They Bullied the Top Student, Then My Mafia Family Arrived Chapter 03

They Bullied the Top Student, Then My Mafia Family Arrived Chapter 03

Once word got around, the way everyone looked at Lina changed.

“Wasn’t she supposed to be all about principles? Guess even her ranking has to be bought for her by the four Families.”

“Keep your voice down. If you piss her off, those four heirs won’t let you get away with it.”

Lina’s face went pale almost instantly.

She strode up to Julian and snapped, “I never asked you to do anything like that for me. If I want a better ranking, I’ll earn it myself.”

With that, she turned and walked away, doing her best to keep her composure.

Julian hurried after her to explain, but she only quickened her pace and never looked back.

Adrian glared at me.

“She has no idea who she’s just crossed.”

Ethan Sterling, heir to the Sterling Family, was leaning against one of the columns nearby.

“I have an idea.”

A faint smile curved his lips, but there was nothing friendly in his light brown eyes.

“A girl like her, buried in her books all day, has obviously never had a boyfriend. Why don’t I try my luck?”

“I’ll make her think she’s actually got a chance of marrying into the Sterling Family. Once she’s properly fallen for me, I’ll dump her in front of everyone.”

“Once I break her heart, she won’t be able to concentrate on studying. More importantly, I want her to learn something.”

“People from ordinary families shouldn’t think one good report card gets them a place in our world.”

The other three exchanged glances.

They all understood exactly what he meant.

Of course, I knew nothing about their plan.

After school, I took the subway out of Manhattan.

Only after making sure no one was following me did I switch to the armored car the Family had sent near the Brooklyn Bridge.

An hour later, I arrived back at the Family estate.

The car passed through towering wrought-iron gates and stopped in front of an estate near Oheka Castle.

The second I stepped into the living room, a group of capos and Family advisers in suits all turned to look at me.

Every one of them carried serious weight in New York’s underworld.

But the moment they realized it was me, their stern expressions disappeared.

“Well, look who’s back. Our straight-A princess.”

“Why do you look even thinner? Is the food at that school terrible?”

I greeted them one by one.

“Uncle Bruno, I heard you took over three new docks last month. You keeping all right?”

Bruno, a capo who almost never smiled, immediately broke into a rare grin.

“Don’t worry. Your uncle isn’t old enough to hand over his ring yet.”

“Aunt Lucia, how are things with the Family?”

The female adviser with a faint scar across her face burst out laughing.

“Closed seven major deals last month. I’ve been so busy I barely have time to sleep.”

After I finished greeting everyone, my parents finally stepped out from behind the crowd.

Both of them had dyed their hair in ridiculously bright rainbow colors.

Standing side by side, they were impossible to ignore.

I stared at them for a moment, completely at a loss for words.

“What happened to your hair?”

Mom, Victoria, touched hers and gave me a slightly guilty smile.

“Your father said this is what young people are into these days. Sweetheart, what do you think?”

I forced out a smile.

“It’s certainly… intimidating.”

Then I hitched my backpack higher onto my shoulder.

“I’m going to study. Finals are in a month.”

Behind me, Mom sighed dramatically.

“That girl is perfect in every way except for how much time she spends studying. She’s nothing like me or her father when we were young. Back then, all we cared about was skipping class, getting into fights, and taking territory.”

“I was hoping she’d get expelled one day and come home to inherit the Family. At this rate, I’m probably never getting my wish.”

Bruno slapped her on the shoulder.

“Oh, stop pretending you’re complaining. You’re only showing off. Your daughter comes first every year and you love it more than anyone.”

“Our Family needs a lawyer! A doctor! That’s where the clean money is these days!”

Everyone in the living room burst out laughing.

“Exactly!”

I went back to my room and had barely set down my backpack when a private message popped up on my phone.

【Ethan here. You’re not like the other girls. Fancy getting to know each other?】

I stared at the screen for three seconds.

Then I smiled.

I pulled open my bedroom door and shouted loudly enough for everyone downstairs to hear.

“Mom! I might actually be getting a boyfriend!”

The living room went dead silent.

Victoria’s eyes widened.

“What? Which Family’s heir have you got your eye on?”

I didn’t answer.

I simply closed the door and accepted Ethan’s follow request.

For the next month, Ethan pursued me relentlessly.

Every morning, a cup of warm milk appeared on my desk right on time.

After school, he was always waiting outside my classroom.

On weekends, he took me on dates in Central Park.

Whenever the library stayed open late, he sat beside me without turning a single page, resting his chin on his hand and staring at me instead.

He stuck to me from morning until night, dragging me all over the city and barely leaving me any time to review.

At the same time, he started deliberately distancing himself from Lina.

She tried to approach him several times, only for him to brush her off coldly.

It didn’t take long for the school’s anonymous forum to fill with posts.

【Sterling Heir Ends His Flirtation With Lina, Starts Dating Top Student】

【Is the Four Families’ Special Treatment of Lina Finally Over?】

Students who supported Lina called me shallow behind my back.

They mocked the idea that the daughter of laundromat owners could actually dream of entering the Sterling Family.

I ignored all of them.

The day after final exams ended, Ethan asked me to meet him on the roof of the academic building.

When I arrived, Adrian, Julian, and Nolan Hawthorne, heir to the Hawthorne Family, were already there.

The four guys stood in a row with Lina protected in the middle.

Ethan crossed his arms and lifted his chin.

“Grace, it’s over. Game over.”

Then he turned toward Lina, his voice instantly softening.

“Believe me now? None of it was real. I’ve been stringing her along all month.”

Lina clearly wanted to smile, but she deliberately turned her face away.

“Who cares who you like?”

Ethan looked back at me, no longer bothering to hide the malice in his eyes.

“I never liked you. Every time I had to pretend we were together, it made my skin crawl.”

“I only did it to keep you from studying so Lina could take first place back.”

He paused, his gaze traveling from my old backpack to the plain coat I wore without any Family crest.

“You’ve proven exactly what you are. A shallow girl who doesn’t understand our world.”

“The minute a rich heir showed you a bit of attention, you honestly thought that meant you could be one of us.”

He waited smugly for me to fall apart.

Instead, I laughed.

“Oh.”

I nodded.

“Then I guess we’re done.”

Ethan clearly hadn’t expected me to stay this calm.

The smile on his face disappeared for a split second.

“Keep acting like you don’t care. Let’s see if you’re still smiling when the rankings come out.”

The moment he finished speaking, every phone on the rooftop buzzed at once.

The school had released the final rankings.

Ethan shot me a triumphant look and opened his phone.

The second he saw the results, panic flashed across his face.