I Can't Read?I'm MIT's Youngest Professor, Honey.

Novelix Completed
CEO

My boyfriend's side piece called me illiterate on a livestream with 200,000 viewers. My boyfriend told me to just go up there, fail, and sit back down. What none of them know? I'm the youngest tenured professor MIT has ever had. I hold 14 patents. And the four billionaire heirs who showed up to this random company gala? They're here for me. I've been hiding my identity for a year because of a bet with my grandfather. One more hour and I win my freedom. But when they force me to remove my makeup on camera, everything changes. Time's up. And so is my mercy.

Chapters (3)

第1章

My boyfriend’s mistress had wormed her way into his assistant’s job, hoping to steal the spotlight at the company gala. Then she heard Manhattan’s four most powerful heirs were coming for one woman. So she went all out preparing tough trivia questions. Because my boyfriend had told everyone I was barely educated. When I got there, she looked me up and down with a smug smile. "Here’s how this is gonna work. My rules. Answer right, you get into the main hall." "Get one wrong, and you’ll be punished." My boyfriend immediately stepped in. "Come on. Don’t make Lauren look bad—she’s running the whole thing. " “I mean, you barely made it past middle school. You’re definitely going to get some wrong anyway. I’ll make it up to you afterward.” I froze. Middle school? Me? Everyone on my research team had at least a PhD. And those four heirs had only come because of me. I mean, I'm the queen of Manhattan's elite. Been bossing those boys around since we were kids. ... When I show up, Lauren's already sucking up to the four heirs, voice dripping sugar. "Gentlemen! Welcome! I'm the head planner for tonight's event." "I know you guys like things spicy, so I set up a little game. This woman has to play. When she fails, she gets punished." "Trust me, it'll be worth your time." Grayson Kincaid stands at the front. Sharp jaw. Cold eyes. He gives Lauren the smallest nod, completely uninterested in her. His gaze sweeps the room. He's looking for someone. People around us are losing it. "Oh my God, the four heirs! They're even hotter in person!" "Lauren actually got them to show up? How?" Lauren eats it up, then takes a shot at me. "Some women build careers. Others are just trophy girlfriends." I catch Grayson's eyes sweeping past me. No recognition. I left the family four years ago and buried myself in research. Haven't seen any of them since. Plus, I use makeup to make myself look plain. Nobody looks twice. Lauren gets completely ignored by the four of them. She spins back to me, pissed. "You wanted to come so bad, right? Answer the damn question already." "And stop staring at them like a creep." Spencer Langley leans against the wall, golden-brown hair falling over one eye. Bored and dangerous. One brow raised. "So is everyone here? Everyone who's coming is here?" Lauren switches to her sweet voice instantly. "Mr. Langley, almost! Just a few more on the way!" Something in Spencer's face relaxes. Lauren turns back to me with a pout. "Vivian, sweetie, everyone here has at least a master's. You barely made it past middle school." "The only reason you're even here is because you're dating Nathan. So like, don't feel too bad when you bomb this, okay?" A few people snicker. Nathan's face goes tight. "If you had even a fraction of Lauren's drive, I wouldn't be standing here looking like an idiot because of you." I smile. "Who told you I dropped out in middle school?" As the youngest tenured professor MIT has ever had, I spend most of my time leading research teams. And someone just called me unambitious. Lauren covers her mouth, giggling. "Vivian, honey, don't front. Nathan says you've never held a real job." "If you even had a GED, would you really still be unemployed?" "Anyway." She flicks her wrist. "Stop making everyone wait. Let's go." I look at Nathan. My voice is flat. "When we started dating, you said you'd never force me into anything. Remember?" Nathan's jaw clenches. "It's a game, Vivian. Why can't you just be cool about this? Lauren would never pull this shit." People change. The person he protects isn't me anymore. I push down the sting in my chest. I smirk. "You guys have fun. I'm out." "Nathan! If she walks, everyone else is gonna bail too! Then what happens to my gala?" Lauren's voice goes shrill. Nathan blocks my path. His face goes hard. "The four heirs came for Lauren's event. You're ruining everything. Have you thought about Lauren? About me?" I look into his eyes. The warmth that used to be there is gone. He grabs my wrist. I yank my arm back. He blinks. Then his jaw sets. "If you don't play Lauren's game tonight, we're done." He says it like a weapon he knows will land. Lauren bounces over to Grayson's group. "Just so you know, every single time Nathan threatens to break up with her, she folds." She flips her hair. "God, desperate girls are so pathetic. Women should have standards. Like me. Career first." I glance at my phone. "Nathan. Give me one hour. Then you can break up with me all you want."

