Gavin flashed a small smile. “That’s it? I thought you had a big problem. It’s just fixing up your paper. Send me the file and I’ll take care of it for you. No way I’m letting Josie show you up. We’re not losing face over something like this!”

“Thank you, Gavin,” Natalie said, her heart skipping a beat with joy. She stepped forward, hugging his arm and rubbing her soft cheek against it. She asked, “Gavin, is there anything you’ve been eyeing lately? Let me buy it for you as a thank-you.”

Gavin felt a tingling sensation shoot up his arm, and before he could even react, Natalie’s question caught him off guard. For a split second, he felt like he was so lucky. He cleared his throat and tried to look all serious, putting on his best straight face. He said, “Well, there is a set of really authoritative study materials I’ve had my eye on, but they’re pretty pricey. It’s fine, though. I’ll figure out a way to get them.”

“Price doesn’t matter,” Natalie replied, her smile growing even brighter as she gave Gavin a playful wink. She added, “Let me buy them for you. With a friend as awesome as you, I honestly want to spoil you a little.”

Gavin was feeling pretty smug, practically floating on air. He thought, ‘Now, that’s what I call a smart friend. Not like Josie, who keeps a ledger for every cent and insists on paying everything back. Seriously, that’s just too much. Honestly, forget just editing her paper. I’d even write the whole thing for her if she keeps throwing money my way like this!’

Suddenly, Gavin realized he might have just stumbled onto a brand new way to make some easy cash…

By the time Aiden passed on David’s message to Natalie, she had already received the revised paper Gavin had helped her with. She thought, ‘Good thing I had the foresight to ask Gavin for help. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have been able to explain myself to Professor Lawson!’

“Got it, Aiden. I’ll send the paper to Professor Lawson later,” she said. She pressed her lips together, a hint of guilt in her eyes as she looked at Aiden. “Aiden, am I causing you guys trouble? I really didn’t expect things to blow up like this. I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

Aiden had been a little skeptical of her at first, but seeing how quickly she agreed to revise the paper and the way she apologized so humbly, some of his doubts started to fade. Aiden said, “Don’t overthink it. Just focus on your studies and get ready for the competition. What happened this time was just an accident. Next time, if you beat her, she won’t have any excuse to come after you again. Understand?”

Natalie nodded hard. “Understood, Aiden! I’ll do as you say, study hard, and do my best.” She looked so delicate and pitiful, with traces of tears still at the corners of her eyes as she tried to cheer herself up.

That vulnerable look made Aiden’s heart ache and swell with pride at the same time. For some reason, it made his heart tingle in a way he’d never felt before. He’d never experienced anything like this until now.

“Alright, go finish revising your paper,” Aiden said, forcing himself to snap out of that weird feeling. He’d always put his studies first and never had any interest in girls. He would not let anyone shake his focus or get under his skin.

Seeing him turn and walk away like she was some kind of plague, Natalie couldn’t help but pout. She thought, ‘Aiden really is the hardest nut to crack. But that’s fine. I’ve got plenty of time. Sooner or later, I’ll have him so hooked on me he won’t even know what hit him!’

Josie was completely in the dark about all of this. The next day, she got a call from the editorial office of a top medical journal. The editor told her that her paper had passed review and would be published in the journal, and that her royalties would be wired directly to her account. They asked her to fill out her bank account and ID info, and leave a phone number.

Josie wasn’t surprised. In her previous life, this exact paper had been published in the journal. However, the author was Natalie. Back then, Natalie had stolen her draft, reworked it, and only managed to get it past the journal’s review because David personally helped her revise it.

After the paper came out, Josie had read it. A few points would fall apart if people looked closer, but honestly, for someone like Natalie at the time, getting a paper published at all was already pretty impressive.