Chapter 109 - Who's Smarter?

James was unsure of how to respond to Ava's greeting. She was so cold and unfriendly. All he could do was stare at her with a frown on his face. When he didn't respond after her greeting, Ava jerked her head towards Prince Edward, who was standing next to James.

Two heavily dented dimples popped on her cheeks. 

"Prince Edward, how are you? What brought you here?" She asked even though she already knew why he was there, to begin with. To accompany James.

"Hello, Ava!" Prince Edward greeted her with a sweet smile on his face. The more he saw Ava, the more he thought she was becoming more beautiful each time. It might not be a bad idea to speak to King Alexander to let him attend Harvard or M.I.T.. for that matter. He could get to know Ava, and who knows what could happen in the future.

While he was in deep thought, James finally found his voice. 

"Are you done with your registration? I heard from Godfather that you will be studying computer engineering. I'm also thinking of signing up. Wouldn't that be great? We could attend the same classes together." He said while his eyes were shining brightly as he gazed upon the young, innocent face looking at another man at the moment.

However, to everyone's surprise, Ava ignored James and focused her attention on Prince Edward as if she didn't hear him say anything.

"It would be nice if you could attend school here or Harvard. At least we will be in the same area, and we could meet up sometimes." She told Prince Edward while ignoring James.

Jeff and Ann, who were just observing the conversation, turned to look at each other, eyes filled with questions. Ann decided to intervene after seeing the way James's brows had almost collided with each other.

"Sweetheart, why don't you go with them and see if the Dean's available so James can take care of his business. Meanwhile, Ava and I will go back to the hotel and relax a little." She coaxed Jeff, who was grinning from ear to ear, seeing the interaction between the trio.

"Huh? Oh, alright! You go ahead with Ava. I will ride with them back to the hotel." He then gave his wife a soft kiss on her lips before ushering them to go ahead and leave.

"Alright, boys! We're going to go ahead and meet you back at the hotel." Ann bid them goodbye, then lightly touched Ava's shoulder, "Let's go, Ava." She then turned around to leave.

"See you guys later!" That was all Ava said while waving her hands after turning around, all ready to leave.

James could only gaze as Ava and Ann walked out.

===

As soon as Ann and Ava left without looking back, Jeff took James and Prince Edward to see the Dean of M.I.T. The Dean was shocked to hear that James was interested in taking some classes at his university. He knew of his father, Chairman Tanaga Jones, when he attended with Chairman Go many years ago. It would be an honor for the university to have both father and son become alumni of M.I.T.

"All we need right now to process your registration is your school transcript to be sent to us asap. Then we can easily register you to which classes you want to take this semester. Since you will be attending Harvard simultaneously, I suggest you start with only a few courses. You don't want to burn yourself out." Advised the Dean on a serious note.

"I agree, it's not easy to take up a double degree. I had done it back then, but now I'm smarter than you." Jeff bragged proudly while a broad grin was plastered on his lips. However, he meant every word he said.

Unknown to them that Tanaga had arrived, and was ushered to the Dean's office by the receptionist. A light knock was heard on the door.

*Knock! Knock!* 

"Enter!" The Dean called out to the person on the other side of the closed door.

The door opened wide slowly, and the receptionist stood holding the doorknob while Tanaga entered with a stern look on his face.

"Who said my son couldn't do what you did back then? If I'm not mistaken, my I.Q. is higher than yours, and so is my son's. He hasn't taken the actual test yet, but if he does, I will let you know that it would be higher than both of ours." This time it was Tanaga who was bragging as he approached them.

Tanaga had arrived in time at the front door of the Dean's office to hear Jeff's brag about him being more brilliant than James. That did not bode well with him. But, he knew how brilliant his son was and would make sure that everyone knew about it.

===

Meanwhile, back at the Royal Academy, everyone was about to start the school year. Akira opted to stay in the same year as Pearl. She did not want her to get bullied by Lady Crystal and her minions. Jeffrey wanted to remain the same year as Pearl and Akira, but he was not allowed to do so.

Jeff had spoken to Ms. Shannon and Ms. Williams and was adamant that Jeffrey follow the courses and accelerate his classes so he could graduate as soon as possible. Furthermore, he wanted the twins to attend the same university, so there was nothing that Jeffrey could do but follow what his father wished him to do.

With Ava gone, the atmosphere in the villa had changed. Akira stayed to herself most often, while Pearl, Arria, and Princess Rose became the best of friends because they all loved doing the same thing-- live streaming.

On the other hand, Prince Edmund tried so many times to get information from the girls and from Jeffrey about Ava, but with no luck since everyone had tight lips. He even tried all kinds of bribery on his younger sister Princess Rose seeing that she was close with Pearl and Arria. But the outcome was the same, either she really didn't know anything, or she was good at covering for her friends.

When he couldn't get any information from any of them, Prince Edmund had decided he would just let fate take its course. If he was meant to meet her again someday, so be it. If not..-- Then his life goes on…