Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Casper ignored Leo entirely. His gaze lingered on the sheet of paper before him.

It was, undoubtedly, an IOU. The figures, the borrower’s signature, and fingerprint were all there.

Casper turned to look at Lillian to find his suspicions confirmed.

The IOU listed the borrower’s name as Wayne Thomas. As of the first of March, he had borrowed fifty thousand from Tyson that he needed to repay within three months.

Casper pondered this. Nearly half a year had gone by since the first of March. As of that present moment, Wayne had already exceeded the stated deadline by more than twice. The moneylender had every right to demand compensation. Casper would not have interfered if Lillian had indeed been the borrower.

However, this debt had nothing to do with Lillian whatsoever. She was merely a victim of her brother’s recklessness. Casper found himself seething and knew that he could not stand idly by while Lillian suffered.

“Did you say fifty thousand?” Casper asked evenly.

“That’s right. Come on, aren’t you a rather capable fellow? Are you still going to help that b*stard out?”

Leo jeered at Casper in return.

Casper remained silent.

“Come on! What’s up? Lost your voice, haven’t you? Or have you gone dumb?” Leo taunted, then burst into laughter. As if on cue, the few other youths loitering near him howled immediately after.

Nearby, other curious onlookers in the gym grinned as well, enjoying the drama that was unfolding before their eyes. Only a few stood grimly by the side, watching Casper intently.

What a fool! Their watchful eyes seemed to be saying.

Lillian opened her mouth slightly as if to speak, then let out a small sigh. The momentary hopefulness that had surged within her had evaporated just as quickly as it had appeared.

She did not blame Casper, however. Fifty thousand wasn’t an extravagant sum, but it wasn’t an insignificant amount for a university student to bear, either. Besides, fifty thousand was a little too much to pay on behalf of someone that Lillian barely knew.

Lillian thus did not resent Casper for intervening. On the other hand, she felt a twinge of guilt for having involved him in this matter as well.

After all, Casper was probably the only one Lillian knew who would be willing to fight her battles for her.

However, his kindness had only resulted in him being mocked and ridiculed.

“Why don’t you get lost?” Leo suddenly snapped. He seemed to have grown weary of scoffing at Casper, especially since Casper showed no signs of buckling whatsoever. Instead, Casper had merely shrugged his backpack off and squared his shoulders.

Leo decided that he had had enough. He would have to put Casper in his place before Casper started getting any ideas in his head.

Leo’s threat, however, seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. Casper remained steadfastly standing at his spot, leisurely unzipping his backpack.

“You…” Leo spluttered with rage. It was an enormous blow to his pride that Casper had so blatantly disregarded Leo’s threats before such a crowd. He lunged forward, ready to seize Casper by the throat and give him a good shaking.

Midway, however, Leo froze in his tracks, eyes bulging. He felt as if his throat had suddenly turned bone-dry as he gaped at Casper in mute disbelief.

Leo blinked. However, the multiple thick wads of bills that peeked through the opening of Casper’s tattered backpack were still solidly, determinedly there.

Casper reached into his backpack. Under the eyes of the dumbfounded crowd that had gathered around him, Casper counted out five wads of bills and tossed them casually towards Leo.

Still staring dazedly at Casper, Leo caught the bills in mid-air by pure reflex. Blankly, Leo peered at the bills to verify their authenticity. He almost dropped them when he had confirmed it.

No one cared about Leo’s clumsiness, however. The entire gym had ceased all activity, and all eyes were gazing, transfixed, at the bills that lay scattered over the floor. No one imagined that that unassuming backpack of Casper’s could have contained such riches.

Leo, however, recovered his wits quickly enough. His face instantly turned a bright crimson with embarrassment.

Leo’s earlier words to Casper were now ringing mercilessly in his head. They were more damaging to Leo’s ego than any physical slaps to his face could have affected.

“Is that enough for you?” Casper asked icily.

