choice but to yell nervously, “Why should I listen to whatever you say? I don’t have time to play around with you! You’re just an ill-bred country bumpkin. Do you think I care about your apology? We’ll wait and see!” Celia was so exasperated that she was shouting at Nicole. But Nicole’s eyes turned icy cold all of a sudden. “Who are you calling ill-bred?” Nicole had a void of regret within her after being separated from her biological parents for such a long time. She could tolerate anything other than being called ill-bred. No one could call her that! “Of course it’s…” Celia did not get to say the word “you.” But she had already fallen silent just from being stared down by Nicole. In a split second, she actually felt that Nicole would kill her if she continued the whole sentence. That was a frightening gaze. Norah could not help but gulp as she had also seen Nicole’s eyes. She then mustered her courage to ease the tension. “Nicole, Celia lost control of her words because she was too angry. Don’t mind her. I’ll leave with her now.” Norah only wanted to get away from this matter at that moment, so she did not bring up the central control room.