Bet
dark heroThe test began at three in the afternoon.
Eighty percent of it covered material the students should already know from their previous years of school. The remaining twenty percent came from the curriculum they were supposed to study this year.
Before the school year began, the academy had recommended that every student take a quick look through their new textbooks. They weren’t expected to actually learn the material beforehand. The purpose was simply to give them a broad idea of what they would be studying throughout the year.
That final twenty percent was there to see who had actually followed that recommendation.
It wouldn’t count toward their classification.
Nezu looked through the test from beginning to end.
Then he started writing.
Three minutes later, his pencil stopped.
He placed it neatly beside the paper, folded his arms over the desk, rested his head on them, and closed his eyes.
The mathematics teacher noticed immediately.
Her expression didn’t change, but inwardly, disappointment settled in.
These silver-spoon kids don’t even try.
She said nothing until the allotted time finally ended.
“Pens down, everyone.”
The students obeyed.
The teacher walked to the front of the classroom.
“Children, just because this test won’t count toward your final grade doesn’t mean you should ignore it.”
Her eyes moved across the classroom before stopping directly on Nezu.
“Some of you would do well to remember that.”
Nezu didn’t react.
He was accustomed to people making assumptions about him. As long as they left his family alone, he generally couldn’t care less about what they thought.
Unfortunately for the teacher, the red-haired girl sitting beside him cared considerably more.
“Teacher, you really shouldn’t say that about my brother.”
The teacher turned toward Segu.
“Oh? So there are two of you?”
Segu frowned.
“I’m the teacher here. I can say whatever I want. And don’t think that just because your parents are rich or important, you can do whatever you please in my classroom.”
“Teacher,” Segu replied, still remarkably polite, “you really shouldn’t take this any further. You may regret judging a book by its cover.”
The teacher’s face hardened.
“Insolence! Do you think two spoiled, rude, uneducated brats can tell me what to do?”
Her voice was now loud enough to silence the entire classroom.
For the first time, Nezu reacted.
A vein throbbed faintly on his forehead.
Insulting him was one thing.
Insulting Segu was another.
And bringing their parents into it was something else entirely.
“Gu. Stop.”
Segu immediately fell silent.
Nezu raised his head and looked directly at the teacher.
His strange gaze didn’t affect adults nearly as much as it did children, but the teacher still felt a chill run down her spine. For a brief moment, she had the uncomfortable sensation of being watched by a wild beast rather than a ten-year-old boy.
She quickly pushed the feeling aside.
“Teacher,” Nezu said calmly, “when exactly was I rude, uneducated, or spoiled?”
She quickly recovered.
“You looked at the test, pretended to write for three minutes, and then went to sleep in the middle of it! If that isn’t spoiled and disrespectful behavior, what is? Even I would need at least ten minutes to finish that test.”
Nezu looked at her.
Then at his paper.
He stood, picked it up, walked toward her desk, and placed it in front of her.
His expression remained completely unchanged.
“I won’t apologize for being smarter than the teacher.”
The classroom went silent.
The teacher grabbed the test so violently that the paper nearly tore beneath her fingers.
She didn’t even look at the answers.
“You.”
She pointed toward the door.
“Director’s office. Now!”
At almost exactly the same time, a black sedan passed through the academy gates.
Steve glanced toward the school building.
“Miss Diana, knowing those two, it should be starting around this time.”
Diana chuckled.
“Yes.”
She picked up her handbag.
“We should probably go straight to the director’s office.”
By the time Diana arrived, the mathematics teacher had already finished explaining the situation.
The director looked toward Nezu.
“Nezu, do you deny anything your teacher has told me?”
“No, Director. Everything happened exactly as she said.”
The director sighed.
“Then I have no other choice but to—”
The office door opened.
Everyone turned.
Diana Brown walked inside.
The director’s eyes widened.
“Miss Brown? We haven’t even called you yet. How are you already here?”
“Because I was expecting something like this.”
Diana smiled pleasantly.
“I scheduled lunch and tea with some friends nearby. When classes were getting close to ending, I decided to come over.”
The mathematics teacher, who had been standing silently beside the director’s desk, gave a cynical laugh.
“So Miss Brown already knew her rebellious son and daughter were going to cause trouble and came prepared to convince the director to overlook it?”
Diana stopped smiling.
Nezu had a weakness.
Segu had the same weakness.
And unfortunately for the teacher, so did Diana.
Family.
Diana stepped closer.
“No.”
Her voice had become dangerously quiet.
“I expected some foolish teacher to pick on him.”
The teacher stared at her.
Is this woman insane?
Before she could answer, Diana suddenly looked toward the door.
“Segu.”
Silence.
“Stop eavesdropping and come inside.”
A small noise came from outside.
Then the door abruptly swung open and Segu stumbled through it, having apparently been leaning against it.
She immediately looked at the floor.
“Sorry for eavesdropping, Mom.”
Diana gently caught her chin between two fingers and lifted her face.
“We’ll talk about that later.”
Segu’s puppy-like expression intensified.
“For now, tell me exactly what happened.”
Segu did.
Every word.
What Nezu had done.
What she had said.
What the teacher had said.
And what Nezu had said in return.
By the time she finished, Diana’s face had slowly begun turning red.
But before dealing with the teacher, she had something else to address.
She turned toward Nezu.
“Darling.”
“Yes, Mother?”
“Next time, don’t sleep during a test. If you’re finished, hand it in and politely ask whether you may be excused.”
She gently patted his head.
It wasn’t exactly punishment.
More like correcting a minor breach of etiquette.
