Mr. Jurado had that "seen-it-all" look: "Alright, alright, you kids go have fun. Drinking''s fine, but don''t go overboard. Make sure to look after thedies." With that, Mr. Jurado strode off.


    Ivan picked out a nice restaurant with a cozy private room, not too far from the University of Maple Grove-just a half-hour cab ride away.


    ...


    Inside the private room.


    Ivan stood up, raising his ss to Flora: "To Flora, cheers!"


    Maddox followed suit, standing up: "To Flora, cheers to you too! Without you, there''s no way we''d have beaten those guys from Imperial Tech!"


    Almost everyone raised a toast to Flora.


    Ivan had chosen drinks with a low alcohol content, just enough to enjoy without causing any issues.


    Brianna, holding her ss, looked conflicted.


    After everyone had offered their toasts, she finally mustered the courage to approach Flora.


    Flora, leaning back in her chair, lifted her eyes to look at her.


    "Can we bury the hatchet over a drink?" Brianna tentatively raised her ss to Flora, now thoroughly convinced of Flora''s superiority. Flora''s formidable strength had won her over.


    She thought, if it hadn''t been for the issue with her uncle''s family, they could''ve been friends.


    Hearing this, Flora''s eyebrows arched slightly, the fluorescent light casting a beautiful yet cold glow on her features.


    Seeing Flora''s silence, Brianna''s hand holding the ss stiffened; she had gathered a lot of courage toe over and now felt deted.N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.


    She was about to set down her ss and leave.


    "Wait." Flora stopped her. She stood up, took the bottle from the table, filled her own ss to the brim, and then did the same for Brianna. "This is how you bury the hatchet."


    After saying this, Flora tilted her head back and downed the drink.


    A smile crept onto Brianna''s lips, and she followed suit, drinking it all.


    "Whoa, that''s badass!"


    Maddox and the others cheered from the side.


    Flora ced her ss down, grabbed her backpack from the chair, unzipped it, and then pulled out something to toss to Brianna.


    It was a programming book.


    And it was somewhat worn; the edges of the pages were beginning to yellow.


    Brianna looked at Flora with suspicion, wondering why she was suddenly given a book. Tentatively, she opened the first page.


    What met her eyes were two words, elegant yet sharp.


    -Jules.


    Brianna''s mind exploded!


    Ivan and Maddox, along with the other guys, were curious about what Flora had given Brianna and came over to take a look, their eyes widening in shock! "Holy shit... Damn, damn, damn...!! That''s Jules''s autograph!"


    Flora said, "This was a programming book Jules used. It''s veryprehensive, and it also contains some notes Jules made. Take it back with you and have a look; it''ll be helpful." The guys were green with envy: "Oh my gosh, Flora, that''s incredibly generous of you! Why only gift it to our princess and not us!"


    Leaning back in her chair, Flora was nonchnt: "Because we''re all girls."


    In a world already full of biases against women, it''s all the more important for girls to support each other.


    Brianna clutched the book tightly, looking at Flora, and whispered a barely audible "thank you."


    She suddenly felt foolish for how she had been so set on going against Flora when Flora might not have even taken her seriously.


    Unnoticed by them, the door to the private room was slightly ajar, and a pair of eyes were fixedly staring at them.