The afternoon sun beat down mercilessly on the front gate of University. Derek stood with his arms crossed, his designer sunglasses reflecting his growing irritation as he checked his expensive watch for the third time in five minutes.
This is ridiculous, he thought, his jaw clenching with barely contained annoyance.
"Maybe his car's so beat-up it won't even start," Derek sneered, his voice dripping with the kind of sarcasm that had made him infamous among the university's social circles.
Matt couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's cutting remark. "Wouldn't surprise me one bit," He added with a shake of his perfectly styled head. "I'm still shocked he even owns a car. I mean, we're talking about Jason here—the guy who got rejected after chasing that girl for three whole years."
From the elevated passenger seat of Darek's pristine lifted Ford Raptor—a beast of a truck that had cost him nearly sixty thousand dollars and served as his pride and joy—Amelia leaned out the window. Her long auburn hair caught the breeze as she surveyed the growing crowd of students with mild boredom.
"Why don't we just head out first?" she suggested, her perfectly manicured fingers drumming against the door frame. "They've got the address anyway. We could already be there, enjoying the hot springs instead of standing around here like idiots."
Derek waved her off with the confidence of someone who had never been denied anything in his life. "No way, babe. We're waiting," he declared, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. "I want to see what Jason shows up in. If we leave first, we won't get to watch him pull up with his little rust bucket.
The thought of witnessing Jason's humiliation was too delicious to pass up.
Boys and their toys, Chloe mused silently, flipping pages of her textbook while trying to ignore the testosterone-fueled conversation around her.
Just then, the deep, throaty growl of what was unmistakably a high-end engine ripped through the air like thunder across a clear sky. The sound was so pure, so powerful, that it seemed to make the very ground vibrate beneath their feet.
Every head turned instantly, conversations dying mid-sentence as all eyes focused on the campus entrance.
The first car to come into view was absolutely pristine—a gleaming 2025 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG that looked like it had just rolled off a showroom floor. Its metallic silver paint caught the afternoon sun and practically glowed with an inner light. The distinctive boxy silhouette of the G-Wagon commanded immediate respect and attention.
And there, behind the wheel with her signature confident smile, was none other than Holly Larson herself.
Everyone froze for a moment, their brains struggling to process what they were seeing.
"Wait… that's a G-Wagon," Matt said slowly, his voice barely above a whisper, as if speaking too loudly might make the vision disappear. His automotive knowledge was extensive—he'd spent countless hours researching every luxury vehicle on the market—and he knew exactly what he was looking at.
"That thing costs over two hundred grand," Derek muttered, his jaw tightening as the full implications hit him like a physical blow. The confidence that had carried him through the afternoon evaporated in an instant.
And just like that, as if someone had popped a balloon, their smug sense of superiority disappeared entirely. The Ford Raptor that Derek had been so proud of—the truck he'd spent months customizing and bragging about—suddenly looked like a toy in comparison to the luxury SUV gliding past them.
Amelia's mouth fell open surprise. Holly had never mentioned owning anything more impressive than a Honda Civic.
Chloe, who knew her a little better than the others thanks to their shared chemistry lab sessions, stared in growing surprise. Holly definitely didn't own a car like that—she was certain of it. The girl barely had enough money for textbooks, let alone a quarter-million-dollar vehicle. Which meant… this was Jason's car.
And Holly wasn't even giving anyone a ride.
Because right behind her came two more cars that made the G-Wagon look almost modest.
The second vehicle was a brand-new Rolls-Royce Cullinan, its distinctive Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament catching the light as it moved with the smooth, silent grace that only came with British luxury engineering. The massive SUV practically radiated wealth and exclusivity, its presence so commanding that other students stopped what they were doing just to stare.
Aly and Meg sat in the front seats, both grinning like they'd won the lottery as they waved at the stunned crowd through the vehicle's premium tinted windows.
But it was the third car that made everyone's jaws collectively hit the pavement—a Lamborghini Revuelto, the Italian manufacturer's latest hybrid supercar. Its aggressive angular design seemed to slice through the air itself, and the distinctive V12 engine purred like a barely contained beast. The car was a work of art in motion, every line and curve designed for maximum visual impact.