“Sorry, Mother. It won’t happen again. I’m still not used to this.”
Anyone who didn’t know Nezu would have doubted that apology.
His voice didn’t change.
His expression didn’t change.
His posture didn’t change.
But Diana knew her son well enough.
She nodded.
Then turned back toward the teacher.
Her expression transformed.
“Now… us.”
The lioness had returned.
“If you ever insult my son or daughter like that again, I promise you will regret it.”
“What?!”
The teacher finally exploded.
“That wasn’t even a scolding! Your son insulted me, you barely corrected him, and now you’re threatening me?”
Diana calmly reached into her pocket and removed her phone.
“Steve?”
She asked him to bring something inside.
A moment later, Diana held a document in one hand while her phone rested in the other.
A number was already prepared to be called.
She showed the screen to the teacher.
“Choose.”
The teacher looked at the document.
Then at the phone.
“Either we escalate this…”
Diana lowered her voice.
“…or you sign this NDA and hear what I have to say.”
The teacher’s eyes moved toward the name displayed on the phone.
More specifically, toward the office attached to it.
Minister of Education.
Her face stiffened.
She clenched her teeth.
“I’ll sign.”
“Wonderful.”
Diana turned toward the director.
“Mr. Director, you’ll have to sign as well.”
“No problem, Miss Brown. I’m already used to it.”
He skimmed through the document, signed it, made a copy, and walked toward a cabinet.
He opened a drawer.
Inside was a folder.
NDAs.
He placed the copy inside.
The teacher stared at him.
He really was used to this.
After both signatures were finished, Diana returned her attention to the teacher.
“Miss Hannah. When you say my son insulted you, I assume you’re referring to his claim that he’s smarter than you.”
“Obviously.”
“Then I’ll prove it.”
Hannah almost laughed.
I’d like to see you prove that a ten-year-old brat is smarter than me.
Diana suddenly sniffed the air.
“Nice perfume.”
Hannah blinked.
“What?”
“Brown Suave. I like it. I use it myself, although probably for different reasons than you.”
Hannah stared at her.
Brown…?
Her eyes narrowed.
Then slowly widened.
Diana smiled.
“Made the connection?”
She gestured toward herself.
“Yes. It’s produced by one of my family’s companies.”
Hannah said nothing.
“It took nearly ten years to develop. It’s now one of our most successful products.”
Diana casually crossed her arms.
“But there’s an interesting little story behind it.”
She paused.
“The fragrance itself had already been developed after eight years. The problem was keeping the scent stable without making it overwhelmingly intense.”
Hannah’s irritation continued growing.
Is she seriously bragging about her company now?
“Our researchers spent almost two years trying to solve that final problem.”
Diana’s smile widened.
“Until someone looked at their work and corrected the formula in five minutes.”
Hannah frowned.
Diana allowed the silence to linger.
“That perfume has generated more than three hundred million in profit.”
Yes, yes. You’re rich. I understand.
“And the person who solved the problem is currently standing in this room.”
Hannah looked at Diana.
“So what? Being intelligent yourself doesn’t prove that your son—”
“It wasn’t me.”
Silence.
Diana pointed toward Nezu.
“It was him.”
Hannah stared at the boy.
“What?”
Nezu stared back.
“What?!”
For the first time, Hannah completely lost her composure.
“That’s impossible! There’s no way some spoiled brat could solve something professional chemists couldn’t!”
Diana’s hand slammed against the desk.
The entire room jumped.
“I warned you.”
Her voice had dropped into something far more frightening than shouting.
“Do. Not. Insult. My. Son.”
Hannah froze.
Diana stared at her for several seconds before taking a slow breath.
Then she straightened her clothes.
Her voice returned to normal.
“You don’t have to believe me.”
She turned toward the director.
“Fortunately, we have a much easier way to demonstrate his abilities.”
She pointed toward the slightly torn paper lying on his desk.
“Mr. Director, that’s my son’s test, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And nobody has changed anything since it arrived here?”
“No, Miss Brown.”
“Wonderful.”
Diana smiled.
“Would you please grade it?”
The director hesitated.
“Of course.”
“It’s the last thing I’ll ask of you today.”
Diana pulled out her chequebook.
“And regardless of the result, I’ll make a donation to the academy for the inconvenience.”
The director began grading.
Meanwhile, the number written on the cheque continued growing.
By the time she finished…
5 million.
It was quite possibly the most expensive test correction in the history of education.
The director placed his pen down.
“Finished.”
Everyone looked at him.
“Full marks on the revision material.”
Hannah frowned.
The director looked at the remaining questions.
“And full marks on this year’s material as well.”
Hannah snatched the test from his hands.
Her eyes raced across the pages.
Correct.
Correct.
Correct.
Correct.
Every answer.
Every calculation.
Everything.
“Impossible…”
She flipped the page.
“But this doesn’t prove he’s smarter than me!”
Diana stared at her.
“He completed in three minutes what you yourself said would take you ten.”
“That only means he’s faster!”
Diana scratched her head.
For several seconds, she genuinely seemed unable to find words.
Finally, she turned toward her son.
“Nezu.”
“Yes, Mother?”
“You solve this.”
She waved dismissively toward Hannah.
“I no longer care. Talking to her is like talking to a door.”
Nezu nodded.
“Alright, Mother. I’ll handle it.”
But instead of looking at Hannah, he turned toward the director.
That immediately caught everyone’s attention.
“Director.”
“Yes, Nezu?”
“I want to make a bet.”
The director raised an eyebrow.
Nezu’s emotionless expression remained unchanged.
“A high-stakes bet.”
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