Chapter 11 The Lie

Chapter 11 The Lie
The girl standing on the podium wore a crisp, casual outfit—a short skirt and a light baseball jacket over a fitted top. Her legs were long, straight, and porcelain white. Even though her expression currently looked like she wanted to be anywhere else in the world, under the bright classroom lights, she was undeniably, distractingly stunning.
It was just a practice simulation, but pulling a near-perfect score on the Vanguard Cup engine basically elevated her to the status of an academic deity. And no matter what era it was, the combination of top-tier grades and top-tier looks was an absolute magnet for attention.
In the audience, girls were already sneaking photos and frantically texting their friends in other majors: [This is the exchange student from the forum! Not only is she gorgeous, but she's a literal genius! Holy shit I'm on my knees!]
At that exact moment, Ruth Keen’s brain was spinning at maximum capacity, desperately trying to figure out what the hell she was supposed to "share."
Aside from 'Thank you to my grueling, soul-crushing nights at the Harvard library', she could try a few different variations. Like—
"Have you ever seen the Harvard library at 4:00 AM? I have. That is the secret to my success."
Or perhaps: "I know it's hard to believe, but Harvard actually taught me much more than just finance."
But if she actually said any of those things out loud, she would absolutely get jumped in the parking lot.
Ruth closed her eyes for exactly three seconds, composing herself. And then—
With surgical precision, she fabricated an entire, flawless backstory. She delivered a highly inspirational speech centered around “my family made me read financial newspapers in high school,” “I bought Vanguard Cup simulation software with my own allowance to practice,” and “success comes from years of slow, steady accumulation.”
She delivered the absolute bullshit with such smooth, impassioned eloquence that she honestly impressed herself. It was exactly the kind of inspirational garbage the professor wanted to hear.
When Ruth finally stepped down from the podium, the professor led a thunderous round of applause, and the entire classroom erupted into cheers.
Ruth had thought she could finally relax, but the applause and whistling didn't stop even after she reached her seat. Her own Vanguard Cup team was by far the loudest.
Helen looked at her with actual stars in her eyes. "Ahhhhh that was so badass! Ru, you are officially my goddess!"
Jerry hooted. "The hope of the class!"
Tom couldn't help but curse in awe. "Holy shit, I didn't realize you were an actual heavyweight! I thought you were joking when you said top fifty!"
Jerry yelled again. "The hope of the team!"
Matthew Lynes was the calmest of them all. He just nodded and said, "Yeah. Badass."
Jerry threw his hands up. "The hope of the village!"
"..." Ruth looked at the three of them, completely exasperated. She finally couldn't hold back. "Jerry."
Jerry looked up, beaming. "Yeah?"
"Are you suffering from some kind of chronic vocabulary deficiency?"
Because of that specific roast, Jerry spent the entire walk back to the dorms getting mercilessly mocked by his two childhood friends. Humiliated, he vowed to spend more time reading Twitter so he could properly expand his slang vocabulary and avenge himself.
Ruth had originally expected Matthew to interrogate her about her performance. She had even prepared a secondary set of excuses just for him.
But surprisingly, he remained completely unbothered. Aside from calling her a badass, he didn't bring it up again. Ruth breathed a massive sigh of relief.
Look at him! she thought proudly. Not even slightly surprised! He's clearly a man who has seen the world. Exactly what I expect from the man I'm chasing.
Ruth had her next class alone. She arrived at the lecture hall a few minutes early, and with nothing else to do, she opened the campus forum on her phone.
Instantly, she saw herself on the front page.
[THREAD] #My mind is completely blown x100. The two exchange students in our class are absolute monsters! They are hidden academic gods!
Ruth: "..."
She clicked into the thread. Just as she expected, the original poster used wildly exaggerated language to recap the results of the Vanguard Cup simulation exercise.
But what she hadn't known was that Matthew had actually scored second place.
Post 5: I am so jealous of their teammates ahhhhh! No wonder people love finding sugar daddies to carry them. Getting hard-carried must feel so good!
Post 6: Don't leave me, I'm jealous too! I'm total trash at simulations and I'm terrified of dragging a team down, but obviously a heavyweight like her wouldn't want me😭
Post 26: Honestly, when people said exchange students usually have good grades, I didn't really care. I figured with a face like hers, she just needed to look pretty. It's not like Cal U lacks smart people. But then BAM! First place! She completely crushed all the try-hards in our class! And a near-perfect score! Is she a literal god?!
Post 27: There are already so many geniuses competing this year... Cal U scooped up a bunch of state valedictorians, and they're all in the Economics department. Is the junior Finance class about to produce a massive dark horse? [Grabs popcorn]
Post 28: My roommate said when the girl got called up to share her experience, she looked so done with life, but the photos still look amazing! She has that super pure, innocent beauty. I am absolutely obsessed! [Image] [Image]
Post 29: As long as the girl is pretty, I will risk it all!
