Chapter 176: Brooke York’s Plot
"Excuse me, I’m Brooke York. I’d like to apply to the student council. Is it too late to sign up?"
With what she thought was a sweet smile, Brooke York blocked their path.
The man who was obviously the student council president seemed annoyed at having his way blocked. He glanced up at her, showing none of the enthusiasm he had just shown Chloe York.
The other student council members nearby merely looked up for a second before resuming their conversation, clearly uninterested in her.
"Seniors... how about you just give me an evaluation now? I’m ready!"
’Brooke felt she was already humbling herself quite a bit. To be honest, in high school, she wouldn’t have even spared these people a glance. With one move from her family, she could have turned them all into her lackeys in a heartbeat.’
’But this is Southbend University, and I got in by taking someone else’s spot. I can’t be so arrogant anymore.’
Seeing that Brooke York wouldn’t give up, Leo Lynch spoke up and rejected her outright. "Recruitment applications are closed. Besides, all the new member slots for the student council are full. We can’t accept anyone else. Sorry."
The smile on Brooke York’s face froze. She hadn’t expected such a blunt rejection. ’They were just inviting Chloe! How could all the spots possibly be full?’
"Sir, I’m a strong candidate in every respect. I can take the written test and the interview, and I promise I’ll do well. Can’t you just give me a chance? And what if someone drops out? I could be a backup."
She had already gone this far, debasing herself to this degree, but the student council members present remained unmoved.
Leo Lynch frowned, clearly growing impatient. "I told you, all the spots are full. There’s no point in trying."
With that, he prepared to lead the other members away.
The blunt rejection, combined with the stares of more and more passing students—some curious, some mocking—made Brooke York’s face burn with humiliation, as if she had just been slapped.
She had come here hoping to claim the opportunity Chloe had rejected and prove her own worth. Instead, she was publicly denied, not even getting the chance to apply. Compared to the way Chloe had been personally invited, the difference was night and day.
The pent-up jealousy and shame rushed to her head, and Brooke York shouted at them, "Why could Chloe York be invited directly, while I don’t even get a chance to apply? How am I any worse than her?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, the surrounding chatter grew louder, no longer suppressed. Everyone could see that Brooke York was jealous of Chloe York, and their gazes toward her became even more mocking.
Brooke York ignored everyone else and strode in front of the student council members.
"You said all the spots were full, so why were you just inviting Chloe York to join? You’re discriminating against me! Do people like you even deserve to be in the student council?"
Brooke York had thrown all caution to the wind.
Hearing this, Leo Lynch dropped his intention to leave. He looked up at Brooke York and said bluntly, "The spots really are full. As for why we invited Chloe York, it’s because she’s exceptional enough for us to make an exception and add one more person. That’s why we invited her to join."
"Furthermore, Chloe York was the top scorer on the college entrance exam, she has an upstanding character, she’s always helping her classmates, and she has a stellar reputation throughout the school. You can even see her good deeds online. We were more than willing to invite her. As for you, Brooke York, it’s not that we won’t give you a chance. It’s that you simply don’t meet the student council’s recruitment requirements."
"How do I not meet them? Just because I don’t have some glorious story of saving someone that went viral online? None of you do either!" Brooke York immediately retorted, her heart filled with indignation.
A council member next to him couldn’t help but scoff. "What other reason could there be? You got a zero on your college entrance exam. Everyone at school has known about that for ages. With grades that bad, you can’t even handle basic studying. Why would the student council possibly recruit you?"
The two words, "a zero," exploded like a thunderclap in the crowd. Laughter and murmurs erupted all around.
"So she’s the one who got a zero. Speaking of which, how did she even get into our university with a zero on the entrance exam?"
"Could there be some inside story? I heard her family is pretty rich. It couldn’t be that..."
"She managed to score a zero on the exam and still has the nerve to compare herself to Chloe York?"
"She should take a good look at herself. Wanting to join the student council? She’s really overestimating her abilities."
The mocking words flooded her ears, and all eyes were fixed on Brooke York. Right now, she felt like a monkey in a zoo, put on display for everyone’s amusement.
The student council members didn’t waste any more time on Brooke York and left.
In the end, Brooke York couldn’t stand the stares fixed on her any longer. She covered her face and ran away.
The incident spread through the school quickly. In less than an hour, everyone knew that the student council had invited Chloe York, who didn’t join, while Brooke York had begged to join and was rejected.
No matter where she went, she could hear students talking about it.
Hiding in her dorm, Brooke York was fuming. She had just picked up her phone, ready to log into a sock puppet account to defend herself, when a system-pushed image flashed on her screen. It was Adrian Kane.
A thought struck her, and Brooke York shot up. ’Maybe I can start with Adrian Kane. Compared to Ethan Prescott, Adrian Kane is the one with real power. What if I could make Adrian Kane fall for me?’
As Brooke York mulled it over, the corners of her lips curved up. She knew how she was going to turn the tables.
At that moment, it never occurred to her that if she couldn’t even win over Ethan Prescott, what made her think she could handle Adrian Kane?
***
「The Coral Grand Hotel」
Today, Brooke York had deliberately dressed to the nines before arriving at the entrance of The Coral Grand Hotel.
Through her own investigation, she had learned that Adrian Kane would be here discussing a partnership today, so she had to take this chance to get properly acquainted with him.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows next to her, she could see Adrian Kane sitting in the hotel lobby.
’Adrian, here I come!’ With a confident stride in her high heels, Brooke York walked inside.
Adrian Kane hadn’t left right after his meeting. He was sitting in the lobby because his driver had gone to refuel the car and wasn’t back yet.
Suddenly, a figure sat down in the seat across from him.
He glanced up and saw Brooke York beaming at him. His tone was cold. "Can I help you?"
It wasn’t that he didn’t recognize Brooke York. When he was looking into Chloe York, he had come across Brooke’s information and photos.
He just didn’t believe her appearance here was a mere coincidence.
Hearing Adrian Kane’s question, Brooke York deliberately adopted a more elegant posture and introduced herself. "Mr. Kane, my name is Brooke York. I’m Chloe York’s older sister."
Adrian Kane said nothing in response to her introduction. If she was just going to introduce herself, he saw no need to engage.
Surprised that he went silent after learning who she was, Brooke York got straight to the point. "I know you like Chloe York. I came to find you today to tell you the truth. You shouldn’t waste any more time on her. She’s not worth it."