chapter943

He was sure of one thing. Lydia would never be able to crack his virus.

He moved fast, breaking into her computer and planting the virus before anyone could even blink.

Suddenly, Lydia's screen went black. Then blue. Lines of green code started streaming across, wild and endless, like they could go on forever.

Lydia just gave a little smirk. Please. This was child's play.

Alfie watched her with total confidence. He was so sure of himself, he would literally bet his reputation. If Lydia managed to crack this, he'd go streaking across campus.

But that smugness lasted about three seconds. Lydia's fingers were flying over the keyboard, moving so fast they were almost a blur. In barely a minute, his own computer started blaring with alarms.

Lydia had already broken through his virus, flipped it around, and hacked into his system like it was nothing.

His whole body went tense as he scrambled to fix it. Three minutes went by, then five. Still nothing.

Down in the audience, people were getting antsy.

"Is Alfie going to make it or not? That looks impossible to break."

"For real, Lydia doesn't even look nervous. I had no idea she was this good!"

"I know, right? I never thought a girl could be so cool at this. She's amazing!" Alfie's face darkened. He was pounding on the keyboard so hard you'd think it would catch fire, but it didn't matter. He couldn't get through Lydia's virus.

"Don't bother wasting your energy," Lydia said calmly. "At your level, you're not getting in."

Alfie looked up at her, totally shocked. "Who... who are you?"

He'd always thought of himself as the best computer science guy at Capital College. He'd just made the national team this year. He was proud, maybe too proud. But today, it took Lydia less than half an hour to destroy all that confidence.

Someone like her couldn't possibly be just anybody.

Lydia stood up, cool as ever. "No comment."

Alfie slumped back in his chair, completely defeated. He felt like a total clown. How could he ever call himself a genius after this?

"A bet's a bet, right? Lydia raised an eyebrow, not about to let him forget.

Alfie just stared, lost for words.

The whole crowd was in shock. No one could believe what they'd just seen. How could anyone be this good? Was there anything she couldn't do?

Juna saw Alfie looking crushed and hopped up on stage to give him a pep talk.

"Hey, man, that will teach you about not looking down on everyone else. Lydia's not someone you want to mess with. From now on, when you see her show some respect Trust me, it'll be good for you."

Juna gave Alfie a friendly pat on the shoulder.

Alfie suddenly looked up. What's her handle? Tell me!"

Juna just grinned. "If you're so smart, figure it out yourself. Right now, don't you have something else

to do... like, you know, stdiner

But, since you treated us to dinner Lydia says you can keep one thing on

BUMS

In the end, everyone really did see a ridiculously good-looking, rich guy sprinting around the Capital College track in nothing but his underwear.

Lydia had zero interest in watching Alfie streak. Capital College was a magnet for drama and she had no intention of sticking around.

She was just about to leave when she heard someone call her name. Lydia, wait up!"

Lydia turned, looking annoyed, and saw two girls walking straight toward her.

Lydia, congrats! You've definitely made a splash here at Capital College."