Chapter 5

As soon as Tyler finished speaking, envious looks shot over from all around.

Serena stood not far away, her face slightly green, but she still kept up her polished socialite image and didn’t lose her temper.

Julian turned his head and glanced at me.

He didn’t speak, and he didn’t withdraw his arm. He just stood quietly on the side.

"Buy me a drink?"

I let out a light laugh.

That laugh made Tyler think he had succeeded.

He stepped closer, his tone even more presumptuous.

"Of course. A dazzling girl like you shouldn’t be ignored. Julian’s always so boring anyway. He doesn’t know how to take care of a lady."

I took a glass of red wine from a passing waiter’s tray.

Tyler immediately raised his own glass, ready to clink with me.

Just as the two glasses were about to hit, I turned my wrist.

The rim tilted.

The crimson wine poured down the collar of his custom tuxedo.

The white shirt was instantly stained red, and wine dripped down his chin.

A wave of gasps erupted in the ballroom.

Serena screamed and rushed over, frantically digging tissues out of her bag.

"Are you crazy!"

She shouted at me. "Do you know how expensive his suit is?"

Tyler wiped his face in a flustered mess, and the loving mask on his face finally shattered completely.

"Who the hell are you?"

He glared at me through gritted teeth.

I set the empty glass back on the tray.

"What, you don’t recognize me after I changed clothes?"

I looked him in the eye and said each word clearly.

"Didn’t you bet five hundred bucks that I couldn’t fit into a formal dress?"

The whole ballroom went dead silent.

Luke’s phone fell straight onto the carpet.

Exclamations of shock broke out in the crowd.

The anger on Tyler’s face froze instantly, his pupils contracting hard as he stared at me.

"You..."

His lips trembled, unable to form a complete sound.

"Let me reintroduce myself."

"I’m Chloe. One hundred thirty pounds."

I pulled a thousand-dollar check out of my clutch and tucked it between two fingers, and slipped it neatly into the pocket of his still-dripping suit.

"You lost."

"Take the extra thousand and get your eyes checked."

The moment I turned, I caught his wrist with my other hand and yanked him so hard that he staggered forward a step. Then I lowered my voice to something only the two of us could hear.

"And don’t think I don’t know that the core data in that A+ final paper of yours was all run by me overnight. If I send the draft to your professor, guess what happens?"

Tyler’s face went instantly pale, and his grip loosened.

Just then, Julian’s voice came from behind me in a flat tone.

"Tyler, since the game is over, you should fulfill the bet."

Tyler jerked his head up.

"What bet?"

Julian stepped forward, blocking Tyler’s hand when he tried to grab me.

He looked down at Tyler from above, his tone without the slightest fluctuation.

"The betting pool rule tonight was set by you. The loser has to crawl around the dance floor three times in front of everyone."

Julian’s dark gray eyes were cold as ice.

"Now, you can start crawling."