Part- 401:
The murmurs followed him as he slipped his papers bato his bag. He’d expected gratutions, but the whispered ents had a sharper edge, as though his success had disrupted an unspoken order in the css. Still, James wasn’t bothered. He felt more fident than ever, and he was ready to enjoy the reition—after all, it wasn’t every day he outscored the most petitive student in school.
Just as he leaned back, feeling the satisfa settle iiced Mili and Toya approag. They were both gng at his papers, eyes alight with a mix of surprise and something else—a flicker of curiosity, maybe even pride.
“James!” Mili excimed, her voice tinged with disbelief. She looked genuinely impressed, though there was a hint of reservation ione. “You actually over did it. We were actually fighting for sed spot but you got way more than that?” Her expression was a mix of admiration and astonishment, as if she couldn’t quite recile her image of him with this new academic aplishment.
James shrugged, pying it cool. “You know, I had to meet the challenge you set for me,” he said with a smirk. “Guess I took it a bit further than I thought.”
Mili crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow as if scrutinizing him anew. “Well, looks like I’ll have to keep an eye on you,” she replied, her voice light but ced with an undercurrent of petitive pyfulness. There was a glint in her eye that suggested she didirely want to lose to him, even if it was just academics.
Just then, Toya chimed in, her voice ced with a pyful pride. “Not bad, Mr. Topper. That’s what I expect from my temporary boyfriend.” She grinned, referring to their arrao keep Rakib, the relentless suitor, at bay. Toya’s ent seemed lighthearted, but James noticed the warmth in her words, an almost personal pride that made him feel like his aplishment mattered to her in a way that went beyond friendship.
James gave a modest shrug, trying to deflect the attention, but Toya’s smile lingered on him a moment lohan usual. The words “my temporary boyfriend” hung in the air, stirring an undercurrent of tension that her girl aowledged directly, but both seemed to feel. Mili’s smile tightened, and she gnced sideways at Toya, her gaze assessing. Though Mili had no words to vey her emotions, her raised brow and faint smirk spoke volumes.
Toya, not oo back down, maintained her lighthearted expression but inched slightly closer to James, as if staking her pce by his side. “It’s impressive,” she tinued, “especially since I know you had other things to deal with.” She leaned a little closer, her tone softening, as if she had some unique insight into James’s life that Mili didn’t.
Mili, not missing a beat, cleared her throat. “Well, James, I’m sure all that studying together paid off,” she remarked, reminding Toya of her own history with James. She fshed Toya a polite but pointed smile. “I knew he had it in him.”
Toya’s eyes flickered as she picked up on Mili’s subtle jab. “Of course,” she replied smoothly, her gaze lingering on James. “I mean, you must’ve done well before Mili’s help tht?” she added, throwing a knowing smile his way.
