Chapter 251

Word spread like wildfire, and soon, everyone at Basterel University knew that Shermaine was some kind of tech genius.

Right then, Jameson was having dinner at a restaurant with Jason and the others. The place was packed with families and students everywhere.

One parent snapped at their kid, “You’re supposed to be eating dinner. What are you doing on your phone?”

“I’m checking out the school drama, Mom.”

“What drama?”

“Mom, I think I totally made the right choice picking Basterel University. You know that freshman Shermaine, right? The SAT was basically nothing to her. She’s like this major tech boss, seriously impressive. At the International Tech Conference in June, she beat out all these other geniuses and took first place. She made the whole Republic of Wallington look good.”

“She’s really that amazing?”

“Yeah, let me show you the live stream video from back then. It was incredible.”

After the parents watched the footage, they were completely blown away by Shermaine. Just like their kids said, the SAT really wasn’t a big deal for someone like her. The problems they gave contestants at the international tech conference were way too advanced.

Even though these parents had master’s degrees, they couldn’t solve a single question on that test.

Those big shots had to solve problems within a set time limit, and Shermaine absolutely crushed it among all those geniuses. She definitely didn’t look like someone who’d just finished taking the SATs.

Basterel University really hit the jackpot with her. The school’s admission standards were probably going to shoot through the roof after this.

It wasn’t just one family talking about Shermaine either. Conversations were buzzing at several tables around the restaurant.

“Shermaine is so damn cool. I swear she’s my idol now!” one student exclaimed.

“I really want to know what’s going on in her head. How is she so good at everything?”

“Right? If she’s that amazing, why is she even taking the SATs to go to school? I feel like she could just teach us instead.”

Jameson heard every word, and he couldn’t even think about eating. His mind was spinning in circles. ‘Shermaine, my daughter, is some kind of tech industry big shot? How did she just become this tech genius out of nowhere?’ he thought.

Before, Jameson had figured that no matter how great Shermaine was, she still wasn’t as well-behaved as Jason. But now, reality was smacking him in the face. Shermaine really was exceptional. The problem was, he wasn’t handling it as well as he’d expected.

The more incredible Shermaine turned out to be, the worse he felt. He didn’t deserve any credit for her achievements, and the pressure was crushing him. Even worse, it made Jason–the son he’d always been so proud of–look pretty ordinary by comparison.

Jameson was seriously struggling with this whole thing. He couldn’t stand listening to any more of it, and his face looked like he’d swallowed something bitter.

He kept trying to convince himself that no matter how amazing Shermaine was, she was still just a woman who treated him coldly. There was no reason for him to feel this upset about it.

Jason picked up his utensils and looked at his dad. “Is the food not good or something?”

Jameson shook his head. “It’s fine. Just eat your meal.”

After lunch, Jameson was getting ready to leave when he put his hand on Jason’s shoulder. “You really need to step up your game, Jason.”

“I will, Dad.” Jason had never actually been involved in the tech world before, but now, he was curious to see just how impressive Shermaine really was in that field where everyone treated her like some kind of genius.

After they finished grocery shopping, Shermaine followed Joshua to the apartment he’d bought near Basterel University.

It was a duplex, around a thousand square feet, and Joshua had already had some clothes and household stuff moved in. “Sheary, would it be okay if we didn’t go back to campus tonight?”

Shermaine thought it over but didn’t give him an answer right away. ‘It’s my first day at Basterel University, and I’m already thinking about not going back to the dorm tonight. Is that a bad look?’ she wondered.

Basterel University had this rule where the students had to be back in the dorms by eleven, or they couldn’t get in.

It wasn’t impossible to work around, but Shermaine looked at him and said, “You’ve been with me all day. Don’t you have stuff to handle at the company?”

“Bradley’s there, plus the other executives.”

Shermaine teased him, “Bradley’s probably crying his eyes out right about now.”

Joshua didn’t really care if Bradley was crying or not. He’d given him a raise, and Bradley had accepted it, so he could deal with handling business when Joshua wasn’t around.

Joshua pulled her down onto the couch with him and asked again, “Sheary, can we do this?”

Shermaine couldn’t handle his persistence and reluctantly agreed.

When Joshua heard her say yes, he smiled and kissed her eyelids, “I heard there’s supposed to be a meteor shower around ten tonight. Want to go watch it?”

The way they were acting now didn’t really feel like a married couple. It was more like they were in the middle of some intense honeymoon phase. Except this guy had the marriage license to back him up, which made him way too confident.

“Do you have a telescope?” Shermaine laughed.

“Yeah.”

“Found a good spot?”

“I know the perfect place,” Joshua said.

“Let’s go then.”

They were totally on the same page, so they headed out that night to catch the meteor shower.

Meanwhile, back in Rodunst…

Richard was in his study when he got a call from the Republic of Wallington. His voice got all excited as he answered, “You’re saying you found that trafficking ring from back then? Great, I’ll find some time to fly back to the Republic of Wallington.”

Chapter 252