Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
In Room 316, Elijah closed his workbook, ready to take a short break. The dorm was quiet-he had it all to himself
His phone buzzed. He picked it up and casually swiped it open. A new email notification flashed across the screen.
Elijah clicked into his inbox, and the moment he saw the content, his calm expression shifted into one of genuine surprise.
It was the answer to the math problem he’d posted during the morning break in the Math Lab. Someone had actually solved it,
Elijah knew how to solve that problem. It had taken him a full week of poring over it, cross-referencing okl examples, and revisiting every formula he could think of before it finally clicked. But this person-whoever it was-had cracked it in just a few hours.
He wondered, stunned, Who the hell is this genius?
He quickly typed out a reply: Who are you!!
But just as he hit send, an error popped up-address not found.
Elijah froze. He looked back at the sender’s address and finally noticed it was just a string of garbled nonsense.
Cameron had set it up that way on purpose. She had no intention of letting Elijah know it was her for now.
After all, if he found out it was her, he might start questioning it. And honestly, she couldn’t be bothered to explain. Staying anonymous just made everything easier.
A soft ding came from her phone. Five minutes had passed-Cameron glanced down, and sure enough, there it was a deposit confirmation from the bank.
“Perfect.” She snapped her fingers, thinking, 30 grand, just like that. Knowledge really does pay
After wiping all traces of her digital activity, she shut down the computer and got up, planning to grab a book to read. There was still. plenty of time before class.
She was currently on the second floor of the library. The higher the floor, the more advanced and specialized the material,
Without hesitation, she headed up to the sixth. Most students stayed on the lower levels. Up here, it was surprisingly empty
With one hand in her pocket and her bangs falling softly over her forehead, Cameron’s expression was calm as always. She reached for a book, flipped it open, and began to skim.
When Cameron reached for that book, a well-defined hand on the opposite side of the shelf had pulled out another one. The gap left between the shelves gave that guy a clear view straight through to her side.
The guy standing there looked over, his eyes sharp with curiosity. The first thing he saw was the dazzling diamond stud in Cameron’s right ear, followed by the sharp angle of her ridiculously attractive profile.
“Cameron”” Bradley blinked, momentarily caught off guard. He hadn’t expected to see her here.
This floor was filled with books on business strategy and real-world applications-way beyond high school level, and even most college students would struggle to understand them. That was why it was always nearly empty.
Bradley didn’t expect a so-called underachiever like Cameron to show up here. If his eyes weren’t deceiving him, she was holding a book on advanced programming.
Hearing her name. Cameron looked up. Her gaze met his, calm and steady. Bradley stood in his crisp school uniform, the blue fabric sitting perfectly on his broad shoulders.
Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes carried that signature half-smile like a sly fox, elegant and composed.
“You’re here too, Bradley? Cameron smiled faintly. Her impression of him was quite positive he was the first person in this life to show her even a flicker of warmth.
Bradley gave the programming book in his hand a little wave. Just here to read. What about you? Are you also into this stuff?” A faint amile played on his lips, though his eyes stayed as calm and unreadable as ever.
Im just browsing.” Cameron said casually.
She suddenly remembered hearing that Bradley had serious skills in computer science. Rumor had it that back in freshman year, he’d been offered early admission to the country’s top university for computer science-no entrance exam required-just because of his exceptional talent.
Everyone in school had been insanely jealous, but Bradley had turned it down flat. He had other plans. Word was, he wanted to become a lawyer.
There are some spots over there,” Bradley said, “Wanna join me?”
Cameron nodded. “Sure
She took a seat, and Bradley set his book down, pointing at the nearby vending machine. “Want something to drink? got it,” Cameron said.
Til grab it for you Bradley offered.
Just as she stood up, Bradley moved to walk past her, and the two bumped straight into each other. Her shoulder hit his arm-solid and muscular from years of training.
“Ouch” Cameron stumbled back from the impact, Instinctively, the reached out to steady herself and ended up grabbing the hem of Bradley’s school blazer
He caught on quickly. Raising a hand, he steadied her by the shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good” Cameron braced herself against the table, regaining balance.
Bradley glanced at her short hair, ir, then reached over and gave it a rulle. “Trokly
1 you I’d get it for you
What do you want??
Fine, she thought as she sat back down. “Coffee. Thanks”
It didn’t take long before Bradley returned with two cups of coffee. He slid one in front of her.
Thanks, Bradley,” Cameron said with a small smile.
He took a sip of his own. “If you don’t mind, you can call me Brad. That’s what my buddies rall me. It feels more natural. By the way, I’m Holder than you, right?”
Bradley was fairly certain he was older than Cameron. His birthday was September 1st, which had made him start school a year late.
Most of their classmates were born the following year. He was already eighteen and a half, while many others hadn’t even turned eighteen yet. Most of them were younger than him.
Cameron took a sip of her coffee, thinking, ‘Brad? Are we even that close? But whatever-might as well go along with it’
“Alright, Brad,” she said,
Bradley smiled, and the eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses narrowed with delight. “You know, you’re actually kind of sweet.
Cameron fell silent, set down her cup, and co countered, “Sweet isn’t exactly a word that suits a guy”
Bradley chuckled lightly and turned the page of his book with well-defined fingers. Just as he started reading, his phone rang beside him.
He glanced at the screen. It’s Elijah. Without hesitation, he answered and switched to speakerphone, not bothering to treat Cameron like an outsider.
“Brad, where are you?” Elijah’s voice came through, direct and unusually urgent-not his usual cool tone.
“I’m in the library. What’s up?” Bradley replied, glancing briefly at Cameron.
Elijah said, “Brad. I need your help tracking someone down.”
Bradley raised a brow. “Who?”
“So, yesterday someone solved the problem 1 left on the board, Elijah explained. I didn’t know who it was, so I tried something. I put the word out-anyone who solves a new problem gets 30 grand.
“Half an hour ago, that person solved it. But the email they used is gibberish, and the bank account they gave me isn’t traceable. Brad you’re good with computers. Can you help me track them down?”
“I probably could,” Bradley said. “But I don’t have my laptop on me right now.”
I’m kind of in a hurry. Can you come back to the dorm?” Elijah asked.
Still quietly sipping her coffee, Cameron lifted her eyes and reminded Bradley. There are computers on the second floor.”
“Who are you with Elijah had clearly caught Cameron’s voice in the background.
“Our new roommate, Cameron, Bradley replied casually.
“I’m coming to the library now,” Elijali said.
“Alright Bradley ended the call, then looked at Cameron, who was still flipping through her book. “Wanna head down with me?”
“Sure” Camerun nodded. She was also curious to see if Bradley could actually trace her. Her own hacking skills weren’t exactly shabby,
The two of them went downstairs together, Cameron still holding the programming book. They waited in the second-four computer area for about five minutes before Elijah arrived.
He was a little winded from running, and the usual coolness on his face was replaced with a faint flush. It didn’t take away from his looks in fact, it made him seem a bit more down-to-earthi
Several girls nearby perked up in surprise at the sigla of him
“That’s Elijah. He’s so good-looking, one of them whispered
Eli, over here” Bradley waved
More murmurs followed “Wow, Hradley’s here too, another girl gasped “What are the odds? Two of the hottest guys on campus in one place
“And look at the guy next to Bradley, someone else added a hushed tone. “He’s really handsome too-super clean-cut and fresh- looking. Total heartthrob
Elijah finally reached Bradley and Cameron and shot a cold glance at her, his tone clipped. “Mind if I sit here?”
Cameron raised an eyebrow and shifted over, letting him take the seat.