She's the Campus Prince

Leanne shook her head. "Thank you, Mr. Wallace. I'm alright."

Cameron nodded.

Bradley grinned. "Come on, Leanne, don't feel bad. It's not even your money, and my brother doesn't care."

Leanne was momentarily at a loss for words.

Eric shot Bradley a glare, thinking, 'This kid is getting more and more cunning. He's always pushing for more.

Cameron got the picture, wondering, 'Leanne is probably j

stunned by that deal.'

A few minutes later, the four of them walked into the dining room together. The table was covered with all sorts of delicious food.

Eric rested his fingers on the back of a chair. "Wow, this is quite the spread."

Bradley grinned. "Heard you were coming, so I had the chef start early this morning. Not bad, right?"

"Here, Eric, have a seat." Bradley pulled out a chair for him.

Eric smiled, "Brad, you really know how to make it hard for someone to say no."

Bradley just grinned but said nothing.

"Ms. Starling, please have a seat." Cameron pulled out a chair for Leanne.

"Thank you, Mr. Wallace. You really are a gentleman," Leanne said with a smile.

Bradley chimed in, "Nope, he's not a gentleman. He's just a high schooler."

Leanne forced a smile.

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Bro, are you trying to say something?"

Bradley shrugged. "You're overthinking it, bro."

Cameron sat down next to Bradley.

Eric looked Cameron up and down and said, "Brad, you really are good-looking."

Bradley replied with a smile.

"But compared to Cameron, you're just average," Eric added.

Bradley kept smiling. "You've got good taste."

After a pause, Bradley said, “Eddie said you've gotten really good at throwing shade lately. Guess he was right. You really are one of a kind in our family."

Eric smiled, "You flatter me.

Cameron and Leanne thought, 'What are they even doing?'

Cameron spoke up, "Eric, I hope these dishes are to your liking."

Eric grinned, "If you made them, Cameron, I'm sure they're great. But if someone else did... Well, that's another story."

Cameron didn't know how to reply.

Bradley said, "Cameron made everything."

Eric picked up a piece of lamb and had a bite. "Hmm, this is actually really good."

Bradley teased, "Sorry, Eric, but I made that one."

Eric paused. "Oh, it's not that tasty after all."

Bradley grinned. "Wait, my bad. I think I got it wrong. It probably wasn't me."

Eric shot Bradley a glare.

Leanne was dying to laugh but had to hold it in.noveldrama

Cameron sighed helplessly, "Brad..."

torture.

He just called out to Bradley, but that was enough-Bradley got the message.

Bradley just smiled. After that, he stopped teasing Eric.

Actually, they were really close. A little playful banter was just part of their routine.

After lunch, Leanne headed back to their branch in Viremont to get the contract ready. Eric stayed behind.

Cameron, worried that Pearl might scare Eric, locked it away.

Bradley turned to Eric and said, "Eric, want to check out Cameron's pet? It's super cute. Interested?"

Eric laughed. "Oh yeah? What kind of pet?"

“It's just a little furball, really well-behaved," Bradley replied.

"Where is it?" Eric asked.

"Come with me," Bradley said.

Curious, Eric followed Bradley to the door of Pearl's room.

The door was locked. Inside, Pearl was sound asleep.

As soon as Eric reached the doorway, Pearl immediately picked up the scent of a stranger.

In an instant, its eyes snapped open-those wild, predatory pupils radiating pure intimidation.

Bradley said, "Look, Cameron's pet is called Pearl. It's right inside.”

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Pearl? That's actually a pretty cute name."

Bradley grinned. "It's even cuter than the name super fluffy, perfect for petting."

"Is it a kitten or a puppy?" Eric asked.

Bradley didn't answer. He just pulled out a key and unlocked the door. "Go see for yourself."

Curious and totally unsuspecting, Eric walked into the room, only to be instantly pinned by a pair of fierce, beastly eyes.

Eric screamed inwardly, 'Damn! A tiger! A full-grown white tiger! This is the pet Bradley was talking about?

In all his twenty years, Eric had never seen a white tiger this massive.

Even scarier, right now, that huge white tiger was staring straight at him.

It looked like it wanted to devour Eric in one go.

Eric's feet were practically glued to the floor. Trying not to startle Pearl, he lowered

his voice and hissed, "Bradley, you bastard! You call this a pet?"

Bradley stifled a laugh behind his hand-he'd just wanted to make fun of Eric.

He stepped in, blocked Eric, and said to the aggressive Pearl, "Pearl, he's one of us. Relax."

Pearl let out a growl, circled once, then flopped back into its bed and went right back to sleep.

Eric's eyes went wide. "Why does it listen to you?"

Bradley shrugged. "We're pretty familiar with each other. If you come by a few more times, it'll recognize you too."

"Really?" Eric asked.

Bradley nodded. "Yeah. Eddie knows that. He's been here a bunch. Pearl doesn't exactly like him, but at least it doesn't attack him."

