Chapter 2: A Spoiled Princess

'Vernon Lin...'

Amelie could not help but silently repeat his name in her mind, trying to estimate how it would roll off her tongue if she ever said it aloud. Although both Amelie and Richard were still freshmen at their university, their family backgrounds set them apart. Richard Clark, the only son of successful business investors, and Amelie Devold, the daughter of Ian Devold, CEO of a highly successful tech company, were known by many, while they knew everyone who mattered. This meant that Vernon Lin was someone who should not be of any importance to either of them, yet, Richard seemed to know him. Or at least OF him.

"Who is t-this Vernon Lin?"

Richard, whose eyes had been fixed on the road ahead of him all this time, threw a quick glance at his girlfriend, then tidied his neatly done blond hair with his left hand and shrugged his shoulders, seemingly reluctant to delve further into details.

"I don't know much about the guy. All I heard is that he is graduating from the Computer Science Department this summer and although he is from a poor family, he is astonishingly smart and has been already working for Go Technologies for the past two years."

Amelie jerked her body in the car seat upon hearing Richard say those words, her eyes widening. Go Technologies was her father's competitor in software development and held the impressive rank of third among the growing companies in the entire country. Given that the company focused on developing sensitive security software, getting a job there so early, particularly without a university degree, would definitely require true genius.

"Wow..."

That was the only thing Amelie could squeeze out of herself while Richard could not help but scoff at his girl's genuine fascination.

"He might be smart but from what I heard, he is a complete nutjob. He is cold-blooded, rude, and would do anything to achieve his goal, so don't get involved with him. You heard the way he was talking to those girls, nothing good will come out from being around him."

Amelie did not want to get involved with Vernon Lin, to begin with, but the incident she witnessed in the parking lot was still bothering her way too much.

'He is not well-off, has an off-putting personality, and although he does look fine, the way he dresses or styles his hair does not put him above others. Yet... He made a cute girl cry and felt absolutely nothing about it. How fascinating.'

***

"Alright, say hello to your father for me, I still need to go visit my mom and help at her office. I'll call you when I get home."

Richard embraced Amelie once again and covered her soft lips with his, engaging her in a rather passionate but still-gentle kiss that sent his girl's head spinning each time, and he enjoyed it.

"Are you sure? Stay for d-dinner, Father would love that."

The guy let out a disgruntled sigh and placed his chin on top of Amelie's head, pouting his lips like a child.

"I wish I could, Princess, but you know my mother, she will make me work on the weekends if I miss even one day of her business tutoring."

Amelie knew that Richard's parents were rather strict with him. After all, he had to succeed their business. Thus, the daily business tutoring sessions were a must, and they always made sure that their son would be punished with tons of overtime work if he were to skip them for whatever reason. Whether he was sick, buried in schoolwork, or had to deal with other important family or personal matters, the tutoring sessions had to take place from Monday to Friday, from five to seven. This strict family rule always left Princess Amelie disappointed, especially since her father was so lenient with her as his own successor.

"Fine..."

She pouted her lips as well, then accepted a gentle pat on the head from Richard, and watched him climb into his new sports car—a gift from his father for finishing in the top three in their department last semester. Amelie envied those who could drive, but despite her unstoppable urge to learn, Mr. Devold never allowed her to, forcing her to rely on the assistance of family drivers to get around. She didn't mind being chauffeured, but there was still something enticing about taking the wheel herself, even if it had to remain a forbidden activity for now.

***

Amelie went inside her family's house and was immediately greeted by the chipper voice of their housekeeper Mrs. Kim, who was rushing toward her with a ladle in her right hand and a rather worried look in her aging eyes.

"Miss Amelie! Why on Earth are you so late? Mr. Devold has been waiting for you since lunch!"

That was unusual. Amelie's father, Mr. Ian Devold, was a very busy man and never came home earlier than late evening. Whenever he came home earlier than that, it usually indicated that he was either seriously unwell or had something important to tell his daughter. Of course, neither happened that often.

'I wonder what happened.'

Having decided not to hesitate any longer, Amelie went upstairs, then paused right in front of her father's office, took a deep breath, and knocked three times.

"Come in."

Ian Devold was sitting behind his large oak desk, typing something on his laptop with a rather busy expression on his still-youthful face. He did not look unwell, nor did he look like someone who had something urgent or serious to discuss, and that made his daughter feel an incredible sense of relief.

She walked up to her father's desk and interrupted the typing sound with her loud but trembling voice,

"You're home early! Is something the matter?"

Mr. Devold shifted his gaze away from the laptop screen and fixed his serious eyes on Amelie's smiling face. The casualness with which that pretty girl always smiled bothered him every time he saw her, and he couldn't help but sigh.

"Professor Taylor told me that you didn't attend a single one of his lectures last semester, and if you continue with this attitude, you're going to fail his class this time."

Amelie could not help but sigh as well - it finally backfired.

"But father, the Theory of computation is hard, I can barely understand anything! Professor Taylor is your friend, can't you just do something?"

Mr. Devold rubbed his already-throbbing forehead with his big hand and almost groaned. It seemed like he had spoiled his daughter excessively, and now was the time to finally address her attitude, at least to some extent.

"I'm not going to handle things like this, Amelie. Professor Taylor and I have already made up our minds - you're going to get a tutor."

"W-what?!"

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