Chapter 180

The Consortium’s Heir Chapter 180 Pearl opened the door, still caught up in her thoughts. When she saw the woman standing there, her eyes widened in shock.

It was Elle, and she was holding a tray. She was a little unhappy to see the beautiful and attractive Pearl, but she soon shook it off. She knew her place, Darius would always be out of her league and more like someone for her to worship.

Elle smiled calmly and said, “I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware there was someone else here. I’ll prepare another set for you.”

Pearl was angry when she first saw Elle. After all, it wasn’t appropriate for a woman to knock on a man’s door in the middle of the night. However, she didn’t expect Elle only to be here to deliver food. She felt a trace of regret at her thoughts.

She quickly held up a hand to stop Elle from leaving. “I’m just here to take care of Darius, so there’s no need to prepare anything for me.”

Elle looked surprised. However, she quickly regained her composure and passed the tray to Pearl. “I’ll have to trouble you with this, then. I’ll take my leave now.”

Pearl watched her leave before heading back to the study.

Darius‘ senses were extra sensitive now that his martial arts skills had been awakened, and he could already smell the food when Elle showed up. He looked at his books, then said, “You can leave that in a corner for now. I’ll be done in two hours.”

Pearl’s eyes widened. “What? You’re almost done already?”

She put the tray on the table, hurried over to him, and then bent down to look at his computer.

Darius saw something barge into his line of sight, and he turned to look at it, then smirked. “Don’t you think you’re a little too close?”

Only then did Pearl realize they were practically stuck together. She quickly backed away while covering her chest. She was about to say something when the clicking of the keyboard rang out. He was working on his dissertation again!

She didn’t dare to say anything lest it disturbed him, and he told her to leave again. She sat on a chair far away from him and observed his side profile.

She heard of Darius about his poverty. Who would’ve expected he would actually turn out to be the richest among them all? And why hadn’t she ever noticed how handsome he was?

He was the most handsome guy she’d ever seen. If she had noticed him earlier, perhaps things would be different now. She was caught up in this train of thought when it suddenly occurred to her that it was highly likely Darius was wealthier than she imagined.

She’d heard a lot about Dragon Estate and knew that the manager wasn’t someone that anyone could meet. If one wanted to meet Elle, one had to be among the ultra–rich of the Country Sigma.

Pearl’s jaw dropped. This was a possibility that had never occurred to her before. Moreover, she’d seen the hostility in Elle’s eyes when she’d answered the door earlier. Rumor had it that Elle was wealthy and probably included in a list of the Country Sigma’s richest. This wasn’t an easy feat.

If Darius could attract the attention of such a woman, there was no imagining how powerful his family and background were.

As her imagination started running wild, Darius spoke up. “I can eat now.”

Pearl lost her train of thought. Before she realized what she was doing, she’d already started to move. She only returned to her senses when she placed the tray before him, saying, “Wait, what? Have you already finished your dissertation?”

Darius shot her a look, seemingly not understanding her surprise. “What’s wrong with that? You seem surprised that I’m done.”

Pearl stared at him, then nodded vigorously at his words. “Yeah, I’m shocked. It took me two whole weeks to finish mine.”

Darius raised an eyebrow. He knew that some of these students from affluent families only chose to attend the classes they liked, so many didn’t know how to do their dissertations. He didn’t say anything about this, though.

He’d only found out about these things after becoming wealthy, and he understood that it was only normal. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to find the right people to run his companies for him.

Pearl was still trying to process the fact that he’d already finished his dissertation, so she didn’t catch the look on his face. She walked over to him, and the light in her eyes amused him. “Can I take a look at your computer?” she asked.

Darius got up and moved away from the desk while gesturing at the computer. “Go ahead.”

Pearl sat down, but the warmth from the seat no longer got her hot and bothered. She was completely focused on the computer as she flipped through Darius‘ dissertation. As she read it, she realized just how ignorant she was.

She looked away from the computer and trained her awed gaze on Darius, exclaiming, “Darius, you’re even more outstanding than I thought.”

This was his first time receiving such high praise. He smiled and asked curiously, “Where do you think I should be placed, then?”

Pearl’s gaze returned to the computer. “You should be among the professors, of course.”

Darius‘ smile widened. He walked over to the coffee table and lifted the cover, saying, “Let’s eat together.”

Pearl immediately abandoned the dissertation. Her eyes practically glowed as she looked at him. ” Really?” The smile on Darius‘

face made her heart skip a beat, and if he didn’t say what he said next, it would make her happiness last longer.

He said, “I’m inviting you to eat with me not because I’ve accepted you but because you’ve already repaid me.”

She wanted to refute him, but she couldn’t. She sat opposite him, not making a sound because Darius didn’t like it.

“I’ll leave after eating, then.” 1