Chapter 35

Melinda's POV

Raven dragged me to the second teaching building.

I was well aware of her ulterior motives.

She claimed to be interested in the graduate exam questions, but in reality, she was on the hunt for a wealthy boyfriend.

Most students at our school came from affluent families, and many who applied for the finance graduate program were already successful individuals in the industry.

Sure enough, halfway there, Raven was already bouncing with excitement.

She chattered away, "I heard Wilmot Hammond is here, too. There will definitely be a crowd around him. If we're late, we might not even catch a glimpse."

Hearing this, my curiosity was piqued as well.

The Hammond Group was a financial giant in Los Angeles, with a vast banking enterprise and a reputation for being extremely low-key.

Yet, there were persistent rumors that their wealth was so immense that they could rebuild Los Angeles from scratch, which was not an idle claim.

Raven, like an inquisitive squirrel, kept looking around excitedly.

Suddenly, she spotted something and shouted with the excitement of discovering treasure, "It seems to be here!"

I followed the direction of Raven's finger and saw a large crowd gathered outside the exam room.

Everyone was craning their necks, trying to peek inside to catch a glimpse of what was happening.

"Excuse me! Excuse me!" Raven pulled me through the crowd like two nimble fish, finally making our way to the front.

As I stood by the window of the exam room, my eyes casually scanned the room and froze when I saw Vanya sitting at the first table.

This sight left me stunned.

What was Vanya doing here?

A flurry of questions exploded in my mind.

Before I could react, the commotion outside caught the attention of the proctor inside.

The proctor stormed out, angrily shouting, "Which department do you students belong to? This is an exam room. Don't you know that? All of you, stay away from the exam room!"

The students scattered at the proctor's roar, fleeing as fast as they could.

Only Raven, still hopeful, clutched my arm tightly, her face full of ingratiating smiles as she pleaded with the proctor, "Teacher, we are junior students planning to take the postgraduate exam, so we wanted to take a look at this year's paper to study it thoroughly. Could you please..."

The proctor's gaze lingered on me, and his expression noticeably softened.

As a student sponsored by Cliff, I did have some special treatment at school.

As expected, the proctor readily handed me the exam paper.

I took it, glanced down, and my face turned a bit ugly at the sight of the dense questions. I was inwardly troubled.

These questions were not easy, and achieving high scores would not be a simple task for me.

"What a pity we didn't see Wilmot," Raven said, deflating like a balloon, her head drooping in disappointment.

Then, noticing my furrowed brow, she asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

I shook my head slightly and sighed, "This year's questions are too difficult. Even if I take them, I can't guarantee good results."

However, I was relieved secretly.

With such difficult questions, Vanya definitely wouldn't pass.

I recalled how Cliff had advised me not to take the exam this year, knowing that the difficulty of this year's questions was extraordinary.

Thinking of Cliff's preference for me, my heart was as sweet as honey, and I couldn't help but feel a bit smug.

Vanya's POV

I was fully concentrated on writing in the exam room, the time slipping away unnoticed.

Suddenly, a commotion outside the exam room was followed by a loud "bang!" as the door was forcefully pushed open.

I looked up in shock to see two burly bodyguards escorting a man with flamboyant red hair into the room.

The man was firmly pressed into a seat in the exam room, unable to move.

I instinctively felt that this person was familiar, my mind quickly searching my memories.

If I remembered correctly, he should be the second son of the Hammond family, Wilmot, also the son of the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack.

[$]

Memories from my past life flooded back. In my impression, Wilmot was a frivolous and violent person, yet he had excellent business acumen.

Before my death in my previous life, he replaced his ailing elder brother, Edwin, becoming the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack and the person in charge of the Hammond Group.

It seemed he did have real skills.

"I won't do it!" Wilmot's voice, rich in magnetism and a hint of unruliness, echoed in the exam room, instantly breaking the quiet atmosphere that was only filled with the sound of pens scribbling on the exam papers.

I always felt that the Wilmot in front of me was different from the image of him in my memory, who was known for his decisive and thunderous methods and controlled the power of the Blood Moon Pack.

But soon, I realized that Wilmot now was just seen as a lazy and unreliable playboy by everyone.

Who could have thought that such an unreliable person would, in a few years, during the upheaval of the Blood Moon Pack, transform into a top businessman capable of contending with Cliff?

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but be more curious about him, and my gaze unconsciously lingered on him a bit longer.

Perhaps my gaze was too obvious. Wilmot caught a glimpse of me from the corner of his eye.

I was startled and immediately lowered my head, fearing to attract his attention.

But fate seemed to love teasing me. 'Damn it, Wilmot's exam seat today is right next to mine.'