Pampered By My Three Brothers: The Return Of The Neglected Heiress - Chapter 1673

Chapter 1673: Former campus belle
“Are you two on a date?”

Ginnie and Max froze for a second before the latter reacted almost accusingly.

“A date?!” he scoffed, scrunching up his nose in disbelief. “Me and her? Hah! Impossible! No way! Also, shouldn’t we be the ones asking why you two are together—wait!”

Ginnie pursed her lips and cast him a side-eye. She didn’t say anything, but the slight twitch at the corner of her lips somehow showed her repressed emotions.

Max’s face quickly turned red, glaring a dagger at Hugo as if the latter were truly a born player. He pointed at him dramatically.

“Hugo, what’s the meaning of this?!” he gasped in disbelief. “Are you dating her?!”

“Ah, it’s not—”

‘No,’ Before Kiara could answer, Hugo nodded, pointing at Kiara with his thumb. “She’s my new girlfriend.”

Slowly, Kiara turned her head, her jaw dropping. Max, on the other hand, froze in surprise. Meanwhile, Ginnie’s brows furrowed. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that only Ginnie knew Hugo meant something else.

“Girl—girlfriend?!” Max stuttered in horror, his heart thudding heavily as he remembered Ginnie standing just beside him.

Kiara shook her head, eyes on Hugo. “What in the world are you talking about?”

They’d just eaten together—a couple of times. She didn’t get the memo it was a date, and nowhere in there did she know she agreed to a relationship with him!

Seeing their reaction, Hugo blinked innocently and cocked his head to the side.

“What?” he asked dryly. “It’s true, though. You’re my friend.”

Kiara’s mouth opened and closed, her mind glitching. “That—that’s what you meant?”

“Is there another meaning in that?”

“…” She pressed her lips, pinching the bridge of her nose. When she managed to get her brain working again, she flashed him a forced smile. “Nothing.”

She then faced Max and Ginnie with the same smile. “Don’t—PLEASE—don’t misunderstand.”

—

Meanwhile,

This meeting was unexpected because Hugo and Kiara only came here to eat. Meanwhile, Max was walking Ginnie home while discussing some important matters. After all, Ginnie had quit the team over some drama with the higher-ups.

One could say Max was poaching Ginnie to get her on his team.

“Ah…” Kiara rocked her head, walking alongside Ginnie while the men walked behind them. “So, that’s why.”

Ginnie laughed. “I treated him once at that meat buffet, and I thought he was joking when he said he’d come back here when he had the money.”

Kiara bit her tongue, trying to keep her smile intact. The brief misunderstanding she had about Hugo’s previous remarks still lingered. But above all, it explained that Hugo was truly the master exploiter. Not only did he exploit her, but he even exploited Ginnie.

“Anyway, I didn’t think you’d remember me,” Ginnie quipped, snapping Kiara back to her senses.

“Hmm?”

Ginnie chuckled. “When we were still in the Summit School of Excellence, you were very popular. The campus belle. Hehe. I didn’t know you knew me.”

Kiara smiled with slight embarrassment, touching her nape to massage it. “Campus Belle is a little too much.”

“Everyone knew you were the Campus Belle,” Ginnie remarked. “I still remember many of my classmates and other students getting bangs and straight hair because of you.”

After all, back then, Kiara had very long, straight black hair, as if she were a model in a shampoo commercial. Everyone loved it and tried to copy it. Not to mention, she was the highest-ranked girl in the star section.

Beauty, brains, and a good family background.

It was perfect for someone in that kind of school. Although Ginnie remembered Kiara as aloof and very careful.

Ginnie intuitively glanced at Kiara’s short and slightly unruly hair. “I like this look, though. You look… more carefree than when you had that hair. Don’t get me wrong. You suit both, but they just give different vibes.”

That was because her short hair was more like a symbol of her retaliation against her parents. They might or might not care, but she knew they were aware of why Kiara was keeping her hair short and decided to keep it that way or shorter. After all, her parents wanted the long hair, and her mother maintained it like that.

Why?

Because of them, her long, black, and straight hair looked more presentable and decent with minimal hair accessories. And they were ignorant of her complaints about how heavy it was or that she had to wake up very early just to brush it and make it look perfectly straight.

“Thanks,” Kiara whispered, studying Ginnie’s tied hair and her casual green hoodie. “Your hair is nice too.”

“…” Ginnie raised her brows and blinked before chuckling. It sounded like Kiara just said that to return the compliment. “Thanks.”

“I’m serious,” said Kiara quietly.

“Mhm.” Ginnie hummed, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets. “Anyway, I’m still surprised that you were with Senior Hugo. If I didn’t know him, I’d think you were dating.”

“It’s not like that,” Kiara whispered, casting her eyes down. “It’s just that he is helping me with something, and I feel indebted that I keep buying him food.”

“Even if he doesn’t help you, if he thinks you’ll buy him food, he will still exploit that kindness,” Ginnie quipped. “So, it’s better to get his help on something—work him to the bones. He’ll be happy to help as long as you feed him.”

“You sound like you know him well.”

“Penny is my friend,” Ginnie shrugged. “And when you’re friends with her, it’s inevitable to know her brothers with a sister complex as well. It’s like a package you don’t need, but it’s there.”

Kiara chuckled, having that impression after meeting the Bennet Family and Penny. “They’re really… close.”

“It makes me jealous sometimes.”

“…” Kiara lifted her eyes and met Ginnie’s playful look. After a second, a helpless smile turned up on her face, and she nodded. “I thought I was the only one who was a bit envious of it.”

After all, she didn’t have a sibling to call her ally or anyone who could understand what it meant to be a child of her parents. But the Bennet Family was just different. It should’ve been obvious to her since she knew Atlas, and now Hugo.

Two siblings who were very different from each other. But somehow, they still got along.

Ginnie and Kiara smiled at each other and then moved on with their conversation, mostly about the past. They might not have been friends before, but they still went to the same school. So, there was plenty more to talk about.

Meanwhile, the men behind them didn’t even exchange a word.

All that was happening was Max glaring at this player.

‘He refuses my invitation for this?!’