The Mocked Miss’s Hidden Crowns novel Chapter 1651

Shirley almost tripped when she heard him, barely managing to keep her balance.

“I don’t like you.”

Andrew didn’t even flinch. “That’s fine,” he said, watching her scramble off with a little smirk. “Guess I’ll just have to work harder.”

Her brows drew together. She ignored him, rushed straight past, and climbed onto the bus without looking back.

As the bus pulled away, Shirley pressed a hand to her chest, trying to steady her wild heartbeat. She took deep breaths, replaying what had just happened.

Had Andrew just confessed to her? She’d turned him down, no hesitation. Yet his reaction was nothing like what she’d expected. Instead of backing off, he’d just doubled down and basically promised to keep trying.

Shirley’s eyes dropped, and a cloud of sadness settled over her. No way. There’s no way that could ever happen between them.

She forced herself to calm down, pulled out her phone, and sent a message to Mr. Lane.

[Mr. Lane, have the Apex acceptance letters come out yet?]

[Not yet, no need to worry.] came the quick reply.

Normally, Shirley wouldn’t be stressing about it. But now, all she wanted was to put some distance between her and Andrew. Maybe, if she left, he’d move on. He had everything going for him—looks, personality, plus that family background he never had to mention. There had to be plenty of girls who liked him.

While she was lost in thought, her phone started ringing. She glanced at the screen. Mr. Lane.

Shirley was momentarily stunned, then quickly answered. “Hello, Mr. Lane.”

“Shirley,” he said, his voice as warm as always. “You’ve probably heard about the university’s new scholarships.”

Once the nomination’s in, get your documents ready,” Mr. Lane continued, his voice calm but determined. “That project you were running for me is finishing up in the next couple of days. When it gets released, it’ll cause a stir here and overseas. That’s no small feat—not something every student can claim.”

Undergrads, postgrads, even doctoral students rarely got this kind of recognition. That’s why he truly believed Shirley was a front-runner for the special scholarship.

“Okay, Mr. Lane,” Shirley said, and couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto her face.

It wasn’t the money that made her happy. She just felt proud that the project she’d spent months sweating over was finally about to cross the finish line.

…

Now that she and Andrew had dropped the act, he only got bolder with his feelings for her.

Cabinda University and Kingswood University were separated by just one street. Every morning, Andrew would show up with breakfast. At lunch, he’d appear with food again, and every night, he would try to walk her home, refusing to take no for an answer.