Eric glanced at Pearl, still feeling a chill run down his spine, and quickly backed out of the room.

"How did Cameron raise a tiger as a pet?" Eric asked.

"Someone gave it to him," Bradley replied.

He only paid 30 dollars for it, so it was basically free.

"Keeping a tiger must cost a fortune," Eric muttered.

Bradley nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty expensive."

"Wait." Eric suddenly realized something. "Why is his pet living in your house?"

"This is his house now," Bradley said.

Eric looked confused. "His house?"

"I rented the house to him," Bradley explained.

Eric said, "Don't tell me you bought this house just to rent it to him."

Bradley just smiled and didn't say anything.

Eric leaned in close and lowered his voice. "Brad, are you out of your mind?"

Bradley paused, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Do you even realize what you're doing?" Eric pressed.

Bradley blinked. "Did I do something?"

"You..." Eric held back and then said, "What, you think money just falls from the

sky? If you've got so much, I can spend it for you."

Eric mused, 'The SATS are just around the corner. There are some things I just can't say right now."

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Bradley grinned, "Come on, Eric, don't joke around. You're way richer than me.

Your company's already gone public."

Eric laughed. "I'm just kidding. How's your exam prep going?"

"No worries. I'm confident I'll get into my dream university," Bradley replied.

Eric patted him on the shoulder. "Do your best-if you do well, I'll get you a present."

Bradley smiled. “Come on, I'm not a kid anymore. I'm only two years younger than

you."

Eric shot back, "Yeah, but I'm already a college junior, and you're still in high school."

Bradley teased, "That's just because you were born a few months earlier. Don't get cocky."

Eric burst out laughing.

As Cameron came downstairs, she saw the two brothers chatting and laughing

together.

Eric asked casually, "Cameron, how's your prep for the SATS going?"

Cameron replied, "It's going alright."

Bradley grinned and said, "She was first in the whole school on the last mock exam. What do you think?"

Eric looked a bit surprised. "Didn't expect you to be such a top student."

Cameron said, "I wouldn't call myself a top student. I just worked a little harder than most."

"Not bad. You're really humble," Eric said.

Eric thought, 'Most young people these days are pretty restless. It's rare to see someone as down-to-earth as Cameron. No wonder Brad...'

Thinking of that, Eric suddenly shook his head. 'It absolutely cannot happen.'

Brad asked, "Eric, do you want to take a break? You've been in the car for hours, you must be exhausted."

Honestly, Eric was feeling a bit sleepy. He was used to taking an afternoon nap.

He was just about to say yes, but then something occurred to him, and he asked,

"If I go to take a nap, what are you two going to do?"

Both Bradley and Cameron remained silent.

Eric looked at them like he suspected they'd get up to no good while he was

asleep.

Cameron said, "If there's nothing else, I'll go rest in my room too."

Eric stared at Bradley. "Don't tell me you're going to your room for a nap too?"

Bradley looked confused. "Can't I?"

"You can't," Eric shot back.

"Why?" Bradley asked.

Eric huffed, "I came all the way here to visit you, and you're just going to leave me

to nap alone? What kind of host are you? Come and take a nap with

me."

Bradley was shocked.

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Eric pressed. "Well, where's your room?"

Bradley gave Eric a weird look.

Eric's face twisted up, and he tentatively asked Cameron, "Where's your room?"

Cameron was left stunned.

Bradley said, "Aren't you staying in the guest room? Why do you want to go to our

room?"

Eric's eyes widened. "Your room?"

Bradley frowned. "Are you okay, Eric? What's with that look?"

Eric quickly turned away, trying to get his expression under control.

He wasn't like Reginald, who was an actor and could hide his feelings in a flash.

Eric turned back with a forced smile. "Can I... take a look at your room?" Bradley replied, "My room's just like the rest of the house, nothing special. Cameron's room is his private space, probably not a good idea for you to visit."

Hearing that, Eric finally let out a huge sigh of relief. He thought, 'Oh, I just misunderstood it. That almost scared me to death.

"I'll just use your room. The guest room hasn't been used in ages, and I only need

a quick nap. You don't mind, right?" Eric asked Bradley.

Bradley replied, "Sure, my room's on the third floor."

Trying to sound casual, Eric asked, "Where does Cameron stay?"

"I'm on the second floor," Cameron replied.

Eric nodded, thinking, 'Thank goodness. At least they're not on the same floor.

Guess things haven't gotten that far yet.

'But with them spending so much time together, something's bound to happen

sooner or later. Once Brad finishes his SATs, I'll find an excuse to take him out for

a trip.

'There are tons of gorgeous girls in Fiora. Maybe by then, Brad will get over this impossible crush.'

Eric made up his mind. He couldn't really tell the rest of the family about this. Otherwise, Bradley would be so embarrassed. He'd just handle it quietly himself.

AD

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