Leo stared at Casper for a moment, his chest heaving. He then suddenly bellowed, “Wait…No! That’s only enough to repay the initial amount her b*stard of a brother borrowed. What about the interest?”

A cold gleam had appeared in Leo’s eyes as he spoke. In a burst of self-righteousness, Leo raised a trembling finger and pointed at Casper and Lillian, pronouncing, “You should be paying us another ten thousand at least!”

Leo’s declaration stirred up a sense of injustice in Felix, who had been standing quietly next to Casper all this while. As if he had derived some newfound vigor from it, Felix broke in, saying, “It’s obvious that you’re trying to rip us off!”

“Sure, but even if some interest has accumulated, it’s definitely not the amount you’re demanding from us. A few months’ worth of interest shouldn’t even be ten percent!” Colton passionately added, stepping forward to stand with Felix and Casper.

“Shut up! Did we ask for your opinion?” Leo answered hotly.

Leo’s loyal sidekicks had slunk over and now thronged around Felix and Colton, eyeing them nastily.

“So what? I wanted to give it anyway,” Felix retorted. Behind him, Remy, too, stepped forward. Remy’s broad figure towered above most of the crowd, and his menacing scowl forced several of Leo’s sidekicks to take a few involuntary steps backward.

“F*ck! I’m the one who makes the calculations here. If you’re going to repay your debts, pay it, then! If not, get lost!” Leo hollered. He was convinced that Casper did not have sufficient means to repay his debt. Felix and Colton’s defense of Casper was merely a distraction. This thought was what emboldened Leo to challenge Casper.

Just as the last word had escaped from Leo’s mouth, he heard Casper inhale sharply.

Wordlessly, Casper reached into his backpack once again and fished out another fifty thousand. He then flung it unceremoniously at Leo’s feet.

“Is that enough for you now?” Casper repeated. “If it is, take the money and get lost.”

Before Leo could answer, Casper had already seized his backpack in both hands. He turned it upside down and shook it violently. Stacks of bills tumbled out into a heap on the floor.

“Sh*t!” A gasp shuddered through the crowd. The sheer amount of money that lay on the filthy gym floor was worth more than anyone present had ever seen in a single moment.

Casper could see the cogs turning in everyone’s heads as they frantically added up the amount that Casper had been carrying with him all this while, unbeknownst to anyone. Two hundred thousand!

Including the bills that Leo’s clutching so eagerly, Casper must have brought two hundred thousand with him at least!

It was absurd. It would have been inconceivable if those present then had not witnessed this scene unfold before their very eyes. Moments ago, no one would have believed that this modest youth with his ratty bag had strolled into the gym carrying two hundred thousand in cash.

It was a indeed a sight to behold.

If Leo had not been standing right there claiming the money for himself, the crowd would have pounced and ripped Casper and his bills to shreds in their eagerness to get their hands on it.

“If it’s not enough, here’s more,” Casper said shortly. The juxtaposition between Casper’s extraordinary calmness and the looks of shock on everyone else’s faces was surreal. It was as if what he had just dumped onto the floor was not a pile of money but a few pieces of wastepaper.

Lillian had faded into the shadows, outshone by Casper and his pot of gold. She was, however, no less exempt from the effect of shock that Casper’s dramatic revelation had produced.

Did he do that for me?

Why would he help me?

Then the realization struck Lillian like a bolt of lightning. Does Casper like me?

Thoughts clamored in Lillian’s mind and made her heart race wildly. She found herself at a complete loss for words.

“You…I…” Leo stammered. He gawked at Casper, his breaths coming in rapid bursts. He looked as if he was about to have a heart attack if he didn’t manage to murder Casper first.

“Ms. Clauder, what are you doing here?”

“I went to the library to borrow a few books for my upcoming lesson…”

At that moment, voices drifted in from the staircase outside. Casper’s face brightened immediately at the sound of them. One was especially dear to him.

“Hey! You’d better watch out!” Leo cried, gnashing his teeth. He was already floundering but was determined to get in the last word. Having thus spat out his parting shot, Leo whirled around and stormed off.