Because of the photos, the thread derailed into a massive hype train for her visuals, carrying on until the thirty-ninth reply—
Post 39: Ahhh this hits my exact sweet spot! I absolutely love the 'insanely overpowered power couple' trope!
Ruth's scrolling finger paused.
And then, entirely unable to stop herself, she casually tapped the 'Like' button on the 'power couple' comment.

On the other side of the city, Matthew Lynes had driven straight from Cal U to Sylvan Enterprises' massive corporate rival.
The Lynes family's domestic operations weren't quite as expansive as their overseas empire, but their stability was unquestionable. Especially in recent years, thanks to the massive, nationwide success of their flagship PC game, The Lynes had cemented their status as the only corporate titan in Veridian City capable of standing toe-to-toe with The Buckley.
From the underground parking garage, Matthew took the private, executive-only elevator straight to the top floor CEO office. He didn't have to pass through the lobby, nor did he have to interact with any regular employees. Since returning to the States, he had mostly only met with familiar faces, keeping news of his return strictly contained within elite circles.
The elevator doors slid open. Paul Zhou was already waiting. "Mr. Lynes."
Paul Zhou was his executive assistant, brought over directly from the American headquarters. The moment Matthew stepped out of the elevator, Paul began rapidly briefing him on a series of decisions and documents requiring his signature. There weren't too many, but they were complex.
Once they entered the massive corner office, Paul added, "Also... Mr. Lynes. We have the results on the inquiry you asked me to look into."
Matthew hung his jacket up. "Hmm?"
"The Buckley Estate is indeed making moves. Just as you predicted, they are shifting capital to develop new products in the VR sector. However... we don't have the specifics on their exact development trajectory yet."
Saying this out loud, Paul couldn't help but feel a deep wave of respect for the deceptively young man standing in front of him.
Paul used to work directly for William Lynes, Matthew's father. When he was reassigned to be Matthew's assistant, Matthew had barely been in his early twenties, simultaneously managing his university studies and the overseas corporate branch. At the time, Paul had been outwardly respectful but secretly resentful of having to babysit a college kid.
But the longer he worked for him, the more terrifying Matthew became.
This young man's foresight, ruthlessness, and sheer decisive power had reached a level that genuinely scared seasoned executives.
Hearing the report, Matthew didn't look surprised at all. He just nodded. "Understood. Leave the files. You can go."
Even though Matthew hadn't officially announced his domestic CEO appointment yet, he handled the entire stack of corporate issues in under two hours. Just as he picked up his phone to check his messages, the screen was completely overtaken by an incoming call.
"Hey," Matthew answered, leaning back comfortably in his leather executive chair. "What is it?"
"Yes! Yes, I need you!" Wayne Lynes’s voice practically exploded through the speaker. "Mat, when the hell is the Fire Dungeon update coming out?! I can't wait anymore! I've farmed the Gold, Wood, and Water dungeons until I'm sick of them! Tell your dev team to hurry up! Also, I found a clipping bug in the canyon map last night, you need to..."
Before Wayne could finish, William Lynes’s furious voice roared in the background of the call. "All you know how to do is play games! Play games! You don't even go to the office anymore, you just lock yourself in your room and play games!"
Wayne immediately fired back, highly offended. "Dad, that is completely unfair! I play games, but have I ever missed a deadline at work? Besides, it's not some random trash game! Do you have any idea how much revenue this PC game has generated for our company?!"
William yelled louder. "You think you're justified?! Staying up all night every night! Look at those dark circles under your eyes! What kind of girl is ever going to want to look at you?!"
Listening to the two of them scream at each other, Matthew let out a soft laugh, raising a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.
To the outside world, Wayne Lynes, the eldest son of The Lynes, was known as a strict, meticulous, perfectly groomed corporate heir who was the spitting image of his father.
Only his closest family members knew the truth: the eldest Lynes heir was an absolute, irredeemable gaming addict. And the game he was hopelessly addicted to just happened to be the flagship MMO developed by his own younger brother.
Wayne's account, THE DAWN, was permanently ranked in the top three of the Six Realms leaderboard and held the undisputed #1 spot for in-game purchases. From the day the servers launched, he hadn't missed a single day of logging in. He was basically using his life force and his trust fund to support his little brother's game.
Matthew waited until the father and son had mostly tired themselves out. Having already checked the development reports, he replied, "There's a server-wide update coming in a week. The Fire Dungeon will go live then."
Wayne cheered, instantly ecstatic. "Perfect! I'm going to start hoarding crafting materials right now."
