Chapter 2

There was a reason people called Noah Reed the untouchable genius of our grade.

His face alone could make people nervous—cold, sharp, distant, the kind of good-looking that felt impossible to approach.

When I arrived at the classroom next door, he was bent over his desk, solving a problem.

A student near the door looked up.

“Who are you looking for?”

“Noah Reed.”

All eyes immediately fell on me.

I walked to Noah’s desk and tried to keep my voice steady.

“Noah, there’s a problem I wanted to ask you about. Is that okay?”

Noah looked up.

His expression was cool, but he did not refuse.

“What problem?”

I handed him my workbook.

Then I took out the black truffle cookies I had originally planned to give Ethan and placed them in front of him.

“I’m not asking for free.”

Noah lifted an eyebrow, his voice lazy with a hint of amusement.

“So you’re bribing me?”

My face warmed.

“It’s not a bribe. It’s a thank-you gift.”

Noah smiled.

He was already good-looking, but when he smiled, my heart skipped.

I suddenly thought that his title as school genius was probably not based only on grades.

“Ava Bennett,” he said, “from now on, if there’s anything you don’t understand, you can come ask me.”

He paused, his eyes still carrying that faint smile.

“And I don’t need payment.”

I stared at him in surprise.

How did he know my name?

Then I immediately figured it out.

I was famous at school for chasing after Ethan Carter. Who didn’t know the girl who followed him around every day?

Noah took my workbook.

“If I explain the problem clearly, that’s enough of a thank-you.”

He showed me three different methods.

I understood every single one.

Afterward, I solved a similar problem and handed it to him.

He looked it over, nodding as he read.

“Not bad. You’re smart.”

“You don’t have to comfort me,” I said quietly. “My grades have always been pretty bad.”

Ethan had explained problems to me before.

But whenever I was even a little slow, he became impatient.

“How can you not understand something this simple? Are you stupid?”

I had tried so hard for so long, but whenever I faced a similar question, I still often had no idea where to begin.

Noah looked at me, his tone calm.

“Has it occurred to you that maybe you’re not stupid? Maybe no one explained the logic clearly before.”

I froze.

It was the first time anyone had ever said that to me.

Who had spread the rumor that Noah was cold and arrogant?

He was clearly very approachable.

Noah’s desk mate turned around.

“Now you’ve seen what our genius can do, right? The people who talk trash about him are just jealous.”

I nodded without thinking.

“Exactly.”

Noah rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Stop praising me.”

When I was leaving, Noah’s desk mate reached for the cookies, but Noah pressed his hand down.

“Noah, I’m hungry. Let me have one.”

“No.”

“You usually share everything with me. Why not today?”

Noah put the cookies into his backpack, his tone light.

“I earned these with my own skill. None for you.”

My heart jumped for no reason.

I quickly hugged my workbook and turned to leave.