Behind the wheel, wearing the most casual expression imaginable, sat Jason himself.
Derek, Matt—everyone—just stood there in complete, stunned silence. The only sounds were the distant hum of traffic and the gentle rumble of the three luxury engines.
Those two cars—the Cullinan and the Revuelto—had been the talk of the entire Westbridge University online forum for weeks. Students had been posting blurry photos and wild theories about who might own such expensive vehicles. Some had speculated about visiting celebrities or wealthy alumni making surprise appearances.
Now it turned out both of them belonged to Jason. Quiet, supposedly unremarkable Jason.
And even the $200,000 G-Wagon was just… extra. Like a backup ride that most people could only dream of owning.
Matt's automotive expertise kicked in automatically, his brain calculating figures even as his worldview crumbled around him. He had once researched the landing price for a Cullinan—around $400,000 for a properly equipped model. The Revuelto easily cost the millions, given Lamborghini's premium pricing structure. And now with the G-Wagon thrown in for good measure?
That was over a two million dollars in cars, just casually rolling up like it was nothing.
Derek's face darkened like storm clouds gathering on the horizon. He was a genuine car enthusiast who knew the worth of every vehicle on the road down to the penny, and this complete reversal hit him harder than a physical blow. He had been waiting, practically salivating at the thought of mocking Jason for driving some pathetic rust bucket held together with duct tape and prayer.
Now he felt like the joke was entirely on him.
"Hey, we're leading the way!" Aly called out proudly as the Rolls-Royce glided past their group, her grin so wide it looked like it might split his face in half as she leaned out the window like some kind of conquering hero.
The three luxury cars cruised off toward the resort, their combined engine notes creating a symphony of automotive excellence that gradually faded into the distance, leaving Derek, Matt, and the others standing there in the parking lot, utterly stunned and still trying to process what had just happened to their carefully constructed social hierarchy.
After what felt like an eternity of uncomfortable silence, Derek finally managed to speak through gritted teeth, his voice rough with barely controlled emotion.
"Didn't you say he chased some girl for three whole years and still didn't get her?"
Matt nodded quickly, desperately grasping for any piece of information that might restore his shattered confidence. "Yeah, that's exactly what I heard. If you don't believe me, ask Amelia or basically anyone else on campus. Everyone knows that story."
Derek turned to Amelia with expectant eyes, clearly hoping for confirmation that would help him make sense of this impossible situation. But she didn't say anything. She just kept staring at the three luxury cars driving off in the distance, her expression completely unreadable, lost in thoughts that seemed a million miles away.
Derek's carefully planned moment of superiority had completely backfired, exploding in his face like a defective firework. His cheeks felt hot with embarrassment, and now even Amelia—who was supposed to be impressed by his own expensive truck—looked distracted and distant. That observation only made his already foul mood significantly worse.
Sensing the thick tension in the air like fog rolling in from the ocean, Matt tried his best to comfort his friend with damage control. "Look, maybe Jason just rented all three of them," he suggested, though his voice lacked its usual confidence. "There's no way he actually owns luxury cars like that, right? I mean, think about it logically."
Derek considered this theory carefully and nodded slowly, his analytical mind grasping for rational explanations. It did make a certain amount of sense when he really thought about it.
After all, the total value of those three vehicles had to be at least three million dollars, possibly more depending on options and customization. Even families worth ten or twenty million wouldn't necessarily drop that kind of money on their college-age kid's car collection without serious consideration.
That level of casual spending was reserved for billionaires. And if Jason really came from that kind of old money, the entire university would have known about it from day one. Wealth like that was impossible to hide in a community as small and gossip-driven as Westbridge.
There was no way that someone with access to family billions couldn't win over any girl he wanted, especially not after three years of trying.
"What an idiot," Derek muttered under his breath, his fingers gripping his steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "Renting cars like that just to show off at some college party… one scratch on any of those paintjobs and you're completely screwed financially."
He slammed his truck into gear with unnecessary force, pulling out after the departing luxury convoy. Matt's Raptor followed behind, forming their own small procession of wounded pride.
The mood in their vehicles was heavy and oppressive, but in the three cars ahead, everyone was laughing and completely relaxed, already planning their evening at the hot spring resort without a care in the world.
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