While the father and son continued bickering in the background, Matthew smiled and offered some helpful advice. "Wayne, Dad is right. Stop pulling all-nighters. I don't want to see a GoFundMe page pop up for your medical bills."
"Oh, and while you're at it, do me a favor and tell Dad to stop trying to set me up on blind dates..." Matthew paused, his voice dropping into a firm, clear tone.
"I've already found him a daughter-in-law."

Ever since her impromptu motivational speech, Ruth had become increasingly popular with her classmates. Girls constantly found excuses to crowd around her desk, asking her for advice on stock trends, market crashes, and simulation strategies.
Cal U's Economics department was full of overachievers. Ruth could see they genuinely wanted to learn, and even though it was a bit annoying, she couldn't bring herself to turn them away.
However, if she had known this would happen, she absolutely would never have exposed her true skill level in that computer lab.
Ten minutes before class on Thursday afternoon.
Just as she finished explaining a market trend and politely waved off another group of girls, she noticed a shadow falling over her desk.
She looked up and instantly met a familiar gaze.
Matthew was wearing all black today, a rare choice for him, which made his pale skin look even more striking.
Ruth had always thought he looked best in white—clean, pure, untouchable. But seeing him in black, she realized it suited him just as perfectly. It gave him an incredibly sharp, cool, almost dangerous edge.
The second their eyes met, his eyes curved slightly. The distant, untouchable aura vanished instantly, replaced by a teasing drawl. "Look at you, academic god. You're pretty popular these days."
Realizing Matthew had probably been standing there watching her get swarmed the entire time, Ruth sighed. "What god..."
"You are a god! And so is Coach Lynes!" Helen turned around from the seat in front of them. "You guys have no idea. Ever since that forum post blew up, the three of us have been completely despised by everyone else in the class because we get to be on your team! Hahahaha!"
Ever since the Vanguard Cup teams were finalized, the comedy trio always made sure to grab the seats directly in front of Ruth and Matthew. Ruth didn't mind. She definitely preferred sitting near the three of them over random classmates.
Matthew, who seemingly never carried a backpack, naturally reached over and smoothly stole Ruth's pen. Then, he dug into his pocket, pulled out a light blue candy wrapper, and handed it to her.
—The daily "equivalent exchange."
It was a perfectly innocent interaction, but to the three people watching from the front row, it was blindingly flirtatious.
Tom: "Tsk tsk tsk. Here we go again."
Jerry: "Tsk tsk tsk. It physically hurts my eyes every time."
Helen smacked Jerry's arm. "You're just projecting! That's called being single and bitter! You're just jealous, you dog!"
Facing the trio's relentless teasing, Matthew's expression didn't change at all. In fact, he sometimes leaned into it even harder. Ruth, on the other hand, had zero defense. After two jokes, her ears would burn red, and she would immediately try to stealthily change the subject.
But today, before she could even try to deflect, another student approached her desk.
Unlike the others, this girl was extremely shy. She politely explained that she wanted to ask Ruth for tutoring over the next few weeks, and she specifically used the word "borrow."
The trio in the front row looked completely stumped.
"Master Ruth..." Jerry muttered quietly, leaning away. "She's out of our jurisdiction."
Tom nodded rapidly. "Yeah, yeah, we don't have the authority to authorize a loan!"
The girl blinked, confused. "Um? What does that mean?"
"It means, if you want to 'borrow' her—" Helen pointed her chin toward Matthew with a deeply meaningful smirk, "—you have to ask Coach Lynes if he's willing to let her go."
Hearing that, Ruth's ears instantly flushed hot.
Before Ruth could figure out how to respond, the shy girl actually turned and asked Matthew.
"Um... Classmate Lynes," the girl stammered, her cheeks turning pink. Whether it was from his devastating looks or sheer nerves, her voice was tiny. "So... is it okay if I borrow this miss for a little bit?"
Honestly, Ruth hadn't even had time to take a sip of water, and her throat was dry from explaining market models all afternoon. If possible, she really hoped Matthew would help her decline.
But it felt a bit harsh to reject such a polite request from a girl who took Helen's joke completely seriously.
Ruth sighed internally. Whatever, I'll just teach her. It won't take long. Consider it good karma.
She turned her head and even started to stand up, about to speak.
But Matthew beat her to it.
"Sorry. She's our team's mascot," Matthew said, deliberately emphasizing the last word.
Then, he suddenly reached out, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and effortlessly pulling her back down into her seat. The warmth from his arm pressed firmly against her cheek.
Ruth leaned against him, his arm resting loosely over her shoulders. From right behind her, she heard his voice, laced with a low, magnetic, deeply amused laugh.
"She is a precious resource. Not for loan."