Seeing that their last wall of defense had retreated, Leo’s lackeys hurried away with him.

Casper’s eyes lit up. He reached out, quick as lightning, to snatch the IOU that was still fluttering in Leo’s hand. Casper then quickly crumpled it and hid it in his hand.

Leo’s face grew thunderous. He seemed to be on the verge of another fit, but the footsteps from the staircase were fast approaching. Leo could only direct a look of absolute loathing towards Casper before he hastily crammed the bills into his pockets and fled.

Casper’s eyes darted keenly from side to side. He bent down in one swift motion and shoveled the remaining bills into his backpack. He then quickly zipped and slung it over one shoulder.

Almost instantly, two female figures emerged from the stairway. One of them was none other than the goddess of Casper’s heart, Giselle. Her hair rippled down her back in long, luscious locks, and a pair of black-rimmed glasses framed her lovely face.

Giselle and the teacher she’d entered with were chattering away heartily. Suddenly, they heard the rapid pattering of footsteps, followed by the sight of Leo and his lackeys charging past.

Even though it had been the most fleeting of looks, Giselle had been astounded by the sheer ire that twisted Leo’s face. Furrowing her brow, she looked ahead to where Casper and his friends were still standing.

“Hello, Ms. Clauder,” Casper called, beaming at Giselle as she approached him.

“Casper? What were all of you up to just now?” Giselle asked tersely. The lines on her worried brow only deepened as she examined Casper with a probing gaze.

“Were you fighting with that group of students just now?” She continued.

“Ms. Clauder, we were just doing what was right!” Casper replied, grinning broadly. The sight of Giselle’s uncertain expression imbued her face with a look of vulnerability, and Casper felt a stirring in his heart.

Ms. Clauder looks even prettier than when I saw her last! Casper wondered to himself in amazement.

“Doing what was right?” Giselle narrowed her eyes as a look of doubt flashed across her face.

“That’s right!” Casper declared, nodding vigorously.

“Ms. Clauder, they… they were standing up for me, so things turned heated between Leo and his gang,” Lillian suddenly edged forward and explained earnestly. She could not bear to witness Casper getting into any further trouble on her account.

Giselle looked Lillian up and down critically. Lillian’s demure face reassured Giselle. Lillian did not look like someone who could tell a barefaced lie. Furthermore, Felix, Colton, and Remy had crept up behind Casper and were nodding feverishly.

“OK, got it. It’s great that you’re standing up for a fellow student, but the school strictly prohibits students from getting into fights. Did any of you hit any of them?” Giselle replied sternly.

Giselle, however, had privately guessed what had transpired. After all, Leo was infamous for being a bully in school, even amongst the faculty. Giselle had no intention of taking Casper and his group to task but had to issue a warning nonetheless. It was essential to deter the students from resorting to violent means to resolve conflicts in the future.

“Of course not! You think too poorly of us, Ms. Clauder. Don’t you believe me?” Casper answered with an injured air.

“Fine. I’ll believe you for now,” Giselle said in a kinder tone, considering Casper’s woebegone face.

“Thank you, Ms. Clauder!” Casper yelled, cracking a wide smile at Giselle. “I knew someone as beautiful as you would have an equally beautiful heart to match.”

“Don’t think that your flattery will get you anywhere,” Giselle warned, but a twinkle had appeared in her eye. She couldn’t help but break into a smile. It had the effect of a radiant sun bursting out from behind the clouds on a bright morning, and the males in the room gaped at her, mesmerized.

Giselle was, without a doubt, the goddess of Business University indeed. There wasn’t a single seat left in any of her classes. Even students who were not part of the official class register frequently slipped in to ogle at Giselle.

As a result, latecomers often found themselves turned away without even catching a glimpse of Giselle’s fabled beauty.

At that moment, not only had the students seen the goddess, they’d even beheld her lovely smile with their very eyes.

This…

Good god! I’ve fallen in love!