Novel Square
Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Cordelia tilted her head in thought.
Piano Man had warned that the group admin was not someone to mess with, and for some reason, she felt it wasn't a good idea to add him.
As she was mulling this over, her phone buzzed.
Exiting the friend request screen, she saw a new message in the Pioneers Group chat.
Interruptions asked, [Had dinner yet?]
Cordelia suddenly doubted Stanton's words. As such a kind group admin, how could he be difficult?
She left the chat and opened the friend requests, accepting the mystery person's request. Then she pondered what to write in the nickname section.
What exactly did the group admin do?
Remembering the previous conversations in the group, where others talked about learning from each other in their respective fields, it seemed only the admin was the go-to person for any issue.
Cordelia had an idea and labeled the contact as Mr. All-Round.
After updating the nickname, she noticed the rest of the 19 people in the group, following the admin's message, obediently replied one by one as if answering a teacher's question.
Louie replied, [Just had dinner.]
The Piano Man texted, [Haven't yet.]
Bland said, [Yes, just had a vegetable smoothie to keep fit.]
Frankie typed, [Yeah, I did.]
...
...
Cordelia was puzzled.
The admin's influence was strong, almost like he was their leader.
But she quickly dropped the thought, remembering Louie was a free-spirited psychologist, no leader there. Exclusive content from NôvelDrama.Org.
Cordelia followed suit and replied last, [Not yet.]
NoInterruptions typed, [Go and eat something. @LearnLover]
Cordelia was confused, wondering why he singled her out.
-
Meanwhile, in the group chat "Who exactly is this girl?", it was mayhem.
Bland started, [Today, our admin spoke four times. Are four of us going to disappear tomorrow? Suddenly, I'm scared!]
Stanton added, [Feels like our admin is off his game. Has his account been hacked?]
Frankie expressed, [As an old-timer here, I suspect the admin has a special connection with the new girl. And now I regret trying to test her. Can I retract my document now, or is it too late?]
Bland asked, [Who is this girl? Does anyone have the guts to ask Louie?]
[No way!]
[No way!]
...
Dinner in the Delaney family was late that day because Steward got home a bit behind schedule.
As Cordelia, who was famished, devoured her meal to head upstairs to work through some problems Mathster had set for her, Rachel suddenly said, "Laurinda, doesn’t Rosina also enjoy playing the piano?"
Laurinda chuckled at the mention. "Yes, why do you ask?"
Rachel replied, "Well, we’ll have Stanton coming over next weekend for an assessment. I am considering having Rosina join us and take the assessment with Juliana."
Laurinda's eyes sparkled, "Really, Rachel? Aren't you concerned she might outshine Juliana?"
Rachel laughed and said, "Come on. Rosina is Madeline's daughter, and Madeline is your daughter, Juliana's aunt. Rosina and Juliana are cousins. We're family. If one of them gets in, it's a win for the Delaney family!"
"That’s very big of you!" Laurinda praised.
Madeline Delaney was Laurinda's youngest girl. When Madeline got hitched, the Delaneys hadn't yet struck it rich, so her husband was no high roller. That always tugged at Laurinda's heartstrings.
Rachel's gesture filled Laurinda with joy. She turned to Lorna, "You should take a leaf out of your siblings' book. That's the kind of spirit a matriarch should have, not hoarding all the accolades without giving chances to your sisters!"
With that, she glanced at Cordelia. "If you see Juliana as your cousin, withdraw from the physics competition!"
Cordelia was busy separating the meat from the ribs on her plate, planning to finish her mouthful before responding.
But Lorna already retorted, "Laurinda, in that case, why doesn't Juliana withdraw from the piano assessment and allow Rosina to take it?"
Laurinda was stunned. Rachel felt the same way.
Lorna sat up straight, unwavering under Laurinda's gaze.
Shaking with anger, Laurinda pointed at her. "Well, after all these years in our family, I didn't realize you were so sharp-tongued!"
Lorna took a deep breath and responded, "Laurinda, I'm just speaking logically."
Enraged, Laurinda slammed down her cutlery and stood up to leave.
Rachel inquired, "Aren't you eating, Laurinda?"
Laurinda huffed, "Forget it. I'm full of anger!"
-
Cordelia didn't dwell on the dinner drama and went upstairs after eating. Once she finished the homework Latham had assigned, she booted up her computer and downloaded the materials Mathster had sent her.
When opening them, she was stunned.
Coincidentally, the content was identical to the yellowed scrolls she had from her grandfather!
It appeared to be an unsolved conjecture in the world of mathematics. And her task was to prove this conjecture correct.
In addition to practicing problems, she had been studying her grandfather's manuscript for the past month, which had already covered two-thirds of the proof. With her research and learning, she had made further progress.
There was still some way to go before she could prove the conjecture.
So, she messaged Mathster. [This problem is quite challenging.]
How could it not be?
Far away in Ontoky City, Frankie silently marveled. It was one of the mysteries of mathematics!
He had given it to the girl to test her math skills.
If she recognized the problem, she had a deep understanding of mathematics because one wouldn't even encounter such problems below a certain level.
He quickly typed a reply. [Correct. It's an unsolved problem.]
Before he could finish, another message came from her.
LearnLover texted, [So, I'll need about a week to provide an answer.]
Frankie was shocked. He was sure the girl was just your average high school student. Otherwise, how could he have come back with such a naive answer?
How many mathematicians had spent their whole lives wrestling with that puzzle, and here she was talking like she was the queen of math or something?
But with the group admin shielding her, he didn't dare to speak his mind. All he could do was reply. [No worries if you can't crack it.]
After sending that message, he returned to the "Who exactly is this girl?" chat group to declare his verdict:
Frankie typed out. [Confirmed. She's no math guru but someone's protege.]
-
On Monday, Cordelia was so hung up on that conjecture that she woke up way earlier than usual and got to school thirty minutes early.
When she arrived at Midnight Scent, the local coffee joint that doubled as a hangout for the brainy types before school, she pushed the curtain aside and walked straight in.
But as soon as she entered, she froze at the sight before her.
Everard must have just finished his morning run. He was drenched in sweat, holding his T-shirt in both hands, about to peel it off. He had lifted the hem, unveiling a set of solid abs and a trim waist.
Cordelia was stunned.
A thought flashed through her mind. “Man, he looks so lean with clothes on, but who knows he’s hiding all this? Those abs are toned, and his waist is lean but looks so strong.”
Her sudden entrance had caught Everard off guard as well.
But when he saw it was Cordelia, he raised an eyebrow, flashed a cheeky grin, didn't bother pulling his shirt back down, but instead just raised his arms and stripped it off completely.