Everyone turned to look at Paige, sharing the same curiosity. They all recognized Paige’s capabilities; she could have easily avoided confrontation with the conglomerates. Yet, she chose to establish the Peak Club and directly challenge the Elite Club.


    Paige ced her hands on the smooth surface of the conference table, after a long pause, she slowly spoke, “I am helping you now, and you should remember this favor. One day, you will all pay it back to me.” She was blunt.


    “What do you want us to pay back? Money? Or do you want to start some kind ofpany?”N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    “I’ll tell you when the timees,” Paige smiled, picked up her phone, and walked away.


    The group turned to Nick, “Nick, what does she mean?”


    “I don’t know either…” Nick scratched his head, suddenly recalling Paige’s talk about changingws, which sent a chill down his spine. “Maybe Paige never wanted just to make a name for herself.”


    “Then what does she want?”


    Nick didn’t dare voice his thoughts, he simply said, “Don’t worry about it. Just focus on yourpetitions.”


    …


    The first battle was a mathematicspetition, with Rey representing the Peak Club.


    Before the exam, the organizers discovered signs that the lock on the room containing the test papers had possibly been tampered with. They had no choice but to use the backup exam papers that had been sealed for emergencies.


    Rey sessfully secured victory in the first match.


    The second match was a building designpetition. During the event, Elite Club’s top students stole Peak Club’s design ideas and direction. Just when they thought victory was assured, two members of Peak Club presented a superior n B, followed Paige’s earlier advice.


    The Peak Club won the second battle as well.


    In these twopetitions, Peak Club outperformed Elite Club and other student organizations to win the championship, instantly sparking discussions across all universities. The inte also erupted, with the buzz momentarily surpassing that of entertainment news.:


    #Elite Club Fails Again: Were Their Previous Achievements Fake?#


    #Whose Life Matters? In Country A, Are Commoners Destined to Serve the Conglomerates’ Offspring?#


    #Peak Club Beats Elite Club: Student Organization Battles as Fierce as Real-World Struggles#


    #Peak Club: Ten Commoners, with the Most Mysterious President#


    #Peak Club President: Stunning Beauty#


    A group ofizens even started discussing Paige’s looks.


    …


    Inside the heavily guarded presidential residence, uniformed security personnel patrolled back and forth.


    A ck horse galloped across the sprawling grounds.


    Outside the fence, a group of elite individuals in riding attire stood, showeringpliments.


    Seated on the horse was Enrico. He nced coolly at the crowd before dismounting and tossing his whip to Jaden. He removed his gloves and helmet, throwing them aside, ignoring the gathered crowd, and headed straight towards arge sunshade.


    Under the sunshade sat the President, dressed in a white shirt and vest, engrossed in his tablet. In Country A, with its elite system, Enrico was an undisputed king. His control over the economy and his vtile nature made him a figure to be reckoned with.


    “I don’t have any more wild horses for you to tame,” the President said with a smile. “How about I bring in some lions from Africa for you to train?”


    “No need,” Enrico repliedzily, leaning back and crossing his legs.


    “You, always making money. People need to rx and have some fun,” the President said, pouring him a cup of tea.


    “Making money is my idea of fun,” Enrico responded.


    The people nearby thought, ‘Making money is fun for you, but for us, it’s a struggle.’


    They all sat down, with the President and Enrico at the center.


    “Speaking of fun, I recently came across something interesting,” the President said, handing over his tablet and looking at Enrico. “Enrico, have you heard of a student organization called the Peak Club?”


    Enrico raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on?”


    “I’ve heard about it. It’s all over the inte,” someone else chimed in.


    “People have even leftments on the presidential website, asking what I think about the so-called elite system. They want to know if we are letting conglomerates run wild and if entrusting Country A’s future to ipetent heirs is a recipe for disaster.”


    “It’s just a group of students,” another person quickly added. “I did some research; apparently, a girl named Lautner is leading the charge to overthrow the Elite Club. The school is having a hard time dealing with it, but her influence among the students is significant, so they can’t expel her easily.”


    “How presumptuous. President is also from the Elite Club, and she dares to question the club’s merits?”


    “Winning twopetitions and questioning the entire system of Country A? She must be out of her mind,” someone else added.


    Enrico listened quietly, ncing at the three speakers and making a mental note of their names.


    “Enrico, have you heard about this? What do you think?” the President asked with a smile.


    “Living in the same routine for too long can get boring. A bit of excitement now and then isn’t bad,” Enrico replied, his tone revealing no emotion.


    “It is interesting, but if these students really stir things up, it could be a mess to handle,” the President said, shaking his head.


    Someone immediately spoke up, “That won’t happen. The Elite Club isn’t going to let a group ofmoner students win three times in a row.”


    Enrico turned his cup slowly, ‘Little girl, you did a good job, even catching the president’s attention. But the better you do, the more people will dislike you. The thirdpetition won’t be easy for you.’


    He smirked and downed his tea in one gulp.


    …


    “Bang!”


    In the Elite Club president’s office, Rachel mmed her phone to the ground, her eyes filled with resentment and anger.


    ‘Why? Why did Paige have to oppose her at every turn? Having Enrico wasn’t enough; she had to create the Peak Club topete directly with her. Now, she had be aughingstock. What was Paige’s motive?’


    Carl walked in and saw Rachel standing in anguish by her desk. He hurried over, handing her a ss of water. “Drink some water.”


    Looking down, he saw the phone on the floor, disying the day’s trending topics.


    “All these trends are stirred up by those students. Your health isn’t good; stop looking at this,” he said, frowning.


    Rachel concealed the hatred in her eyes, took the water, and said bitterly, “It hurts to see you all being criticized like this.”


    “You’re suffering the most,” Carl said, helping her to the sofa.


    Rachel shook her head, eyes red.


    “I handled this poorly. I didn’t lead the Elite Club to victory, and now you’re the one in the spotlight,” Carl said apologetically.


    “I’m fine. Maybe my time as president ising to an end,” Rachel said with a weak smile.


    “What are you saying?” Carl frowned.


    “Former members of the Elite Club have already approached me, saying my poor management has damaged their image,” Rachel said. “If we lose the thirdpetition to the Peak Club, how can I continue in this position?”


    “That transfer student used underhanded tricks to win thepetitions; it’s not your fault,” Carl said confidently, seemingly forgetting about all his attempts to steal exam papers and the other team’s design ideas in advance.


    Rachel looked at him with sorrowful eyes, “What I fear most now is that the Peak Club will win the thirdpetition. If that happens, Joss will definitely bring up what was said at the Student Assembly and demand that we disband the Elite Club. The Elite Club has always held a prestigious ce in the public’s mind, with a long and storied history. This affects not just us but all the predecessors who came from here. At that point, Carl, do you think those predecessors will let me off the hook?”


    Rachel’s voice was bitter. “I think my fate will be one of two things: either I’ll be made the scapegoat, med for mismanagement and tarnishing the Elite Club’s reputation, or I’ll quietly disappear from this world.”


    Hearing this, Carl wanted tofort her but found that she was right…


    Suddenly, he grasped her hand, looking at her with determination. “Rachel, don’t worry. I won’t let the Peak Club win the third round.”


    “It’s useless, Carl. You’ve tried before and it didn’t work,”


    “That’s because I didn’t go far enough before. This time, I won’t let she seed.”


    Carl squeezed her hand firmly, a n forming in his mind as he stood up and left.


    Watching Carl’s departing figure, Rachel slowly wiped away the tear from the corner of her eye. She could not tolerate that woman constantly stepping on her.


    …