In the car, Grady sat with a scowl, still stewing over James''s parting shot at the coffee shop. He couldn''t help but vent to his subordinate, who was driving. "What do you reckon that kid meant with hisst remark?"


    "Was he trying to provoke me?"


    "It sure felt like it was on purpose."


    "Damn it, getting outsmarted by someone younger is just in embarrassing."


    The more Grady talked, the angrier he got. His subordinate, driving cautiously, nced at the rearview mirror, thinking to himself that during the meeting, Grady seemed to be getting along just fine with them. Realizing now that he had been set up seemed a bitte, didn''t it?


    Clearing his throat, the subordinate offered a quiet bit of constion, "Grady, as long as we stand our ground, the enemy''s bound to fall apart."


    Their Miss Mira would still be their Miss Mira.


    While Grady didn''t feel particrly reassured, his expression did soften a bit. "Don''t breathe a word about today to anyone, especially not Miss Mira."


    "Got it." The subordinate replied with a sheepish grin. He understood the hit to Grady''s pride in admitting that his n had backfired.


    Meanwhile, Robert, ze, and their group had just finished a meal at the swankiest restaurant in town. They were about to head back to their pre-booked hotel when Grady showed up. After finding out where they were staying, he upgraded them without a second thought to the best five-star hotel near Riverside University. The rooms? Presidential suites, naturally. The kind that sets you back six figures a night, nearly hitting seven.


    As soon as Grady left, ze couldn''t keep up his city-slicker act any longer. He rolled around on the living room sofa, eximing, "Oh my gosh, I feel like I''m dreaming."


    Truth be told, ze, Patrick, and the others came from prettyfortable backgrounds, but the sheer extravagance still left them awestruck. Patrick chuckled, nudging ze to keep his cool, "We owe this to Mira."


    Denny, though appearing calm as ever, couldn''t deny feeling a bit stirred. After pulling up a chair, he voiced the group''s shared curiosity, "Didn''t the professor say Mira came from humble beginnings?"


    Clearly, she was anything but.


    ze sat up from the sofa and


    whipped out his phone. "I snapperet to the professor now."them


    few photos earlier. I''m sending them


    With that, he opened their Messenger group and posted the shots of the luxury cars, tagging Elliot directly.


    ze: [Professor, any thoughts on this?]


    Elliot, who happened to be on his phone, saw the message pop up and promptly replied with a question mark.


    ze: [Professor, do you know how much this car is worth?]


    Elliot: [...What nerve did you hit now?]


    By now, ze was feeling pretty bold, typing away with newfound audacity: [With


    the customizations, it''s worth billions!!]


    Elliot: [...So?]


    ze: [Professor, do you know whose car this is? [Shocked]]


    Elliot stared at his phone, wishing he could mute this troublemaker. If only he were half as diligent as his other students, he could have published several papers by now. Just as Elliot was about to mute the groupchat, another message from ze popped up.