Love or Die: CEO’ s Daily Dose of Swoon (Cordelia)

Chapter 58

"What's the right call?"

That graduate student was puzzled, stepping forward to take a closer look, and gasped in shock, "Is this...?"

It finally dawned on Frankie that his student was peering at the sensitive documents scattered on his desk. Frankie hastily stood up, tidied the papers, and breathed a sigh of relief as that student tactfully averted his gaze.

Still stunned, that student murmured, "Is that right?"

Frankie nodded.

Suddenly, an idea struck him and he grabbed his smartphone to make a WhatsApp call to Cordelia.

It was well past midnight, and Cordelia seemed to be asleep. The phone rang several times before she answered with a groggy "Hello."

Her voice was husky and indifferent, laced with the haze of sleep.

Frankie spoke urgently, "Did you send these conjecture results to anyone else?"

There was a pause on the other end before replying, "No."

He exhaled in relief, then said solemnly, "Before you publish this, don't show it to anyone else. There are many in the academic world who would hijack others’ hard work."

"Okay, got it," she replied, her tone still remarkably calm.

He cleared his throat and asked, "Did you prove this conjecture all by yourself?"

There was a pause before she answered seriously, "Not really, my granddad proved two-thirds of it. You can tell from the draft I sent you."

Frankie had seen it, but many had tried and failed to prove this conjecture using that method, usually getting stuck at the final step and unable to progress.

So the first two-thirds wasn't the breakthrough. It was the final third that was truly remarkable!

If Cordelia claimed she had proved the conjecture on her own, there would be no issue.

Frankie felt further trust in her character and a growing fondness as if she were his kin. He chuckled, "Which journal are you thinking of publishing in?"

There was a moment of confusion before she replied, "What?"

"You need to draft this into a paper and submit it to a prestigious math journal. Do you know how to write a scholarly article?"

"No," came the simple reply.

Frankie couldn't help but laugh, "I can help you with that. I suggest you submit to Inventiones Mathematicae. Your conjecture will definitely cause a sensation in the international math community!"

But her reaction was still nonchalant, "Okay."

Frankie was speechless. If it were him, he would've been up all night organizing the paper. Yet, her attitude was somewhat indifferent...

He asked again, "Are you free these days?"

"No."

"Busy studying?"

"Not really. I'm prepping for the National Math League." Cordelia hadn't done any serious problem- solving for a week. To show respect for the upcoming competition, she decided to knuckle down and practice for the next three days.

Frankie was speechless and felt as if he'd entered a realm of fantasy.

Is there any need for Cordelia, who just proved Batra's Conjecture, to compete with high school kids?

But at the thought that she was still in high school, Frankie swallowed hard, "You're a senior?"

"Yeah."

"Well, if you don't mind, I'll get someone reliable to write the paper for you."

"Thank you, that would be great."

Only then did Frankie finally relax. At the last moment, he asked, "We've only chatted a couple of times in the group. Why did you trust me enough to send me your work?"

Though he was a renowned mathematician and a man of integrity, even he couldn't guarantee his heart wouldn't stir at the prospect of such a paper...

It was a history-making achievement!

Cordelia, confused by the question, answered slowly, "Didn't you ask me to help you with this problem?"

Frankie was baffled.

After hanging up, Cordelia, who was roused from her sleep, didn't give the conversation another thought and drifted back into her dreams.

Over the next three days, she focused intently on practice problems, pouring all her energy into her studies.

Laurinda tried to taunt her several times but was shut down by Sanderson. Meanwhile, Rachel and Juliana seemed too deflated by the piano incident to cause any trouble.

After those three days, Cordelia packed her bags to travel to the National League.

The competitors were mostly the same as those in the previous Galaxy Math Whiz Competition. Greenmeadow International School still had three girls participating, with the other two sharing a room.

After consulting Cordelia, Latham decided she would have her own room.

On the bus, Hanley saw Cordelia sitting alone in the back row, wearing a baseball cap, and pursed his lips. He sighed, thinking he'd offer her some comfort once they'd settled in at the hotel, away from the bus' chatter.

Five hours later, they arrived at the hotel.

While checking in, Hanley deliberately lagged behind to catch Cordelia's room number. He then saw her hand over her ID, prompting the front desk clerk to smile, "Hello, we're out of single rooms, so would you mind a complimentary upgrade to the presidential suite?" ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

The rest were stunned. Such luck!

Hanley was equally baffled. The presidential suite was on the 28th floor and off-limits to regular guests not staying there!

Cordelia, not giving it much thought, simply agreed.

A bellhop came over to assist her with her luggage. After the crowd dispersed, Hanley thought about upgrading his room with his ample pocket money. But as he approached the desk, he overheard another guest checking in, "Do you have any single rooms left?"

"Yes, sir. What floor would you like?"

Hanley was dumbfounded, not understanding what was happening. When it was his turn, he was told, "I'm sorry, all our presidential suites have been booked out. We can't offer you an upgrade."

Hanley was left in confusion.

That night, Cordelia slept well. The next morning, breakfast was delivered to her room, and she boarded the bus for the day's events, feeling refreshed and ready.

A group of students arrived at the testing center. Latham, the guidance counselor, reiterated the exam rules before they all filed through the gates. Cordelia, with her admission slip in hand, made her way to the assigned classroom.

As luck would have it, she spotted a familiar face as soon as she walked in. That was Yuna, who was sitting right next to her spot.

Ever since their last run-in, Yuna had been harboring a grudge. She'd been spreading rumors that Cordelia was just a spoiled rich kid who coasted on her family's money. But when Cordelia snagged the top spot in the regional science fair, it had slapped Yuna's pride and turned her into the laughingstock of Greenmeadow High School.

In the weeks that followed, Yuna had been too bitter to focus on her studies, knowing full well that any chance of outshining Cordelia had slipped through her fingers.

With venom in her eyes, Yuna clenched her fists. Suddenly, she stood up, grabbed her pencil case, and hurled it viciously at Cordelia. If Yuna couldn't win, she wasn't going to let Cordelia have an easy time during the exam either!

But then, Cordelia caught Yuna's wrist in mid-air.

A teacher glanced over and barked, "What's going on here?"

Yuna squinted her eyes and, in a calculated move, let herself fall backward, toppling over the chairs behind her. Gritting her teeth against the pain in her back, she shouted, "Miss, she hit me!"

Fighting in the exam hall was a serious offense. Both parties could be disqualified on the spot!