第2章

I explain. "One more hour and it's our one-year anniversary." It's about my bet with Grandpa. If I lose, I get dragged back to run the family empire. If I win, I keep my freedom and my research. I have no choice but to give in. But Nathan takes it a different way. "See? I knew you couldn't stand losing me." His voice softens. "Babe, I can't lose you either." "Don't be mad I'm backing Lauren up. You're my girlfriend. She's just my friend." "Play her little game, and I won't bring up breaking up again." Of course he's confident. Last week, I went to drop off some files at his office. Walked in on Lauren sitting in his lap. She shoved off him in a panic. Lipstick smeared. A string of spit between their mouths. Lauren, cool as hell: "Wow, checking up on him again? You're so obsessed." Nathan, stone-faced: "It's not what it looks like. She lost her balance showing me something on her phone." I didn't bring up breaking up then. So now they both think I'm so desperate for Nathan that I'll swallow anything. I hate this goddamn bet. "Hey." Spencer kicks the sign-in table over with one foot. The crash makes half the room jump back. "Are we doing this or not? You know how valuable our time is?" Lauren goes pale. "Of course! Right away, Mr. Langley. Starting right now." Nobody wants to piss off the four heirs. Nathan shoots me a look. Pure warning. "Vivian. Go. Now. One more second of stalling and we're done." I can't blow the bet at the finish line. I hold his stare for a second. Then I paste on a smile. "Fine. I'll play." Lauren exhales and opens the livestream. "Hey everyone! I'm live from the gala!" "Guess who showed up tonight?" She pans the camera across Grayson, Spencer, Sebastian, and Hayden. A few seconds. The chat explodes. "NO WAY. How did this random woman get the four heirs to show up??" "I see the Xavier heir! He only goes to events if there's someone worth looking at. Is there some hot girl at this company?" Lauren straightens up, turns the camera to herself. "Aww, you guys are too sweet saying I'm the prettiest one here! Stop!" "Wait, some of you think they came for me? I'm literally blushing." She steals a glance at Grayson, then reads another comment. "This one says: why is that plain girl in glasses standing next to the CEO? She looks so basic." "Oh! That's Nathan's girlfriend. She doesn't work here." Her voice dips. Fake concern, real venom. "We have standards here. Looks. Degrees. With that face and no education past middle school? I wouldn't hire her to clean the toilets here, honestly." Employees laugh. Nathan's face goes red, then white. He cares about image more than anything. I'm worried he'll snap and dump me on the spot. So I step up to the screen first. "Let's start." Lauren grabs the mic. "Vivian, you and five employees each get a number. Your number matches a question on the screen. Slowest answer or wrong answer gets punished." I nod. The others nod. The screen lights up. I'm number six. The chat goes nuts. "LMAOOO one through five got questions like 25 times 4 times 3. Number six got DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS." "Duh, that's literally why it's funny." "dont blame the host. she could give her basic multiplication and the middle school dropout would still choke" Lauren grins. "Review time over! Three. Two. One. Go!" I slam my button. "Zero."

第3章

Dead silence. Then the room erupts laughing. "She hit that button so fast I thought she actually knew! And she said ZERO!" "Girl, if you don't know the answer, don't flex your reaction time!" Sebastian Langley pushes his gold-rimmed glasses up. A flicker of interest crosses his face. "She's correct." The chat loses it. "WAIT did he just say shes RIGHT??" "ten seconds bro. TEN SECONDS." "Sebastian is a Stanford PhD candidate. If he says she's right, she's RIGHT." One by one, the others answer their baby multiplication questions. Lauren announces the results. The loser is a girl from IT. When she hears the punishment, her face drains. "Lauren, come on. We're coworkers. Do we really gotta do this?" Lauren sighs, loud and dramatic. "Hey, don't look at me. Someone over there got dumb luck. That's why you're up." Nathan jumps in, loud enough for everyone. "Whoever loses tonight gets a fat Cash App from me. Nobody walks away empty-handed!" The programmer grits her teeth. Gets on her knees on a floor covered in Legos. Starts crawling. Lauren's rule: every piece, you stop and say "Thank you Lauren for this opportunity." A few minutes in, the girl's palms and knees are raw red. Lauren sighs again. "Ugh, poor thing. Taking the hit for someone else's dumb luck. Let's see if round two goes the same way." The next question pops up. "HAHAHA everyone else just has to name a common AI software. Number six has to explain the theoretical principles behind AI and nanorobotics integration." Everyone's relaxed. They all think they've got this in the bag. I slam the button first. Again. I give my answer. Precise. Every word right. Sebastian's eyes lock onto me. He doesn't blink. My stomach drops. Shit. I posted an opinion piece on this exact topic on my private X account last month. Grandpa and his stupid bet flash through my head. "One year. Live like a normal person. Don't break up with current boyfriend. Don't let anyone find out who you are." "Make it, and you win." Sebastian starts walking toward me. Then a comment pops up in the chat. "Wait. That answer she just gave. I've read it before. On Vivian Weston's X account. She's literally my idol."

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