Ashley quickly snapped out of her daze, her face burning. She clenched her fist and punched Arthur lightly on the chest. "Arthur, you're messing with me!" Arthur couldn't hold it in anymore—he burst into laughter. After their playful exchange, Arthur finally said, "I've been saving up for a while. I'm planning to buy a small place near the school. That way, I can still help tutor you." Cloudia Corporation’s projects were still moving forward, and the money he had now was from stocks he had recently traded. Ashley stared at him in shock. "Where did you get that kind of money?" Before Arthur could answer, she quickly dug into her pocket, searching for something. She pulled out a bank card and pressed it firmly into his hand. "This is some money I’ve saved up. Take it and use it for yourself." She had actually been saving this money for a while now. But she’d hesitated to give it to him, afraid he wouldn’t accept it. She didn’t really want Arthur to stay at her house either—she was worried he might feel uncomfortable. But she hadn’t saved up enough yet to buy him a place, which was why she had asked him earlier. The houses in this area were all in wealthy neighborhoods, and the prices were sky-high. She didn’t want to buy just any random cheap place. She wanted Arthur to live somewhere nice. Arthur stared blankly at the thin bank card in his hand. No wonder—no wonder she had been so frugal lately. Whenever they went out, she never wanted to buy anything. He had thought she was just being considerate, not wanting him to spend money on her. But now he realized—she had been saving up to buy him a house. She was saving up for me... A warmth spread through Arthur's chest. He looked down at Ashley, who was more than half a head shorter than him. She was so small, just a delicate little girl, yet she was always thinking about him. Always trying to take care of him. What did I do to deserve someone like this? Arthur tightened his grip on the bank card. Then, cupping Ashley’s face in his hands, he looked her straight in the eyes and said seriously, "Ashley, don’t worry. From now on, I will take care of you."His sudden promise caught Ashley completely off guard. She blinked, stunned, but then her face turned an even deeper shade of red. She lowered her head shyly and muttered, "Who… who asked you to treat me nicely?" Even as she said it, the smile tugging at her lips gave her away. Inside, her heart pounded wildly, thudding against her ribs. Finally, the semester came to an end. The results of the final exams were out. Arthur, unsurprisingly, had ranked first in the entire grade. The only person who wasn’t surprised was Arthur himself. Everyone else, however, was completely shocked. Zac’s grades had never been great to begin with, and lately, with all the chaos surrounding Arthur’s sudden change, he hadn’t been able to focus on studying at all. Before, it hadn’t mattered—Arthur had always been a poor student as well, so Zac never saw him as a threat. But now—Arthur was ranked number one. It was a devastating blow. Zac stared at the results in disbelief. "No… no way. Arthur? How could Arthur possibly be first?" All this time, Zac had been determined to keep Arthur beneath him. He had told himself that Arthur was just lucky, that all his recent wins were just tricks. But grades didn’t lie. This was solid proof. Zac couldn't accept it. Tia, standing beside him, hurried to comfort him. "Zac, it's okay! We’ll study hard over the summer, and we’ll definitely surpass Arthur!" Zac, who had been glaring at the results with bloodshot eyes, suddenly snapped his head up. His gaze was terrifying—so sharp and filled with rage that Tia flinched. "Zac…" Before she could finish, a loud slap echoed through the air.Zac had struck her. Hard. Tia’s head whipped to the side. She stared at him, stunned, her cheek quickly swelling with a red handprint. Zac's bloodshot eyes locked onto her. "This is all your fault! You were the one who kept dragging me out to have fun instead of letting me study! If not for you, I wouldn’t have scored lower than Arthur!" Ever since Arthur had cut ties with the Gray family, most of them—except for John and Susie—had started treating Zac differently. Especially Julie. Lately, she wouldn’t stop talking about Arthur. Worse, she had started comparing them—constantly bringing up how Arthur was better. Arthur this, Arthur that. She even had the nerve to say Arthur was more mature than him. And now, if she found out that Arthur had placed first while he had scored so low, she’d have even more ammunition to use against him. The mere thought of it made Zac’s frustration boil over. Tia clutched her swollen cheek, her eyes brimming with tears. Her lips trembled as she looked at Zac, unable to believe what had just happened. "You… you actually hit me?"